Part 1 - Application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court

You can download your application form (Form 1. Application for Leave to Appeal) here. Alternatively, you can contact the Office of the Supreme Court (Four Courts) to have an application form sent to you by post.

Timeline

You must file your application for leave to appeal within 21 days from the date of perfection of the order. You should know that the 21 day time-limit starts running from the date of perfection of the order. This is the date which appears beneath the Registrar’s name on the order.

Fee Stamp

You must pay the appropriate court fee on your application form before your appointment. The application fee is €250. This application fee can be paid at the  Stamping Office in the Áras Uí Dhálaigh building in the Four Courts complex. It can also be paid at any District Court or Circuit Court office. You can pay this fee by card or cash.

If you are unsure that your form is correctly filled in before stamping, please contact the Office of the Supreme Court.

Booking your appointment

You can make an appointment at the Office of the Supreme Court through the booking service to begin the appeal process. You can also file your application by post or use the drop-box in the court office. 

The person or organisation making the application is the 'applicant' and the person or organisation you are making the application against is the 'respondent.'

Submitting your application

You will need to include the following documents for your application for leave to appeal:

• A stamped and completed application  for leave to appeal form
• At least 1 copy of the application for leave to appeal
• An attested copy of the order you are wishing to appeal (this is the officially verified copy of the order from the lower court)
• An attested copy of the judgment at the time of filing of the application (this is the officially verified copy of the judgment which you get from the lower court)
• If an applicant is unable to file an application for leave to appeal within the relevant time limit, an application for an extension of time must be made in section 6 of your application form. 

If the judgment is not available, you may be able to undertake to file the copy of the judgment at a later stage but your application cannot be processed or considered by the court until the judgment is filed.

Serving your application

 For full information please see Section 3.3 (b) of Practice Direction SC19 for further details on service

• Your application for leave must be served on the respondent and on all parties directly affected by the appeal.
• You must serve it on the same day the application is lodged in the Supreme Court.
• Applications for leave can be served by personal service, registered post or where there is consent can be served by electronic means.
• A Certificate of Service must be lodged and must include details of the method of service. For further information, see Order 58 Rule 5.3.
• You must lodge your application for leave  in hard and soft copy.

What happens after you serve your application for leave to appeal 

For full information please see Section 5 of Practice Direction SC 19

• The Respondent must file a document called a Respondent’s Notice
• The Respondent’s Notice is Form 2 and must be filed in the Office of the Supreme Court
• The Respondent can book an appointment with the Office of the Supreme Court to lodge the notice
• Part 1, Section 3 in Form 2 gives the Respondent an opportunity to explain why you have not lodged the notice within 6 weeks

Prepare the application for leave booklet

The applicant must file four hard copies of the application for leave booklet in the Office of the Supreme Court.

You can also file your application for leave booklet by post or use the drop-box in the court office. 

You must file your application for leave booklet within 7 weeks of the date of perfection of the order.

If you have not filed your application for leave booklet within the time allowed, the court office will send a letter or email. This will state that you have 7 days to submit your application for leave booklet.

Failure to do this may result in your application being dismissed.

You should refer to paragraph 8(e) Practice Direction SC 19 for further information.

Before you submit your application for leave booklet

• The booklet must be properly labelled indexed and include page numbers
• You must have copies of all previous orders from the lower courts

How to prepare your application for leave booklet

To complete your application for leave booklet, you must include the following documents:

• The notice of application for leave to appeal
• The respondent’s notice
• An attested copy of the order you are seeking to appeal
• The approved judgment 
• An attested copy of any final orders made by all lower courts involved in the case
• Any approved judgments issued by the lower courts
• A certificate of service confirming that the application for leave has been served on all parties

Additional Requirements for Criminal Cases

If the order you are appealing comes from a criminal case, your booklet must also include the following documents, if they are relevant to the issues raised in your application.

• A copy of the indictment
• The transcript of the prosecution’s opening speech
• If your appeal concerns a specific issue from the trial, the transcript of the evidence, submissions, and the judge’s ruling on that issue
• A copy of any relevant exhibit
• The transcripts of the prosecution and defence closing speeches
• The transcript of the judge’s charge to the jury, to the extent that it relates to the issue being appealed

Submitting your application for leave booklet

You must lodge your application for leave booklet in the Office of the Supreme Court within 7 weeks of receiving the perfected order from the lower court. You can also file your application by post or use the drop-box in the court office. 

About the Determination

Once the application for leave booklet is filed, a panel of three judges of the Supreme Court meet to consider whether the constitutional threshold for granting leave to appeal has been met.

This does not take place in a courtroom. It is determined by the judges in chambers on the basis of the booklet.

What the Court may do

When the Court has considered the application, it may:

• Direct that written submissions be filed
• Refuse leave
• Grant leave on all or specified grounds
• Direct an oral hearing
• Invite the parties to file written submissions in relation to costs

The Court gives brief reasons for granting or refusing leave the appeal. This is known as the determination of the court.

If leave is refused

• The parties are notified that the application is refused
• The parties are sent a copy of the determination
  

If leave is granted 

• It grants leave outright
• The parties are sent a copy of the determination

If leave is granted on terms

• The Court proposes the conditions for allowing the appeal, and both sides have 14 days to make submissions on these conditions.
• If the Court agrees to hear the appeal on certain conditions and the applicant does not wish to accept these conditions, they can choose to not proceed with the appeal.
• If the applicant appeals directly from the High Court (leapfrog appeal) and they do not want to accept the terms proposed by the Supreme Court, they may bring an appeal to the Court of Appeal subject to any provisions of law. Please see section 12 of Practice Direction SC19.

Interventions in application to leave

Any person seeking to intervene in an application for leave. To do this, they must write to the Registrar outlining the reason that leave should be granted or refused. 

This correspondence should be copied to the applicant and all affected parties.

If leave to appeal is granted, a formal application must be made if the person wishes to intervene in the actual appeal. See also Order 58, rule 3 and section14 of Practice direction SC19.

Costs

Where an application for leave to appeal is unsuccessful, costs are usually dealt with separately after the making of the determination.

For next steps after leave to appeal has been granted please see Part 2.