“(5A) A person who, in relation to a relevant hearing— (a) with the intention of frustrating the participation by a person in the relevant hearing, interferes with or obstructs the electronic communications technology employed in the relevant hearing, or (b) makes, without the permission of the designated body that holds the relevant hearing, any recording of the relevant hearing, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable— (i) on summary conviction, to a class A fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or both, or (ii) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years, or both. (5B) Proceedings for an offence— (a) under subsection (5A), or (b) committed, whether under subsection (5A) or otherwise, by a person in connection with his or her participation by remote hearing in the relevant hearing, may be taken, and the offence may for all incidental purposes be treated as having been committed, in any place in the State.”, and (c) in subsection (6), by the insertion of the following definition: “‘relevant hearing’ means a hearing that, by virtue of the application to it of subsection (1), is held by remote hearing;”.
\nAmendment of section 32 of Act of 2020 92. Section 32 of the Act of 2020 is amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (5): “(5A) This section is without prejudice to any other enactment or rule of law concerning— (a) the execution of a document in counterpart, (b) the treatment, on such execution, of documents executed in counterpart, (c) the steps required for a document executed in counterpart to become effective, or (d) the delivery of a document executed in counterpart.”.
\nCourts and Court Officers (Centralised Court Offices and Electronic Registers) Interpretation (Part 15) 93. (1) In this Part— “centralised court office” means a court office designated under section 94; “court office” has the same meaning as it has in section 13 of the Courts and Court Officers Act 2009 ; “enactment” has the same meaning as it has in the Interpretation Act 2005 ; “specified business”, in relation to a centralised court office, means business specified by the Courts Service under subparagraph (i) or (ii) of subsection (2)(a) or subsection (3)(a)(i) of section 94 as business that may or shall be transacted in that office.
\nCentralised court offices 94. (1) Notwithstanding any other enactment, the Courts Service may designate any court office as a centralised court office.
\nConsultations 95. (1) The Courts Service shall consult with the Chief Justice prior to— (a) designating an office attached to the Supreme Court as a centralised court office under section 94
\nCentralised court office - deemed powers and functions 96. Where, pursuant to section 94 , specified business may or shall be transacted in a centralised court office, for the purposes of such a transaction in the centralised court office, the following shall apply: (a) that centralised court office is deemed to be the court office in which the business would, in the absence of its specification as specified business, require to be transacted; (b) the members of staff of the Courts Service employed in that centralised court office under section 97 are deemed to be officers attached to that court office; (c) any reference in an enactment to that court office or to an officer or member of staff of that court office shall, save where the context otherwise requires, be deemed to include that centralised court office or an officer or member of staff of that centralised court office, as the case may be.
\nStaff of centralised court office 97. There shall be employed in a centralised court office such and so many members of the staff of the Courts Service as the Courts Service shall from time to time determine.
\nFunctions of staff 98. The Courts Service may, notwithstanding any other provision of any enactment, appoint any member of staff of the Courts Service employed in a centralised court office under section 97 as a district court clerk for such one or more district court areas in respect of which business to be transacted by a district court clerk assigned to such district court area has been specified for transaction in the centralised court office under subsection (2) or (3)(a)(i) of section 94 .
\nContinuity of administration of justice not to be affected 99. (1) The continuity of the administration of justice shall not be interrupted by— (a) the designation of a centralised court office under section 94
\nImmunity from suit 100. Civil or criminal proceedings shall not lie in any court against the Courts Service, a member of staff of a court office or any other member of staff of the Courts Service in respect of anything said or done in good faith by the Courts Service or such a member of staff in the course of the performance or purported performance of a function of the Courts Service or such a member of staff.
\nElectronic Registers 101. (1) Subject to subsection (2) and notwithstanding any other enactment, the Chief Executive Officer of the Courts Service may, where he or she considers it appropriate, having regard to the benefit of information being made available to the public in an electronic form and the capacity for a register to be maintained in such form, issue a direction in writing that the register shall be maintained in electronic form.
\nMiscellaneous (Acts relating to courts) Definitions (Part 16) 102. In this Part— “Act of 1926” means the Court Officers Act 1926 ; “Act of 1936” means the Courts of Justice Act 1936 ; “Act of 1961” means the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961 .
\nAmendment of section 3 of Act of 1926 103. Section 3 of the Act of 1926 is amended— (a) in subsection (3), by the substitution of “(other than the Master of the High Court)” for “(including the Master of the High Court)”, and (b) by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (4): “(4A) The Master of the High Court shall cease to hold office if he or she is— (a) convicted on indictment of an offence, (b) convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty, or (c) sentenced to a term of imprisonment by a court of competent jurisdiction. (4B) The Government may, in accordance with this section, remove the Master of the High Court from office if— (a) in the opinion of the Government, he or she has become incapable, through ill-health or otherwise, of performing the functions of the office, (b) in the opinion of the Government, he or she has failed without reasonable cause to perform the functions of the office for a continuous period of at least 3 months, or (c) he or she has engaged in serious misconduct. (4C) Where the Government propose to remove the Master of the High Court from office under subsection (4B), they shall give notice in writing to the Master of the High Court of the proposal. (4D) A notice under subsection (4C) shall include a statement— (a) of the reasons for the proposed removal, (b) that the Master of the High Court may, within a period of 30 working days from the date of the giving of the notice, or such longer period as the Government may, having regard to the requirements of natural justice, specify in the notice, make representations to the Government in such form and manner as may be specified by the Government, and (c) that after the period referred to in paragraph (b) or the period specified in the notice, as the case may be, the Government shall decide whether to remove the Master of the High Court from office. (4E) In considering whether to remove the Master of the High Court from office under subsection (4B), the Government shall take into account— (a) any representations made by the Master of the High Court under subsection (4D)(b) within the period referred to in that paragraph or the period specified in the notice, as the case may be, and (b) any other matter the Government consider relevant for the purpose of their decision. (4F) Where, after giving notice under subsection (4C), the Government decide not to remove the Master of the High Court from office, the Government shall notify him or her in writing of the decision. (4G) Where, after giving notice under subsection (4C), the Government decide to remove the Master of the High Court from office, the Government shall, subject to subsection (4), notify the Master of the High Court in writing of the decision, the reasons for it and the date from which it shall take effect (which shall be a date not earlier than the date of the notification under this subsection).”.
\nAmendment of section 27 of Act of 1926 104. Section 27 of the Act of 1926 is amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (4): “(4) No person shall be appointed under this section to be a Deputy Master of the High Court unless at the time of his or her appointment he or she— (a) possesses the qualifications required by paragraph 17(a) of the Eighth Schedule to the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961 for appointment as Master of the High Court, (b) is a member of the staff of the Courts Service who is serving or has served in an office or offices established under Part I of this Act and who— (i) is— (I) a qualified barrister within the meaning of section 2
\nAmendment of section 35 of Act of 1926 105. Section 35 of the Act of 1926 is amended by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (6): “(7) A County Registrar shall cease to hold office if he or she is— (a) convicted on indictment of an offence, (b) convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty, or (c) sentenced to a term of imprisonment by a court of competent jurisdiction.
\nAmendment of section 37 of Act of 1936 106. Section 37 of the Act of 1936 is amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2): “(3) The judge hearing an appeal under this section may, if he or she so thinks proper on the application of any party to such appeal, refer any question of law arising in such appeal to the Court of Appeal by way of case stated for the determination of the Court of Appeal and may adjourn the pronouncement of his or her judgment or order on such appeal pending the determination of such case stated and may pronounce his or her said judgment or order at any time after such determination.”.
\nAmendment of section 65 of Act of 1936 107. Section 65 of the Act of 1936 is amended— (a) in subsection (3), by the substitution of “subsection (2) and section 65A” for “subsection (2)”, and (b) in subsection (4), by the substitution of “subsection (1), including those to which section 65A applies,” for “subsection (1)”.
\nUnpaid fees 108. The Act of 1936 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 65: “65A. (1) Where an accountable person, being a person, whether acting on his or her own behalf, or on behalf of another person, who is obliged to discharge a fee prescribed by the Minister under section 65(1), has not paid or, as the case may be, not fully paid the fee concerned on the occasion upon which such fee is prescribed to be paid— (a) the accountable person shall be liable, and where there is more than one such accountable person they shall be liable jointly and severally, for the payment of the fee unpaid or, as the case may be, the portion of the fee remaining unpaid, and (b) the fee or, as the case may be, the portion of the fee remaining unpaid— (i) shall be deemed to be a debt due by the accountable person to the Courts Service, and (ii) shall be payable to the Courts Service and may (without prejudice to any other mode of recovery of the fee or portion of the fee remaining unpaid) be sued for and recovered as a simple contract debt by action, or other appropriate proceedings, at the suit of the Courts Service in any court of competent jurisdiction.”.
\nAmendment of section 39 of Offences against the State Act 1939 109.
\nof the Offences against the State Act 1939 is amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (5): “(5) The Courts Service may appoint from among the staff of the Courts Service such registrars for the purposes of any Special Criminal Court as it thinks proper, and every such registrar shall hold his or her office on such terms and conditions (including terms and conditions relating to remuneration) as are determined by the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform.”.
\nOffence of obstruction or interference with sheriff 110. The Court Officers Act 1945 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 12: “12A. A person who without lawful authority, wilfully— (a) obstructs or interferes with a sheriff appointed under section 12 in the course of the performance by him or her of his or her functions or otherwise impedes the performance by the sheriff of those functions, or (b) obstructs or interferes with a person to whom the sheriff has delegated any of his or her functions in the course of the performance by that person of any such functions so delegated or otherwise impedes the performance by that person of those functions, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a class A fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or both.”.
\nAmendment of section 7A of Act of 1961 111. Section 7A of the Act of 1961 is amended by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (6): “(6A) Notwithstanding the generality of subsections (5) and (6), but subject to subsection (6C), in civil proceedings before the Court of Appeal, an application or appeal specified in subsection (6B) may be heard and determined by— (a) the President of the Court of Appeal sitting alone, or (b) any other judge of the Court of Appeal sitting alone as may be nominated for that purpose by the President of the Court of Appeal. (6B) The following applications and appeals are specified for the purposes of subsection (6A): (a) an application to dismiss an appeal on the basis that the appeal is— (i) an abuse of process, (ii) frivolous or vexatious, or (iii) without substance or foundation; (b) an appeal against an order for costs; (c) an appeal against an order made pursuant to the slip rule; (d) an appeal against an order made in respect of matters connected with the case management of proceedings; (e) an appeal against such class or classes of order of the High Court of an interlocutory nature as may be prescribed in the Rules of the Superior Courts. (6C) Where— (a) the President of the Court of Appeal, or (b) the judge nominated under subsection (6A)(b), hears an application or an appeal in accordance with subsection (6A) and it appears to him or her that it is in the interests of justice that the application or the appeal be heard by a division of 3 judges, he or she shall refer the application or the appeal for hearing by such division. (6D) In prescribing orders of an interlocutory nature for the purposes of subsection (6B)(e), the Superior Courts Rules Committee— (a) shall have regard to the following: (i) the interests of justice; (ii) the need to ensure expeditious access to justice for all parties to proceedings; (iii) the need for the expeditious disposal of proceedings in the High Court and, in particular, proceedings in respect of an appeal against an order of the High Court of an interlocutory nature; (iv) the need to ensure the most effective and efficient use of the resources of the Court of Appeal, and (b) may, for those purposes, prescribe any of the following orders either generally, or in respect of particular categories of proceedings: (i) an order for discovery, including further and better discovery; (ii) an order refusing discovery, including further and better discovery; (iii) an order requiring the delivery of replies to particulars;
\n(iv) an order refusing to direct the delivery of replies to particulars; (v) an order requiring an answer to interrogatories; (vi) an order refusing to direct an answer to interrogatories; (vii) an order granting an application for an interlocutory injunction; (viii) an order refusing to grant an application for an interlocutory injunction; (ix) an order for security for costs; (x) an order refusing to grant security for costs; (xi) an order granting an application to amend pleadings; (xii) an order refusing to grant an application to amend pleadings; (xiii) such other order of an interlocutory nature as the Superior Court Rules Committee considers appropriate having regard to the matters referred to in paragraph (a).”.
\nAmendment of section 22 of Act of 1961 112. Section 22 of the Act of 1961 is amended by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection 15: “(16) In the interests of the administration of justice and the determination of proceedings in a manner which is just, expeditious and likely to minimise the cost of those proceedings— (a) the President of the Circuit Court, or (b) any other judge of the Circuit Court as may be nominated for that purpose by the President of the Circuit Court, may, subject to any practice direction issued under subsection (17), make any order or give any direction he or she thinks appropriate in relation to the conduct of proceedings before the Circuit Court.
\nAmendment of section 36 of Act of 1961 113. Section 36 of the Act of 1961 is amended by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (4): “(5) In the interests of the administration of justice and the determination of proceedings in a manner which is just, expeditious and likely to minimise the cost of those proceedings— (a) the President of the District Court, or (b) any other judge of the District Court as may be nominated for that purpose by the President of the District Court, may, subject to any practice direction issued under subsection (6), make any order or give any direction he or she thinks appropriate in relation to the conduct of proceedings before the District Court.
\nAmendment of section 57 of Act of 1961 114. Section 57 of the Act of 1961 is amended— (a) in subsection (1)(a), by the substitution of “a person who holds or held the office of Master of the High Court, Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator, Legal Costs Adjudicator or county registrar ceases to hold that office and attains the age of sixty-five years, or ceases to hold that office having been removed from office under the applicable provisions” for “a person who holds the office of Master of the High Court, Taxing-Master or county registrar ceases to hold that office (otherwise than on being removed from that office by the Government on the ground of misconduct or inefficiency) either after attaining the age of sixty-five years”, and (b) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (4): “(5) In this section, ‘applicable provisions’ means— (a) in the case of a person holding the office of Master of the High Court, paragraph (a) of section 3(4B) of the Act of 1926, (b) in the case of a person holding the office of the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator or Legal Costs Adjudicator, clause (a) of paragraph 18(11) of the Eighth Schedule, and (c) in the case of a person holding the office of county registrar, section 35(8)(a) of the Act of 1926.”.
\nCourt may award costs without oral hearing 115. The Act of 1961 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 61: “62. (1) Subject to subsection (2), a court in any proceedings before it may, in relation to its determination, or any part of its determination, of the liability (if any) of any party to costs, make one or more of the following directions: (a) that the determination shall be made without an oral hearing; (b) that an application or submission to the court relating to such determination shall be made in writing; (c) that a ruling in relation to such liability shall be delivered in writing.
\nAmendment of Eighth Schedule to Act of 1961 116. The Eighth Schedule to the Act of 1961 is amended by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph 17: “Qualification of Master of the High Court 17. No person shall be appointed to be Master of the High Court unless at the time of his or her appointment he or she— (a) is a barrister or solicitor of not less than eight years’ standing who is then actually practising, or (b) has— (i) been appointed under section 27(1A) of the Act of 1926 to be a deputy to execute the office of the Master of the High Court or, as the case may be, to execute such office concurrently with the Master of the High Court, and (ii) been appointed and acted as such deputy for a period or periods totalling not less than three months.”.
\nAmendment of section 7(6) of Courts Act 1964 117.
\nAmendment of Courts Service Act 1998 118. The Courts Service Act 1998 is amended— (a) in section 6(2)— (i) in paragraph (j), by the substitution of “designate court venues,” for “designate court venues, and”, (ii) in paragraph (k), by the substitution of “ Courts and Court Officers Act 2009 ,” for “ Courts and Court Officers Act 2009 .”, and (iii) by the insertion of the following paragraphs after paragraph (k): “(l) designate a court office as a centralised court office, specify or vary the business that may or shall be transacted in such a court office, or revoke the designation of such an office, under section 94 of the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023, and (m) designate a court office as a designated court office under section 4A of the Juries Act 1976 for the purposes of that Act,”. (b) in section 7— (i) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1): “(1) Subject to subsection (1A), the Service shall prepare and submit to the Minister, for approval by the Minister with or without amendment, a strategic plan for the ensuing three year period.”, and (ii) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1): “(1A) After the date of the coming into operation of section 118 of the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023 (in this subsection referred to as the ‘commencement date’)— (a) the strategic plan submitted to the Minister on 9 December 2020, which shall be deemed to have been submitted in accordance with subsection (1) as it stood before the commencement date, shall remain in effect until the approval by the Minister of a new strategic plan under subsection (1), (b) the new strategic plan referred to in paragraph (a) shall be prepared and submitted to the Minister under subsection (1) on a date (in this subsection referred to as the ‘submission date’) not later than three years and six months after 9 December 2020, and (c) a strategic plan shall thereafter be prepared and submitted to the Minister under subsection (1) within six months before each third anniversary of the submission date.”, and (c) in subsection (1) of section 21, by the deletion of “3 year”.
\nMiscellaneous Amendment of section 28 of Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956 119.
\nAmendment of section 11B of Guardianship of Infants Act 1964 120. Section 11B of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964 is amended— (a) in subsection (1), by the deletion of “, subject to subsection (3),”, and (b) in subsection (3), by— (i) the substitution of “make an order under subsection (1)” for “grant leave under subsection (1)”, (ii) the substitution, in paragraph (b), of “the order” for “the application”, and (iii) the substitution, in paragraph (e), of “the order” for “an order”.
\nAmendment of section 36 of Succession Act 1965 121.
\nof the Succession Act 1965 is amended— (a) in subsection (4), by the substitution of “until he has satisfied himself, on the basis of an examination of all notices of applications for grants made to the Probate Office and the district probate registries,” for “until he has received from that Office a certificate”, and (b) by the deletion of subsections (5) and (7).
\nAmendment of section 11 of Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 122.
\nof the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 is amended by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (5): “(5A) Every solicitor of the Board and solicitor employed by the former Board who, before 1 June 2014, ceased to be employed by the Board or the former Board, as the case may be, is designated as a civil servant in the Civil Service of the State in respect of, subject to subsection (5B), superannuation benefits payable as a result of his or her membership of a scheme made under section 23 or a scheme the operation of which was transferred to the Board under this Act. (5B) Subsection (5A) applies in respect of superannuation benefits payable, on or after the coming into operation of section 122 of the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023, by the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform out of funds provided by the Oireachtas.”.
\nAmendment of section 32 of Registration of Deeds and Title Act 2006 123.
\nMaintenance and champerty not to apply to dispute resolution proceedings 124. The Arbitration Act 2010 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 5: “5A. (1) This section applies to dispute resolution proceedings.
\nAmendment of Schedule 1 to Garda Síochána (Functions and Operational Areas) Act 2022 125. Schedule 1 to the Garda Síochána (Functions and Operational Areas) Act 2022 is amended, in column (5) opposite mention of reference number 9, in the amendment of section 27B(15) of the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956 , by the substitution of “The chief superintendent of the Garda Síochána division shall cause to be kept a register of all lottery permits” for “The chief superintendent of the Garda Síochána division shall cause to be kept a register of all gaming permits”.
\n1 OJ No. L 141, 5.6.2015, p. 19 2 OJ No. L 119, 4.5.2016, p.1 3 OJ No. L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31 Privacy Statement Accessibility European Legislation Identifier (PDF) Open Data License Ráiteas Príobháideachais Inrochtaineacht Aitheantóir Eorpach Reachtaíochta (ELI) Ceadúnas Sonraí Oscailte Liosta Fianán © Government of Ireland. Oireachtas Copyright Material is reproduced with the permission of the Houses of the Oireachtas © Rialtas na hÉireann. Atáirgtear ábhar faoi Chóipcheart le cead ó Thithe an Oireachtais