Courts Act, 1964

What is this act about?

This law, the Courts Act, 1964, amends and expands previous Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Acts. It primarily deals with the structure and operation of the Circuit Court and the District Court, including the number of judges, circuit alterations, and how court documents are served.

Who it applies to: Judges of the Circuit Court and justices of the District Court; The Government and the Minister for Justice.

At a glance

Country: Ireland
Area of law: Procedural law
Articles: 8
Source: irishstatutebook.ie
Text retrieved: 2026-06-17
Explanation updated: 2026-07-07

What does this act regulate?

The number of ordinary judges in the Circuit Court.
The process for altering the geographical composition of Circuit Court circuits.
The assignment of judges to Circuit Court circuits.
The transfer of criminal trials from the Circuit Court to the Central Criminal Court.
The method for serving certain court documents by post.

Who does this act apply to?

Judges of the Circuit Court and justices of the District Court.
The Government and the Minister for Justice.
Individuals involved in legal proceedings in the Circuit Court or District Court, particularly regarding the service of documents.

What are the key points?

The number of ordinary judges of the Circuit Court shall not be more than nine.
The Government may alter circuits (except Dublin and Cork) by adding or removing counties or county boroughs.
Applications to transfer criminal trials from the Circuit Court to the Central Criminal Court must be granted if the other party was notified not less than seven days before the application.
Circuit Court and District Court documents can be served by registered prepaid post to the person's last known residence or place of business in the State, provided no summons server is assigned to that area.

Procedural law

Licensing (Renewal of Licences) Act, 1923

Misuse of Drugs Act, 1984

Children Act, 1997

Courts (No. 2) Act, 1986

Animals Act, 1985

Regional Technical Colleges (Amendment) Act, 1994

Irish Legal Terms Act, 1945

Industrial Development (Encouragement of External Investment) Act, 1958

Procedural law

Legal text

Contents (8)

Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8

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COURTS ACT, 1964 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS Section

Section 1

Interpretation.

Section 2

Number of ordinary judges of Circuit Court.

Section 3

Alteration of circuits.

Section 4

Assignment of judge to circuit in certain circumstances.

Section 5

Vacations of justices of District Court.

Section 6

Transfer of trials in criminal cases by judges of Circuit Court.

Section 7

Service of court documents by post.

Section 8

Short title, collective citation and construction.

Acts Referred to Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act, 1961 1961, No. 39.

Courts of Justice Act, 1947 1947, No. 20.

Courts of Justice Act, 1924 1924, No. 10.

Finance Act, 1963 1963, No. 23.

Court Officers Act, 1926 1926, No. 27.

Number 11 of 1964.

COURTS ACT, 1964 AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE COURTS (SUPPLEMENTAL PROVISIONS) ACTS, 1961 AND 1962. [24th June, 1964.] BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:— Interpretation.

1.—In this Act— “the Act of 1961” means the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act, 1961 ; “the Minister” means the Minister for Justice.

Number of ordinary judges of Circuit Court.

2.—(1) The number of ordinary judges of the Circuit Court shall not be more than nine.

(2)Section 16 of the Act of 1961 is hereby repealed.

Alteration of circuits.

3.—(1) The Government may from time to time, if they so think fit, by order— (a) alter the composition of a circuit (other than the Dublin Circuit and the Cork Circuit) by adding to or removing from the circuit a county or counties or a county borough or county boroughs or a county or counties and a county borough or county boroughs, and (b) where appropriate, attach to the circuit a name by which the circuit shall be known in substitution for its existing name.

(2)Before making an order under this section the Government, acting through the Minister, shall consult with the President of the Circuit Court and the judges of the Circuit Court (if any) permanently assigned to the circuits to which the order will relate.

(3)(a) An order under this section may make provision for the continuation and completion of any business transacted in a circuit to which the order relates which is initiated before the commencement of the order and is not completed before such commencement. (b) For the purposes of this subsection, business transacted in the Circuit Court shall be regarded as being initiated on the day on which the civil bill or other originating document relating to it is issued.

Assignment of judge to circuit in certain circumstances.

4.—(1) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 20 of the Act of 1961, where, at any time when there are two judges permanently assigned to the Dublin Circuit and there is a judge permanently assigned to each other circuit and there is no judge who is not permanently assigned to a circuit, a judge is appointed, such judge may be permanently assigned to any circuit by the Government in place of a judge who ceases to be permanently assigned to that circuit and, pending such assignment, may from time to time be temporarily assigned to any circuit by the President of the Circuit Court.

(2)Where a judge is permanently assigned to a circuit, the Government, at his request, may, if they so think fit, terminate his permanent assignment to that circuit and the judge may at any time thereafter be permanently assigned to any circuit by the Government and, pending such assignment, may from time to time be temporarily assigned to any circuit by the President of the Circuit Court but at any time there shall not be more than one judge who is not permanently assigned to a circuit.

(3)Where a judge is temporarily assigned, under subsection (1) or (2) of this section, to a circuit, then such judge shall, while so temporarily assigned, have, in relation to such circuit and concurrently with any judge permanently assigned thereto and any judge who is temporarily assigned, under section 10 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1947 , as applied by section 48 of the Act of 1961 to such circuit, all the privileges, powers and duties for the time being conferred or imposed by law on a judge permanently assigned to such circuit.

(4)In this section “judge” means judge of the Circuit Court.

Vacations of justices of District Court.

5.—The times at which justices of the District Court may take vacations shall be such times as may be approved of by the Minister.

Transfer of trials in criminal cases by judges of Circuit Court.

6.—(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3) of this section, where a person (in this section referred to as an accused) charged with an indictable offence is sent forward for trial to the Circuit Court, an application by the Attorney General or the accused to the judge of the Circuit Court before whom the accused is triable to have the trial transferred to the Central Criminal Court shall— (a) in case the party making the application, not less than seven days before making it, notified the accused or the Attorney General, as the case may be, of the application, be granted, and (b) in any other case, in the discretion of the judge, be either granted or refused, and the decision to grant or refuse the application shall be final and unappealable.

(2)Where— (a) two or more accused are sent forward for trial to the Circuit Court and it is proposed to try them together, and (b) an application by one or more, but not all, of the accused under subsection (1) of this section is granted, an application, without notice to the accused, by the Attorney General to the judge who granted the application aforesaid to have the trial of one or more of the remaining accused transferred to the Central Criminal Court shall be granted.

(3)Where there are less than seven days between the date on which an accused is sent forward for trial and the date of the commencement of the trial, an application under subsection (1) of this section in relation to the trial shall be granted.

(4)

Section 54

of the Courts of Justice Act, 1924 , and subsection (8) of section 34 of the Finance Act, 1963 , are hereby repealed.

Service of court documents by post.

7.—(1) In this section— “Circuit Court document” means any document by which proceedings in the Circuit Court (including appeals from the District Court) are instituted and any other document relating to civil proceedings in the Circuit Court which is a notice, order or witness summons; “District Court document” means any document by which proceedings in the District Court (other than proceedings by way of summons in which the complainant is a member of the Garda Síochána, a Minister of State, an officer of such a Minister, the Attorney General or an officer of the Revenue Commissioners or proceedings under the School Attendance Acts, 1926 and 1936) are instituted and a witness summons relating to such proceedings.

(2)This section shall apply in relation to the service of Circuit Court documents and District Court documents in any area whenever and so long as no summons server stands assigned to that area by the County Registrar for the county in which the area is situate.

(3)Service of a Circuit Court document or a District Court document may be effected by sending a copy of the document by registered prepaid post in an envelope addressed to the person to be served at his last known residence or place of business in the State and the document may be posted by the person on whose behalf it purports to be issued or a person authorised by him in that behalf.

(4)Service of a Circuit Court document or a District Court document upon a person pursuant to subsection (3) of this section shall, upon proof that the envelope containing a copy of the document was addressed, registered and posted in accordance with the provisions of that subsection, be deemed to be good service upon the person unless it is proved that such copy was not delivered.

(5)(a) Where— (i) a person upon whom it is proposed to effect service of a document pursuant to subsection (3) of this section is outside the State or his whereabouts are unknown and cannot be ascertained by reasonable inquiries, or (ii) an envelope containing a copy of a document intended to be served upon a person pursuant to the said subsection (3) is sent to the person by registered post and returned undelivered to the sender, the Circuit Court or District Court, as may be appropriate, may make such order for substituted service or for the substitution for service of notice by advertisement or otherwise as it may think proper. (b) The power conferred on the Circuit Court and District Court by this subsection is without prejudice to any other power of those Courts to make orders for substituted service or for the substitution for service of notice by advertisement or otherwise. (c) In this subsection “substituted service” means service otherwise than by a summons server or pursuant to subsection (3) of this section.

(6)(a) Where service of a document on a person is effected by sending a copy thereof by registered prepaid post in an envelope addressed to the person pursuant to subsection (3) of this section— (i) the document shall be deemed to be served upon the person at the time at which the envelope would be delivered in the ordinary course of post, (ii) the document shall be deemed to be issued at the time at which the envelope is posted, (iii) the addressing, registering and posting, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (3) of this section, of the envelope may be proved by a statutory declaration (which shall be endorsed upon the original document and shall be made, not earlier than ten days after the day on which the envelope is posted, by the person who posted the envelope) exhibiting the certificate of posting of the envelope aforesaid and stating, if it be the case, that the original document was duly stamped at the time of posting and that the envelope has not been returned undelivered to the sender, and (iv) the time, date and place of posting of the envelope shall be endorsed upon the original document. (b) Where a document of which service is effected pursuant to subsection (3) of this section falls to be lodged at any court office, the endorsement specified in subparagraphs (iii) and (iv) of paragraph (a) of this subsection shall be effected thereon before lodgment at that office.

(7)Where a Circuit Court document or a District Court document is required by law to be stamped, service thereof pursuant to subsection (3) of this section shall have no effect or validity unless at the time of such service the document bears a stamp or stamps of the character and value required by law.

(8)

Section 44

of the Court Officers Act, 1926 , shall not be construed as requiring that one or more summons servers shall be attached at all times or at any time to every or any circuit court office.

Short title, collective citation and construction.

8.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Courts Act, 1964.

(2)The Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Acts, 1961 and 1962, and this Act may be cited together as the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Acts, 1961 to 1964.

(3)The Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Acts, 1961 and 1962, and this Act shall be construed together as one Act.

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