Court of Appeal Legal Diary, 2026-01-06

• Judgment Date: 06 January 2026
• Issuer: Court of Appeal

NOTICES (updated 18th December 2025)

The Court of Appeal Office in Áras Ui Dhalaigh is conducting business by appointment only. An appointment should be made on the Courts Service website using the link below:-
https://www.courts.ie/block/appointment-page-office-of-the-c

For urgent matters or where it is not possible to book online, please email courtofappealcivil@courts.ie or phone 01-8886120 to make an appointment.
Documents will also be accepted by post or via DX (No. 262001).

APPEALS FOR HEARING
All Appeals are heard by way of a physical hearing unless otherwise directed by the Court.

A revised version of Practice Direction CA06 came into effect on 1st June 2022 a copy of which is available on the Courts website (www.courts.ie).

LODGING OF BOOKS OF APPEAL
Parties are required to lodge complete books of appeal and books of authorities (in hard and soft copy) not later than 4 weeks prior to the date of the appeal in accordance with Practice Direction CA06 or such other date as shall be fixed by the Court. A party who has been authorised to lodge the books of appeal may lodge the books in accordance with this direction notwithstanding the failure of another party to the appeal to furnish its written submissions to such party for inclusion in the books of appeal.

In the event that the books are not lodged within the time fixed, the appeal shall be relisted in the next directions list in the Court of Appeal for mention. If the books are not lodged by the latter date, the Court may make an order extending the time for the late lodging of the books of appeal for such short period as it deems appropriate subject to an order that the appeal shall stand struck out for failure to comply with the directions of the Court. Where an appeal is listed in the directions list by reason of the foregoing, the party in default may be liable for the costs arising from attendance at the directions list.

Parties should lodge the books of appeal (including the books of authorities) in hardcopy (x 4) and also in soft copy via the ShareFile platform, a link for which will be sent by the office after the hard copies have been lodged.

A revised version of Practice Direction CA06 came into effect on 1st June 2022, a copy of which is available on the Courts website (www.courts.ie).

APPLICATIONS FOR ADJOURNMENTS ON MEDICAL GROUNDS
The principles governing applications to adjourn proceedings on grounds that a party is unfit to progress the litigation are set out in the case law of the Supreme Court (Tracey v. McDowell [2016] IESC 44 and Tracey v. Irish Times [2019] IESC 62) and of the Court of Appeal (Kildare County Council v. Reid [2018] IECA 370; Hanrahan v. Gladney [2018] IECA 403; Geary v. Property Registration Authority [2020] IECA 132 and Hanrahan v. Minister for Agriculture and Food [2020] IECA 340).

These principles apply to applications for adjournments based upon medical grounds of matters listed for hearing before the Court of Appeal.

A party intending to apply for an adjournment on medical grounds of any matter listed before the Court of Appeal should do so as soon as is practicable once the party apprehends that they will not be medically fit to progress the litigation.

Normally, the application will be made in the Directions List of the Court of Appeal. The applicant should apply to the Office of the Court of Appeal to list the matter for mention in the next List. The other parties to the appeal should be notified of the intention to seek an adjournment on medical grounds, the date of the application and a summary of the basis for the application.

If, due to a medical emergency, it is not possible to list the matter in the Directions List of the Court of Appeal before the appeal is heard, the correspondence addressed to the Office of the Court of Appeal requesting the adjournment should be copied to the other parties to the appeal. They will be afforded an opportunity to respond thereto, provided time permits, and the Court will rule on the application.

In accordance with the case law, any application for an adjournment sought on medical grounds must be supported by evidence in the form of a medical report or certification prepared by a medical professional furnished to the Court which:
i. identifies the medical professional and provides details by which they may be contacted.
ii. outlines the medical professional's familiarity with the party's medical condition and states whether they are treating the party.
iii. identifies the party's medical condition (s) based upon a proper examination.
iv. if the medical practitioner is of the opinion that the party is medically unfit, the report should outline the features of that condition which prevent participation in the appeal/ attendance in court.
v. identifies when the party may be able to attend court in the future, given his or her condition and the prognosis thereof.
vi. identifies whether the party is medically fit to make written submissions and/or to participate in a remote hearing of the appeal.

Save in the case of a medical emergency, applications for adjournments on medical grounds which are not supported by a medical report satisfying these requirements are unlikely to be granted.

The party submitting the medical evidence should indicate whether he or she has any objection to all or part of that evidence being provided to the other parties to the appeal and, if so, the basis of its objection.

Where a party indicates that it opposes the application for an adjournment, and/or the Court's provisional view is to refuse the adjournment, the Court, in the exercise of its discretion, may give such directions as it thinks fit regarding the furnishing of any medical report(s) relied upon by the applicant, or some lesser form of disclosure of the evidence in support of the application, to the other parties to the appeal, as is in the interests of justice.

FRIDAY DIRECTIONS LIST AND MOTION LISTS
The weekly directions and motions lists are conducted in person before the President unless otherwise directed by the Court. This means that all parties must attend in person in Court 1, Court of Appeal Building, Four Courts save where the Court directs otherwise.

In accordance with provisions of Order 86A Rule 16(1) the directions book is to be lodged in the office by close of business on the preceding Friday. In accordance with the provisions of Order 86 Rule 12(5) (dealing with interlocutory applications) the motion book is to be lodged in the office by close of business on the preceding Tuesday.

FRIDAY CALLOVER OF APPEALS LISTED FOR HEARING
The weekly advance Callover Lists of appeals listed for hearing are conducted in person before the President unless otherwise directed by the Court. The Callover lists for each respective Friday list are published in advance in the Legal Diary. The Legal Diary list is updated on a daily basis. It is the responsibility of the parties in listed appeals to check the Legal Diary for the date of the relevant Callover (generally scheduled for approximately six weeks in advance of the appeal hearing date)

Parties will be aware that the purpose of the Callover is to confirm that submissions and books of appeals (including books of authorities) have been lodged or will be lodged as directed, and that there has been compliance with any other directions previously given by the Court. It is vital therefore that there be an attendance at the Callover by all parties to an appeal.

VIRTUAL MEETING ROOM (VMR) DETAILS FOR FRIDAY LISTS - IMPORTANT
Parties are asked to note that the Virtual Meeting Room (VMR) details for the Callover / Directions / Motion list on each Friday will no longer be furnished unless directed by the Court. If any party is unable to attend in person, they may apply to the Office of the Court of
Appeal for leave to appear remotely for a decision by the judge in charge of the list, which application should be supported by a medical report which details the medical reasons why the party concerned is unable to attend in person. Without prejudice to the foregoing, the Court may in any case for good and sufficient reason permit a party to appear remotely.
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