The following principles have been adopted to make decisions about the balance of public and private benefits associated with particular civil court services, as well as to determine the overall ratios of taxpayer and user funding for civil courts:

1. Overall Cost Sharing

   The total cost of the civil courts shall be met through a combination of taxpayer and user funding, in ratios to be determined by Government in respect of specific jurisdictions and services.

2. Variable Ratios of Taxpayer/User Funding for Specific Services

   The proportion of costs recovered through fees shall vary in accordance with an assessment of the balance of public and private benefits associated with the service concerned. For example, where direct users are the predominant beneficiaries of a service, fees may recover full costs. Where benefits are predominantly public, however, the taxpayer should meet the bulk of the costs and fees should be limited to those necessary to ensure optimal provision of public benefits (eg by deterring frivolous use).

3. Protection of Access to Justice

   Fees should not prevent citizens from having access to appropriate court dispute resolution services. This applies particularly to services in respect of which legal aid is not available.

4. Average Cost Pricing

   Fees shall be set to recover a proportion of the average cost of service provision. A single fee may cover a number of distinct processes in order to reduce administrative costs associated with setting and collecting fees, but in no case should fees exceed the average cost of the services to which they relate.

5. Operational Efficiency

   The fee structure should provide incentives for cost effective use of court services. The number of points at which fees are charged should be limited in order to minimise the transaction costs associated with imposing, reviewing and collecting them. Fees should, as far as possible, be payable in advance.

6. Judicial Discretion

   The judiciary shall continue to have discretion to reallocate costs, including court fees, between parties to litigation. This will enable court fees to be charged primarily to the party responsible for the use of court resources, in appropriate cases.

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