Recommendation L73: Civil Procedure Rules on Costs
From An Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press, published 29 November 2012.
Recommendation
The Civil Procedure Rules should be amended to require the court, when considering the appropriate order for costs at the conclusion of proceedings, to take into account the availability of an arbitral system set up by an independent regulator itself recognised by law. The purpose of this recommendation is to provide an important incentive for every publisher to join the new system and encourage those who complain that their rights have been infringed to use it as a speedy, effective and comparatively inexpensive method of resolving disputes.
In brief (written by this site)
The Inquiry recommended amending civil court costs rules to incentivise joining a recognised regulator. In May 2024, Parliament enacted the Media Act 2024, which omitted section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 on awards of costs (Media Act 2024, section 50, May 2024). In February 2024, Julia Lopez, Minister of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, stated that the government was not proposing to instruct the Civil Procedure Rule Committee to amend rules of court to support section 40, aligning with its commitment to repeal it (Julia Lopez, Feb 2024).
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 1 Oct 2026. The record below is the sources' own words.
Government response
Mr Speaker, we have decided not to commence Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 and to seek repeal at the earliest opportunity.
Blanket government agreement does not establish acceptance or delivery by each addressee. Some response passages cover groups of recommendations.
Scope of the government response
PM David Cameron responded to all 92 recommendations with a single statement accepting them "in principle" or "in part". No per-recommendation response was published.
Delivery
UK Government says not accepted (24 May 2024)
(2) Section 40 (awards of costs) is omitted.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport says not accepted (7 February 2024)
The Government is not proposing to instruct the Civil Procedure Rule Committee to amend rules of court to support the commencement and implementation of section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013. This aligns with its commitment to repeal section 40.
From: Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press Inquiry (written question 12565)
Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (2017 to 2023) says not accepted (1 March 2018)
find a legislative vehicle to repeal section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 at the first appropriate opportunity, without commencing it first; and
Ministry of Justice says in progress (25 April 2013)
Provisions in the Crime and Courts Bill, which is currently before Parliament, give effect to the recommendations made by Lord Justice Leveson relating to aggravated and exemplary damages (Recommendations 71 and 72) and the awards of costs (Recommendation 73). These provisions will introduce strong and effective incentives for relevant publishers to join a recognised independent self-regulator.
From: Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press Inquiry (Commons written answer), Jeremy Wright, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice
Site note: The source gives this passage once, for recommendations 71, 72 and 73 together. The same words are recorded on L71, L72 and L73.
Earlier statements on delivery (2)
Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (2017 to 2023) (1 March 2018)
Costs provisions were included in section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013, but they remain uncommenced. These provisions would create a presumption that publishers which are members of a recognised self regulator would be exempt from paying legal costs, even if they lost a court case; and that newspapers outside a recognised self-regulator would have to pay legal costs, even if they won a court case.
UK Government (18 March 2013)
We will also change the rules on costs in civil claims against publishers so that there is a strong incentive to come inside the regulator, with its independent arbitration system.
From: Royal Charter on Press Conduct (House of Commons emergency debate), David Cameron, Prime Minister
Source
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- UK Government
Response, delivery statement - Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Delivery statement - Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (2017 to 2023)
Delivery statement - Ministry of Justice
Delivery statement