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Case law update -  12 February

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Recent superior court cases cover criminal law, data protection, European arrest warrants, immigration, injunctions, legal services, personal injuries, planning and development, summary judgment, wills and more.

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Recent cases published on the Courts website are listed below. 

Criminal Law

Poptoshev, Yavor v DPP, Commissioner of An Garda Síochána, Ireland and the Attorney General

24/11/2025 No. 30/2025 [2025] IESC 47

Criminal law - Judicial review - Smartphones and computers allegedly belonging to the appellant - Search warrant - Lawful seizure - Arrest - Appellant refused to provide password access - Appellant charged with an offence under s. 49(1)(c) of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 - Application for prohibition of the prosecution and to have s. 49 declared unconstitutional before the High Court by way of judicial review application - Appellant contends that the offence violated his constitutional right against self-incrimination -Infringement of his right to privacy under the Constitution and ECHR - Supreme Court granted leave for a direct appeal from the High Court - Whether s. 49 is incompatible with Art. 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights - Court held that the section under which the prosecution was brought is compatible with the Constitution and with Art. 6 - Appeal dismissed

Poptoshev, Yavor v DPP, Commissioner of An Garda Síochána, Ireland and the Attorney General

 

Data Protection

TikTok Technology Ltd and TikTok Information Technologies UK Ltd v Data Protection Commission

13/11/2025 No. 2025 248 MCA [2025] IEHC 619

Data protection - Personal data transfers - Inquiry - Transfer by applicant of its users’ personal data to China - Finding that first plaintiff had infringed Articles 13(1)(f) and 46(1) of Regulation 2016/679 (the GDPR) - Fine imposed - Order for suspension of data transfers - Applicant ordered to bring is processing into compliance with the GDPR (corrective order) - Appeal - Applicant seeking a stay on the implementation of a suspension order and a corrective order - Whether the granting of a stay would create the least risk of injustice pending determination of the appeal - Undertaking by applicant to expedite its appeal - Application granted

TikTok Technology Ltd and TikTok Information Technologies UK Ltd v Data Protection Commission

 

European Arrest Warrant

Minister for Justice v Cseban, Ildiko

21/11/2025 No. 2025/158 [2025] IECA 231

European arrest warrant - District Court of Hungary issued and EAW against the appellant - Fraud charges - Respondent gave consent to the prosecution of the appellant - High Court refused application under s. 22(7) of the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003 to accede to that request - New request - High Court granted application - Appellant appealing against order granting application under s. 22(7) of the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003 - Prison conditions - Inhuman or degrading treatment - Evidence - Burden of proof - Statutory interpretation - Whether s. 22(7) was correctly applied - Appeal dismissed

Minister for Justice v Cseban, Ildiko

 

Immigration

S (N) v Minister for Justice, Ireland, and Attorney General - UNAPPROVED

25/11/2025 No. 146/2024 [2025] IESC 48

Immigration - Family reunification - Constitutionality - Age threshold - Appellant a Zimbabwean national - Appellant declared a refugee - Three children - Family reunification application - Application in respect of her eldest daughter could not be accepted as she was over eighteen years of age on the date of the application - Requirement of s. 56(9)(d) of the International Protection Act 2015 not satisfied - Appellant seeking a declaration that s. 56(9)(d) of the International Protection Act 2015 is incompatible with the Constitution - Whether the Policy Document on Non-EEA Family Reunification' was an alternate remedy - Provisions of s. 56(9)(d) are not in breach of EU law as Ireland not bound by the Family Reunification Directive and the Recast Qualifications Directives as Ireland chose not to opt in to those Directives - Appellant entitled to make an application for family reunification to the Minister under the Policy Document - Appeal dismissed

S (N) v Minister for Justice, Ireland, and Attorney General

M (S) v Minister for Justice

14/11/2025 No. 2024 1386 JR [2025] IEHC 629

Immigration - Judicial review - Application for International protection - Applicant a Zimbabwean national - International Protection Office (IPO) recommended that he be given neither a declaration of refugee status nor subsidiary protection - Applicant seeking judicial review - Whether the Minister properly engaged with the applicants’ case - Humanitarian considerations - Private and family life - Applicant's rights under the 'proportionality assessment' - Reliefs refused

M (S) v Minister for Justice

Nisa, Zahoor Un v Minister for Justice

21/11/2025 No. 2023 582 JR [2025] IEHC 647

Immigration - Judicial review - Residence card - Applicant a non-EU citizen - Applicant granted a residence card on foot of her marriage to an EU citizen - Concerns relating to the applicant's marriage and documentation - Marriage of convenience - Spouse had left the State - Applicant seeking a partial order of certiorari quashing elements in a decision by the respondent to revoke the applicant's residence card - Whether the decision that the applicant submitted false or misleading information was irrational - Whether the Minister took proper account of the Revenue returns made on behalf of the applicant's husband - Whether the conclusion that the applicant submitted false and misleading information was not properly reasoned - Court finds the applicant was provided with sufficient reasons - Application refused

Nisa, Zahoor Un v Minister for Justice

 

Injunction

A (M) and S M v C (M), M D, P M, and ors

14/11/2025 No. 2025 3654 P [2025] IEHC 618

Injunction - Lands - Neighbours - Dispute - Defendants spraying agricultural pesticides and spreading slurry on their own lands close to the plaintiffs' lands - Plaintiffs seeking interlocutory injunctive relief - Toxins - Personal injuries - Plaintiffs claim "persistent presence of poisonous air and other poisonous environmental conditions causing serious and life-threatening injuries" - Evidentiary burden - Whether there is sufficient evidence indicating a fair question to be tried - Court finds the plaintiffs failed to provide adequate medical or scientific evidence to support their claims - Application refused

A (M) and S M v C (M), M D, P M, and ors

Everyday Finance DAC v Carroll, Anthony and Hilary Carroll

14/11/2025 No. 2025 3667 P [2025] IEHC 626

Injunction - Property - Possession order - Trespass - Plaintiff seeking to restrain trespass by the defendants on lands in respect of which a County Registrar made an order for possession - Lawfulness of the process of execution - First defendant questioned the authority of the person who recovered possession - Whether there was a serious question to be tried as to whether possession was recovered by a person lawfully authorised - Application refused

Everyday Finance DAC v Carroll, Anthony and Hilary Carroll

 

Legal Services

Cooney, Breda v Legal Services Regulatory Authority

20/11/2025 No. 2025 65 MCA [2025] IEHC 640

Legal services - Appellant made a complaint about a solicitor whom she had engaged - Complaint upheld - Solicitor applied for an internal review of the decision - Review Committee disagreed with the finding of the Complaints Resolution Officer - Appellant appealing against a decision - Matter remitted for fresh decision by a newly constituted Review Committee - New Committee found the legal services provided to appellant were not inadequate - Closure of file ordered - Appeal to the High Court - Appellant complained the Committee did not invite a submission from her - Committee made a decision that was substantively wrong - Court finds the decision of the reconstituted Review Committee was not tainted in any way by error - Appeal dismissed

Cooney, Breda v Legal Services Regulatory Authority

 

Personal Injuries

Doyle, Sinead v Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform

31/10/2025 No. 2022 140 SP [2025] IEHC 652

Personal injuries - An Garda Síochána (Compensation) Acts 1941 and 1945 - Applicant a member of An Garda Siochana - Applicant subjected to a violent assault in the course of her duties - Compensation claim to include loss of earnings and medical expenses to date and into the future - Applicant entitled to compensation for soft tissue injury and minor psychological trauma - Whether the applicant's physical injuries caused degenerative changes to the cervical spine - Whether pre-existing underlying degenerative changes in her cervical spine may have been rendered symptomatic as a result of the assault - Whether a causal link established with the injuries sustained in assault - Applicant awarded compensation in the sum of €25,402

Doyle, Sinead v Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform

Sykula, Katarzyna v O'Reilly, Noel

21/11/2025 No. 2019 5222 P [2025] IEHC 638

Personal injuries - Minor rear-end road traffic accident - Damages claim - Liability - Plaintiff suffering from physical and mental injuries including symptoms of PTSD as a result of the accident - Causation - Whether the plaintiff's ongoing psychiatric and physical symptoms attributable to the accident or external factors - Job loss - Financial difficulties - Homelessness - Whether the "egg shell skull" rule would apply - Whether damages would be assessed on a proportional basis - Court finds 50% of the plaintiff's psychiatric symptoms were attributable to the accident - General and special award damages awarded to the plaintiff in the sum of €90,000

Sykula, Katarzyna v O'Reilly, Noel

 

Planning and Development

Oxigen Environmental Unlimited Company v An Coimisiún Pleanála, and Louth County Council (notice party)

19/11/2025 No. 2023 282 JR [2025] IEHC 632

Planning and development - Judicial review - Waste management - Application for planning permission for a waste recovery and recycling facility - Facility located near and existing rural dwelling - Noise - Offensive odour - Environmental impact - Permission refused - Applicant seeking orders of certiorari quashing reasons for refusal - Whether unreasonableness had been demonstrated - Proceedings dismissed

Oxigen Environmental Unlimited Company v An Coimisiún Pleanála, and Louth County Council (notice party)

 

Summary Judgment

Industrial Development Agency (Ireland) v Avara Pharma Services Ltd

14/11/2025 No. 2024/267 [2025] IECA 226

Summary judgment - Appellant appealing from a judgment granting an application for summary judgment - Contract - Research and development - Grant monies - Repayment - Deed of novation - Absence of company seal - Whether the Deed of Novation was validly executed - Whether the evidence of the senior accountant of the respondent, was hearsay and should not have been admitted or accepted by the court - Court finds the Deed did not require to be executed under seal - Appeal dismissed

Industrial Development Agency (Ireland) v Avara Pharma Services Ltd

 

Wills

Doran, Daniel, deceased, in the matter of the estate of

21/11/2025 No. 2025 PO 1099 [2025] IEHC 646

Wills - Probate - Codicil - Applicant seeking to admit to probate a will and a codicil - Codicil witnessed by beneficiaries under the will - No additional benefits in the codicil - Reduction in their entitlements - Whether the codicil constituted a republication of the will - Whether the residue was "given" to the beneficiaries by the will and not the codicil - Court held that the reasoning in Anderson v Anderson (1871-72) L.R. 13 Eq. 381, and specifically the finding that the codicil constituted a "republication" of the will, was not applicable in this case - Application granted

Doran, Daniel, deceased, in the matter of the estate of

Murphy, Peter v Butler, Monica [otherwise Monica Murphy] and ors, in the matter of the estate of William Doyle, deceased

14/11/2025 No. 2021 5330 P [2025] IEHC 636

Wills - Construction of wills - Admissibility of evidence - Lands - Bequest - Will clause - Ambiguity - Dispute - Plaintiff arguing that clause 2 of the deceased's will devised to him the entirety of the deceased’s lands - S. 90 of the Succession Act 1965 - Extrinsic evidence - Whether items of evidence were properly admissible - Whether the evidence adequately demonstrated the deceased's intention regarding his bequests - "armchair principle" - Evidence admitted

Murphy, Peter v Butler, Monica [otherwise Monica Murphy] and ors, in the matter of the estate of William Doyle, deceased

 

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