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In its reply filed with the Tribunal on July 14, 2003, ZENON submitted that, in awarding costs, the Tribunal has the discretion to award an amount that is appropriate in the circumstances. It submitted that the hourly rates set by the Guidelines do not represent, in 2002 (the year in which the complaint was investigated), the same degree of cost recovery by a successful complainant that they represented when they were established in 1999. It further submitted that the erosion of these rates due to the passage of time is an undeniable fact. ZENON contended that an award of costs is intended to provide a complainant that has a valid complaint with a reasonable recovery of the expenses incurred in pursuing a legitimate grievance. It submitted that, when they were established, the Guidelines were presumably believed to be reflective of reasonable costs. However, it submitted that, since that time, the Guidelines have fallen significantly behind in recognizing the actual costs that complainants incur in prosecuting a successful complaint.
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