S.I. No. 158/2026 - Rules of the Superior Courts (Order 53D) 2026

1. (1) These Rules, which may be cited as the Rules of the Superior Courts (Order 53D) 2026, shall come into operation on the 8

th

day of May 2026.

(2) These Rules shall be construed together with the Rules of the Superior Courts.

(3) The Rules of the Superior Courts as amended by these Rules may be cited as the Rules of the Superior Courts 1986 to 2026.

2. These Rules shall apply in proceedings commenced from the date on which these Rules come into operation.

3. The Rules of the Superior Courts are amended by the substitution for rules 4 and 5 of Order 53D of the following rules

“4. Every recommendation of the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal under section 82(2) of the Act of 2015 shall be delivered by the Tribunal Registrar to the Central Office by post, by hand or electronically addressed to the President within 21 days of the making of such recommendation. The recommendation shall include or have appended the determination of the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal under section 81(8) of the Act of 2015. A copy of the recommendation shall at the same time be furnished

(i) to the Authority;

(ii) to the Law Society, where the respondent legal practitioner is a solicitor;

(iii) to the Bar Council and to the Honorable Society of King’s Inns, where the respondent legal practitioner is a barrister;

(iv) to the respondent legal practitioner, and

(v) if applicable, to the complainant.

5. (1) Following the delivery of a recommendation in accordance with rule 4, the Authority (or, where it was the applicant under section 77 of the Act of 2015, the Law Society) shall issue a notice of motion seeking such order under section 85(7) of the Act of 2015 as it considers appropriate and reasonable having regard to the determination and the recommendations of the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal. The motion shall be supported by an affidavit averring to the relevant facts or alleged facts and exhibiting true copies of all documents delivered to and produced before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal.

(2) The motion shall be served on each party who participated in the Inquiry of the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal.”.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(

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

)

These rules update Order 53D by (1) providing that recommendations of the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal under

section 82

(2) of the

Legal Services Regulation Act 2015

may be delivered electronically to the Central Office, and (2) changing the bodies who are authorised to issue a notice of motion seeking an order under

section 85

(7) of the

Legal Services Regulation Act 2015

following delivery of the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal’s recommendation on sanction before the High Court.

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of

17

th April,

2026.

We, the Superior Courts Rules Committee, by virtue of the powers conferred upon us by

section 36

of the

Courts of Justice Act 1924

,

section 68

of the

Courts of Justice Act 1936

(as applied by

section 48

of the

Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961

), and

section 14

of the

Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961

, and with the concurrence of the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, make the following Rules of Court.

Dated this 3

rd

day of December, 2025.

Donal O’Donnell (Chairperson)

Caroline Costello

Yvonne McNamara

David Barniville

Grainne Larkin

Elizabeth Dunne

Michele O’Boyle

Brian R. Murray

Áine Hynes

Mary Faherty

James Finn

Nuala Butler

Mary Kelly

Richard Humphreys

Siobhán Phelan

I concur in the making of the following Rules of Court.

Dated this 10

th

day of April 2026.

____________________________

Jim O’Callaghan

Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration