Introduction
The High Court recently considered the principles applicable to
making an award for the costs of an interlocutory injunction
application.1 The decision confirms that although the
applicable rules provide that the court should make a determination
as to costs in such cases (subject to an important qualification),
it may not always be appropriate to do so. The decision also
confirms that in applicable cases it may not always follow that a
successful party in an interlocutory injunction hearing is awarded
their costs.
The decision arose out of an unsuccessful application by the
plaintiffs for an interlocutory injunction. Judge Barrett
determined the question of the costs of the application as a
separate matter and observed that although it is "always
tempting to decide a costs application on-the-spot", since
parties expend significant sums in litigating they "are
entitled to a considered, reasoned decision even as to costs, in
fact perhaps especially as
