S.I. No. 1/2006 - Circuit Court Rules (European Enforcement Orders), 2006


S.I. No.1 of 2006

CIRCUIT COURT RULES (EUROPEAN ENFORCEMENT ORDERS), 2006

We, the Circuit Court Rules Committee, constituted pursuant to the provisions of section 69 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1936 , and section 12 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1947 , by virtue of the powers conferred on us by section 66 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1924 , and section 70 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1936 , (as applied by section 48 of the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act, 1961 ) and section 27 of the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act, 1961 , and of all other powers enabling us in this behalf, do hereby, with the concurrence of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, make the annexed Rules of Court.

Dated this 28th day of November, 2005.

(Signed): Matthew Deery

(Chairman of the Circuit Court Rules Committee)

Gerard J. Doherty

Joe Deane

Faye Breen

Patrick Hunt

Noel Rubotham

Susan Ryan    (Secretary)

I concur in the making of the following Rules of Court.

Dated this 10th day of January, 2006.

MICHAEL MCDOWELL

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform

S.I. No.1 of 2006

Circuit Court Rules (European Enforcement Orders) 2006

1.  These Rules, which may be cited as the Circuit Court Rules (European Enforcement Orders), 2006, shall come into operation on the 7th day of February 2006.

2.  The Circuit Court Rules are hereby amended by the insertion immediately following Order 35 thereof, of the following:

“Order 35A

European Enforcement Orders

1.  In this Order:-

“Regulation No. 805/2004” means Regulation (EC) No. 805/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 creating a European Enforcement Order for uncontested claims, OJ L 143/15 of 30 April 2004;

“Regulation No. 1869/2005” means Commission Regulation (EC) No 1869/2005 of 16 November 2005 replacing the Annexes to Regulation (EC) No 805/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 creating a European Enforcement Order for uncontested claims, OJ L 300/6 of 17 November 2005;

“domestic judgment” means any

(a)  judgment of the Court for any sum of money or order (including an order made by consent, a settlement made a rule of court or a dismiss) of the Court requiring payment of any sum of money, or

(b)  judgment entered in the Office pursuant to these Rules,

to which Regulation No. 805/2004 applies.

2.  (1)  Where a domestic judgment has been given or made by the Court, an application to certify that domestic judgment as a European Enforcement Order may be made ex parte to the Court at the hearing at which that domestic judgment is given or made, or if not made at that hearing, may be made ex parte in accordance with sub-rule (2) of this rule.

(2)In the case of any domestic judgment of the Court other than a domestic judgment certified as a European Enforcement Order at the hearing in accordance with sub-rule (1) of this rule, any application to certify that domestic judgment as a European Enforcement Order shall be made ex parte to the County Registrar.

3. (1)  An application to certify a domestic judgment as a European Enforcement Order shall, unless the County Registrar or the Court (as the case may be) otherwise directs or permits, be grounded upon an affidavit sworn by or on behalf of the moving party in the Form No. 19A of the Schedule of Forms annexed hereto or incorporating the matters in paragraphs 2 to 5 of that Form.

(2)  A certificate issued on foot of an application pursuant to Article 6(1) of Regulation No. 805/2004 shall be in the form in Annex I to Regulation No. 1869/2005.

4. (1)  Where a judgment is given or order or ruling is made that a domestic judgment which has been certified as a European Enforcement Order has ceased to be enforceable or its enforceability is or has been suspended or limited, an application under Article 6(2) of Regulation No. 805/2004 for the issue of a certificate indicating the lack or limitation of enforceability of that domestic judgment may be made by either party to the proceedings in which the domestic judgment was given ex parte to the Court at the hearing at which the later judgment is given or order or ruling is made.

(2)If not made at the hearing referred to in sub-rule (1), an application to the Court under Article 6(2) of Regulation No. 805/2004 for the issue of a certificate indicating the lack or limitation of enforceability of a domestic judgment may be made in accordance with rule 6.

(3)A certificate issued on foot of an application pursuant to Article 6(2) of Regulation No. 805/2004 shall be in the form in Annex IV to Regulation No. 1869/2005.

5. (1)  Where, on any appeal to the Court, a judgment is given, or order, ruling or decision is made, in respect of a domestic judgment which has been certified as a European Enforcement Order, an application under Article 6(3) of Regulation No. 805/2004 for the issue of a replacement certificate may be made by either party to the said appeal ex parte to the Court at the hearing of the said appeal, or on the delivery of the judgment on the said appeal.

(2)If not made on the occasion referred to in sub-rule (1), an application under Article 6(3) of Regulation No. 805/2004 for the issue of a replacement certificate may be made in accordance with rule 6.

(3)A replacement certificate issued on foot of an application pursuant to Article 6(3) of Regulation No. 805/2004 shall be in the form in Annex V to Regulation No. 1869/2005.

6. Unless made in accordance with rule 4(1) or (as the case may be) rule 5(1) of this Order, an application under Article 6(2) of Regulation No. 805/2004 for the issue of a certificate indicating the lack or limitation of enforceability of a domestic judgment or an application under Article 6(3) of Regulation No. 805/2004 for the issue of a replacement certificate shall be made by motion to the County Registrar on notice to the judgment creditor or judgment debtor, grounded, where necessary, upon an affidavit sworn by or on behalf of the moving party and the provisions of Order 64 of these Rules shall apply to any such motion. There shall be exhibited to any grounding affidavit in any such application a completed draft of the form of certificate sought, and the contents of such draft certificate shall be verified in the grounding affidavit.

7.  (1)  An application under Article 10(1) of Regulation No. 805/2004 for the rectification or the withdrawal of a European Enforcement Order certificate shall be made to the Court which certified the domestic judgment concerned as a European Enforcement Order or, where the County Registrar so certified the domestic judgment, to the County Registrar. Before making such application, the moving party shall complete the form of application in Annex VI to Regulation No. 1869/2005 and shall deliver such completed form of application to the Office which shall assign a return date to such application. The moving party shall serve a copy of such completed form of application on the judgment creditor or (as the case may be) the judgment debtor, together with a copy of any affidavit sworn by or on behalf of the moving party to ground the application. Where rectification is sought, there shall be exhibited to any grounding affidavit in any such application a copy of the form of European Enforcement Order certificate previously issued, marked with the rectification sought, and the contents of such marked certificate shall be verified in the grounding affidavit. A notice of application in the said form shall be treated for all purposes as if it were a motion to the Court or (as the case may be) to the County Registrar and the provisions of Order 64 of these Rules shall apply to any such application.

(2)Where, on any application under this rule, it is determined that the European Enforcement Order certificate in respect of the domestic judgment concerned ought be rectified or withdrawn, the person on whose application the domestic judgment concerned was certified as a European Enforcement Order shall within seven days of such determination lodge the original European Enforcement Order certificate in respect of the domestic judgment concerned in the Office. In the case of rectification, the County Registrar shall rectify such certificate, resign, re-seal and subject to any direction made in that regard, re-issue such rectified certificate to the person on whose application the domestic judgment concerned was certified as a European Enforcement Order. In the case of withdrawal, the County Registrar shall cancel such certificate.

(3)Where the person on whose application the domestic judgment concerned was certified as a European Enforcement Order fails in accordance with sub-rule (2) to lodge the original European Enforcement Order certificate within seven days of a determination, the County Registrar shall, at the request of the applicant, provide to the applicant a certificate under the seal of the Court certifying the fact that the European Enforcement Order certificate has been rectified or (as the case may be) withdrawn. Such certificate shall be in the in the Form No. 19B of the Schedule of Forms annexed hereto.

8.  (1)  The following certificates may be signed and sealed by the County Registrar:

(i)          a European Enforcement Order certificate - judgment (Annex I to Regulation No. 1869/2005) (including for the avoidance of doubt, such certificate as rectified pursuant to Article 10(1) of Regulation No. 805/2004 and in accordance with rule 7(2) of this Order);

(ii)        a certificate of lack or limitation of enforceability, (Annex IV to Regulation No. 1869/2005) pursuant to Article 6(2) of Regulation No. 805/2004;

(iii)      a European Enforcement Order replacement certificate, (Annex V to Regulation No. 1869/2005) pursuant to Article 6(3) of Regulation No. 805/2004;

(iv)      any certificate which seems necessary in accordance with rule 7(3) of this Order.

(2)      The County Registrar may at the request of the applicant therefor, issue a duplicate of any of the certificates referred to in sub-rule (1).

(3)The County Registrar or the Court may direct the applicant to lodge a draft of the completed form of a certificate, where such draft certificate has not already been exhibited to an affidavit grounding the application for the certificate.

3.          The Circuit Court Rules are hereby amended by the substitution for rule 7 of Order 18 thereof, of the following:

“9.  Save in the case of a European Enforcement Order certificate issued by the County Registar in accordance with Order 35A, any party dissatisfied with any certificate, ruling or decision of the County Registrar, may, within ten days from the date of such certificate, ruling or decision, apply to the Judge by motion on notice to review such certificate, ruling or decision, and the Judge may thereupon make such order as he shall think fit.”

4.  Forms 19A and 19B contained in the Schedule hereto shall be inserted in the Schedule to the Circuit Court Rules , immediately after Form 19.

5.            These Rules shall come into operation on the            day of                        2006.

Form No. 19A

O. 35A, r. 3(1)

[Title as in the proceedings]

I, AB, ....................of ......................, the (plaintiff or state other capacity) in the above-entitled proceedings, aged eighteen years and upwards MAKE OATH and say as follows:

1.         [State deponent's authority]. I make this affidavit from facts within my own knowledge save where otherwise appears and where so otherwise appears, I believe the same to be true.

2.         I beg to refer to the proceedings had herein and to the [judgment given/order made] on the ........day of ................20........ where [judgment was given for the plaintiff / the defendant was ordered to pay the plaintiff] the sum of € ........ . I say that the said [judgment/order] amounts to a judgment on an uncontested claim, within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No 805/2004.

3.         The claim herein was for payment of a specific sum of money which had fallen due and that the claim was uncontested within the meaning of Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 805/2004 because:

[state which of the circumstances set out in Article 3 applies]

4.         The [judgment / order] may be certified as a European Enforcement Order under Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 805/2004 because:

* each of the conditions set out in paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (where appropriate) (d) of paragraph 1 of Article 6 of the said Regulation is met in respect of the [judgment / order] or

* (where any of the procedural requirements set out in any one or more of Articles 13 to 17 inclusive of Regulation (EC) No 805/2004 is not met) * each of the conditions set out in paragraphs (a), (b) and (where appropriate) (d) of paragraph 1 of Article 6 of the said Regulation is met in respect of the [judgment / order] and, [state the basis upon which under Article 18(1) or Article 18(2) of the Regulation any non-compliance was cured]

5.          I beg to refer to a completed draft European Enforcement Order certificate in the form in Annex I to Regulation No. 805/2004 upon which marked “A” I have signed my name prior to the swearing hereof and I say that the contents of the said draft certificate as completed are true. I accordingly pray that the [judgment / order] be certified as a European Enforcement Order in accordance with Article 6 of the said Regulation No. 805/2004 in the form of the draft exhibited hereto.

SWORN etc

O. 35A, r. 7(3)

Form No. 19B

[Title as in the proceedings]

Regulation (EC) No 805/2004

CERTIFICATE OF * RECTIFICATION / * WITHDRAWAL OF A EUROPEAN ENFORCEMENT ORDER CERTIFICATE (Article 10(3))

TAKE NOTICE that on application made to this Court on the....day of ........200....

THE FOLLOWING EUROPEAN ENFORCEMENT ORDER CERTIFICATE

1.        Member State of origin: IRELAND (IE)

2.        Court/Authority issuing the certificate:

2.1      Name: * Circuit Court, ............... Circuit, County of ................/* County Registrar for the County of ....................

2.2      Address: ............................, Ireland

2.3      Tel/fax/e-mail:

3.        If different, Court/Authority issuing the judgment:

3.1      Name: ...................................

3.2      Address: ..................., Ireland

3.3      Tel/fax/e-mail:

4.        Judgment:

4.1      Date:

4.2      Reference number (record number):

4.3      Parties:

4.3.1   Name and address of creditor(s):

4.3.2   Name and address of debtor(s):

HAS BEEN

* 5.     RECTIFIED as due to a material error there is the following discrepancy between the European Enforcement Order Certificate and the underlying judgment:

* 6.     WITHDRAWN because:

6.1     * the certified judgment was related to a consumer contract but was given in a Member State where the consumer is not domiciled within the meaning of Article 59 of Regulation (EC) No. 44/2001

6.2     * the European Enforcement Order Certificate was clearly wrongly granted for another reason:

and the original of the said European Enforcement Order Certificate (and every duplicate thereof) has not been lodged with this Court.

Done at the [insert address of the Office concerned] on the.........day of............................200.....

Signed......................................

County Registrar for the County of Circuit Court

(seal)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This does not form part of the instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation)

These Rules facilitate the operation of Regulation (EC) No 805/2004 of the European Parliament and the Council of 21 April 2004 (OJ L 143 of 30 April 2004, page 15), which created a European Enforcement Order for uncontested claims, as amended by Regulation (EC) No. 1869/2005 of the Commission of 16 November 2005 (OJ L 300 of 17 November 2005, page 6).

* delete where appropriate

* delete where appropriate

* delete where appropriate

* delete where appropriate

* delete where appropriate

* delete where appropriate

* delete where appropriate

* delete where appropriate

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* delete where appropriate