You can download your application form (Form 1. Application for Leave to Appeal). Alternatively, you can contact the Office of the Supreme Court (Four Courts) to have an application form sent by post.
Stamp Fee
You must pay the appropriate court fee on your application form before your appointment. The application fee is €250. This application fee can be paid at the Stamping Office in the Áras Uí Dhálaigh building in the Four Courts complex. You can pay these fees by card or cash.
If you are unsure that your form is correctly filled out before stamping, please contact the office of the Supreme Court.
You will need to include the following documents for your application:
- A stamped and completed application form
- A copy of the application for leave to appeal
- An attested copy of the order of which leave to appeal is sought (This is known as "perfected" which means final order from the lower Court)
- An attested copy of the judgement at the time of filing of the application (This is a certified copy of the judgement which you get from the Court Office where the judgment was made)
- Where an applicant is unable to file application for leave to appeal within the relevant time limit, an application for an extension of time must be made in section 6 of your application form
You should know that the time starts running from the date of the perfected order. If the judgment is not ready you may be able to undertake to file the copy of the judgment at a later stage.
Booking your appointment
You can make an appointment at the office of the Supreme Court via the booking service to begin the appeal process. You can also file your application by post or use the dropbox in the Court Office.
The person or organisation making the application is the applicant and the person or organisation you are making the application against is the respondent.
Submitting your application
You must submit your application for leave to appeal within 21 days from the date of the perfected order that you are appealing.
Serving your application
- This must be served on the same day that the application is lodged in the Supreme Court
- You must then send a copy of your application to the respondent. This is called serving the application
- The applicant serves the application for leave to appeal on all parties directly affected by the appeal. Please see Practice Direction SC 19 for further details
- Documents can be served by personal service, registered post or electronically
- Any proof of service must be lodged including details of the method of service
What happens next
- The respondent must file a document called a Respondent’s Notice
- The respondent’s Notice is Form 2 and must be filed in the Office of the Supreme Court
- The respondent can book an appointment with the Supreme Court Office to lodge the notice
- The respondent must file and serve this notice within six weeks of the perfection date of the order
- If the respondent misses the six‑week deadline, they refer to Section 5 of Practice Direction SC 19
- Part1, Section 3 in Form 2 gives you an opportunity to explain why you have not lodged the notice within 6 weeks
The applicant must file four hard copies of the application for leave booklet in the office of the Supreme Court.
You can also file your application by post or use the dropbox in the Court Office.
This must be done within 7 weeks of the date of perfection of the order.
If the necessary documents are not filed within the time allowed, the Court will send an email stating that you have 7 days to submit your application for leave booklet.
Failure to do this may result in your application being dismissed.
You should refer to Para 8(e) Practice Direction SC 19 for further information.
Who can help
The Office of the Supreme Court may be able to provide information or guidance to assist you. You may wish to get legal advice.
Before you submit booklet
- You should ensure the booklet is tabbed, referenced and includes page numbers
- You should ensure you have copies of all previous orders from the lower courts
How to prepare your application for leave booklet
To complete your application for leave booklet, you must include the following documents:
- the notice of application for leave to appeal
- the respondent’s notice
- an attested copy of the order you are seeking to appeal
- the approved judgment. If the judgment is not yet available, the transcript may be available through the Digital Audio Recording (DAR) system of the lower court. To get a transcript from the DAR you must apply to the court that made the order by way of notice of motion
- an attested copy of any final orders made by all lower courts involved in the case
- any approved judgments issued by the lower courts
- a certificate of service confirming that the application for leave has been served on all respondents
Additional Requirements for Criminal Cases
If the order you are appealing comes from a criminal case, your booklet must also include the following documents, but only if they are relevant to the issues raised in your application.
- a copy of the indictment
- the transcript of the prosecution’s opening speech
- if your appeal concerns a specific issue from the trial, the transcript of the evidence, submissions, and the judge’s ruling on that issue
- a copy of any relevant exhibit
- the transcripts of the prosecution and defence closing speeches
- the transcript of the judge’s charge to the jury, to the extent that it relates to the issue being appealed
Submitting your application
You must lodge your application in the Office of the Supreme Court within seven weeks of receiving the perfected order from the lower court. You can also file your application by post or use the dropbox in the Court Office.
About the Determination
Once all the documents for your application for leave are filed, a panel of three judges of the Supreme Court meet to consider whether the constitutional threshold for granting leave to appeal has been met.
This does not take place in a courtroom, this is determined in the Judges' chambers on documentary evidence.
What the court may do
When the Court has considered the application they may:
- direct that written submissions be filed
- refuse leave
- grant leave on all or specified grounds
- direct an oral hearing
- invite the parties to file written submissions in relation to costs
What happens next
The Court gives brief reasons for granting or refusing leave to appeal (see section 7(15) of the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961, as inserted by section 44 of the Court of Appeal Act 2014).
If leave is refused
If the Court decides that leave should be refused:
- the parties are notified that the application is refused
- the parties are sent a copy of the determination
If leave is granted
If the Court decides that an appeal should be allowed without further proceedings:
- it grants leave outright
- the parties are sent a copy of the determination
When the Court is considering granting leave to appeal on terms:
- the Court proposes the conditions for allowing the appeal, and both sides have 14 days to make submissions on these conditions
- If the Court agrees to hear the appeal on certain conditions and the applicant does not wish to accept these conditions, they can choose to not proceed with the appeal
- If the applicant appeals directly from the High Court (leapfrog appeal) and they do not want to accept the terms proposed by the Supreme Court, they may bring an appeal to the Court of Appeal
Interventions in applications for leave to appeal
Any person seeking to intervene in an application for leave. To do this, they must write to the Registrar outlining the reason.
This correspondence should be copied to the applicant.
If leave to appeal is granted, a formal application must be made if the person wishes to intervene in the actual appeal. See also Order 58, rule 3.
You should know
Where an application for leave to appeal is unsuccessful, costs are usually dealt with separately after the making of the determination order.
For next steps after leave to appeal has been granted please follow click here:
