Appealing a District Court Order

Appealing a District Court decision

If you are not happy with a decision or order made in the District Court you have the right to appeal. An appeal from the District Court is heard in the Circuit Court which is the next highest court jurisdiction. You do this by serving and lodging a Notice of Appeal document.

You have fourteen days from the date of the court order being made to serve and lodge your appeal documents. However, if you are outside of this time period, you can apply for an extension of time to appeal. If you are applying for an extension of time, you must also notify the other party to the case.

You might want to get legal advice to better understand your situation.

Legal terms to know for the appeal process

• For Family Law matters, unless a judge directs otherwise, an appeal does not act as a stay on the original order. This means that you must obey the original District Court order until the Circuit Court has decided on your appeal.
• The Circuit Court appeal will be a complete re-hearing of the original District Court case. In legal terms, this is called a de novo hearing, meaning "from new".
• The person appealing an order is known as the appellant. The other parties are known as respondents.

There are a number of steps to take to appeal an order from the District Court to the Circuit Court.

All information is for guidance only. Always check legislation and court rules to ensure your appeal is correct. You might want to get legal advice to better understand what's involved.

Step 1: Consider legal advice

Family Law appeals can have an impact on things such as arrangements for your children, maintenance, the family home, money, assets and pensions.

You might want to get legal advice to better understand these impacts. While the Courts Service cannot advise or represent people in court, we can inform you that services offered by a legal representative should include:

• Advising you of your legal rights
• Outlining how you might reach agreement
• Preparing and filing your paperwork
• Speaking on your behalf in court

You can decide to represent yourself in your family law matter. If you decide to represent yourself, you will need to understand court procedures.

More information about legal advice and representation >

Step 2: Download and complete a Notice of Appeal

Download and complete the Notice of Appeal form. If you cannot download it, you can request it from the court office. Make sure that it is signed and dated.

Form 101.1 — Notice of Appeal >

Step 3: Serve the Notice of Appeal

Once you have completed, signed and dated the Notice of Appeal, you must provide a copy to any other party involved in the case. This is called serving. It means making them aware that you are appealing the order to the Circuit Court.

Serve the Notice of Appeal

You must serve a copy of the Notice of Appeal on the respondents or the solicitor that represented them in the original District Court case. You can do this by:

• Registered Post to their last known address or work address. You must keep the certificate of postage as you will need this later.

OR

• Personal Service by serving the documents personally or by using a summons server. This is a person who specialises in serving legal documents. There is a fee for this service so enquire beforehand.

Proof of service

After you have served the Notice of Appeal, you must provide proof of service to the court. You do this by filling out a Statutory Declaration of Service. This confirms that the Notice of Appeal was served on the respondent.

• If the documents were served by registered post (Form 41.01): If the documents are not returned undelivered to you by An Post, you can fill out a Declaration of Service. The certificate of postage should be attached to the statutory declaration. This declaration must also be witnessed and signed by a Commissioner for Oaths, a solicitor (but not your own solicitor) or a Peace Commissioner.
• If the documents were served by personal service (Form 41.03): If the documents have been served by personal service, the person who served the documents must fill out a Declaration of Service. This declaration must also be witnessed and signed by a Commissioner for Oaths, a solicitor (but not your own solicitor) or a Peace Commissioner.

Return documents to court office

You must file the original Notice of Appeal and Statutory Declaration of Service documents in the court office for the court area where the District Court order was made. You must do this within fourteen days of the District Court order being made.

Step 4: Attend Circuit Court hearing

You and the respondent will receive a notice from the court office informing you both of the date and place of the appeal hearing.

In some counties, you may have to attend a County Registrar's court before the full hearing of the appeal. At this court, the County Registrar will decide the date and venue where your appeal will be heard in the Circuit Court.

The Circuit Court hearing will be a complete re-hearing of the matter appealed. Family law cases are heard in camera (in private) to protect the privacy of the family. Only court staff, people involved in the case and any other people the judge allows will be in the courtroom. You must not discuss the case with any other person, apart from your legal representatives, unless a judge allows it. This is to protect everyone's privacy.

• If you fail to attend court, the appeal may be struck out by the judge. This means that the appeal will not go ahead and District Court order will remain in place.
• If a respondent fails to attend court, an order may be made in their absence.
• If the case is heard, the appellant and respondent(s) will be required to present their cases. If you do not have a solicitor, you will be required to know the court process. You might want to get legal advice to better understand what's involved.

More information about preparing for family law court >

Step 5: Judge makes a decision

At the court hearing, the appeal judge will make a decision called a court order. Any jurisdictional limits which applied to the District Court will also apply to the Circuit Court. This means that the Circuit Court has the same powers as the District Court when hearing the appeal.

The court office will finalise the court order and send it to you and the respondent or your solicitors as soon as it is ready.

You should receive the court order within four weeks of the appeal case being heard. If you do not receive the court order within this time, contact the court office.

The decision of the Circuit Court will be final. It cannot be appealed.