1. Commencement & Previous Directions.
2. Scope.
3. List Types and Sittings.
4. Parties.
5. Core Duties (Candour, Enquiry, Disclosure & Diligence)
6. Pleadings.
7. Affidavits & Translations.
8. Exhibiting All Relevant Material
9. Applications for Leave (Dates, Leave Submissions & Ex Parte Requirements)
10. Order Granting Leave and Service of Proceedings.
11. Electronic Filing & Communications (Unified Rule)
12. Lodgement of Papers (Pre-Leave and Full Hearing)
13. Post-Leave Case Progression (Registrar & Judge Lists)
14. Opposition Papers.
15. Interim, Interlocutory & Procedural Applications.
16. Amendments.
17. Written Legal Submissions (Format, Timing & Hyperlinking)
18. Time Limits on Oral Submissions.
19. Thursday Call-Over.
20. Practitioner's General Obligations.
21. Transmission of Papers where Possible Illegality is Disclosed.
22. Leave to Appeal.
23. Non-Compliance.
I, David Barniville, President of the High Court, hereby issue the following Practice Direction in accordance with the general authority of the President of the High Court and s. 11(12) and (13) of the Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020.
1. Commencement & Previous Directions
(1) This Practice Direction will come into operation on 3 June 2026 and applies to proceedings whether commenced before or after that date.
(2) Practice Direction HC 81 of 1 January 2019 is revoked on the coming into operation of this Practice Direction.
2. Scope
(1) This Practice Direction applies (unless otherwise stated) to:
(a) any proceedings which include relief subject to s. 5 of the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act, 2000 (as amended);
(b) any proceedings concerning asylum, subsidiary protection, immigration, freedom of movement, naturalisation, citizenship, marriages/civil partnerships/relationships alleged to have been entered into for immigration advantage, or related matters; and
(c) any proceedings concerning EU law rights related to any of the foregoing.
3. List Types and Sittings
(1) The Court sits to deal with applications in lists relating to Asylum, Immigration and Citizenship as follows:
(a) Ex Parte – Asylum Pre‑Leave List: sits every Monday in term; additional sittings (including during vacation) as required.
(b) Registrars’ Consent List – Asylum Post‑Leave List: sits every Wednesday in term.
(c) Judges’ List – Asylum Post‑Leave List: sits every Friday in term.
(d) Holding List: listed periodically before the Friday Asylum Post‑Leave judge or as otherwise directed by any judge with seisin.
4. Parties
(1) The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration shall be named as a respondent in proceedings to which this Practice Direction applies.
(2) The International Protection Appeals Tribunal shall be named as a respondent where a decision/recommendation of an international protection officer (including the chief international protection officer) is challenged and is under appeal or an appeal is intended.
5. Core Duties (Candour, Enquiry, Disclosure & Diligence)
(1) Legal practitioners and parties owe continuing duties of candour, enquiry, disclosure and diligence to the Court.
(2) In the case of practitioners, these duties include taking all appropriate steps to obtain full instructions in relation to material facts (particularly the applicant’s immigration/protection history), identifying and drawing attention to adverse facts and authority, and ensuring the Court is not misled. These are professional duties, not merely procedural requirements, and apply to all applications (including ex parte and Article 40.4 applications).
(3) In discharge of the duty of candour on litigants, proceedings should be grounded on an affidavit sworn by the applicant prior to moving the application, unless otherwise specifically ordered by the Court. This affidavit must set out all material facts relevant to the issue before the court. An application to dispense with this requirement must be accompanied by an affidavit setting out why the swearing of such an affidavit is not possible and confirming that the applicant’s solicitors remain instructed by the adult applicant.
(4) Deponents on behalf of respondents are referred to the pleading obligations under Order 84 Rule 22(5) and the obligation on public authorities in the context of public law litigation to make full and fair disclosure (see, for example, Elsharkawy v. Minister for Transport [2024] IECA 258 and Carvill v. Dublin City Council [2025] IECA 84 regarding the duty of candour on public authorities).
6. Pleadings
(1) Order 84, Rule 20(3) requires that precise grounds are pleaded, with particulars and facts supporting each ground; generic assertions are insufficient (see Babington v. Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform & Ors. [2012] IESC 65 regarding pleading requirements). The relief sought must specify the nature and date of the decision challenged. Non‑compliance may lead to refusal of relief and/or costs consequences.
(a) Excessive pleading of reliefs or grounds wastes court time and may attract costs consequences.
(b) In addition to relief by way of certiorari/mandamus, an applicant may seek declaratory relief in terms of pleaded legal grounds but declaratory relief should only be claimed where it provides some distinct benefit to the applicant not encompassed by orders of certiorari/mandamus sought.
(c) Where an extension of time is required, the Statement of Grounds should particularise the grounds identified as establishing that an order extending time should be made.
(d) The Statement of Grounds should have a distinct, numbered “Relevant Facts” section separate from “Legal Grounds”.
(e) The Statement of Opposition should, in accordance with Order 84, Rule 22(5), state precisely each ground of opposition, giving particulars and identifying the facts or matters relied on in respect of each such ground and dealing specifically with every fact or matter in the statement of grounds which is not admitted (see Elsharkawy v. Minister for Transport [2024] IECA 258).
(f) Statements of Grounds/Opposition should state the names of any counsel who settled them.
(g) If a minor applicant comes of age, a certificate should be obtained under Order 15, Rule 16 and included in the pleadings book.
7. Affidavits & Translations
(1) Affidavits for ex parte applications: Each adult applicant must swear an affidavit setting out all material facts, sworn before moving or as soon as possible thereafter unless dispensed with by order (any dispensation application must explain why swearing is not possible and confirm solicitors remain instructed).
(2) Language: A deponent may swear in English or Irish only if they sufficiently understand the language and exhibits. Otherwise, the affidavit must be sworn in a language the deponent understands and translated into English/Irish by a suitably qualified translator. If an interpreter has been used earlier in the process (e.g., section 35 interview), and no foreign language affidavit is sworn in the context of the judicial review, it is necessary to explain, with context, why a foreign language affidavit is not required. Where a foreign language affidavit is relied on, the translator must swear an affidavit exhibiting:
(a) the foreign‑language affidavit as sworn; and
(b) the original translation of such affidavit certified as accurate by the translator (Order 40, Rule 18(1)–(4)).
(3) Translation costs are costs in the cause unless ordered otherwise.
8. Exhibiting All Relevant Material
(1) Unless already exhibited, the grounding affidavit for any ex parte application must exhibit a full copy of all relevant material, in chronological order (where possible), including (as applicable):
(a) the initiating document(s) (proposals to decide; application forms; notices of appeal);
(b) all submissions and materials filed by/on behalf of the applicant (including interview notes);
(c) the text of any relevant decision; and
(d) the notification of the decision;
for each relevant decision impugned and each prior protection/immigration decision relating to each applicant. Translations must comply with section 7 of this Practice Direction. If necessary, appropriate efforts to obtain and exhibit a full copy of all relevant documentation should be made in advance of seeking leave of the Court to bring judicial review proceedings.
9. Applications for Leave (Dates, Leave Submissions & Ex Parte Requirements)
(1) Immediately on filing papers in the Central Office and no later than close of business on the date of filing, a date for moving an ex parte leave application should be requested from the List Registrar by email, attaching the Statement of Grounds (in Word format). The request should identify the leave threshold (substantial/arguable), the primary relief (e.g., certiorari/mandamus) and whether an extension of time is required.
(2) Applications for leave are made on a Monday in term to the Judge in Charge (or assigned judges) on the date allocated by the Registrar. Urgent matters may be listed earlier before the Asylum Judge (Mon/Fri) or the Judge in Charge of the Non‑Jury/Judicial Review/Asylum, Immigration and Citizenship List, or any available judge if that list is not sitting.
(3) Written submissions at leave stage should be structured under headings as follows:
(a) Issues;
(b) Relevant Facts (chronological, complete immigration/protection history and status, cross‑referenced to exhibits, disputed facts noted);
(c) Procedural History (succinct chronology with record numbers/citations; include any civil/criminal proceedings potentially relevant; provide appeal record numbers and where certified transcript/sentencing remarks/report can be found; positive statement identifying other relevant proceedings or stating there are none);
(d) Legal Arguments (aligned to issues/grounds);
(e) Adverse Matters & Authorities (highlight adverse facts and adverse authorities/statutes/CJEU/ECtHR; explain why not determinative).
(4) Written submissions in support of a leave application should be delivered seven days in advance of date of leave application.
(5) Each adult applicant shall swear affidavits of verification confirming disclosure of all statements/representations made to immigration/protection bodies; truth of statements/representations and statements in grounds/affidavits; awareness of perjury; religion (or none/objection to oaths) and manner of swearing; full explanation and understanding; language(s) understood.
(6) A separate affidavit by a practising solicitor shall confirm compliance with section 7 of this Practice Direction; explanation to applicant of obligations under the Superior Court Rules and this Practice Direction and the applicant’s understanding of same; perjury awareness; religion and manner of swearing in the solicitor’s presence. Further verifications are required for any later assertions/representations.
10. Order Granting Leave and Service of Proceedings
(1) If leave is granted, the applicant (or solicitor on record for the applicant) must email the statement of grounds in Word format (original and any amendments) to the List Registrar, and the Registrar sitting with the court (if different). This must be done by close of business on the next court day, unless the court orders otherwise.
(2) Unless otherwise ordered, the standard requirements are:
(a) Issue and serve the originating notice of motion within 7 days of perfection of the order granting leave.
(b) Serve the respondent(s) within the said period of 7 days from the grant of leave (unless extended) with:
(i) the statement of grounds;
(ii) all affidavits and exhibits used at permission stage; and
(iii) written legal submissions.
Failure to comply with these standard requirements means the applicant’s leave-stage costs will not be recoverable unless otherwise ordered by the Court having regard to the reason tendered for non-compliance and any resulting prejudice.
(c) The originating notice of motion should be returnable by the third Wednesday in term after leave is granted.
(d) Costs of the application are reserved if the above conditions are met.
(e) For certain respondents (e.g., Ministers, Garda Commissioner, International Protection bodies), all formal service must be made on the Chief State Solicitor (CSSO), not the individual respondent or its office. The email address for electronic service on the CSSO is: [email protected]. In proceedings naming the International Protection Appeals Tribunal, the Registrar of the Tribunal should also be served at: [email protected]. The applicant should file an affidavit under Order 84, Rule 22(6) confirming compliance with service requirements.
11. Electronic Filing & Communications (Unified Rule)
(1) Communicate with the List Registrar by email to [email protected] unless otherwise directed.
(2) The subject line format when lodging submissions or seeking orders should state: Title of case; record number (YYYY #### JR or as appropriate); date and nature of hearing (if fixed); party; nature of document. For example:
“Smith v. IPAT – 2018 1001 JR – For substantive hearing 1 December 2018 – Applicant’s written legal submissions”.
(3) In the case of consent strike‑out applications, communication should be in a single email thread with both sides consenting, received by close of business on the Friday before the relevant Registrar’s List. Consent strike out applications with or without orders for costs may also be communicated to the Registrar during vacation periods and will be ruled on the next sitting of a judge in the asylum list.
12. Lodgement of Papers (Pre-Leave and Full Hearing)
(1) For leave hearings, a soft copy of pleadings and submissions together (and not piecemeal) should be sent to [email protected] 7 days prior to the assigned date. For extraordinary lists or a Friday Post‑Leave list, the same timeline applies unless otherwise directed. A failure to lodge papers four days prior to the listing of the application may result in the Court being unable to hear the application and may have consequences in costs disallowed in respect of any appearance.
(2) For full hearings, soft copies of all papers (full pleadings and books of authorities) should be sent in advance of the Thursday call‑over in the preceding week. For the purpose of inter partes full hearings, the parties shall agree the contents of a paginated and indexed bundle containing all relevant documents (or extracts from them) required for the hearing of the judicial review (the “hearing book”). Where the hearing book exceeds 400 pages, the parties shall agree the contents of a core book. The core book shall be paginated and indexed and shall include the pleadings, a copy of the decision and/or measure which is under challenge in the proceedings and such further documents (or extracts from them) as the parties consider essential for the purposes of the hearing. Each party (or the solicitor acting for each party) shall certify that the hearing bundle and any core bundle meets the requirements of this paragraph.
(3) Pleadings and submissions in soft copy should be formatted in one properly indexed word‑searchable PDF (saved from a Word document, not scanned). Exhibits to affidavits may be scans, but only where they cannot be saved from Word. All other documents must be saved from Word. Any documents not saved from Word (i.e., exhibits to affidavits) should be subjected to OCR (optical character recognition) where reasonably possible before being incorporated into a PDF.
(4) Hard copy papers required for the leave applications should, where possible, be lodged in the List Room on the Monday of the week preceding the week of hearing (or 12 noon Tuesday where Monday is a Bank Holiday).
(5) In the case of full hearings, hard copy papers should be lodged on the Tuesday before the Thursday call‑over in the preceding week.
13. Post-Leave Case Progression (Registrar and Judge Lists)
(1) After leave is granted, the notice of motion is returnable to the Registrars’ Asylum Post‑Leave List (Wednesday) unless otherwise directed.
(2) Matters requiring a Judge’s ruling (case management, interlocutory orders or final orders) may be listed in the Judges’ Asylum Post‑Leave List (Friday) on application to the Registrar; cases also transfer when either party seeks a hearing date. In addition, if the Registrar is not satisfied that the proceedings are being progressed as promptly as they should, they will be transferred to the Judge’s list for case-management. Proceedings are liable to transfer to the Judge’s List if they are adjourned on more than two occasions without any progress being made absent adequate explanation for same and notwithstanding the consent of the parties to further adjournment.
(3) Applications for hearing dates should ordinarily be made after exchange of written submissions when ready for a date.
(4) If live proceedings are not appearing in any pre‑leave list, Registrar’s list, Judges’ Post‑Leave list or holding list, parties must immediately bring the case to the Friday Asylum Post‑Leave judge to reinstate and progress the matter.
(5) The transfer of a matter to a holding list shall occur with liberty to apply if a party considers that the matter is not appropriately in that list and should be progressed without awaiting the delivery of a decision in a pathfinder case.
(6) All holding lists will be called over periodically and at regular intervals to allow for consideration of the progress of the pathfinder case or other developments which impact on the appropriateness of retaining individual matters in a holding list. In the case of urgent developments, it is not necessary to await the next call-over of the holding list but application may be made to the judge with charge of the asylum list sitting on a Monday or Friday or, in the absence of such judge, to the judge assigned to sit in the Non-Jury/Judicial Review/Asylum, Immigration and Citizenship List.
14. Opposition Papers
(1) In accordance with Order 84, Rule 22(4) the statement of opposition and verifying affidavit should be filed within three weeks of service of the originating notice of motion. On the first mention date, adjournment on consent for lodgement of statement of opposition/affidavit/settlement may be permitted by the Registrar. In the absence of consent, the matter should be transferred to the Judge’s list. The Judge may allow a further period for the filing of opposition papers having regard to the justification advanced for seeking additional time.
(2) A verifying affidavit is not required when the statement of opposition consists only of a traverse; a legal plea arising from applicant’s facts/documents; or a legal plea arising from record facts (e.g., time). A statement of opposition containing positive factual pleas must be supported by affidavit.
(3) As noted in section 6 of this Practice Direction, Order 84, Rule 22(5) requires precise grounds of opposition with particulars and identification of supporting facts. Specific positive facts/law relied upon (e.g., out of time; collateral challenge; failure to disclose facts on obtaining leave; alternative remedy; discretionary refusal) should be clearly set out. The respondent should make clear the basis upon which it asserts that the particular legal or factual proposition is incorrect.
(4) Excessively repetitive traverses or imprecision may result in disallowance of costs of that statement.
(5) If the applicant fails to exhibit all relevant material (in accordance with section 8 of this Practice Direction) and in consequence the respondent is required to exhibit material to address an inadequacy in the applicant’s papers, the costs of any respondent affidavit required to exhibit such material may be ordered against the applicant and/or their solicitors upon application in this regard.
15. Interim, Interlocutory & Procedural Applications
(1) Other than injunctive relief, relief covered by this section need not be pleaded in the Statement of Grounds (or Statement of Opposition for respondents).
(2) An application for relief under this section should be brought by notice of motion unless the Court dispenses with the requirement. Separate affidavits are unnecessary where facts are already averred to or the issue is purely legal.
(3) Unless otherwise provided or ordered, no written submissions are required (other than leave to seek JR and leave to appeal).
(4) Interlocutory applications are returnable to the Judges’ Asylum Post‑Leave List unless otherwise specified. Urgent injunctive relief may be sought before the Judge with charge of the Non-Jury/Judicial Review/Asylum, Immigration and Citizenship List by giving notice by correspondence equivalent to a formal motion.
(5) Where a stay or injunction restrains enforcement of deportation, transfer, removal or exclusion orders or similar, the onus of notifying the Garda Commissioner (as directed, e.g., by telephone) rests exclusively on the applicant, with notification copied to the Chief State Solicitor. Formal service obligations remain.
16. Amendments
(1) Any amended pleading must be marked per Order 28, Rule 9 with the date of the order and the day of amendment (e.g., “Amended the … day of … pursuant to order of Mr./Ms. Justice … dated the … day of …”.
(2) Applications to amend a statement of grounds/opposition require a marked draft showing the intended amendments to be available to the Court and the other party in advance. Applications to amend an order (slip rule or otherwise) require a draft order as amended furnished in advance.
17. Written Legal Submissions (Format, Timing & Hyperlinking)
(1) Practitioners must inform the Court of relevant decisions, including binding/adverse authorities and applicable legislation (see the Bar of Ireland Code of Conduct §5.19 and paragraph 4.6 of the LRSA Code).
(2) Unless otherwise ordered, the applicant shall send submissions to the respondent(s) within three weeks of receipt of opposition papers and email a Word version (not PDF) to [email protected] for the Court. The respondent(s) shall serve and email their submissions within three weeks of receipt of the applicant’s submissions or such other time-frame as fixed by the Court. Any order for costs is taken not to include the costs of submissions delivered in breach of deadlines unless the Court expressly so orders.
(3) The preferred structure (applying to all submissions) includes the headings indicated for written submissions at leave stage (see section 8.2 of this Practice Direction).
(4) Respondents should, where possible, follow the applicant’s headings and sequence and may add Additional/Alternative Issues, Facts, Procedural History as needed.
(5) All submissions must be signed by counsel who settled them; references to case/statute law should be hyperlinked to publicly accessible sources where possible (e.g., irishstatutebook.ie, courts.ie, bailii.org).
18. Time Limits on Oral Submissions
(1) Unless the Court otherwise orders interlocutory/procedural applications, including leave to appeal or costs, are allowed 10 minutes per party (the applicant may reserve specified reply time). For substantive hearings, time is allocated by the Court upon application for a date and practitioners may be required to justify the time sought and to present their cases efficiently and succinctly. Strict adherence to time allocations is expected. Failure to do so carries consequences including delayed conclusion of proceedings and in costs, as may be directed by the court.
19. Thursday Call-Over
(1) Parties are required to appear in the Non‑Jury/Judicial Review/Asylum Immigration Thursday call‑over list for matters listed the following Tuesday–Friday and indicate whether the case is proceeding (see HC 79).
20. Practitioners’ General Obligations
(1) Solicitors must remain in effective contact with clients. If contact ceases, promptly apply to come off record. The CSSO should be notified before any application to come off record is brought so that, if appropriate, applications to strike out for want of prosecution can be brought contemporaneously to ensure efficient use of the Court’s resources.
(2) Practitioners must check for statutory amendments and bring them to the Court’s attention.
(3) On discovering an error in a judgment/order within the slip rule, promptly notify the Court by emailing the registrar and copying the other side. In contentious cases errors should be raised in open court as soon as possible.
(4) In order to be added to the Registrar’s general notices email circulation list, practitioners must provide an up‑to‑date email address.
21. Transmission of Papers where Possible Illegality is Disclosed
(1) Where the papers disclose grounds to suspect (for example) a marriage of convenience or an immigration‑related offence, or that a deponent/witness has made intentionally false or misleading statements, the Court may direct the other party or the Principal Registrar to transmit the papers and any judgment to An Garda Síochána, without prejudice to any other power of the Court.
22. Leave to Appeal
(1) Applications under s.5(6) of the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act 2000 (as amended by s. 34 of the Employment Permits (Amendment) Act 2014) shall be made on notice to the respondent within 28 days of oral or electronic notification of the decision, to the judge who determined the proceedings, prior to perfection of the order unless otherwise ordered.
(2) Applications must be supported by written submissions setting out the precise text of the proposed point(s) of law of exceptional public importance and explaining compliance with the criteria. Serve submissions at least 7 days before the hearing date; the respondent may reply within that 7‑day period.
23. Non-Compliance
(1) In the event of a failure to comply with this Practice Direction, the Court may make any appropriate order, including an order adjourning or striking out an application and/or orders as to costs against a defaulting party; costs against a defaulting solicitor under Order 99, Rule 6; disallowing solicitor‑and‑client costs under Order 99, Rule 7; and/or disallowing the costs of an otherwise successful party, as the Court may determine.
Mr Justice David Barniville
President of the High Court
14 May 2026
