A guide to Court of Appeal civil hearings

What you need to do before the hearing

This step explains what you may need to do before a Court of Appeal civil hearing, including lodging a notice of appeal, preparing books of appeal, bringing a motion and preparing for the Directions List.

Lodging a Notice of Appeal

Appeals from decisions of the High Court in civil cases must be brought within 28 days of the High Court order being finalised. This is known as being perfected, which means the order has been signed by the court registrar.

Restrictions on appeals

Sometimes there is a restriction on the right to appeal. For example, the High Court may need to give leave to appeal before the Court of Appeal can deal with the case. Common examples include European Arrest Warrant cases and certain types of planning cases.

Filing outside the 28-day limit

You can lodge a notice of appeal outside the 28-day limit if the respondent, the party on the other side, provides a letter consenting to the late filing. If they do not consent, you can apply to the Court of Appeal by way of notice of motion for an extension of time.

Stamp duty

You must pay court stamp duty on documents associated with an appeal unless they are exempt. The main exemptions include:

• Extradition
• Family law
• Civil cases arising out of criminal proceedings, for example bail or judicial review
• Bankruptcy
• Asylum

Limits on further appeal

An order made in proceedings on appeal from the Circuit Court to the High Court cannot be appealed to the Court of Appeal.

Notice of Appeal form requirements

The notice of appeal form is outlined in the court rules. If a section is not relevant, do not delete it. Write N/A instead. You must provide the following:

• Title of the case as on the High Court order
• Decision you want to appeal, for example “Order of the High Court dated …”
• Grounds of appeal, meaning the reasons for the appeal
• The order you want the Court of Appeal to make
• Documents you will rely on
• Contact details for you and the respondent, including email and phone number

Judgments and transcripts

If the High Court issued a written judgment, you must lodge a copy. If not, you may need to request a transcript. The court office will advise you on how to do this.

Submitting the appeal

You must sign and date the notice of appeal form. A court stamp duty of €250.00 applies unless exempt. Submit your notice and at least two copies to:

Court of Appeal Civil Office
Áras Uí Dhálaigh, Inns Quay, Dublin 7

You will also need an attested copy of the High Court order. Request this from the High Court Central Office. A fee of €15.00 applies.

Note: You can send the notice of appeal by post, but not by email.

After lodgment

The court office will check your notice to ensure compliance with the rules. If it is in order, the appeal will be given a directions date, usually 6 to 8 weeks later. This is when directions will be given for written legal submissions, books of appeal and the allocation of a hearing date.

The office will return date-stamped copies of your notice. You must:

• Serve a copy on the respondent within 7 days
• Keep a copy for yourself

Respondent’s Notice

The respondent has 21 days to lodge and serve a Respondent’s Notice outlining the grounds of opposition to the appeal.

Special cases

• Commercial Court appeals: These will be listed for the first Directions List after lodgement. Directions will include a timeline for the Respondent’s Notice.
• Planning and environment appeals: These will be listed for the first Directions List after lodgement. Directions will include a timeline for the Respondent’s Notice.

Before the appeal hearing

You must lodge books of appeal no later than four weeks before the hearing date in accordance with Practice Direction CA 06.

Before submitting them, both sides should agree on the index, which is the list of contents for the books of appeal.

The respondent must give the appellant a list of legal cases and materials, called authorities, no later than eight weeks before the hearing.

The Court of Appeal Office will not accept the books of appeal unless they include the books of authorities.

Callover before the hearing

The Court holds a Callover five to seven weeks before the hearing of an appeal to ensure that:

• Directions in respect of submissions and any other directions have been complied with
• Books of appeal have been lodged
• The appeal is ready to proceed on the hearing date

Motions

A motion is the procedure used to bring an application in the Court of Appeal in advance of the appeal hearing date. The most common types of motion include:

• An extension of time to lodge a notice of appeal
• A stay on a High Court order, to suspend its operation until the appeal has been heard
• An application to adduce further evidence

How to bring a motion

To bring a motion, you must complete both of the following:

• A notice of motion
• A grounding affidavit, which is an affidavit supporting your application

The respondent may file and serve a replying affidavit in response to your affidavit.

You must lodge a book containing the following documents, called a motion book, in the Office of the Court of Appeal on the Tuesday before the motion hearing:

• The order of the High Court that you are appealing
• The judgment of the High Court, if available
• The notice of appeal
• The respondent’s notice or notices. If they are not available, the office will include them when they become available.
• The notice of motion
• The grounding affidavit
• Any replying affidavit
• Exhibits to the affidavits
• Any relevant pleadings from the High Court

Stamp duty fees

You must pay the following court stamp duties:

• €60.00 on the notice of motion
• €20.00 on your affidavit

Extension of time applications

If your motion is for an extension of time to lodge a notice of appeal, you must also lodge:

• A copy of your intended notice of appeal
• An attested copy of the High Court order you wish to appeal

You do not have to pay the €250.00 stamp duty on the intended notice of appeal at this stage. However, if your application is successful, you will be required to pay the fee when lodging the original notice of appeal.

Preparing for the Directions List

The directions hearing is where the list judge sets the timetable for your appeal. The list judge does not decide any of the issues in the appeal at this stage.

You must lodge a book containing the following documents, called a directions book, in the Office of the Court of Appeal on the Friday before the directions hearing:

• The order of the High Court that you are appealing
• The judgment of the High Court, if available
• The notice of appeal
• The respondent’s notice or notices. If they are not available, the office will include them when they become available.

Check the Legal Diary to find out your number in the Directions List.

What happens at the hearing

At the hearing itself, the parties make focused oral submissions by reference to the papers already before the Court. This is why Court of Appeal hearings are usually shorter than High Court hearings.

Unless there are special reasons, you will usually appear before the Court of Appeal at three stages:

• Directions List: the list judge organises the appeal. The list judge does not decide any of the issues in the appeal at the directions hearing.
• Callover: the list judge checks that everything is ready for the hearing.
• Hearing: the appeal is heard by three judges.

A motion is a separate application you may need to make before the appeal hearing. It is not an additional court appearance in every case.

Directions List

The Directions List takes place every Friday in Court 1 of the Court of Appeal. It is a short hearing before a single judge to set the date for the appeal and give instructions on other matters, including written submissions from both sides.

If the appellant is representing themselves, as a litigant in person, the court may ask the respondent’s legal team to prepare the books of appeal. This helps reduce the workload for the person representing themselves.

The respondent can only include documents that were already before the High Court judge. They must also agree the contents of the books with the appellant before submitting them.

Motions

Motions are heard every Friday after the Directions List by one judge, and a decision is usually given on the day. The judge may decide to refer a motion for hearing by three judges, known as a full court. This will always happen where the motion is for an extension of time to appeal and the application is opposed by the respondent.

Callover

The Callover takes place every Friday before the judge taking the Directions List, and covers cases listed for hearing in the following five to seven weeks. It is a check that the court’s directions have been complied with, the books of appeal have been lodged, and the case is ready to proceed as scheduled.

Hearing of the appeal

The court hears appeals every day during the legal term. Each appeal is heard by three judges, who have read the papers and submissions in advance. The parties then make oral submissions by reference to those papers.

At the end of the hearing, the judges will either deliver judgment the same day, called an ex tempore judgment, or at a later date, called a reserved judgment. The Court of Appeal Office will tell the parties when a reserved judgment will be delivered.

What happens after the hearing

When the Court of Appeal has made an order in your case, the order is prepared and signed by a court registrar. This is called being finalised, or perfected. This step explains how to get a copy of the order, contact a registrar, request documents from the court file, and apply to the Supreme Court for leave to appeal.

Obtaining a copy of an order

Court of Appeal orders are available to parties, if they are not legally represented, or solicitors on record in the appeal. Plain copies will be emailed to the parties by the court registrar on the day they are finalised. For most purposes, plain copies are acceptable.

An attested copy, certified by the court office to be a true copy of the original, is required for some purposes, such as appealing a Court of Appeal order. Court stamp duty of €15.00 applies, unless the proceedings are exempt from fees.

No order is drawn in relation to directions given at the Directions List. If you are not sure of the directions given, the court office can help from the note on the court file.

How to request a copy

If you are representing yourself, you can request a copy of an order. If you are represented by a solicitor, your solicitor must make the request.

Email [email protected] with:

• Court of Appeal record number
• Title of the case
• Date of the order
• For solicitors, the party you represent

Plain copy orders are returned by email at no charge. Attested copy orders must be collected in person from the Court of Appeal Office by appointment. If you are representing yourself, you will be asked for photographic identification.

If you are unsure whether your order has been finalised, email the Court of Appeal Office.

Contacting a registrar

Email [email protected] to contact a registrar. Put the name of the particular registrar in the subject line.

Include in your email:

• Court of Appeal record number
• Title of the case
• Date of the order
• The party you represent

Requesting a document from the court file

You can request a copy of a document from the court file if you are representing yourself. If you are represented, your solicitor must make the request.

Email [email protected] with the request.

Court stamp duty of €15.00 applies for each copy of a document. Documents must be collected in person from the Court of Appeal Office, and stamp duty is paid on collection. It may take 2 to 3 working days to prepare copy documents.

Written judgments

A written judgment sets out the reasons for a decision delivered by the court. More often, an ex tempore, or unwritten, judgment is delivered on the day of the hearing.

Court of Appeal written judgments are available on this website and can be downloaded free of charge.

Requesting an attested copy

Attested copies of written judgments can be requested by email and collected at the Court of Appeal Office on payment of the relevant court stamp duty.

Email [email protected] with:

• Court of Appeal record number
• Title of the case
• Date of the judgment

Court stamp duty for an attested copy is €14.00, plus €1.00 for every four pages. The office will tell you the total payable once they receive your request.

Appealing a Court of Appeal order

You do not have a right to appeal a decision of the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court. You are entitled to apply to the Supreme Court for permission to appeal. This is called an application for leave to appeal.

Leave is only granted where the Supreme Court considers that the case is of general public importance, or that it is in the interests of justice to grant leave.

An application for leave must be made within 21 days of the Court of Appeal order being finalised. This is known as being perfected.

Read more: applying to the Supreme Court for leave to appeal.