Appeal from the Circuit Court

An appeal from the Circuit Court is made under Order 61 of the Rules of the Superior Courts.  A Notice of Appeal must be filed within 10 days of the making of  the Circuit Court order or judgment.  The notice must be served and service indorsed on the back of the notice before it is lodged/filed. You do not need a copy of the Circuit Court order to file the appeal in the High Court

The notice of appeal  must be stamped with the relevant court fee.

Where you file your notice of appeal depends on whether there is oral evidence in the case.

If there is oral evidence, the appeal is lodged in the Circuit Court Office.   If there is no oral evidence, the appeal is lodged in the Central Office and the appeal is heard in Dublin.

If the Circuit Court case was originally heard in Dublin, the appeal is lodged with the High Court Central Office.

Order 61 Rule 3 allows 10 days for the appeal to be served and lodged in the Central Office.  If you are serving by post the appeal must be sent on the 9th day.

The notice of appeal must be served on the other party or their solicitor before filing in the office.

Filing a notice of appeal does not act as a stay on the Circuit Court order.  A stay places a hold on the Circuit Court Order while you are waiting for the appeal to be heard. The application for a stay on the Order must be made in the Circuit Court.  If the application is refused, you can appeal this refusal by serving and lodging a notice in the Central Office (Order 61 Rule 6) within four days. This can result in two appeals being lodged, in two locations, from one Circuit Court case.

If you are outside the time limits, you can apply for an extension of time within which to bring the appeal.  To do this, you should file a notice of motion and grounding affidavit in the Central Office to apply to the Master of the High Court for an extension of time within which to lodge the appeal. If the extension of time is granted, the notice of appeal along with the Order of the Master should be serve. The notice should be indorsed and lodged in the relevant court office.