I, David Barniville, President of the High Court, hereby direct as follows in accordance with s. 11(12) and (13) of the Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020.

1. The following is substituted for paragraphs 1(1) and (2) of Practice Direction HC107:

(1) The Commercial Planning and Strategic Infrastructure Development List (the “List”) encompasses the following categories of cases:

(a) judicial reviews relating to strategic infrastructure development or strategic housing development, or under the Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Act 2021 (which cases will be administratively entered in the list without the necessity for application by any party), and

(b) planning and environmental cases of a commercial character, or with commercial aspects, which are admitted to the list under sub-paragraph (2)(a).

(2) (a) (i) A party to a planning or environmental case of a commercial character or with commercial aspects that would make it suitable for admission to the Commercial List may apply for the admission of the case to the List.  An application for the entry of a case to the List should be made to the Judge in charge of the List or such other judge of the List as may be directed in any particular case or category of cases.  The application should be made by notice of motion.  The notice of motion shall have appended thereto a certificate of the solicitor for the moving party to the effect that the proceedings would be appropriate to be treated as “commercial proceedings” within the meaning of O. 63A r. 1 RSC, and setting out such facts relating to the proceedings as shall demonstrate this.  Paragraphs 1 to 4 of High Court Practice Direction HC93 shall apply with any necessary modifications to such an application.  Only in exceptional circumstances, which must be averred to on behalf of the moving party, may an application be made under this sub-paragraph in a case where the exchange of affidavits (or pleadings in the case of plenary proceedings) is complete. The court may grant such an application if the interests of justice so require.

(ii) Upon the making of an application ex parte for a return date for a notice of motion under this sub-paragraph, the court shall fix such a date, and on doing so any other mention dates for the proceedings shall be vacated pending the determination of the motion unless the court otherwise orders.

(iii) The papers for the motion to admit the case to the List must be lodged in electronic form by 1 p.m. on the Wednesday before the Monday on which the application is to be heard. 

(b) On a case being admitted to the List, the court will give all appropriate directions including as to the next listing of the case.

(c) Any planning or environmental cases admitted to the Commercial list as of 3rd October 2022 and not yet transferred to the List shall be so transferred forthwith.  No further applications to admit such cases to the Commercial List should be made in that list thereafter, and in lieu thereof, any such application should be made in the List. 

2. The Addendum to Practice Direction HC107 dated 11th April 2022 is revoked.

Signed: ______________
David Barniville
President of the High Court
Dated: 29^th September, 2022