Practice direction pointers on renewal of a summons
Mr Justice Peter Kelly has reminded practitioners about the recently-enacted rules on the renewal of summons.
The direction points practitioners to SI No. 482 Rules of the Superior Courts (Renewal of Summons) 2018 which came into operation in January.
Changes
This Statutory Instrument makes a number of significant changes to Order Eight of the Rules of the Superior Courts.
These changes are as follows:
- No original summons shall be in force for more than 12 months from the date issued but if any defendant hasn’t been served, the plaintiff may apply for leave to renew the summons,
- If the Master is satisfied that reasonable efforts have been made to serve such defendant, then the summons may be renewed for three months,
- When the 12-month period is up, an application to renew shall be made to the court,
- The court may order a renewal of the original or concurrent summons for three months where it is satisfied that there are special circumstances which justify an extension, if such circumstances are stated in the order,
- If renewed, the summons will be date-stamped and kept in the Central Office.