159. (1) A Legal Costs Adjudicator may, whether or not at the request of a party to an application for adjudication of legal costs, refer a question of law arising in the application to the High Court for the opinion of that Court.

(2) Where, in the determination of an application, a question as to the enforceability of an agreement entered into under section 151 arises, a Legal Costs Adjudicator shall refer the agreement to the High Court and the High Court shall decide if, and to what extent, the agreement is enforceable and—

(a) if it considers that the agreement is enforceable, it shall make the order that it considers appropriate to enforce the agreement, or

(b) if it considers that the agreement is not enforceable, it shall direct that the adjudication of the legal costs proceed as if no agreement had been entered into.

(3) If a question has been referred to the High Court under this section, a Legal Costs Adjudicator may not—

(a) make a determination to which the question is relevant while the reference is pending, or

(b) proceed in a manner, or make a determination, that is inconsistent with the opinion of the High Court on the question.