Clíodhna Buckley, BL

This Practice Note considers the current legal framework for consumer contracts and consumer rights in Ireland. It carries out an analysis of sale, service, and digital contracts, highlighting important provisions pertaining to consumer contracts within the Consumer Rights Act 2022 (Ireland) (CRA 2022 (IRL)).

This Practice Note considers what is a fatal injury action, in what circumstances such an action may arise, who is eligible to bring a claim and the different types of damages which may be recoverable. It examines Part IV of the Civil Liability Act 1961 (Ireland) which governs the law in this area in relation to fatal injuries.

This Practice Note considers the different types of grounds for judicial review, focusing primarily on the following grounds of review: legitimate expectation, irrationality (including unreasonableness or disproportionality), procedural impropriety and illegality.

This Practice Note considers what settlement is, when and why you should attempt to settle disputes, who should be involved in attempts to settle a dispute and the consequences for not attempting to reach settlement. It broadly outlines some methods of settling disputes such as, lodgment of money in court and tenders, Calderbank offers, settling at a mediation and settling in arbitration. It also considers how to draft a settlement agreement and when settlement agreements can be set aside.

This Practice Note considers the factors involved in settling a claim at a mediation as distinct from other times that settlement may be achieved. It considers what is mediation, who should attend a mediation and what occurs before, during and after a mediation. It also looks at the legal framework for mediation in Ireland and the key provisions of the Mediation Act 2017 (Ireland).

This Practice Note examines termination for breach of contract. It considers what a breach of contract is and key considerations before terminating a contract for a breach. It considers breach due to frustration or force majeure and it explains what a repudiatory and anticipatory breach of contract is. Finally, it looks at the termination process and dispute resolution obligations.

Commercial Analysis: The Competition (Amendment) Act 2022 (Ireland), effective from 27 September 2023, incorporates the ENC+ Directive into Irish law. It grants the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) significant enforcement powers, including the ability to unwind mergers, impose interim measures, issue financial sanctions, and conduct surveillance.

This Practice Note considers unfair terms which may arise in consumer contracts and refers to several key provisions in the Consumer Rights Act 2022 (Ireland) (CRA 2022 (IRL)) which relate to unfair terms. It examines what an unfair term is, which terms are presumed to be unfair and which terms are always considered to be unfair terms under CRA 2022 (IRL). It looks at how to determine whether a consumer contract term is transparent and how to interpret the fairness of terms in consumer contracts. It also examines the role of the court under the CRA 2022 (IRL).