The normal rule in Irish litigation is that costs follow the event, i.e. the losing party pays the other party's legal costs. Where there is a real concern about the financial position of the party bringing the proceedings, the defendant may look for what is known as an order for security for costs.
The test is therefore twofold, firstly that the Court is satisfied that it is just to make the order, and secondly, one or more of the conditions in ss2 or an enactment permits the court to order security.
Introduced in 2018, it is a summary procedure under Rule 3.68 of the Alberta Rules of Court that may be used to address a “claim, defence, action, application, or proceeding that appears on its face to be frivolous, vexatious, or otherwise an abuse of process.” It is intended as a “fair and proportionate mechanism to ...
One option available to a defendant is to make an application for security for costs – essentially, a court order, which allows a party to ensure that they will be compensated for their legal costs for representation if they succeed in defending a claim.
The Crabtree Principle: counterclaims - If counterclaimant going beyond self defence and launching a claim of their own, court will usually order no security or that both sides put up security.