Gearóid Carey

This Practice Note provides an overview of the civil courts in Ireland and outlines in summary terms the principal features of each level of civil court. By way of brief overview, the Irish civil courts are structured such that there are three levels of court of first instance, each with a different jurisdiction. In addition, there is a Court of Appeal whose jurisdiction is exclusively appellate. The highest court in Ireland, the Supreme Court, has a very limited original jurisdiction, mainly with regard to the reference of Bills by the President under Article 26 of the Constitution of Ireland, but otherwise its jurisdiction is also appellate. This Practice Note addresses each level of court in turn, starting with the District Court.

This Practice Note provides an overview of actions in the Commercial List of the High Court (commonly known as the Commercial Court). It provides guidance on what kind of cases fall within the definition of commercial proceedings and the potential benefits of using the Commercial Court for appropriate cases. It sets out the applicable rules and procedures in the Commercial Court. It explains how to enter an action in the Commercial Court, entry criteria and the procedure to follow for entry applications. The purpose and procedural requirements of directions hearings are described and the Practice Note explains how a substantive hearing date is fixed, defines call overs and highlights the importance of timing estimates and the implications of going over time in a commercial action. For hearings in the Commercial Court, the main procedural requirements are summarised including in relation to the format and lodging of hearing papers.

This Practice Note gives guidance on a plaintiff’s right to discontinue proceedings or part of a claim in the Supreme Court under Order 58 RSC and Court of Appeal under Order 86A RSC, the High Court under Order 26 RSC, the Circuit Court under Order 21 CCR and the District Court under Order 47B DCR. It considers various reasons for discontinuing a claim together with the effect of discontinuance, including the costs consequences of discontinuing and the ability to bring subsequent proceedings. In doing so, it offers guidance on how to discontinue proceedings, including where the court’s permission to do so is required and how to set aside a notice of discontinuance. It also considers discontinuance as a condition of settlement.

This Practice Note considers the principal interim remedies available to protect parties’ legal rights. It considers the principles applied by the Irish courts in considering whether to grant injunctions, both prohibitory and mandatory, Mareva (or freezing) injunctions, Anton Pillar orders and Norwich Pharmacal orders.

This Practice Note provides guidance on the effect and nature of a judgment. It considers the difference between interlocutory rulings and final judgments and looks at when a final judgment can be amended or varied. It also examines other final remedies available to the court such as striking out proceedings for delay or want of prosecution, the court’s jurisdiction to strike out a pleading if it discloses no reasonable cause of action or answer or where the action or defence is frivolous or vexatious. It considers when the court can dismiss proceedings for want of prosecution for failure to make discovery. It also examines the court’s power to grant Isaac Wunder Orders.

This Practice Note examines the practice and procedure in the High Court in the most common forms of High Court action. It considers proceedings started by way of plenary summons, summary summons and special summons.

This Practice Note provides an overview of the rights of audience before the Irish courts and clarifies who may be heard on behalf of parties to proceedings at the various court levels. It examines who enjoys the right of audience before Irish courts pursuant to the court rules and Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 (Ireland). It also considers the rights of McKenzie friends and EU qualified lawyers to an audience before Irish courts.

This Practice Note offers guidance on serving documents in Irish civil proceedings within the jurisdiction of Ireland. It considers the steps necessary for formal service and the timescales which must be adhered to in the District Court, Circuit Court and High Court. It considers the formal requirements of the rules as well as some procedural routes to address circumstances where compliance may prove difficult or impossible.

This Practice Note outlines the rules that apply when proceedings brought in Ireland are required to be served on parties out of the jurisdiction. It considers when leave of the court may be required to issue and serve the proceedings out of the jurisdiction and how is service to be effected outside the jurisdiction, including the rules under the Regulation (EU) 2020/1784 (the Service Regulation (recast)) and the Hague Service Convention.

This Practice Note explores contract breach claims and provides practical guidance and tips to consider when bringing a claim for breach of contract before the Irish courts. It addresses initial considerations such as identifying the breach, the loss suffered and the remedies to be sought. It also covers matters relevant to contractual claims such as causation, the duty to mitigate and quantifying the claim. It considers practical issues such as applicable limitation periods, issuing and pleading the claim, evidential issues including discovery and the use of expert witnesses, as well as pre-action obligations and alternative dispute resolution.