Order 11: Issue of Civil Bills, Service of Documents ^[1]

Issue of Civil Bills
Service of Documents

1. Save as otherwise provided in these Rules, every Civil Bill shall be signed and presented in duplicate to be issued out of the Office of the Court in a County having jurisdiction pursuant to these Rules (hereinafter referred to as ‘‘the Office’’). The Civil Bill which is stamped, sealed and issued in the manner hereinafter set out shall be the original Civil Bill. The duplicate thereof shall be filed in the Office.

2. The Civil Bill shall, before issue thereof for service, be stamped in the appropriate amount, if any, as prescribed by law and, where stamping is required by law, if not so stamped, the Civil Bill and the duplicate Civil Bill shall have no effect or force.

3. The Civil Bill shall be presented to the Office, sealed, marked with the record number by the proper officer and shall thereupon be deemed to be issued and shall thereafter be entered in the cause book in date and numerical order of issue. At the time of issuing, the proper officer shall mark upon the duplicate Civil Bill the date of issue, full details in relation to stamping and the record number assigned to the Civil Bill. No Civil Bill shall be served until it shall have been so issued. In presenting such Civil Bill together with the duplicate thereof to the Office for issuing, such presentation may be by post or in person. In circumstances in which the Civil Bill has been presented by post, the proper officer shall return the Civil Bill to the Plaintiff or the Plaintiff’s solicitor, as appropriate, by ordinary pre-paid post.

4. No Civil Bill for service out of the jurisdiction, or of which notice is to be given out of the jurisdiction, shall be issued without the leave of the Court or of the County Registrar, save in accordance with the provisions of Orders 13 and 14 of these Rules.

Service of Civil Bills and other originating documents

5. Save as provided by Rules 10, 11 and 19 of this Order, a copy of the Civil Bill shall be served by one of the officers duly appointed as Summons Servers by the County Registrar. A Summons Server or other authorised person shall not accept for service any document purporting to be a copy of the Civil Bill unless the original of such Civil Bill duly dated, sealed, stamped, indorsed, marked and issued as prescribed by Rules 1, 2 and 3 hereof be at the same time handed to him to be shown at the time of service to the defendant or other person to be served. The fee payable to such Summons Server or other authorised person shall be such sum as determined by the County Registrar from time to time, but, when the Civil Bill is served upon two or more defendants residing in the same household, only one service fee shall be payable. Wherever and for so long as no Summons Server in each case stands assigned to any area by the County Registrar of the County in which such area is situate, then service may be effected in the manner prescribed by Section 7 of the Courts Act, 1964.

5A^[2]. Notwithstanding rule 5, where service of a Civil Bill which has been issued in accordance with Order 11A is effected by digital delivery on a defendant, or the solicitor for a defendant, who is or becomes a digital user (within the meaning of Order 11A) who has consented to digital delivery of the document, no further service of the Civil Bill on that defendant is required

6. Save where otherwise directed or permitted service of a Civil Bill shall be effected upon the defendant personally wherever he is to be found within the jurisdiction or at the defendant’s residence within the jurisdiction personally upon the husband or wife of the defendant or upon some relative or employee of the defendant over the age of sixteen years and apparently resident there. At the time of service the original Civil Bill duly sealed and issued shall be shown to the person served.

7. Every Summons Server, or other person duly authorised to effect service, shall compare the copies of the Civil Bills or other documents delivered to him for service with their respective originals and, prior to the service of such copies shall indorse his name upon the same; and after he has effected service, such person serving a Civil Bill shall, within three days at most after service, indorse his name upon each original, stating also the day of the week and, date upon which, and in the manner in which, and place, where such service was made, and the person, whether husband or wife or relative or employee, upon, whom the same was served.

8. Service in accordance with these Rules shall be authenticated by affidavit or statutory declaration by the person serving same and such affidavit or statutory declaration of service of such civil bill shall mention the date on which the indorsements referred to in Rule 7 hereof were made and shall be sworn or declared within a reasonable time of such service having taken place. Such affidavit or statutory declaration may be indorsed on the original document.

9. Where personal service is prescribed and is alleged to have been effected, but the person who has made such service does not know of his own knowledge that the person served is the person named for personal service, he may make the affidavit or statutory declaration referred to in the preceding Rule, stating therein that same is true to the best of his knowledge and belief, but, in any such case, the Judge may on his own initiative or on the application of any person who is alleged to be affected by the said service require such further evidence thereof as he may think right.

10. A Solicitor may undertake in writing to accept service of a Civil Bill and in such case service on such Solicitor shall be sufficient, provided that he shall at the time of service indorse on the original Civil Bill his acceptance of service thereof and his undertaking to enter an appearance thereto.

Substituted service

11. If it be made to appear to the Judge or the County Registrar that the plaintiff is from any cause unable to effect prompt personal service, or such other service as is prescribed by these Rules, the Judge or the County Registrar may make such order for substituted service, or for the substitution for service of notice by advertisement, or otherwise as may be just, and (save where service is allowed by advertisement), whenever any such order shall be made, a copy thereof shall be served with the Civil Bill or other document, or such notice, and every such order  shall state the time within which the defendant may enter an appearance or comply with the requirements of such order.

12. Every application to the Court or the County Registrar for an order for substituted or other service, or for the substitution of notice for service, shall be supported by an affidavit setting forth the grounds upon which the application is made.

13. In any case, the Judge or the County Registrar may declare the service actually effected sufficient.

Service on particular defendants

14. When an infant is a defendant to an action, service on his father or guardian, or, if none, then upon the person with whom the infant resides or under whose care he is, shall, unless the Judge or the County Registrar otherwise orders, be deemed good service on the infant; provided that the Judge may order that service made or to be made on the infant shall be deemed good service.

15^[3]. Service on a relevant person (within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015) who is a defendant to an action, shall be in accordance with Order 6, rule 8.

Service of other documents

16. A Summons Server, or other person duly authorised to effect service, shall, within four days after service, return the original document properly indorsed as prescribed by these Rules to the Solicitor or other person from whom the same was received.

17. In special circumstances and for good cause shown the Judge or the County Registrar may permit service of any Civil Bill to be effected by a person other than a Summons Server.

18. In all cases where proceedings are commenced otherwise than by Civil Bill, the preceding Rules of this Order shall apply to the document by which such proceedings were originated as if it were a Civil Bill.

19. Any document, as to which no mode of service is prescribed by these Rules, may be served by delivering the same to the party or person on whom it is to be served personally, or by delivering the same at the residence or place of business of such person, or by sending the same by pre-paid post, addressed to such party or person at his last known residence or place of business.

19A^[4]. Notwithstanding rule 19, where service of a document referred to in rule 19 which has been issued in accordance with Order 11A is effected by digital delivery on a person, or the solicitor for a person, who is or becomes a digital user (within the meaning of Order 11A) who has consented to digital delivery of the document, no further service of the document concerned on that person is required.

Proof of service

20. Where a party or person acts by a Solicitor, any document required to be delivered to or served upon such party may be delivered to or served upon such Solicitor, except in cases where by these Rules personal service upon a party is required; and service of any such document upon such Solicitor, or delivery of the same at his office, or sending the same to him by pre-paid post to such office shall be deemed to be good service upon the party or person for whom such Solicitor acts as upon the day when the same is so delivered or served, or upon which in the ordinary course of post it would be delivered.

20A. The delivery or service of any notice for the purposes of section 8 or section 17 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 shall be in the manner prescribed in section 4 of that Act.

21. The endorsement of service and the statutory declaration for the service of Civil Bills or other originating documents as provided by Section 7 of the Courts Act, 1964, shall be in the form set out at Form 1B of the Schedule of Forms annexed hereto.