S.I. No. 487/2001 - District Court (Fees) (No. 2) Order, 2001

I, John O'Donoghue, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 65 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1936 (No. 48 of 1936) as adapted by the Justice (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order, 1997 ( S.I. No. 298 of 1997 ), and with the consent of the Minister for Finance, hereby order as follows:

1.       (1)      This Order may be cited as the District Court (Fees) (No. 2) Order, 2001.

(2)      This Order shall come into operation on the 1st January, 2002.

2.       The Interpretation Act, 1937 (No. 38 of 1937), applies to this Order.

3.       There shall be charged in the offices of the District Court, in respect of each item specified in column (1) of the Schedule to this Order, the fee set out in column (2) of that Schedule opposite the mention of the item in the said column (1).

4.        No fee shall be payable under this Order in any family law proceedings, in any matrimonial cause or matter, or in proceedings brought by a health board or health authority in any matter relating to minors.

5.       (1)      No fee shall be payable under this Order by, or on behalf of -

(a)      the Attorney General, in proceedings to which he is a party,

(b)      the Director of Public Prosecutions, in proceedings to which he is a party,

(c)      a member of the Garda Síochána, in proceedings for an offence brought by the member concerned,

(d)      a Minister of the Government, in proceedings brought by the Minister of the Government concerned,

(e)      the Revenue Commissioners, in proceedings brought by them,

(f)      a local authority, in proceedings under the Local Authorities (Traffic Wardens) Act, 1975 (No. 14 of 1975), or

(g)      a probation and welfare officer, in proceedings under the Probation of Offenders Act, 1907, or the Criminal Justice (Community Service) Act, 1983 (No. 23 of 1983).

(2)       No fee shall be payable under this Order by, or on behalf of, any person represented in proceedings (whether civil or criminal) by the Chief State Solicitor, or a local State Solicitor acting in that capacity.

(3)       No fee shall be payable under this Order in respect of a witness called to give evidence in proceedings to which this Article applies by or on behalf of a person to whom this Article applies.

6.                  The payment of the fee chargeable in respect of an item mentioned in column (1) of the Schedule to this Order shall be recorded by means of a stamp impressed on the document or court fee card, as may be appropriate, mentioned in column (3) of the said Schedule, opposite the mention of the item in the said column (1).

7.       The District Court (Fees) Order, 2001 ( S.I. No. 253 of 2001 ), is hereby revoked.

SCHEDULE

PART 1

General

PART 2

Civil proceedings

PART 3

Enforcement of Court Orders proceedings

PART 4

Licensing matters

PART 5

Appeals to Circuit Court other than Appeals in Criminal Cases

PART 6

Cases Stated

PART 7

Proceedings under Housing (Private Rented Dwellings) Act, 1982

PART 8

Appeals under Betting Act, 1931

PART 9

Small Claims Procedure

The Minister for Finance hereby consents to the making of this Order.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

This Order revokes the District Court (Fees) Order, 2001 ( S.I. No. 253 of 2001 ).

The Order provides for the fees to be charged in District Court offices with effect from 1st January, 2002. All of the fees are in convenient Euro amounts and are, in line with Government policy on this matter, less than the IR£ fees prevailing at the making of the Order.

In addition, the Order provides for the exemption from fees of certain proceedings, including family law proceedings.

For easy reference an index to the contents of each part of the Schedule to this Order is set out below.

INDEX TO SCHEDULE: