Court Rules

1. In this Order,

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

(a) any shorthand or other note, whether written, typed or printed, and

(b) any sound recording or other recording, capable of being reproduced in legible, audible or visual form, approved by the 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.

2. Subject to rule 3 and to rule 7 of Order 58, at the trial or hearing of any cause or action, any party may, with the Court’s permission and subject to and in accordance with any direction of the Court, make or cause to be made a record of the proceedings, which record shall include—

(a) the oral evidence;

(b) in the case of an action tried by a Judge and jury, the Judge’s charge and directions to the jury, and the submissions and requisitions made to the judge and his ruling thereon;

(c) in any case tried by a Judge without a jury, the Judge’s judgment (unless it be a written judgment).

3. The record of any criminal proceedings shall be made or caused to be made by a person appointed by the Courts Service, and such record shall include all submissions made by counsel in the course of the trial including opening and closing speeches to the jury and any submissions made in mitigation of sentence.

4. At the hearing of any proceedings before the County Registrar any party may, with the County Registrar’s permission, and subject to any order or direction of the County Registrar, make or cause to be made a record of the proceedings in such case, which record shall include -

             (a) any oral evidence;

             (b) any speech or submissions by counsel or solicitor;

             (c) the County Registrar’s judgment or ruling (unless it be a written judgment or ruling).

5. The party making or causing to be made a record in a case referred to in rule 2 or rule 4 shall pay the cost of the production of the record and, where any transcript is required, the cost of the production of such transcript and the said payment shall be borne by the said party unless the Judge or the County Registrar (as the case may be) shall after the trial or hearing certify that in his opinion it was expedient that the proceedings or any part thereof should have been so  recorded, or, as the case may be, a transcript produced. If such certificate is given, the cost occasioned by the making of the record (and, where certified, any cost arising from the production of a transcript of or from the record) to which the certificate relates shall be part of the costs in the cause.

6. The Judge shall have power during the course or at the conclusion of the trial or hearing, to direct that a transcript of the record or any part thereof be furnished to him at the public expense or be furnished to any party applying therefor at the expense of that party.

7. Unless:

(a) otherwise permitted by and in accordance with this Order, or

(b) otherwise permitted by the Court and, in that event, subject to and in accordance with any direction of the Court, no person, other than the Courts Service or a person authorised by it on its behalf, shall make any record of proceedings otherwise than by written or shorthand notes.

8. [1] (1) Any party or person who seeks access to any part of a record of proceedings which is held by or for the Court (in this rule referred to as the “relevant record”) may apply to the Court by motion in the proceedings concerned on notice to the other party or the parties to those proceedings, grounded upon an affidavit.

(2) On the date first fixed for the hearing of the motion, the Court may:

(a) direct that copies of the notice of motion and affidavit be served on any other person who the Court considers has a sufficient interest in or may be affected by the application;

(b) fix time limits for the delivery of any replying affidavit.

(3) The Court may, for the purposes of considering any such application, review privately the contents of the relevant record.

(4) Subject to sub-rule (5), the Court may, where it considers it necessary in the interests of justice so to do, permit the applicant to have such access to all or such part of the relevant record concerned as is specified in the order made on the application, by such means and at such time or times as may be specified in that order and on such terms and under such conditions (including terms restraining the publication, dissemination or further disclosure of all or any part of the relevant record by the applicant, and the giving of an undertaking to such effect) as the Court may direct.

(5) Unless the Court otherwise directs, access to the relevant record concerned shall, where permitted under sub-rule (4), be afforded solely by the provision to the applicant of a transcript of all or any part of that record, on payment by the applicant to the transcript writer of the transcript writer’s fee for producing the transcript.

9. [2] (1) In this rule:

“administering state” has the meaning assigned to it by section 1(1) of the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Act 1995;

“designated country” has the meaning assigned to it by section 5 of the Transfer of Execution of Sentences Act 2005;

the “Minister” means the Minister for Justice and Equality;

“Parole Board” includes any body established under statute or by administrative scheme the functions or purposes of which include the review of cases of sentenced prisoners and the provision of recommendations or advice in relation to the administration of the sentences of such prisoners.

(2) On the application of the Minister in writing (which may be made by electronic means) for that purpose to the proper officer, the proper officer shall, subject to the payment by the Minister of any costs of producing and copying such transcript, provide to the Minister a transcript certified by the transcript writer to be a complete and correct transcript of the record (within the meaning of rule 1) of a hearing before the Court for the purposes of the consideration or imposition by that Court of a sentence on a convicted person, and shall provide a copy of such transcript to the convicted person concerned.

(3) A transcript provided in accordance with sub-rule (2) (or a copy thereof) may be provided to and retained and used by:

(a) the Parole Board for the purpose of making any recommendation or giving any advice in relation to a convicted person to whom the transcript relates;

(b) the authorities, who perform functions the same as or similar to those performed by the Parole Board, of an administering state to which the convicted person to whom the transcript relates has been transferred in accordance with the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Acts 1995 and 1997, for the purposes of the performance of those functions; or

(c) the authorities, who perform functions the same as or similar to those performed by the Parole Board, of a designated country in which the convicted person is serving a sentence or remainder of a sentence in accordance with the Transfer of Execution of Sentences Act 2005, for the purposes of the performance of those functions.

(4) An application referred to in sub-rule (2):

(a) may be made in respect of several convicted persons;

(b)may be made notwithstanding that no consideration by the Parole Board or by the authorities referred to in sub-rule (3)(b) and (c) of the case of a convicted person concerned is contemplated when the application is made.