When may a summoned witness be refused the travel expenses, daily allowance and lodging fees otherwise claimable?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In the practice file we read the record of the summons showing the witness was called to appear, the hearing record or note showing whether the witness swore or testified and the reason given for refusing, and any claim for witness expenses stating the sums sought under the statutory rules.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading is that a summoned witness may claim travel expenses, daily allowance and lodging fees in the manner the law provides, and that the only case in which this claim is excluded is where the witness refused to swear or testify and had no just cause for the refusal.
Another reading stresses that the claim itself is subject to what other law provides, so this provision sets no rates and no procedure of its own, and it does not say what counts as a just cause for refusing, leaving that to be shown on the facts.
Your judgment
If a witness refused to testify, what in the hearing record would show whether the cause of the refusal was a just one?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to change when the claim for witness expenses is excluded, or if a court decision explains what constitutes a just cause for refusing to testify.