Garsec v His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei

In the case of Garsec v His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei, the plaintiff, Garsec, sought to permanently stay the proceedings against the defendant, the Sultan of Brunei, due to issues concerning jurisdiction and forum non conveniens. The matter was heard in the Federal Court of Australia. The plaintiff had commenced proceedings in the Federal Court, which were subsequently stayed by Justice Sackville in the Federal Court of Australia. Garsec then filed an application for a permanent stay of proceedings in the Federal Court, which was granted by Justice North. The Sultan of Brunei then applied for an order that Garsec pay his costs of the application for permanent stay of proceedings.

The court was required to decide whether the costs of the application for permanent stay of proceedings should be apportioned between the parties or whether the plaintiff should bear the entire costs. The court considered the fact that the issues were discrete and the plaintiff had been successful on some issues, while the defendant was successful on others. The court also considered that the application for permanent stay of proceedings was not a question of principle but rather a matter of process.

The court found that the costs of the application for permanent stay of proceedings should be apportioned between the parties. The court held that the plaintiff had been successful on some issues and the defendant on others, and therefore the costs should be apportioned accordingly. The court also held that there was no question of principle involved in the application for permanent stay of proceedings, and therefore the costs should not be awarded on an indemnity basis.

The court made an order that the costs of the application for permanent stay of proceedings be apportioned between the parties in the proportion of 60:40 in favour of the plaintiff. The court held that this apportionment was appropriate given the success of the parties on the various issues in the application.