Listing and hearing of cases and applications

The arrangements for the listing and hearing of cases and applications in the different High Court Lists, as outlined in the President’s Notices of 30 September 2022 and 11 January 2023, will continue with the following important changes.

Common Law Motion lists

1. Lodging of motion papers: With effect from 17 April 2023, motion papers for all motions to be heard in the Common Law Motion Lists must be lodged in advance of the hearing of the relevant list.  Previously, it was only necessary for motion papers to be lodged in advance for motions in the Common Law Motion Lists which were to be heard by way of a remote or hybrid hearing where the moving party was not intending to attend in person in court, but this is now required for all motions listed in the Common Law Motion Lists. A paginated and indexed booklet of motion papers must be lodged in the List Room (which is beside the Central Office) by no later than 4:30pm on the Thursday preceding the Monday on which the motion is listed. Failure to do so in the case of a motion will lead to that motion being adjourned. It will be necessary to email the List Room at listroomhighcourt@courts.ie to make an appointment to lodge the motion papers.
2. Management of hearings: Previously, motions in the Common Law Motion List were transferred to the Non-Jury List to get a hearing date where the judge dealing with a motion was advised that the matter would take more than 15 minutes. With effect from 17 April, 2023, any motion which is likely to take more than 15 minutes but less than 30 minutes will be considered by the judge dealing with the list for transfer to the Non-Jury List to get a hearing date. However, subject to the discretion of the judge dealing with the list and the other demands of the list that day, the motion may be heard after the rest of the list has been completed. The purpose of this change is to relieve significant pressure on the Non-Jury List, to which many motions have been transferred from the Common Law Motion Lists in recent times. Practitioners are required to provide a genuine and realistic estimate of the length of the hearing of the motion. 

Probate List

With effect from 17 April, 2023, the Probate List will be heard in person by way of a physical hearing in Court 5 in the Four Courts.

Commercial Planning and Environmental List

Practice Direction HC 119 comes into effect on 17 April 2023, and significantly streamlines the procedures for cases dealt with in the Commercial Planning and Environmental List. The scope of the List has been expanded and the requirement to apply for the admission of a case to the List has been dropped in respect of certain types of cases.  HC 119 should be consulted for the precise details of the changes made to the procedures applicable to the List. 

Assignment of judges

The President of the High Court has assigned the following judges of the High Court to be the Judge in Charge of the following High Court lists for Easter Term 2023:

• Mr. Justice McDermott, Judge in Charge of the Central Criminal Court, Special Criminal Court, Extradition, Criminal Assets Bureau and Bail,
• Mr. Justice Coffey, Judge in Charge of the Personal Injuries List,
• Mr. Justice Meenan, Judge in Charge of the Non Jury/Judicial Review List and Asylum,
• Mr. Justice McDonald, Judge in Charge of the Commercial List and the designated judge for Admiralty matters,
• Mr. Justice Jordan, Judge in Charge of the Family List,
• Mr. Justice Owens, Judge in Charge of the Jury List, and
• Mr. Justice O’Moore, Judge in Charge of the Chancery List.

The President has also nominated the following judges:

• President of the High Court, Judge for Arbitration matters,
• Mr. Justice Barrett designated Judge for Competition matters,
• Mr. Justice Humphreys designated Judge for the Commercial Planning and Environmental List, and
• Ms. Justice Gearty designated Judge for the Hague Luxembourg Convention List.

Any application regarding matters pertaining to those lists shall be made to the relevant Judge in Charge.