And if Amaral wins and the costs awarded against the McCanns ? Who pays for them ?
This may help
1. What are the costs of legal proceedings and who normally has to pay them?
The costs of legal proceedings relate to the payment of costs and the fees of the legal representative (barrister, junior barrister or solicitor);
Costs include court fees and charges;
Court fees cover the payment by Court users for the public service of the administration of Justice; the amounts are set on the basis of a schedule which takes as a reference the monetary value of the case; in the case of appeals, the losing party pays the costs; incidental costs are separately taxed but depend on the value of the action;
Charges consist of the repayment of expenses advanced by the Court, payments to any organisations to cover the cost of certificates not produced officially by the Court, documents, opinions, drawings, other documentary evidence and services which the Court may have requested, payments due to those who have participated in the proceedings, including the legally set fees, travel expenses and assistance towards expenses, reimbursement of postal charges, telephone, telegraphs, faxing, electronic copies, reimbursement for acquisition of magnetic media necessary for recording the evidence and reimbursement to the successful party in the proceedings of its costs, as well as barristers’ fees;
The fees of legal representatives are set by the Court, which must, for this purpose, have due regard to the time spent, the difficulty of the matter, the importance of the service provided, the financial means of the interested parties, the results obtained by means of the lawsuit and the amounts applied, in similar situations, within the respective judicial district;
The responsibility for the payment of costs is based on the decision of the court in regard to the case tried, the costs being paid by the unsuccessful party or by the party that has benefited from the action;
Some proceedings are, by virtue of legal provisions, exempt from the payment of costs, as are some parties to proceedings;
The final court fees, in civil proceedings, are set on conclusion of the case; therefore, they are paid at intervals, one quarter being lodged at the time of presentation of the petition or initial claim, the defence or appeal; in the majority of actions, a subsequent court fee, of an amount equal to the initial court fee, is paid after notification of the date that has been set for the final hearing;
The amounts paid in respect of the initial court fees and the court fees subsequently paid by the successful party will be reimbursed to the latter together with any sums advanced to cover expenses.
http://ec.europa.eu/civiljustice/legal_aid/legal_aid_por_en.htm#1.
