Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
The Jehovah's Witnesses must pay $48,000 in court costs to the Crown for a string of failed cases brought against the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.
The Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses Australasia sought a judicial review in 2023 in a bid to get out of being part of the inquiry.
The legal action was launched after three years of legal wrangling with the inquiry behind the scenes to avoid its scrutiny.
The bid was declined and the faith appealed the decision, but in April the Court of Appeal dismissed its argument.
The church has agreed to pay $32,321 in court costs to the Crown for the high court judicial review and $13,212 for the claim made to the Court of Appeal, according to Crown Law documents released to RNZ under the Official Information Act.
The faith has since applied for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, but a decision on this has not yet been made.
In June, the church tried - and failed - to get an advance copy of the inquiry's final report into the faith after filing an urgent claim at the High Court in Auckland.
It has agreed to pay the Crown $2629 in court costs for that action.
Just days before the final report was due to be released publicly, the faith made an unsuccessful last ditch-effort to block the case study in the final report about them. Crown Law said these cost were still being calculated.
The Jehovah's Witnesses was the only faith to file legal action against the Abuse in Care Inquiry.
It has taken legal action against similar inquiries that have occurred around the world, including in the United Kingdom and Australia.
