There are a variety of litigation costs in civil litigation . Costs, as a consequence, will also differ both in direction and in amounts. You need to understand that the court spends money on proceedings, studying the features of the case, conducting various examinations, attracting specialists and so on. But all the costs of such a plan are not free. During the trial or after the decision is made, the participants in the trial must return all the money spent. On the whole, about the same scheme as for lending will go further, with the difference that interest on debt is not charged. But sooner or later from the person the right amount will be received.
Separation of expenses is carried out by court decision, and there is no special formula, clearly defined calculations, or the like that can be taken into account. The main rule is the rationality of distribution, which takes into account the financial condition of both parties to the conflict, the degree of guilt, the features of the costs incurred and much more. Ideally, a person would not dare to demand more than he can afford to pay at least theoretically. In practice, there are different situations, and if in private the person concerned cannot prove the fact that he is not able to bear such expenses, you will have to somehow get out and pay.
What are legal costs in civil proceedings?
As mentioned above, this is all the expenses incurred by the state authority to accurately determine the guilt or innocence of one or another side of the conflict. In many cases, they include the costs that went to attracting witnesses and paying for the services of lawyers and experts. Other types are less common.
They are all divided into two main categories. In general, it is under this concept that they mean one of the types of payments, the largest and most widespread. In any case, this is one of the mandatory features of the trial, which is present in all such cases. As a rule, the more complex the problem, the greater the legal costs in the civil process. The calculation of these amounts can be both a fairly simple matter, and a relatively complex action that will not be unambiguously clear to all interested parties.
It must be remembered that if there are complaints about the amount of payment to be paid, then all your questions can be indicated in private. In some cases, this can really lead to the fact that the amount will be reviewed in one direction or another.
Court expenses
This is the first group of costs that must be paid. It is called a state duty. It must be paid for, but only for certain categories of proceedings. This is the main difference between costs and litigation costs in civil proceedings. The concept of these categories also varies slightly.
The total amount is set in accordance with the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, in particular, information is presented in article No. 333.19. It must be remembered that the state duty is absolutely the same for all regions of the country and for all courts. No differences allowed. That is, the same problem in the capital and the region must cost the same. Discrepancies will be a serious mistake.
So, there are several groups of proceedings for which state duty must be paid: court orders, supervisory and cassation appeals, appeals, public legal relations, special proceedings and claims. But these are not all the differences. There is another factor highlighting the state fee and legal costs in the civil process. The amount must be paid before the start of the proceedings. If the costs can be paid in the process or as a result of the completion of the case, then the fee is paid only in advance.
Features of payment of expenses
Not all categories of the population have the opportunity to pay the required amount on time. It is also provided for in law. In particular, in the Tax Code, paragraph No. 333.36 is responsible for this. It is possible to distribute payments for a certain period, to postpone the moment of payment, reduce it, and so on. Here many factors are taken into account, among which the general material condition of the interested person also appears.
Legal costs
The main difference between these payments from the above is their division into several basic types. It should be noted that additional costs are possible if the conditions of the proceedings require it. Among other things, litigation costs in civil proceedings, the types of which are indicated in the list below, may appear constantly or not at all.
Varieties:
- mail costs;
- compensation for time spent;
- costs of the actual implementation of the court decision;
- search costs of required persons;
- the amount that was spent as a result of travel and accommodation of third parties;
- expenses for the services of experts, specialists, lawyers and so on;
- other types of costs.
All this is described in the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, in article No. 94. The legal costs associated with postal expenses in civil litigation are understandable. More details should be given to other points.
For example, a certain person is obliged to appear in court for one reason or another, in ordinary life he is an entrepreneur, every minute of which, not spent on generating income, represents a direct loss. If this citizen can prove the fact that because of the trial he really incurs fixed costs, then they will be obliged to compensate him in the indicated amounts (or those amounts that the court considers adequate).
Another example: there are people who can act as witnesses, and their testimony is of great importance. But they live on a permanent basis in another region. All costs that they incur in order to come to court and live in a new place throughout the course of the proceedings will also be compensated.
Third example: the defendant is hiding from justice. Perhaps he did not commit anything that could cause law enforcement agencies to search for him, but this person refuses to appear in court. In this case, he will have to be sought. And it also costs money, which will also be subsequently paid.
Reimbursement of legal costs in the civil process is mandatory. Timing and details may vary, but the end result will still be the same.
Lawyer payment
This item should be highlighted separately. The bottom line is that many citizens refuse to work with lawyers at all. Perhaps they are afraid of their prices. In another situation, such persons can be absolutely sure of their innocence and not consider it necessary to attract separate defenders. As a rule, such confidence is based on a banal ignorance of laws, and a lawyer will ultimately be cheaper than if a court decision were made without his participation. This is a characteristic feature that litigation costs have in the civil process of Belarus, the Russian Federation and any other country.
For example, the defendant believes that he is right. He refuses a lawyer whose services would cost him 30 thousand rubles. According to the results of the court, an obligation to pay the plaintiff an amount of 100 thousand rubles is imposed on him. And this despite the fact that the defendant claims to be completely right. It will still have to comply with the court decision. But if a lawyer were present, it is quite possible that we could manage to do with the amount of 50 thousand rubles. That is, the total costs will not be 100,000, but 80,000.
Among other things, in some situations, lawyers work according to a rather interesting scheme. The example is very simple: the entire amount that the defendant is required to pay is taken and the agreed percentage of it is allocated. This usually applies to really serious proceedings, which involve a lot of money. In such a situation, the payment of a lawyer is not included in legal costs in a civil proceeding. Who pays for everything else will decide the court, but the agreement between the applicant and the lawyer will not be canceled. True, in certain cases even such expenses may be charged to the defendant, but this again depends on the concluded contract and the court decision.
Who pays the legal costs in civil proceedings?
There are three main types of payment of all funds that have been spent on the proceedings. The first implies that the applicant won the case completely and unconditionally. If there are no mitigating factors, then the losing side must absolutely pay for everything. The second, more common option is that the costs are shared between both parties to the conflict in proportion to the degree of guilt.
For example, the plaintiff wants to get 100 thousand rubles. But the court decides that this is too much, and ultimately obliges the defendant to pay only 50,000. As a result, all expenses will also be divided equally. That is, one side will receive half of the requested and from it will be able to reimburse the costs of the court apparatus. The second, in turn, will have to pay the indicated 50 thousand, and also half the costs.
The third option is extremely rare and implies that the applicant did not fully appreciate his capabilities and requests. He is losing the case. In this case, he himself will be guilty of being forced to pay all legal costs in the civil process, which he himself initiated. As a rule, if you use the services of a lawyer, such situations do not occur.
Application for payment
Just like that, in automatic mode, getting the losing side to pay will not work. To do this, you must immediately after the court decision is announced, write a statement. Who pays the legal costs in civil proceedings, can only decide the court. But if the specified document does not contradict all the features of the case, then almost simultaneously with the sentencing of the loser, these additional obligations are also imposed. The application form is approved by law, it is recommended to prepare it in advance, based on the data that are already known.
Rationality principle
This is one of the basic factors that the court must rely upon when deciding on how and who will pay the legal costs in the civil process. This all means that an adequate assessment is made of all real costs, officially confirmed by the relevant documents. Some of them are not in doubt. These include the cost of travel, accommodation, postal services and so on. But compensation for the time spent, the costs of a lawyer, specialists and so on can already be considered controversial. If the court decides that, for example, the expert requested an amount that significantly exceeds the market value for his services, then the final costs will be reviewed.
Verification Requirements
Legal costs in civil proceedings, the accounting of which necessarily requires documentary evidence, cannot be assigned just like that. There is always a reason. That is, if a person cannot document the fact of the costs incurred, then such expenses are not automatically taken into account. As a result, it is necessary from the very first day to collect all the papers, one way or another able to prove that this particular person really spent something. Only in this way can one subsequently receive full compensation for all inconvenience, expenses, and so on.
For example, there was an oral agreement with a lawyer. Subsequently, he was paid the previously agreed amount, but there are no documents that could confirm that he really received this money for his services. As a result, it will not work to compensate for the costs of such a plan. As a rule, all parties understand this perfectly, and even more so, the lawyers know this, with whom in some cases they agree that payment will be made only after receiving compensation from the defendant. Naturally, they are interested in everything to be in accordance with the rules, and they themselves will offer to conclude an agreement that is guaranteed not to contradict the law.
Features of public organizations
Separately, we need to talk about the fact that not everyone has the right to such types of compensation. So, legal costs in the state process are not compensated in any way to all kinds of public organizations. These are those that have taken the protection of various segments of the population as the basis of their activity. Considering how many problems there are with them, there is a separate resolution that clearly states that if such an organization decides to do something similar, it is understood that it will definitely find money for such an activity. It is somewhat wrong from the point of view of logic, but the law is the law, and it is obliged to apply to everyone.
Total
Summing up, we can draw the following conclusion. You should always hire a lawyer, even if you have 100% confidence in your own right. In rare situations, this can lead to unnecessary costs, but most often this approach can significantly save. You also need to constantly collect all documents confirming the costs. It’s impossible to get money without them. Among other things, you should really evaluate your capabilities and not start deliberately dead cases. Another important point - do not be sure in advance that the case will be won.
Legislation is such an element that can be interpreted in very different ways. Moreover, sometimes certain moments pop up that change the situation to the opposite in one second. And the last - it is always much easier and cheaper to negotiate on your own, without involving a court. Any controversial situation can be resolved without unauthorized persons.