Courts and Court Officers Act, 2002

Register of reserved judgments.

46.—(1) The Courts Service shall establish and maintain in the prescribed form and manner a register of every judgment reserved by the Supreme Court, the High Court, the Circuit Court and the District Court in any civil proceedings to be known as the Register of Reserved Judgments (in this section referred to as “the register”).

(2) Such particulars as may be prescribed in respect of any proceedings in which judgment is reserved shall be entered in the register.

(3) Subject to subsection (6), if judgment in the proceedings concerned is not delivered within the prescribed period or periods from the date on which it is reserved, the Courts Service shall list the proceedings before the judge who reserved judgment therein on a date not later than such period as may be prescribed after the first-mentioned prescribed period and shall give notice of the listing in the prescribed form to the parties to the proceedings and a copy of the notice to the President of the Court concerned.

(4) The judge concerned shall, on a listing of proceedings under subsection (3), fix a date not later than such period as may be prescribed after the listing by which judgment in those proceedings shall be delivered.

(5) The date fixed under subsection (4) shall be entered in the register in relation to the proceedings concerned.

(6) Subsection (3) shall not apply if the judge who reserved judgment in the proceedings concerned dies, or if the judge concerned is ill, for the duration of his or her illness or in such other circumstances as may be prescribed.

(7) (a) The register or any part of it shall be kept at a place or places to be prescribed and shall be made available for inspection by any person on payment of such fee (if any) as may be prescribed and at such times as may be prescribed.

(b) A person may, on a request being made by him or her in the prescribed manner and on payment of such fee (if any) as may be prescribed, obtain a copy certified in such manner as may be prescribed of any entry or entries in the register.

(8) The functions of the Courts Service under this section shall be performed by the Chief Executive Officer of the Courts Service, but such of those functions as may be specified by him or her may be performed by such member or members of the staff of the Courts Service as may be authorised in that behalf by him or her.

(9) (a) The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform may by regulations provide for any matter referred to in this section as prescribed or to be prescribed.

(b) Different periods may be prescribed under subsections (3) and (4) in respect of proceedings of different kinds and, in particular, shorter periods may be prescribed in respect of applications for interim or interlocutory orders.

(10) In this section, references to a judge shall, in the case of a court constituted of more than one judge, be construed as references to the presiding judge of the court.

(11) In this section—

“prescribed” means prescribed by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform by regulations under this section;

“reserved”, in relation to a judgment in court proceedings, means where a decision in the proceedings or the reasons for such decision or both are not announced by the court immediately upon the conclusion of the hearing of the proceedings but instead are postponed—

(a) without a date for such announcement being specified at the time, or

(b) for a period of not less than 14 days after such conclusion.