Bermudians Against the Draft fought off requests that they pay Government's legal bill over their latest court battle.

The campaigners have spent around $270,000 so far on their unsuccessful bid to get military conscription outlawed.

According to campaign founder Larry Marshall Sr, an order to foot Government's legal costs too would have sunk them financially.

Their case has been defeated at every level of Bermuda's Court system — the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, and Privy Council in London.

So far, they have only been asked to pay their own legal costs, which they have met through public fund-raising and private donations.

However, after the Privy Council rejected the case in May, Government asked that Bermudians Against the Draft (BAD) be made to foot the Government legal bill as well as its own.

Attorney General Kim Wilson said at the time: "We (Government) should of course, get our costs".

But BAD founder Larry Marshall Sr. hit back, saying: "Under the circumstances I think it is pretty nasty of Kim Wilson to go after costs at this stage, after the group has paid an exorbitant amount of money to take the case to the Privy Council, for freedom and justice in Bermuda because her Government refuses to deal with the issue."

The group heard on July 20 that the judicial committee of the Privy Council directed, after considering submissions from both parties, that there should be no such order made. Each side must instead pay its own costs.

Heralding the news, Mr. Marshall told The Royal Gazette yesterday: "Obviously we are pleased with the ruling of the Privy Council not to award costs to the Government. A tremendous burden has been lifted. It has been an extremely costly endeavour, and this means that we can continue our fight."

He expected the Government bill to have been in the region of $200,000 to $300,000 and said "that would definitely have finished the group".

London law firm Dorsey and Whitney worked pro bono on preparing the case, and the lawyer who presented it, Jonathan Crow QC, also worked for fifty percent of his usual fees. Mr. Marshall said without their generosity, and help from Bermuda-based lawyer Delroy Duncan in making the arrangements, "we would not have been able to go to London".

The group is now planning to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

Sen. Wilson said: "I am not at all surprised by this ruling. Normally costs do follow the event, in other words the successful party has their costs paid for by the opposing party.

"However, it is not at all uncommon, in cases such as this where there exists an element of national public interest such as conscription, that the court would make no order for costs."