Abstract

Liability for litigation costs is conditioned by the principle: “the losing party pays”, which is a rational and clear expression of the structural assumptions of a bipartite litigation. This principle, laid down in Art. 98 § 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure, finds some exceptions in situations in which no party wins or a party cannot bear the costs, or the costs are generated them by improper, wrongful actions of a party. The question may, however, arise whether liability for litigation costs could be affected by a reservation contained in the judgment for limitation of the defendant’s liability pursuant to Art. 319 of the Code of Civil Procedure. As a result of its application the plaintiff’s right to satisfy their claim is limited to the specific items belonging to the defendant or to the specific value of their assets. This raises the question whether the plaintiff can be still regarded as a winning party and be granted all the litigation costs that have been incurred.