The Civil Reform Bill 2025: A Seismic shift to the Civil Litigation Landscape in Ireland

Perhaps the most significant proposed reform is the replacement of the discovery procedure with a "production of documents" procedure. The new procedure requires Plaintiffs to produce all documents they intend to rely upon within 28 days of service of the Claim Form. Defendants must provide their documents within 42 days of service of their defence. 

While lengthier periods can be agreed between the parties, or directed by the court, the documents must be produced by no later than 28 days prior to the commencement of trial.

The current discovery procedure only requires parties to provide the documentation being relied upon after pleadings have closed. At present, to obtain discovery, documents within relevant categories must be sought by one party from another. This proposed “front loading” procedure marks a significant departure from the current discovery procedure, which was criticised in the Kelly Report for allowing better financially resourced parties to use it as a “weapon” against less well-resourced parties

The General Scheme proposes statutory changes to judicial review. Courts currently have discretion to grant a remedy on foot of a judicial review application. The General Scheme proposes legislation which specifies that a court shall not grant a relief sought unless it is satisfied that a number of conditions have been met. These include demonstrating that the applicant has suffered prejudice, the granting of the relief will significantly benefit the applicant, and that granting relief is in the interest of justice.

General Principles

The General Scheme sets out formal case management principles which must be followed, including but not limited to:

• Issues of law and fact must be identified, defined, narrowed and prioritised at an early juncture.
• Proceedings should be progressed in a manner which is likely to minimise costs exposure.
• ADR should be utilised where appropriate to do so.

Adjournments

The General Scheme also seeks to introduce a presumption against granting adjournments. It lists a number of factors for a court to take into account when deciding whether to grant adjournments. These include the principles above; the conduct of the parties and a penalty being imposed on the party in breach.

Presumed Discontinuance

An interesting mechanism proposed in the General Scheme is a procedure whereby a party may serve notice of an intention to lodge a discontinuance application, where no steps have been taken to progress proceedings for 6 months or more. If the party upon whom the notice is served takes no steps within the following 28 days, a discontinuance application can be lodged in the court office. The court office can then notify the party of the discontinuance of the proceedings. Any application to set the discontinuance aside must be made within 3 months. This proposal further highlights the need to progress proceedings quickly, and that the court is becoming less willing to accept delays, as seen in a recent Supreme Court decision.

A party issuing proceedings concerning real property is currently able to register these proceedings as a burden against the property. The burden often remains on the title for the duration of the litigation. It is now proposed to limit the duration of a lis pendens to 28 days unless an application is made to court for its extension. This change will assist in helping prevent parties from improperly using the lis pendens procedure.

The General Scheme proposes to increase the monetary jurisdiction of the District Court from €15,000 to €20,000 and the monetary jurisdiction of the Circuit Court from €75,000 to €100,000.

It also proposes to impose a 3-month time limit from the conclusion of proceedings and an award of a costs order to provide a bill of costs to the other party. A failure to adhere to this time limit will result in the forbearance of court interest.