You should know
Cases are regularly adjourned at the first hearing when more details or evidence are needed to make a fair decision.
Attending your court hearing
After you make your civil restraining order application, you will receive a Summons for a Civil Restraining Order from the court office. This will contain the date, time and venue of the court hearing for your application. For any accessibility requests, please contact the relevant court office or [email protected].
You must attend court on the appointed date and time. The respondent is also required to attend this full hearing and they may have legal representation.
Your application will be heard in private. Only a small number of people are allowed in the courtroom. This includes the judge and the court registrar. Your legal representative (solicitor or barrister, or both) and a member of An Garda Síochána may also attend.
Going to court can be a stressful experience, please see our preparing for Civil Law court pages for more information on how to prepare.
Both you and the respondent can give evidence to the court. This means you will have to take an oath or affirmation and give relevant information about your application. You and the respondent will be asked questions about your situation, the judge will decide how this will happen. They may only allow questions to be asked by a solicitor or barrister. The judge may allow questions be asked by you or the respondent in some situations.
You should consider visiting our legal advice and mediation page to better understand the options available to you.
Outcomes of your hearing
After hearing the evidence the judge will make a decision. They may decide to:
1. Grant an order
This means they agree to give you the order that you applied for. It also sets out details of how long it will last and other directions.
2. Refuse the order
This means they do not agree to give you the order that you applied for.
3. Adjourn the application
This means postponing a decision on an application to a later date. This happens when more details or evidence are needed or if the respondent does not show up to court.
4. Strike out the application
This means dismissing or cancelling an application. This can happen if you or your solicitor fail to appear in court. It also means that any related protective orders, such as a ex-parte interim restraining orders or inter-party interim restraining orders, are also cancelled and no longer in place.
