ERGI JUDGMENT OF 28 JULY 1998 34 B. Costs and expenses 112. The applicant further requested the reimbursement of GBP 20,624.60 for legal costs and expenses incurred in the preparation and advancement of the case before the Convention institutions. Having deducted the amounts received from the Council of Europe by way of legal aid, he sought: (a) GBP 16,450.24 in fees for the work carried out by his United Kingdom-based representatives; (b) GBP 1,625 for the work carried out by his Turkish representatives; (c) GBP 306.66 for miscellaneous administrative costs; (d) GBP 1,230 for research and support incurred by the Kurdish Human Rights Project (KHRP); (e) GBP 250 for a ballistics research report; (f) GBP 417.70 for the costs of travel and subsistence and interpretation in connection with the hearings in Turkey; (g) GBP 345 for other interpretation and translation costs. The applicant stated that the amount awarded by the Court should be paid directly to the applicant’s United Kingdom-based legal representatives in sterling into a named bank account, and that the rate of default interest be set at 8% per annum. 113. The Government invited the Court to dismiss the claim since it had not been substantiated and was in any event excessive. The Government disputed the need for the applicant to have recourse to United Kingdom-based lawyers and strongly objected to any sum being awarded for costs and expenses incurred by the KHRP. 114. The Delegate of the Commission did not comment on the amounts claimed by the applicant. 115. The Court is not persuaded that the amounts claimed in respect of costs incurred by the KHRP were necessarily incurred and therefore dismisses this claim. As to the remainder of the claim for costs and expenses, the Court, deciding on an equitable basis and having regard to the details of the claims submitted by the applicant, awards him the sum of GBP 12,000 together with any value-added tax that may be chargeable, less the 9,995 French francs which the applicant has received by way of legal aid from the Council of Europe in respect of the fees and expenses in question. C. Default interest 116. According to the information available to the Court, the statutory rate of interest applicable in the United Kingdom at the date of adoption of the present judgment is 7.5% per annum.