S.I. No. 500/1997:

CIRCUIT COURT RULES (NO. 3), 1997

CIRCUIT COURT RULES (NO. 3), 1997

We, the Circuit Court Rules Committee, constituted pursuant to the provisions of section 69 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1936 , and section 12 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1947 , by virtue of the powers conferred on us by section 66 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1924 , and section 70 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1936 , (as applied by section 48 of the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act, 1961 ) and section 27 of the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act, 1961 , and of all other powers enabling us in this behalf, do hereby, with the concurrence of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform make the annexed Rules of Court.

Dated this 13th day of October, 1997.

(Signed): Diarmuid P. Sheridan

(Acting Chairman of the Circuit Court Rules Committee)

Kieran O'Connor

Esmonde Smyth

Anne Dunne

Fergal Foley

Gerard Doherty

Joe Deane

Michael Quinlan (Secretary)

I concur in the making of the above Rules of Court.

Dated this 11 day of December, 1997.

Signed: John O' Donoghue

MINISTER FOR JUSTICE, EQUALITY AND LAW REFORM

S.I. No. 500 of 1997:

CIRCUIT COURT RULES (NO. 3), 1997

1. These Rules may be cited as the Circuit Court Rules (No. 3), 1997 and shall come into operation on the 22nd day of December, 1997.

2. The Order referred to in these Rules shall be added to and construed together with those Orders contained in the Circuit Court Rules, 1950, as amended.

3. All applications made or proceedings taken before these Rules shall have come into operation but which are in accordance with the existing Rules and practice of the Court shall have the same validity as applications made or proceedings taken in accordance with these Rules.

RULE 1

1. Order 10 shall be deleted and is hereby revoked and the following Order 10 shall be substituted therefor:

ORDER 10

Issue of Civil Bill or Other Originating Document, Service and Entry.

1. Save as otherwise provided in these Rules, every Civil Bill or other originating document shall be signed and presented in duplicate to be issued out of the Office of the Court in a County having jurisdiction pursuant to these Rules (hereinafter "the Office"). The Civil Bill or other originating document which is stamped, sealed and issued in the manner hereinafter set out shall be the original Civil Bill or other originating document. The duplicate thereof shall be filed in the Office.

2. The original Civil Bill or any other originating document shall, before issue thereof for service, be stamped in the appropriate amount, if any, as prescribed by law and, where stamping is required by law, if not so stamped, the original Civil Bill and the duplicate Civil Bill shall have no effect or force.

3. The original Civil Bill or other originating document shall be dated with the date of presentation to the Office, sealed, marked with the record number by the proper officer and entered in the cause book and shall thereupon be deemed to be issued, subject to the provisions of section 7(6)(a)(ii) of the Courts Act, 1964 . No Civil Bill or other originating document shall be served until the same shall have been so dated, sealed, stamped and marked. In presenting such Civil Bill or other originating document (in duplicate) to the Office for issuing, such presentation may be made by post or in person. In circumstances in which the Civil Bill or other originating document has been presented by post, the proper officer shall return the Civil Bill or other originating document to the Plaintiff or the Plaintiff's solicitor, as appropriate, by ordinary prepaid post.

4. No Civil Bill or other originating document for service out of the jurisdiction, or of which notice is to be given out of the jurisdiction, shall be issued without the leave of the Court or of the County Registrar (pursuant to Order 16 Rule 1 (vi) hereof), save in accordance with the provisions of Orders 11 and 11A of these Rules.

5. Save as provided by Rules 10, 11 and 17 of this Order, a copy of the Civil Bill or a copy of the other originating document shall be served by one of the officers duly appointed as Summons Servers by the County Registrar. A Summons Server or other authorised person shall not accept service of any document purporting to be a copy of the Civil Bill or other originating document unless the original of such Civil Bill duly dated, sealed, stamped, marked and issued as prescribed by Rules 1, 2 and 3 hereof be at the same time handed to him to be shown at the time of service to the defendant or other person to be served. The fee payable to such Summons Server or other authorised person shall be the sum of IR £25 in respect of each separate service effected, but, when the Civil Bill is served upon two or more defendants residing in the same household, only one service fee shall be payable. Wherever and for so long as no Summons Server in each case stands assigned to any area by the County Registrar of the County in which such area is situate, then service may be effected in the manner prescribed by section 7 of the Courts Act, 1964 .

6. Save where otherwise directed or permitted service of a Civil Bill or other originating document shall be effected upon the defendant personally wherever he is to be found within the jurisdiction or at the defendants residence within the jurisdiction personally upon the husband or wife of the defendant or upon some relative or employee of the defendant over the age of sixteen years and apparently resident there. At the time of service the original Civil Bill duly sealed and issued shall be shown to the person served.

7. Every Summons Server, or other person duly authorised to effect service, shall compare the copies of the Civil Bills or other documents delivered to him for service with their respective originals and, prior to the service of such copies shall indorse his name upon the same; and after he has effected service, such person serving a Civil Bill or other originating document shall, within three days at most after service, indorse his name upon each original, staling also the day of the week and, date upon which, and in the manner in which, and place, where such service was made, and the person, whether husband or wife or relative or employee, upon, whom the same was served.

8. Service in accordance with these Rules shall be authenticated by affidavit or statutory declaration by the person serving same and such affidavit or statutory declaration of service of such summons shall mention the date on which the indorsements referred to in Rule 7 hereof were made. Such affidavit or statutory declaration may be indorsed on the original document.

9. Where personal service is prescribed and is alleged to have been effected, but the person who has made such service does not know of his own knowledge that the person served is the person named for persona! service, he may make the affidavit or statutory declaration referred to in the preceding Rule, staling therein that same is true to the best of his knowledge and belief, but, in any such case, the Judge or the County Registrar may on his own initiative or on the application of any person who is alleged to be affected by the said service require such further evidence thereof as he may think right.

10. A Solicitor may undertake in writing to accept service of a Civil Bill and in such case service on such Solicitor shall be sufficient, provided that he shall at the time of service indorse on the original Civil Bill his acceptance of service thereof and his undertaking to enter an appearance within the time prescribed by these Rules.

11. If it be made to appear to the Judge or the County Registrar that the plaintiff is from any cause unable to effect prompt personal service, or such other service as is prescribed by these Rules, the Judge or County Registrar may make such order for substituted service, or for the substitution for service of notice by advertisement, or otherwise as may be just, and (save where service is allowed by advertisement), whenever any such order shall be made, a copy thereof shall be served with the Civil Bill or other document, or such notice, and every such order shall state the time within which the defendant may enter an appearance or comply with the requirements of such order.

12. Every application to the Court or the County Registrar for an order for substituted or other service, or for the substitution of notice for service, shall be supported by an affidavit setting forth the grounds upon which the application is made.

13. In any case, the Judge or the County Registrar may declare the service actually effected sufficient.

14. When an infant is a defendant to an action, service on his father or mother or guardian, or, if none, then upon the person with whom the infant resides or under whose care he is, shall, unless the Judge or the County Registrar otherwise orders, be deemed good service on the infant; provided that the Judge or County Registrar may order that service made or to be made on the infant shall be deemed good service.

15. When a lunatic or person of unsound mind not so found by inquisition is a defendant to an action, service on the Committee of the lunatic, or upon the person with whom the person of unsound mind resides, or under whose care he is, shall, unless the Judge or County Registrar orders otherwise, be deemed good service on the defendant.

16. A Summons Server, or other person duly authorised to effect service, shall, within four days after service, return the original document properly indorsed as prescribed by these Rules to the Solicitor or other person from whom the same was received.

17. In special circumstances and for good cause shown the Judge or the County Registrar may permit service of any Civil Bill or other originating document to be effected by a person other than a Summons Server.

18. In all cases where proceedings are commenced otherwise than by Civil Bill, the preceding Rules of this Order shall apply to the document by which such proceedings were originated as if it were a Civil Bill.

19. Any document, as to which no mode of service is prescribed by these Rules, may be served by delivering the same to the party or person on whom it is to be served personally, or by delivering the same at the residence or place of business of such person, or by sending the same by prepaid post, addressed to such party or person at his last known residence or place of business.

20. Where a party or person acts by a Solicitor, any document required to be delivered to or served upon such party may be delivered to or served upon such Solicitor, except in cases where by these Rules personal service upon a party is required; and service of any such document upon such Solicitor, or delivery of the same at his office, or sending the same to him by prepaid post to such office shall be deemed to be good service upon the party or person for whom such Solicitor acts as upon the day when the same is so delivered or served, or upon which in the ordinary course of post it would be delivered.

21. The endorsement of service and the statutory declaration for the service of Civil Bills or other originating documents as provided by section 7 of the Courts Act, 1964 , shall be in the following form:

ENDORSEMENT OF SERVICE

In pursuance of section 7 (3) of the Courts Act, 1964 , the within    was served by me on the Defendant   by posting a true copy thereof at a/p.m, on the    day of    , 19 at  Post Office in a registered prepaid envelope addressed to the said Defendant, the said

     at*

Endorsed this    day of    , 19

Signed:_____________________

STATUTORY DECLARATION OF SERVICE**

I,        of

aged eighteen years and upwards, do solemnly and sincerely declare

(1) That I did serve the within    dated the    day of      , 19 on the within named Defendant by posting a true copy thereof at   a/p.m, on the   day of   , 19 at    Post Office in a registered prepaid envelope addressed to the said Defendant the said     at*

               (being the last known residence/place of business of the Defendant).

(2) That before such posting as aforesaid of the said copy of the said

    I compared said copy with the original thereof and endorsed my

name on the said copy.

(3) That at the time of such posting as aforesaid the original of the said

      was duty stamped with the appropriate stamp duty.

Signed: _______________

Declared before me by              , who is personally known to me (or

who is identified to me             by who is personally known to me) at

       in the County of    ,this    day of      ,19 .

Signed: _________________

Peace Commissioner (or Commissioner

for Oaths) for the said County.

* Postal address in full

** This declaration to be made not earlier than 10 days after the day on which the envelope is posted.

RULE 2

1. Order 78, Rules 6 and 7 shall be deleted and are hereby revoked and the following Order 78, Rules 6 and 7 shall be substituted therefor:

ORDER 78

6. All Family Law Civil Bills shall bear the name, address and description of the Applicant and the name, address and description of the Respondent and an address for service of proceedings, and shall be signed by the party's Solicitor, if any, or, where the Applicant is not represented by a Solicitor, by that party personally. The address to which a Respondent should apply in order to receive information in relation to legal aid shall also be included in such Civil Bills.

7. Issuing and Entry.

Every Family Law Civil Bill shall be entered and issued in accordance with the provisions of Order 10 of the Circuit Court Rules, as amended, excepting the necessity for stamping pursuant to Order 10, Rule 2. On the issuing of a Family Law Civil Bill subject to section 7(6)(a)(ii) of the Courts Act, 1964 , the duplicate Civil Bill, as defined in Order 10, Rule 1 shall be filed, together with the appropriate certificate (pursuant to section 5 of the 1989 Act or section 6 of the 1996 Act), an Affidavit of Means (if applicable) in the intended action sworn by the Applicant in compliance with Rules 18 and 19 hereof and, in all circumstances where there are dependent children, an Affidavit of Welfare in the intended action in compliance with Rule 20 hereof, and the County Registrar shall thereupon enter same.

Explanatory Note

These Rules which come into operation on the 22nd day of December, 1997 provide for issuing and service of Civil Bills in the Circuit Court.