A costly blunder: South African History Archive Trust v The South African Reserve Bank

Costs awards are never the most exciting part of a judgment, but nevertheless have enormous significance in terms of their repercussions. This is particularly so when a litigant is a community living in poverty or a non-governmental organisation (NGO) acting in the public interest. In this context, the recent judgment in South African History Archive Trust (SAHA) v South African Reserve Bank (SARB) requires examination, as it contains a costs award against SAHA that, if allowed to stand, may bankrupt the NGO. This article will therefore introduce the case, examine the existing principles applicable to costs awards arising primarily out of the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court, and then try to understand what possible reasons might have motivated the costs award in this case.