The Court of Appeal - Civil
Notices – COVID-19 (updated 5th January 2022)
The Court of Appeal Office in Áras Ui Dhalaigh is conducting business by appointment only.
An appointment may be arranged via email to courtofappealcivil@courts.ie. Documents will also be accepted by post or via DX (No. 262001).
Appeals for Hearing in Hilary Term 2022 - pending further review
Due to the significant levels of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the community, parties and practitioners should be aware that as and from the 11th of January 2022 the Court of Appeal will conduct the hearing of all Appeals by way of a Remote hearing unless otherwise directed by the Court. The Court will consider any requests for a Physical or Hybrid hearing from parties on a case by case basis. Any queries in respect of this should in the first instance be made to the Office of the Registrar of the Court of Appeal by emailing courtofapppealcivil@courts.ie
The situation will be subject to ongoing review and any changes to these arrangements will be published accordingly.
The Office of the Court of Appeal will email the parties to the Appeal, details of the Virtual Courtroom in advance of the hearing at the email addresses provided by the parties.
Where the Court has directed that the hearing of an Appeal should be by way of a physical or hybrid hearing, all parties attending Court are expected to adhere to the Covid-19 guidelines and should continue to use face masks, exercise hand sanitation regularly and maintain physical distancing insofar as is practical.
Lodging of Books of Appeal
There is no change in respect of the lodging of Books of Appeal. Parties are required to lodge complete books of appeal (in hard and soft copy) not later than 4 weeks prior to the date of the appeal in accordance with Practice Direction CA06, or such other date as shall be fixed by the Court. This must include the transcript of the DAR or approved note of the judgment of the High Court where appropriate and a joint book of authorities. A party who has been authorised to file the books of appeal may file the books in accordance with this direction notwithstanding the failure of another party to the appeal to furnish its written submissions to such party for inclusion in the books of appeal.
In the event that the books are not lodged within the time fixed, the appeal shall be relisted in the next directions list in the Court of Appeal for mention. If the books are not lodged by the latter date, the Court may make an order extending the time for the late filing of the books of appeal for such short period as it deems appropriate subject to an order that the appeal shall stand struck out for failure to comply with the directions of the court. In the event of a failure to comply with such order the appeal shall be struck out. Where an appeal is listed in the directions list by reason of the foregoing, the party in default may be liable for the costs arising from attendance at the directions list.
Parties should lodge the books of appeal (including the books of authorities) in hardcopy (x 3) and also in soft copy via the ShareFile platform.
Directions List and Motions Lists
Pending further review, with effect from Friday the 14th of January 2022 the weekly directions and motions lists before Ms. Justice Costello will be conducted by way of remote hearing and that Parties can attend remotely by means of the VMR platform. Any requests to attend Court physically should in the first instance be made to the Office of the Registrar of the Court of Appeal by emailing courtofapppealcivil@courts.ie
In accordance with provisions of Order 86A Rule 16(1) the directions book is to be lodged in the office by close of business on the preceding Friday. In accordance with the provisions of Order 86 Rule 12(5) (dealing with interlocutory applications) the motion book is to be lodged in the office by close of business on the preceding Tuesday.
Friday Callover of Appeals Listed for Hearing
The weekly advance Callover of appeals listed for hearing will resume on Friday the 14th January 2022 via Remote hearing before Ms. Justice Costello pending further review. The Callover lists for each respective Friday list are published in advance in the Legal Diary. The Legal Diary list is updated on a daily basis. It is the responsibility of the parties in listed appeals to check the Legal Diary for the date of the relevant Callover (usually scheduled for six weeks in advance of the appeal hearing date).
Parties will be aware that the purpose of the Callover is to confirm that the submissions and books of appeals (including books of authorities) have been lodged and that there has been compliance with any other directions previously given by the Court. It is vital therefore that there be an attendance at the Callover by all parties to an appeal. Any requests to attend Court physically should in the first instance be made to the Office of the Registrar of the Court of Appeal by emailing courtofapppealcivil@courts.ie
Virtual Meeting Room (VMR) details for Friday Lists
Parties are asked to note that the Virtual Meeting Room (VMR) details for the Callover / Directions / Motion list on each Friday will be furnished to them directly by e-mail of the Court of Appeal Office. Parties are advised, in this regard, to ensure that e-mail contact details furnished to that Office remain valid / are fully up-to-date.
Delivery of Electronic Judgments
Written judgments of courts may be delivered by means of a copy of the judgment being sent electronically to the parties and a copy, subject to such redactions as would ordinarily apply, being posted as soon as possible on the Courts Service website. The date and time of delivery to the parties will be notified in the Legal Diary.
The parties may be invited to communicate electronically with the Court on issues arising (if any) out of the judgment such as the precise form of order which requires to be made or questions concerning costs or they may be requested to attend physically to address the Court on these issues. If there are such issues and the parties do not agree in this regard concise written submissions should be filed electronically with the Office of the Court, courtofappealciviljudgment@courts.ie, within 14 days of delivery subject to any other direction given in the judgment.
Civil Appeals for Hearing in the Criminal Courts of Justice
Civil appeals with a custody element i.e. Article 40 habeas corpus, extradition, bail and judicial review arising out of criminal proceedings are now dealt with by the criminal office which is situated on the 4th Floor of the Criminal Courts of Justice Building, Parkgate Street, Dublin 8. The civil office will continue to issue the Notice of Appeal and identify whether the appeal comes within the category of appeal to be heard in the Criminal Courts of Justice and allocate the next available case-management list in the Criminal Courts of Justice for a directions hearing. The file will then be transferred to the criminal office and all subsequent documents in the appeal process are to be lodged in the criminal office which will have responsibility for the management and listing of the appeal. Any enquiries in relation to such appeals should be made to the criminal office by email to courtofappealcriminal@courts.ie or by telephone on (01) 7988004.