Order 37 ^[1]

1. (1) In this Order:

“the Act” means the Children Act, 2001 (No. 24 of 2001);
“the Court” means the Children Court.

(2) Subject to the Act, a Judge may adjourn business from a sitting of the District Court to a sitting of the Children Court for the same district and vice versa.

(3) Nothing in this Order shall prevent the Court, subject to the Act, from making any order when sitting as the Children Court which it could make at a sitting of the court sitting as the District Court and vice versa.

(4) Any reference in any Form to the “District Court” instead of the “Children Court” shall be taken as a reference to the Children Court and shall not invalidate such Form.

2. (1) Save as otherwise provided in this Order, in criminal proceedings in the Children Court, the provisions of Orders 13 to 36 shall apply, as modified or extended by the provisions of this Order.

(2) Rule 7 of Order 23 and rules 1 and 2 of Order 24 shall not apply in proceedings in the Children Court.

3.^[2] Forms No.37.1 to 37.40, Schedule B may be used in criminal proceedings in the Children Court, and where no suitable Form is provided for in this Order, the Forms provided for in Orders 13 to 36 of these Rules may be used in such proceedings, entitled in the “Children Court” and otherwise modified as required by the circumstances of the case or as provided in this Order

4. The procedure to be followed and the forms to be used in any application in relation to a compensation order made under the Criminal Justice Act, 1993 which involves a child are prescribed in Order 33 of these Rules.

5. Subject to the Act and the preceding rules of this Order, the provisions of the Summary Jurisdiction Rules, 1909 (S.R. & O. 952) dated July 31, 1909 made under section 133(7) of the Children Act, 1908 shall, by operation of section 5 (1) of the Children Act, 2001, with any necessary modifications, apply to proceedings under the Act.

6. Notwithstanding any provision of Order 14, all persons shall be excluded from sittings of the Children Court except –

(a) officers of the court

(b) the parents or guardian of the child concerned,

(c) an adult relative to the child, or other adult who attends the court pursuant to section 91 (6) of the Act,

(d) persons directly concerned in the proceedings,

(e) bona fide representatives of the press,

(f) such other persons (if any) as the court may at its discretion permit to remain. However the order or decision of the Court (if any) in any such proceedings shall be announced in public.

7. Where the Court imposes one or more of the conditions specified in section 90(1) of the Act on the release on bail of a child, such condition shall be endorsed on the recognisance.

8. Where an accused child is before the court charged with an indictable offence with which the court has jurisdiction to deal summarily if the accused does not object, the judge shall inform the accused child of his or her right to be tried by a jury and if the accused child (inquiry having been made of him or her by the judge) consents to the case being tried summarily, and, the case is not one of an offence which is required to be tried by the Central Criminal Court or manslaughter and the court is of opinion that the offence constitutes a minor offence fit to be tried summarily (or, where the child, having had the opportunity to have the assistance of his or her parent or guardian, adult spouse, an adult relative accompanying him or her, wishes to plead guilty, to be dealt with summarily), the court, having taken account of the age and level of maturity of the child concerned and any other facts that it considers relevant, may take the accused child’s plea and try him or her summarily.

9. Where an accused child is before the court charged with an offence which is required to be tried by the Central Criminal Court or with manslaughter and wishes to plead guilty and the Court is satisfied that he or she understands the nature of the offence and the facts alleged, then, if the accused child signs a plea of guilty the judge may by order (Form 37.16 Schedule B) and with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions (which consent may be conveyed as provided in rule 4 of Order 24), or, where appropriate, of the Attorney-General, send him or her forward for sentence with that plea to the court to which, if he or she had pleaded not guilty, the accused could lawfully have been sent forward for trial.

10. An order imposing a community sanction shall be in the Form 37.17, Schedule B. Any application made under section 136 of the Act shall be preceded by the issue and service, at least four days before the date upon which the application is to be heard, on the accused, the parents or guardian of the accused, and any other person directly affected by the order, of a notice in the Form 37.18, Schedule B.

11. Where it appears to the court, on application in that behalf by a member of the Garda Síochána that a child has failed, without reasonable cause, to comply with an order in force imposing a community sanction or any condition to which such order is subject, there shall be issued a summons to the child to appear before it in the Form 37.19, ^Schedule B. Unless the Court has excused the parents and/or guardian of the child from appearing, pursuant to section 90(5) of the Act, such summons to appear shall also be addressed to the parents and/or guardian of the child. If the child shall fail to appear in answer to said summons, the Court may issue a warrant in the Form 37.20, Schedule B for his or her arrest. The order of the Court on the hearing of the application shall be in the Form 37.21, Schedule B.

12. Where the court orders an accused child to pay a fine, costs, or compensation and the child is in default, the Court may, on the application of the prosecutor therefor, issue a warrant in the Form 37.22, Schedule B, for the arrest of the child to be brought before the Court to answer such default. Alternatively, application may be made by the prosecutor for an order under section 110 of the Act. Such application shall be preceded by the issue and service, at least four days before the date upon which the application is to be heard, on the accused, the parents or guardian of the accused and any other person directly affected by the order, of a notice in the Form 37.23, Schedule B. The order of the Court on the hearing of the application shall be in the Form 37.24, Schedule B.

13.^[3] An order pursuant to section 78(1) of the Act directing the Probation and Welfare Service to arrange for the convening of a family conference shall be in the Form 37.27, Schedule B. Where such order is made, the proceedings shall be adjourned to a date not less than seven days after the expiry of the period of 28 days prescribed in section 79 of the Act. For the purposes of convening a family conference pursuant to section 78 of the Act, the Clerk shall provide the probation and welfare service with such information and copies of such documents in respect of the child and/or in respect of the offence alleged as may be directed by the Court.

14. ^[4] An order of the Court pursuant to section 82(1)(b) or section 82(2)(a) of the Act in respect of an action plan ordering that the child concerned comply with it and be supervised by a probation and welfare officer while it is in operation shall be in the Form 37.28 Schedule B. On such order being made, the proceedings shall be adjourned to a date fixed by the Court for review of compliance with the action plan in accordance with Section 84 of the Act. The probation and welfare officer who convened the relevant family conference shall be at liberty in such case to apply to the Court for the purposes of section 83 of the Act. Such application shall be preceded by the issue and service of a notice of application in the Form 37.29, Schedule B which shall be served not later than seven days before the date fixed for the hearing of such application on (a) the prosecuting Garda; (b) the child and (c) the parent(s) or guardian of the child or if the whereabouts of the parent(s) or guardian are unknown, on any adult relative of the child or other adult who has, under section 91(6) of the Act of 2001, accompanied the child during the proceedings

Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) Act 2008 and the Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and DNA Database System) Act 2014

15.^[5] (1) In this rule:

the “Act of 2008” means the Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) Act 2008 (No. 7 of 2008);

the “Act of 2014” means the Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and DNA Database System) Act 2014 (No. 11 of 2014);

the expression “intimate sample” has the same meaning as in section 2(1) of the Act of 2014.

(2) An application for an order authorising the taking of an intimate sample from a child in the circumstances mentioned in section 17(1) of the Act of 2014 may be made to the Children Court by information on oath and in writing of the applicant in the Form 37.41, Schedule B.

(3) Where the person to whom the application relates is a child (including a child who is a protected person), an application for any other order under the Act of 2014, for an order under section 79B of the Act of 2008 (inserted by section 134 of the Act of 2014) or for an order under section 50A(6) of the International Criminal Court Act 2006 (inserted by section 140 of the Act of 2014) may be made to the Children Court by information on oath and in writing of the applicant in the Form 31.12, Schedule B, with the necessary modifications, and the procedure set out in Order 31 shall apply, with such modifications as are necessary.

(4) An information sworn for the purposes of section 17(1) of the Act of 2014 shall include details of (as the case may be):

(i) the facts grounding the matters mentioned in section 17(4)(a) to (e) of the Act of 2014;

(ii) the facts which establish that one of the conditions specified in section 17(1) of the Act of 2014 is satisfied, and

(iii) the means by which and time at which, the child concerned and any parent or guardian of that child (other than a parent or guardian to whom section 15(2) of the Act of 2014 applies), was informed of the intention to make the application (including the time and place at which it was intended to make the application), and

(iv) the rank of the applicant.

(5) Any application under section 17(3) of the Act of 2014 may be made viva voce at the hearing and shall be determined before consideration of the application under section 17(1) of the Act of 2014.

(6) Any application under section 17(7) of the Act of 2014 may be made viva voce at the hearing of the application under section 17(1) of the Act of 2014 and a warrant issued on foot of such application shall be in the Form 37.42, Schedule B.

(7) Where the Court considers it necessary, it may adjourn the hearing of the application and direct a further notification to a parent or guardian of the child concerned.

(8) Where the person to whom the appeal relates is a child (including a child who is a protected person), an appeal under section 81(11) or section 83(9) of the Act of 2014 may be made to the Children Court by notice of appeal in the Form 31.1A or 31.1B, Schedule B, as appropriate, with the necessary modifications, and the procedure set out in Order 31 shall apply, with such modifications as are necessary.

(9)^[6] The provisions of Order 31 rules 9 and 10 shall apply to any other applications to the Court, under the Act of 2008 or the Act of 2014, save an application under section 17 of the Act of 2014, or where the person to whom the application relates is a child (including a child who is a protected person).