Court Rules

1.^{[1] [2]} In these Rules, unless there is anything in the subject or context repugnant thereto, the several words and expressions hereinafter mentioned shall have or include the meanings following:

the “1968 Convention” means the Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (including the Protocol annexed to that Convention), signed at Brussels on the 27th day of September 1968, including the 1978 Accession Convention, the 1982 Accession Convention, the 1989 Accession Convention and the 1996 Accession Convention;

the “1998 Act” means the Jurisdiction of Courts and Enforcement of Judgments Act 1998;

the “Accountant” means the Accountant attached to the High Court or a deputy appointed by the Courts Service;

“action” means a civil proceeding commenced by originating summons or in such other manner as may be authorised by these Rules, but does not include a criminal proceeding at the suit of the Attorney General;

“the Acts” means the Courts (Establishment and Constitution) Act 1961, and the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Acts 1961 to 2012;

“address for service” means a complete postal address (including, where relevant, any postcode or other identifying reference number) to be notified by every party to proceedings begun before the Court to every other party to the proceedings at which that party may be served with documents relating to the proceedings, which must, unless otherwise provided in these Rules or permitted by order of the Court, be:

(a) the place of business duly registered under the Solicitors Acts 1954 to 2008, either within the jurisdiction or within the jurisdiction of another state of the European Economic Area, of a solicitor who has been nominated to accept service on behalf of the party to be served or who is acting for the party to be served; or

(b) the business address within the jurisdiction of a state of the European Economic Area of a registered lawyer (construed in accordance with Regulation 2 of the European Communities (Lawyers’ Establishment) Regulations 2003 (SI No 732 of 2003)), who has been nominated to accept service on behalf of the party to be served or who is acting for the party to be served; or

(c) where the party sues or defends in person:

(i)  an address within the jurisdiction at which the party resides or carries on a trade, profession or business; or

(ii) an address within the jurisdiction of another state of the European Economic Area at which the party resides or carries on a trade, profession or business; or

(d) in any case in which paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) do not apply, an address for service within the jurisdiction;

“admiralty action” has the meaning given thereto by Order 64, rule 1;

“affidavit” in the case of a person allowed by law to declare instead of swearing, includes a declaration,

“attested copy” means a copy attested by the Superintendent of Typists, or such officer or officers as may be designated by the President of the High Court;

“authorised securities” means any investment in which money under the control or subject to the order of any court may be invested pursuant to the provisions of the Trustees (Authorised Investments) Act 1958, section 3;

“the Bank” means either, as the context requires, the Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland or the bank of such Governor and Company;

“cause” includes any action, suit or other original proceeding between a plaintiff and defendant and any criminal proceeding;

“Central Office” means the Central Office established by the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961;

“Chief State Solicitor” means the Chief Prosecution Solicitor where the Director of Public Prosecutions is a party or an intended party to proceedings or in respect of functions conferred on the Director of Public Prosecutions by section 3 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1974 or otherwise;

“the Constitution” means the Constitution of Ireland enacted by the people on the 1st day of July, 1937;

“County Registrar” means

(a) the County Registrar attached to the Circuit Court for a county or other area served by the Circuit Court office to which he is for the time being assigned under the Court Officers Act 1926, including any deputy for that County Registrar for the time being appointed in accordance with section 40 of that Act and any person for the time being required and authorised to perform the duties of the office of that County Registrar in accordance with section 9 of the Court Officers Act 1945 and

(b) if the context so permits, where any business of the office of the Circuit Court in a county is specified in accordance with section 14 of the Courts and Court Officers Act 2009 as business that shall be transacted in a combined court office established under that section:

(i) the combined court office manager appointed under section 19 of that Act for that combined court office, or

(ii) a member of staff of the Courts Service employed in that combined court office under section 21 of the Courts and Court Officers Act 2009, where the combined court office manager has arranged that that member of staff may exercise such of the powers, authorities, duties and functions as the combined court office manager cannot conveniently exercise or perform himself; ^[3]

“Contracting State of the Lugano Convention” has the meaning assigned to a “state bound by the Convention” by section 20A(1) of the Jurisdiction of Courts and Enforcement of Judgments Act 1998;

“Counsel” shall, where the context so admits or requires, include a lawyer, or lawyers, registered under the European Communities (Lawyers’ Establishment) Regulations 2003 (as amended) for the purpose of pursuing the professional activities of a barrister within the meaning of the said Regulations;

“the Court” means either, as the context requires, the High Court or a Judge or Judges thereof, and includes the Master, the Examiner and the Probate Officer where they respectively have jurisdiction;

the “Courts Service” means the Courts Service established by the Courts Service Act 1998;

“defendant” includes every person served with an originating summons, or served with notice of, or entitled to attend, any proceedings;

“land” includes messuages, tenements, hereditaments, houses and buildings of any tenure;

the “Lugano Convention” has the meaning assigned to the “Convention” by section 20A(1) of the Jurisdiction of Courts and Enforcement of Judgments Act 1998;

“the Master” means the Master of the High Court and includes a deputy appointed by the Courts Service;

“matter” shall include every proceeding in the Court not in a cause;

“oath”, in the case of a person allowed by law to affirm instead of swearing, includes an affirmation;

“party” includes every person served with notice of or attending any proceedings, although not named on the record;

“person” includes a body corporate (whether aggregate or sole) and an unincorporated body of persons;

“petitioner” includes any person making an application to the Court, either by petition or motion, otherwise than as against a defendant;

“plaintiff” includes any person seeking any relief (otherwise than by way of counter-claim as a defendant) against any other person by any form of civil proceeding;

“pleading” includes an originating summons, statement of claim, defence, counter- claim, reply, petition or answer;

“probate action” means any proceeding commenced by originating summons and seeking the grant or recall of probate, or letters of administration, or similar relief;

“record” means a contemporaneous record of the proceedings concerned made by any one or more means, including, without limitation:

any shorthand or other note, whether written, typed or printed, and

any sound recording or other recording, capable of being reproduced in legible, audible or visual form, approved by the court;

“registered post” means pre-paid registered post as referred to in section 23(1) of the Courts Act 1971 or any other form of registered items service (within the meaning of section 16(12) of the Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Act 2011) provided by:

(a) a universal postal service provider designated under section 17 or section 18 of the Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Act 2011 or

(b) a person who is for the time being deemed in accordance with section 38 of that Act to be a postal service provider authorised to provide a registered items service and registered as such in the register maintained in accordance with section 40 of that Act,

and references to “prepaid registered post”, “registered pre-paid post”, “registered letter”, “prepaid registered letter”, and all cognate expressions, shall be construed accordingly.

“Regulation No. 1215/2012” means Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (recast) (O.J. L. 351/1 of 20 December 2012);[4]

“Regulation No 2201/2003” means Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003 (OJ L 338/1) concerning jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, and, where the context so admits or requires, shall include reference to Council Regulation (EC) No 1347/2000 of 29 May 2000 (OJ L 160/22) on jurisdiction and the recognition of judgments in matrimonial matters and in matters of parental responsibility for children of both spouses, as amended, which latter Regulation is repealed as from the date of application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 and any reference to an Article of Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 shall include reference to the corresponding Article of Council Regulation (EC) No 1347/2000 indicated in Annex V of Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003;

“sheriff” includes County Registrar when exercising the powers and functions of sheriff;

“solicitor” shall, where the context so admits or requires, include a lawyer, registered under the European Communities (Lawyers’ Establishment) Regulations 2003 (as amended) for the purpose of pursuing the professional activities of a solicitor within the meaning of the said Regulations;

“statutory practice direction” means, as the case may be, a practice direction issued by the Chief Justice in accordance with section 7 of the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961 or a practice direction issued by the President of the Court of Appeal in accordance with section 7C of that Act;

“suit” includes action;

“Superior Courts” means the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal and the High Court (including the Central Criminal Court);

“transcript writer” means any person (including a body corporate acting by its employee or contractor) appointed by the Courts Service to make a transcript of the record.

“trust corporation” has the meaning given thereto by section 30(4) of the Succession Act 1965;

“writing” includes printing, typewriting, lithography, photography and other modes of representing or reproducing words in visible form and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;

words importing the singular shall be construed as importing the plural and vice versa;

words importing the masculine gender shall be construed as importing the feminine gender;

references to any Regulation, Directive, Decision or Framework Decision adopted by the Council of the European Union, whether or not jointly with any other institution of the European Union, shall (save where any such amendment or extension does not have force of law in the State) be deemed to be references to such Regulation, Directive, Decision or Framework Decision as amended or extended from time to time.

2. The several Appendices hereto shall be deemed to form part of these Rules.

3. The respective forms in the said Appendices shall, where applicable or appropriate, be used with such variations or modifications as circumstances may require.  Where such forms are applicable or appropriate, any costs occasioned by the use of any other or more prolix forms shall be borne by, or disallowed to, the party using the same, unless the Court shall otherwise direct.

4.^[5] (1)^[6] Where any business of an office of the High Court, the Court of Appeal, or Supreme Court or an office attached to the President of the High Court is specified in accordance with section 14 of the Courts and Court Officers Act 2009 as business that shall be transacted in a combined court office established under that section, and while so specified, any requirement of any provision of these Rules to lodge, file, leave, deliver or transmit a document in, at or to (as the case may be) the office concerned shall be satisfied by doing so in, at or to (as the case may be) that combined court office, and not otherwise.

(1A)^[7]  If and where any business of the office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court, the Registrar of the Court of Appeal or, as the case may be, the principal officer, within the meaning of Part I of the Court Officers Act 1926, of any office attached to the High Court or the President of the High Court is specified in accordance with section 14 of the Courts and Court Officers Act 2009 as business that shall be transacted in a combined court office established under that section, and while so specified, any member of the staff of the Courts Service employed in that combined court office and directed in accordance with section 22(2) of that Act by a combined court office manager to act as registrar to the Supreme Court, registrar to the Court of Appeal or, as the case may be, as the principal officer, of an office attached to the High Court or the President of the High Court, any reference in these Rules to the Registrar of the Supreme Court, the Registrar of the Court of Appeal or, as the case may be, the principal officer concerned shall be deemed to include a reference to the member concerned of the staff of the Courts Service.

(2) Any form in an Appendix to these Rules may be modified as necessitated by the provisions of sub-rule (1) and Part 3 of the Courts and Court Officers Act 2009.