Under the costs budgeting regime, the court’s control of costs appears to require a costs management order. If the court is told that budgets have been agreed and makes no costs management order arising out of that agreement, presumably the right to control does not exist?
If a costs management order (CMO) has been made, the court will thereafter control the parties’ budgets. It follows that there must be a CMO for CPR Pt 3, s II powers to be exercised even if it simply records that the budgets have been agreed in their entirety.