The Commercial Court

The Commercial Court facilitates the hearing of commercial matters as defined in Order 63A of the Rules of the Superior Courts in an expeditious manner. The most common, relevant and relied upon factor from the Order, from a construction and contractual perspective at least, is that the value of the dispute is in excess of €1,000,000.00.

The Court is designed to ensure commercial matters are heard in an expeditious manner and heard by Judges familiar with commercial matters. Matters are potentially admitted to the Commercial Court on application to the Court on Motion.

Once a case is admitted to the Commercial Court the parties will find themselves being directed by the Court in a far more active manner than occurs in the High Court generally. In addition there are significant differences in the presentation of the case, where the parties are required to exchange witness statements and submissions in advance of the hearing. The negative effect of these difference is a front loading on workload and costs. The positive effects being, among others, speed and knowing the case you have to answer in more detail than would ordinarily be the case.

For further information on the Commercial Court, please refer to the relevant section on the Courts website: Commercial Court