[20190610]IF11246_律师费和平等诉诸司法法案：法律框架.pdf

https:/crsreports.congress.gov June 10, 2019Attorneys Fees and the Equal Access to Justice Act: Legal FrameworkIn 1980, Congress enacted the Equal Access to Justice Act (the EAJA, or the Act) and significantly expanded the federal governments liability to pay the attorneys fees of parties that prevail against the government in litigation or administrative proceedings. This In Focus explains the state of the law before the EAJA was enacted, outlines the governments liability for attorneys fees under the EAJA, and briefly discusses relevant congressional considerations concerning the EAJA. Immunity and the American Rule Absent express action by Congress, the U.S. government is not liable for opponents attorneys fees for two reasons. First, the default rule in the United States, known as the “American rule,” provides that each party pays its own litigation costs, regardless of the outcome of a case. (The alternative regime, known as the “English rule,” provides that the losing party pays the winners attorneys fees.) Second, the government enjoys sovereign immunity, meaning that it may not be suedand therefore may not be required by a court to pay another partys attorneys feesunless i