You can obtain judgment in respect of judgment in default of appearance, judgment pursuant to an Order of the Master of the High Court or judgment in default of defence.

You must lodge a number of documents called a ‘Judgment Set’, either by post or over the counter at the Judgments Section of the High Court Central Office. The documents required differ slightly, depending on the type of judgment.

Judgment Section staff check the documents to ensure that they comply with the Rules of the Superior Courts.  If any documents do not comply, the judgment set will be queried.  The queries are detailed on a query sheet for review by the relevant solicitor.  The query sheet should be included with the papers when the judgment papers are being re-lodged.

Note the following example query sheet:

Judgments Section, Central Office, The High Court

Re: Plaintiff   - v  -   Defendant

Please deal with the following queries:

  1. Praecipe has not been signed
  2. Interest as claimed in the Special Indorsement of Claim on the Summary Summons should be calculated and shown in an Affidavit of Debt, or else waived
  3. No Solicitor’s Certificate has been supplied.

This Query is being dealt with by:

Tel:

E-mail:

Solicitors on record:

 

Correct judgment sets are sent to the Registrar for signing.

Judgment in default of appearance

This kind of judgment can be obtained on foot of a summary summons, or a liquidated claim in a plenary summons, where no appearance has been entered to the summons by the defendant(s). You must lodge the following documents:

The original sealed summary summons with service indorsed on same

If interest has been claimed in the indorsement of claim on the summons it should either be calculated and shown in the affidavit of debt or waived via a letter.

 

Judgment pursuant to order of the Master

This kind of judgment can be obtained on foot of an order of the Master of the High Court where liberty is granted to enter to final judgment in an action.  You must lodge the following documents:

  • Copy Master’s order
  • Copy of the summons
  • Affidavit of debt (if interest is awarded in the Master’s order)
  • Judgment form
  • Signed solicitor’s certificate
  • Order of Fieri Facias (FIFA) (if you intend to enforce the judgment) 
  • Praecipe for Fieri Facias (signed) 

 

Judgment in default of defence

This kind of judgment can be obtained where a plaintiff’s claim is for a debt or liquidated demand in a plenary matter and the defendant does not deliver a defence within the time allowed. (Order 27 Rule 2, RSC).

In contested summary cases on consent, the Master may also adjourn the case for plenary hearing giving specific timeframes for delivery of statements of claim and defence. If these timeframes are not adhered to judgment can be obtained in default of defence (Order 37 Rule 6).  You must lodge the following documents:

  • A copy of the summons
  • Order adjourning the matter for plenary hearing (if applicable)
  • Affidavit of debt
  • Judgment form
  • Signed solicitor’s certificate
  • Order of Fieri Facias (FIFA) (if you intend to enforce the judgment)
  • Praecipe for Fieri Facias (signed)

If interest has been claimed in the indorsement of claim on the summons, it should either be calculated and shown in the affidavit of debt or waived via a letter

Please note the following before lodging your documents:

All affidavits

  • Affidavits filed in the High Court must be sworn, not declared
  • Jurats must be fully and clearly completed
  • The date and location of swearing of the affidavit must be fully set out
  • Do not use abbreviations for months, days - e.g. “Thurs the 4th of Jan”
  • The title of the oath taker (the practising solicitor or commissioner for oaths) must be the same in the body of the jurat and underneath their signature
  • The oath taker’s name should be legible in the jurat. If it is not clearly legible they should use their name stamp underneath their signature. If a name stamp is not available, you may print the name underneath the signature
  • Affidavits must contain numbered paragraphs, ordered sequentially
  • Affidavits require court stamp duty – currently €20.00
  • Stamp duty should be franked on the back of the affidavit and not on the face of the document. This is to ensure that no wording in the body of the affidavit is obscured
  • Jurats should not be on isolated pages, i.e. there should be more wording on the final page of an affidavit than the jurat alone – the jurat should appear directly under the final paragraph of the affidavit
  • All affidavits require a filing clause indicating on whose behalf it is being filed – you should leave the date of filing blank.

 

Affidavits of Service

  • Affidavits of service should follow the precedent for either:
    • an affidavit of service in relation to personal service or service by pre-paid registered post (when the Defendant is an individual/s) or
    • an affidavit of service in relation to service on a limited liability company (effected by way of ordinary pre-paid post)
  • All the details in relation to the location and date of service as referred to in the affidavit of service must match the indorsement of service on the summons
  • The date of issue of the summons and the case record number must be correctly stated in the body of the affidavit
  • Service must be indorsed on the summons within three days of such service having been effected – See Order 9 Rule 12 of the Rules of the Superior Courts for further information on the indorsement of service

 

Affidavits of Debt

  • The affidavit of debt must be sworn by someone with knowledge of the company’s accounts e.g. the financial director, book keeper or, in the case of an individual plaintiff; the individual themselves
  • The affidavit of debt cannot be sworn by the plaintiff’s solicitor
  • If interest is being claimed, check that calculations are correct and that the principal amount, number of days, rate/s of interest etc. are stated (as applicable)
  • If interest has been claimed in the special indorsement of claim on the summons, and this interest has not been further calculated and shown in the affidavit of debt, such interest must be waived, either via a letter from the solicitor on behalf of the client, or within the body of the affidavit of debt itself.

 

Judgment Form

  • This is a document signed by the Registrar confirming the fact of the Judgment.  The judgment form requires court stamp duty – currently €85.00
  • The format and wording of the judgment form will differ depending on whether it is judgment in default of appearance or judgment pursuant to an order of the Master of the High Court or judgment in default of defence
  • Judgment forms for judgment pursuant to an order must recite the relevant details from the Master’s Order, i.e. from “It is Ordered …”
  • The space for inserting the amount of costs on the judgment form should be left blank as it will be filled in when judgment is being marked
  • Precedents for the various Judgment Forms can be found in Appendix E of the Rules of the Superior Courts 

 

Solicitors Certificate

  • The solicitors certificate must state the address and description of all parties to the case
  • The solicitors certificate must be signed by the solicitor and affixed to the back of the judgment form
  • There is no court stamp duty payable on a solicitor’s certificate.

 

Praecipe FIFA and FIFA (Fieri Facias)

  • Precedents for the praecipe FIFA and FIFA can be found in Appendix F of the Rules of the Superior Courts 
  • The praecipe must be signed by the solicitor
  • There is no court stamp duty applicable on either the praecipe FIFA or the FIFA 

 

Court stamp Duty

  • Stamp duty cannot be re-used or transferred from one document to another
  • The stamp duty on an affidavit should not pre-date the swearing of the affidavit
  • Stamp duty should be stamped on the back of the relevant documents, and not affixed as a fee card.