1. (1) In this Order—

“enactment” has the same meaning as in the Interpretation Act 2005;

"relevant authority” means any agency, board, authority, commission, council, ombudsman, tribunal, or other body (not including a company formed under the Companies Acts) established by or under any enactment and authorised to exercise powers under any enactment to determine, decide, settle or make any recommendation on any dispute, complaint or issue, and includes, where the context so admits or requires, any committee, officer or member of the staff of such body who has been authorised by any enactment or by such body to exercise such powers.

“relevant application” means any of the following applications—

(a) an application to the Court under any enactment by any person authorised by that enactment so to apply for an order directing, requiring or compelling any person to take any step or do any thing or prohibiting or restraining any person from, or directing any person to cease or refrain from, taking any step or doing any thing (hereafter in this Order, a “direction application”),

(b) an application to the Court by a person authorised by any enactment so to apply, for an order of the Court directing, requiring or compelling any person to perform, comply with, carry out or implement, or for the enforcement of, a decision, determination, recommendation, request or settlement of any relevant authority (hereafter in this Order, an “enforcement application”) but, for the avoidance of doubt, does not include any application for the issue out of the Office of any order for execution of any such decision, determination, recommendation, or settlement which an enactment provides may be enforced or executed as, or in the like manner to, a judgment of the Court, or

(c) any other application to the Court, required, authorised or permitted by any enactment to be brought or made in a summary manner.

(2) Where any enactment provides for or permits a relevant application to be made to the Court or to a judge of the Court and provision for the procedure applicable is not made either by the enactment concerned or by another Order of these Rules, the procedure set out in the following rules of this Order shall apply, subject to any requirement of the relevant enactment.

(3) Where any enactment provides for an application (other than a relevant application) to be made to the Court and the Court determines that it is just and convenient that such application be so determined, the procedure set out in the following rules of this Order shall, subject to any requirement of the relevant enactment, apply to such application.

(4) Unless otherwise provided in the enactment, an application referred to in sub-rule (2) or (3) shall be brought in the County where the person or one of the persons against whom any order or other relief is sought in the application resides or carries on any trade, profession or business.

2. (1) Subject to sub-rule (3), the application shall be made by originating notice of motion (in this Order hereinafter called “the notice of motion”) in Form No. 50 in the Schedule of Forms, and not by Civil Bill.

(2) The notice of motion shall be entitled in the matter of the provision of the enactment pursuant to which the application is made. Where any order, direction or other relief is sought as against any person or persons, the notice of motion shall additionally be entitled as between the applicant and such person or persons as respondents, and shall contain the names and addresses of each respondent. The notice of motion shall specify the particular relief sought against each respondent and the particular provision or provisions of the relevant enactment authorising the granting of each such relief.

(3) Where the application is authorised by an enactment to be made ex parte, or where no order, direction or other relief is sought as against any person or persons, the application shall be made by originating motion (in this Order hereinafter called “the motion”) in Form No. 50A in the Schedule of Forms entitled in the matter of the provision of the enactment pursuant to which the application is made and shall additionally be entitled on the application of the applicant.

3. (1) The notice of motion (or, as the case may be, the motion) shall be grounded upon an affidavit sworn by or on behalf of the applicant which, subject to sub-rule (3), shall:

(a) contain a description of the applicant, including particulars sufficient to explain the standing of the applicant to make the application under the relevant provision of the enactment and, where the deponent is not the applicant, the authority of the deponent to make the affidavit on behalf of the applicant;

(b) if the applicant is acting in any representative capacity, or relief is sought against any respondent in a representative capacity, state the capacity of the applicant or, as the case may be, the respondent;

(c) set out the facts or circumstances which it is alleged authorise or entitle the applicant to make, or justify the applicant in making, the application and which support the granting of the relief sought; and

(d) set out the basis of the deponent’s belief as to the existence of the facts or circumstances referred to in the preceding paragraph.

(2) The affidavit shall exhibit copies of all correspondence and documents passing between the applicant and each respondent (if any), or otherwise issuing from any of them, relevant to the matter or matters in respect of which relief is sought. Subject to any direction the Court may give, such copies shall be incorporated in a single exhibit, in which event they shall be indexed and numbered sequentially in chronological order.

(3) Notwithstanding sub-rules (1) and (2), where the application is an enforcement application, and the relevant enactment provides that the Court shall not hear the respondent, or party in default, it shall be sufficient for the grounding affidavit to:

(a) set out the making of the decision, determination, recommendation or settlement of the relevant authority sought to be enforced;

(b) exhibit a copy of the decision, determination, recommendation or settlement of the relevant authority (if in writing), and

(c) contain averments as to when and by what means that decision, determination, recommendation or settlement was communicated or delivered to each respondent.

4. (1) Subject to any provision to the contrary in the relevant enactment, where the application is by notice of motion, not less than 14 days’ notice of the application shall be given.

(2) Each respondent shall be served with the notice of motion and copies of the grounding affidavit and any exhibits thereto.

5. (1) A respondent wishing to be heard on the application shall enter an Appearance in accordance with Order 15, rule 7A, and deliver a copy of his Appearance to the applicant.

(2) Save where an enactment provides that the Court shall not hear a party, any respondent intending to oppose the application may file in the Office a replying affidavit setting out concisely the grounds for such opposition and verifying any facts relied on in opposing the application, and a copy of such affidavit (and any exhibits thereto) shall be served upon the applicant and upon every other respondent before the return date of the notice of motion.

(3) The applicant shall be at liberty to file a further affidavit replying to any matter verified in an affidavit of a respondent, in which event a copy of such affidavit shall be served upon each respondent within seven days of the service upon him of the respondent’s affidavit.

(4) In any case where reference is made in an affidavit to a document exhibited previously in an affidavit of any party, the document concerned shall not be further exhibited, but shall be identified by the exhibit reference used in relation to that document in the previous affidavit.

6. An affidavit giving the names and addresses of, and the places and dates of service on, all persons who have been served with the notice of motion, grounding affidavit and exhibits (if any) shall be filed by the applicant before the notice of motion is heard. If any person who ought under this Order to have been served has not been so served, the affidavit shall state that fact and the reason for it.

7. Save where the Court otherwise directs, any evidence in proceedings to which this Order relates shall be given on affidavit.

8. (1) On the return date of the notice of motion (or on any adjournment from such date), the Court shall (if it does not hear the application on that date) give directions and make orders for the conduct of the proceedings as appear convenient for the determination of the proceedings in a manner which is just, expeditious and likely to minimise the costs of those proceedings which, where appropriate, may include:

(a) directions as to the service of notice of the application on any other person, including mode of service and the time allowed for such service (and the Court may for that purpose adjourn the hearing of the notice of motion or further hearing of such application to a date specified);

(b) directions as to the filing and delivery of any further affidavits by any party or parties;

(c) orders fixing time limits;

(d) directions as to discovery;

(e) directions as to the exchange of memoranda between or among the parties for the purpose of the agreeing by the parties or the fixing by the Court of any issues of fact or law to be determined in the proceedings on the application, or orders fixing such issues;

(f) a direction that the application be determined on oral evidence, where it appears to the Court that the subject matter of the application is likely to involve a substantial dispute of fact or it is otherwise necessary or desirable in the interests of justice (and the Court may for that purpose make orders and give directions in relation to the exchange of pleadings or points of claim or defence between the parties);

(g) directions as to the furnishing by the parties to the Court and delivery of written submissions;

(h) directions as to the publication of notice of the hearing of the application and the giving of notice in advance of such hearing to any person other than a party to the proceedings who desires to be heard on the hearing of the application.

(2) On the return date of the notice of motion (or on any adjournment from such date), the Court may, where it deems fit, hear any application for relief of an interlocutory nature, whether in the nature of an injunction or otherwise.

[1] Order 64B inserted by SI 470 of 2009, effective 25 December 2009.