CODE OF VIRGINIA LAWS OF COSTS NOT PENAL; DISCRETION OF COURTS OF EQUITY (§ 17.1-600) The laws of costs shall not be interpreted as penal laws; nor shall anything in this chapter take away or abridge the discretion of a court of equity over the subject of costs, except as provided in § 17.1-604. HISTORY: Code 1950, § 14-174; 1964, c. 386, § 14.1-177; 1998, c. 872.