Court Rules

1.^[1] Provided that an originating summons is not a summons to which Order 11A applies, service out of the jurisdiction of an originating summons or notice of an originating summons may be allowed by the Court whenever:

(a) the whole subject matter of the action is land situate within the jurisdiction (with or without rents or profits), or the perpetuation of testimony relating to land within the jurisdiction; or

(b) any act, deed, will, contract, obligation, or liability affecting land or hereditaments situate within the jurisdiction, is sought to be construed, rectified, set aside, or enforced in the action, or

(c) any relief is sought against any person domiciled or ordinarily resident within the jurisdiction; or

(d) the action is for the administration of the personal estate of any deceased person, who, at the time of his death, was domiciled within the jurisdiction, or for the execution (as to property situate within the jurisdiction) of the trusts of any written instrument, of which the person to be served is a trustee, which ought to be executed according to the law of Ireland; or

(e) the action is one brought to enforce, rescind, dissolve, annul, or otherwise affect a contract, or to recover damages or other relief for or in respect of the breach of a contract

(i)  made within the jurisdiction; or

(ii) made by or through an agent trading or residing within the jurisdiction on behalf of a principal trading or residing out of the jurisdiction; or

(iii) by its terms or by implication to be governed by Irish Law, or is one brought in respect of a breach committed within the jurisdiction of a contract wherever made, even though such breach was preceded or accompanied by a breach out of the jurisdiction which rendered impossible the performance of the part of the contract which ought to have been performed within the jurisdiction; or

(f) the action is founded on a tort committed within the jurisdiction; or

(g) any injunction is sought as to anything to be done within the jurisdiction, or any nuisance within the jurisdiction is sought to be prevented or removed, whether damages are or are not also sought in respect thereof; or

(h) any person out of the jurisdiction is a necessary or proper party to an action properly brought against some other person duly served within the jurisdiction; or

(i) ^[6] the proceeding relates to a child or to a relevant person within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 who is habitually resident in, or a citizen of, Ireland; or

(j) the proceeding is an interpleader proceeding relating to property within the jurisdiction; or

(k)^[2] the proceeding relates to an arbitration held or to be held within the jurisdiction or to the enforcement of an award or an interim measure made by an arbitral tribunal in an arbitration so held;

(l) the proceeding relates to the enforcement of an award made by an arbitral tribunal, having its seat outside the jurisdiction or of the pecuniary obligations imposed by such an award;

(m) the proceeding is by a mortgagee or mortgagor in relation to a mortgage of personal property situate within the jurisdiction and seeks relief of the nature or kind following, that is to say sale, delivery of possession by the mortgagor, redemption, reconveyance, delivery of possession by the mortgagee; but does not seek (unless and except so far as permissible under sub-head (e) of this rule) any personal judgment or order for payment of any moneys due under the mortgage.

(In this sub-head the expression “personal property situate within the jurisdiction” means personal property which, on the death of an owner thereof intestate, would form the subject matter for the grant of letters of administration to his estate out of the Probate Office; the expression “mortgage” means a mortgage charge or lien of any description; the expression “mortgagee” means a party for the time being entitled to or interested in a mortgage; and the expression “mortgagor” means a party for the time being entitled to or interested in property subject to a mortgage); or

(n) the proceeding is brought under the provisions relating to carriage by air of the Air-Navigation and Transport Act 1936, or

(o) the proceeding relates to a ship registered or required to be registered under the Mercantile Marine Act 1955, or any share or interest therein; or

(p) the proceeding relates to the ownership of a trade mark registered or sought to be registered in the Industrial and Commercial Property Registration Office.

(q)^[3] the proceeding is brought to enforce any foreign judgment; and

(r)^[4] any relief is sought in proceedings commenced in accordance with Order 136 of these Rules.

(s)^[5] the proceeding is brought to enforce any interim measure issued by an arbitral tribunal, having its seat outside the jurisdiction or for other relief within the jurisdiction in connection with an arbitration held or to be held outside the jurisdiction.

2. Where leave is asked from the Court to serve a summons or notice thereof under rule 1, the Court to whom such application shall be made shall have regard to the amount or value of the claim or property affected and to the comparative cost and convenience of proceedings in Ireland, or in the place of the defendant’s residence, and particularly in cases of small demands where the defendant is resident in England, Scotland, or Northern Ireland, to the powers and jurisdiction, under the statutes establishing or regulating them, or of the courts of limited or local jurisdiction in England, Scotland or Northern Ireland respectively.

3. (1) The parties to any contract may agree:

(a) that the Court shall have jurisdiction to entertain any proceeding in respect of such contract, and also, or in the alternative;

(b) that service of any summons in any such proceeding may be effected at any place within or out of the jurisdiction on any party or on any person on behalf of any party or in any manner specified or indicated in such contract.

(2) In any such case, notwithstanding anything contained in these Rules, service of any such summons at the place (if any) or on the party or on the person (if any) or in the manner (if any) specified or indicated in the contract shall be deemed to be good and effective service wherever the parties are resident.  If no place, or mode, or person be so specified or indicated, service out of the jurisdiction of such summons may be ordered.

4. In probate actions service out of the jurisdiction of a summons or notice of a summons may be allowed by the Court.

5. Every application for leave to serve a summons or notice of a summons on a defendant out of the jurisdiction shall be supported by affidavit, or other evidence, stating that in the belief of the deponent the plaintiff has a good cause of action, and showing in what place or country such defendant is or probably may be found, and whether such defendant is a citizen of Ireland or not, and where leave is asked to serve a summons or notice thereof under rule 1 stating the particulars necessary for enabling the Court to exercise a due discretion in the manner in rule 2 specified; and no leave shall be granted unless it shall be made sufficiently to appear to the Court that the case is a proper one for service out of the jurisdiction under this Order.

6. Such application shall be made before the issue of the summons, and the affidavit to ground the same shall, when no proceeding is pending, be entitled as between the parties to the intended proceeding and “In the Matter of the Courts of Justice Acts 1924 to 1961, and the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Acts 1961 to 1981.”

7. Any order giving leave to effect service or give notice out of the jurisdiction shall limit a time after such service or notice, within which the person to be served is to enter an appearance, such time to depend on the place or country where or within which the summons is to be served, or the notice given, and such leave may be given by the same order by which leave is given to issue the summons for service out of the jurisdiction or of which notice is to be given out of the jurisdiction.

8. Where the defendant is not, or is not known or believed to be, a citizen of Ireland, notice of the summons, and not the summons itself, shall be served upon him.

9. Subject to the provisions of this Order, notice in lieu of service shall be given in the manner in which summonses are served.

10. Whenever an order shall be made giving leave to serve a summons or notice thereof on a defendant out of the jurisdiction, a copy of such order shall be served along with the summons or notice as the case may be.

11. This Order shall apply, so far as practicable and applicable, to proceedings whether instituted by originating summons or in some other manner, and to any order or notice in any such proceedings.  Where the person to be served is not a citizen of Ireland, a copy of the originating document (other than an originating summons) or of the order or notice shall be served instead of the original, together with an intimation in writing that (as the case may be) a proceeding or process in the form of the copy has been issued or otherwise launched or an order in the terms of the copy made.

12. Nothing herein contained shall in any way prejudice or affect any practice or power of the Court under which when lands, funds, choses in action, rights or property within the jurisdiction are sought to be dealt with or affected, the Court may, without affecting to exercise jurisdiction over any person out of the jurisdiction, cause such person to be informed of the nature or existence of the proceedings with a view to such person having an opportunity of claiming, opposing or otherwise intervening.