District Court Rules, 1948.
Statutory Instruments
Source: Statutory Instruments

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paragraphs: —(1) These Rules shall come into operation on the 31st day of March, 1948, and may be cited as the District Court Rules, 1948.
(2) The District Court Rules, 1926, the District Court Rules (No. 1), 1941, the following portion of the District Court Rules, 1942, that is to say, Rules 32, 33, 34 and 35 of the said District Court Rules, 1942, and the District Court Rules (No. 1), 1945, are hereby revoked with effect as from the said 31st day of March, 1948.
(3) Where these Rules conflict with any statute in force at the date of the making of these Rules, such statute shall be modified or adapted to the extent of such conflict.
(4) Subject to any special order made by a Justice in a particular case, these Rules shall apply to all proceedings pending in the District Court on the said 31st day of March, 1948.
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paragraphs: The Interpretation Act, 1937 , shall apply to these Rules.
3 Definitions
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paragraphs: In these Rules:—
the expression " the Minister " when used without qualification means the Minister for Justice ;
the word " Justice " means Justice of the District Court ;
the word " District " means one of the districts prescribed by the Minister under section 68 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1924 , or under any enactment amending or supplementing the same ;
the expression " Metropolitan District " means the District for the time being styled and known as the Dublin Metropolitan District in accordance with the provisions of section 64 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1936 , or of any enactment amending or supplementing the same ;
the expression " Court Area " means one of the District Court Areas created by the Minister under section 47 of the Court Officers Act, 1926 , or under any enactment amending or supplementing the same ;
the word " Clerk " means a District Court Clerk or any person temporarily assigned to perform the duties and fulfil the functions of such a Clerk, save that in the Metropolitan District, so far as the performance or fulfilment of any specific duties or functions is concerned, it means any District Court Clerk, whether one or more, to whom the performance or fulfilment of any such duties or functions has been allotted by the chief Clerk under the provisions of Rule 91 (2) hereof.
the expression " County Registrar " when used in relation to the execution of decrees, warrants or other execution orders in any county or county borough in which the powers and dutiesof the Under-Sheriff or Sheriff are not transferred to a County Registrar, means the Under-Sheriff or Sheriff, as the case may be ;
the expression "summons server" means a summons-server appointed by the County Registrar under the provisions of section 44 of the Court Officers Act, 1926 ;
the expression "case of summary jurisdiction" includes every case which could immediately before the 6th day of December, 1922, have been heard and disposed of summarily by a Justice of the Peace or Justices of the Peace whether in or out of Petty Sessions, and every case in which a Justice of the District Court is empowered by any enactment to make a summary conviction or order, and includes every case of an indictable offence triable summarily upon the Justice being satisfied that certain conditions are fulfilled, but where the fulfilment of any such condition is required the case shall not be deemed to be a case of summary jurisdiction at any stage of the proceedings before the condition has been fulfilled. The said expression shall include any case in which a Justice may make an order under any licensing jurisdiction, but shall not include "civil proceedings" as immediately hereinafter defined ;
the expression "civil proceedings" means those suits or actions at law in which jurisdiction is conferred by any enactment upon the District Court in civil cases as described in section 77A of the Courts of Justice Act, 1924 , and in any enactments extending or amending the said section either expressly or by implication ;
the word "complainant" includes the prosecutor or party at whose instance any proceeding is taken, whether he be an informant, complainant, prosecutor or otherwise ;
the word "complaint" includes an information ;
the word "defendant", where the context so requires and admits, includes an intended defendant ;
the word "order", in relation to a case of summary jurisdiction, includes any decision of a Justice whether it be a conviction, dismiss or otherwise ;
the word "person" includes a corporation ;
the word "prescribed" in relation to fees means prescribed by the Minister with the sanction of the Minister for Finance ;
the expression "liquidated money demand" means a specified sum of money stated to be due on the date of issue of the civil process by which the demand is made.
4 Summons for recovery of sums due
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paragraphs: Where under any statute, past or future, proceedings for the recovery of any sum of money claimed to be due are directed to be brought summarily or in the District Court or before a Justice, andneither the statute in question nor any other enactment nor any of these or of any other Rules lays down the procedure to be followed in bringing the proceedings, such proceedings shall be brought by summons and not by civil process.
5 Mode of address
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paragraphs: A Justice of the District Court may be addressed as "Justice."
6 Giving of evidence
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paragraphs: —(1) Save where any enactment or rule otherwise provides, the evidence of all witnesses in the District Court shall be given viva voce and on oath.
(2) In any proceedings, a witness who is not a party may be ordered by the Justice either to leave the court until his evidence is required or after his evidence has been given, or to remain in court after his evidence has been given until the hearing has terminated or been adjourned.
7 Appearance of parties
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paragraphs: Any party to any proceedings in the District Court or the solicitor for such party or a barrister retained by or on behalf of such party and instructed by his solicitor, or, in proceedings in respect of offences brought at the suit of the Attorney General or of an officer or member of the GÃ¡rda SÃ­ochÃ¡na, any officer or member of the GÃ¡rda SÃ­ochÃ¡na, or, when the proceedings are in relation to the taxes and duties under the care and management of the Revenue Commissioners, or to any fine penalty or forfeiture incurred in connection therewith or otherwise incurred under the Customs Acts, any person employed authorised or directed by the Revenue Commissioners or the Revenue Solicitor, may appear and address the court and conduct the proceedings. In summary proceedings the father, son, husband, wife or brother of the complainant or defendant may appear on his behalf, provided that any such person has the leave of the Justice to appear and be heard and that the Justice is satisfied that such complainant or defendant is from infirmity or other unavoidable cause unable to appear.
In proceedings brought in the name of a sanitary authority such authority may appear and be represented by an officer acting under its authorisation express or implied.
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paragraphs: Where any proceedings are brought before a Justice on behalf of or against an infant the Justice may, if he shall think it expedient, at any stage of the proceedings, by an order in writing, appoint a next friend or guardian ad litem to act for or on behalf of such infant, and may change any such next friend or guardian ad litem when appointed, and appoint another in his place, and the Justice may also direct any money or other personal property to which such infant may be declared entitled in such proceedings to be secured or invested for the benefit of such infant in such manner as the Justice shall consider advisable.
9 Recognizance of body corporate
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paragraphs: A body corporate may, in any case in which a recognizance is required by these Rules, enter into such recognizance by its agent duly authorised for that purpose. Such authority shall empower the agent (who shall be a director, manager or other responsible officer of the body corporate) to bind the body corporate to perform and comply with all and any of the conditions of the recognizance and shall acknowledge the legal liability of the body corporate in the event of its failing to perform or comply with any condition thereof. A copy of a resolution of the Board of Directors or other the managing committee of the body corporate purporting to be signed by the chairman for the time being of such Board or committee shall be prima facie evidence of the appointment and authority of such agent. The Justice may, if he thinks fit, exempt such body corporate from the necessity for entering into such recognizance.
10 Recognizance in appeal cases
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paragraphs: The provisions in these Rules requiring an appellant in an appeal to the Circuit Court or an applicant in a case stated to enter into a recognizance shall not apply to the Attorney General or to any Minister of State, or to an officer or member of the GÃ¡rda SÃ­ochÃ¡na acting in his official capacity, or to an officer of the Revenue Commissioners acting in his official capacity.
11 Proof of service of documents
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paragraphs: Where in any proceedings in the District Court proof is required to be given of the service of any notice or other document, whether directed to be served by these Rules or otherwise, such service may be proved by statutory declaration (Form 7) in the manner provided by Rule 49 hereof, unless the Justice otherwise orders.
12 Notice of applications
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paragraphs: Before any application, other than an ex parte application or an application for an adjournment, is made to a Justice at any sitting of the District Court, the applicant shall, unless any statute or rule otherwise provides, give at least forty-eight hours' notice in writing to the Clerk of the court at which such application is to be made.
13 Abridgment of times
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paragraphs: The Justice may upon such terms as he thinks fit enlarge or abridge any of the times fixed by these Rules for taking any step or doing any act in any proceedings, or declare any step taken or act done to be sufficient even though not taken or done within the time or in the manner prescribed by these Rules; and he may also at any time adjourn the hearing of any proceeding upon such terms as he thinks fit.
14 Power to strike out with costs
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paragraphs: Whenever any civil proceedings or summary proceedings of a civil nature are brought in a District Court which the court has not jurisdiction to hear and determine, the Justice shall order the case to be struck out and shall have power to award, if he thinks fit, such costs as the court could have awarded if the court had jurisdiction in such proceeding.
15 Remission of fees
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paragraphs: A Justice may, in any case where he is satisfied of the inability of the party liable thereto to pay the fees or any of the fees prescribed in respect of proceedings in the District Court, remit in whole or in part the fees payable in respect of any document or documents, and on the occasion of every such remission shall make a note of such remission on the document or documents upon which the fees shall have been remitted, and shall sign his name thereto.
16 Vacation
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paragraphs: Each Justice shall be entitled to six weeks' holidays in the year.
17 Adjournment of Court
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paragraphs: In case no Justice is in attendance at the time appointed for the holding of a court the Clerk may, in pursuance of a direction received from the Justice for the time being assigned to the District, adjourn the holding of such court and the hearing of all proceedings thereat to any place and time appointed by such direction ; and in case no such direction is received by the Clerk and no Justice is in attendance one hour after the time appointed for the holding of a court the Clerk shall adjourn the holding of such court and the hearing of all proceedings thereat to the next court to be held in the Court Area; and the Clerk shall in every such case make a note of the adjournment in the Justice's Minute Book, and shall post a notice of adjournment (Form 25) on the door of the courthouse. All persons whose attendance shall have been required by any summons, order, process, recognizance or notice at the court so adjourned shall be deemed to have had notice of such adjournment and shall be obliged to attend on the day to which such adjournment shall take place without the issue or service of any further summons, order, process, recognizance or notice.
18 Warrants, etc., not avoided by death of Justice
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paragraphs: A warrant, summons, decree, dismiss or order signed by a Justice, or a warrant, summons or order signed by a Peace Commissioner, or a summons signed by a Clerk, shall not be avoided by reason of the death of the Justice, Peace Commissioner or Clerk signing the same, or by reason of his ceasing to hold office.
19 Signature of orders, etc., by Deputy or other Justice
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paragraphs: —(1) In the case of the death, removal, incapacity or absence for any reason of a Justice, or in the case of an additional Justice being assigned to a Justice's District, the Justice's successor, or a deputy assigned for the time being to the Justice's District, or the additional Justice assigned as aforesaid, or any other Justice, may sign, in lieu of or on behalf of the original Justice, any conviction, order, decree or dismiss pronounced by the original Justice, and may sign and issue any warrant or other document necessary for the execution of such conviction or order, and may otherwise act in all respects as the original Justice might have done, and the conviction, order, warrant, decree, dismiss or other document so signed or made shall be as valid and effectual as if the same had been signed or made by the original Justice.
A Justice may sign, in lieu or on behalf of such deputy or other Justice, any conviction, order, decree or dismiss pronounced during his incapacity or absence by such deputy or other Justice, or pronounced by the additional Justice assigned as aforesaid, and may sign and issue any warrant or other document that may be necessary as aforesaid, and otherwise act in all respects as such deputy or other Justice or additional Justice might have done, and any conviction, order, warrant, decree, dismiss or other document so signed or made shall be as valid and effectual as if the same had been signed or made by such deputy or other Justice.
(2) If a Justice is at any time assigned to more than one District at the same time, he may adjourn the hearing of any case from the Court Area within one of the Districts to any Court Area within any other of the Districts.
20 Duplicate decree
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paragraphs: If it shall appear to a Justice that an original decree, dismiss, order or warrant has been lost or destroyed or that the same has improperly got into the hands of the opposite party or of a person not entitled to it, or that it is unavailable to the complainant or defendant, as the case may be, by reason of its being in the hands of the County Registrar, Governor of a prison or other officer entitled to hold the same, he may grant a duplicate of such decree, dismiss, order or warrant. No such duplicate shall issue without notice to the opposite party, which notice shall be served in the manner provided by Rule 46 or 47 or 48 hereof, ten clear days at least before the sitting of the court at which the application is to be heard. When the duplicate decree, dismiss, order or warrant is allowed to issue, there shall be clearly written or stamped upon the face of the same the word "Duplicate."
21 Power of Amendment
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paragraphs: A Justice may amend any summons civil process or other proceeding by adding or striking out parties, and in addition to the powers, conferred on him by Rule 88 hereof he may amend such other defects and errors in any summons, civil process or other proceedings as may be necessary for the purpose of determining the real question atissue between the parties. He may, where the proceedings have been commenced by summons, direct that the summons be dealt with as a civil process. Such amendments may be made in such manner as the Justice directs and upon such terms as the Justice thinks fit. If in the opinion of the Justice the amendment is one which might prejudice the opposite party in the merits of his case he may make the amendment and adjourn the case, or may refuse to make any such amendment and may dismiss the proceeding as provided by the said Rule 88.
22 Forms
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paragraphs: In all proceedings in the District Court, the forms in the Schedule annexed to these Rules shall be deemed valid and sufficient in law, and shall be the proper forms to be used, even when other and different forms shall be or have already been provided by any statute or other enactment under which the proceedings are brought. No departure from any of the forms in the said Schedule, or omission of any of the particulars required thereby, or use of any other words than those indicated in such forms, shall vitiate or make void the proceedings or matter to which such forms relate, if the form or the words used be otherwise sufficient in substance and effect.