Civil Reform on the horizon: General Scheme of Civil Reform Bill published

The Civil Reform Bill 2025 (the Bill) is primarily intended to implement the Report on the Review of the Administration of Civil Justice in Ireland  (widely known as the Kelly Report), which was published in October 2020. That report made over 90 specific recommendations for procedural and administrative reform in the Irish Courts. It represented the work of a review group made up of members of the judiciary as well as representatives of government departments and of the Office of the Attorney General, the Chief State Solicitor’s Office, the Bar of Ireland, the Law Society and the Courts Service. In 2022, the Government published a detailed Implementation Plan setting out how the ambitious reforms envisaged by the Kelly Report would be achieved. The proposals outlined in the General Scheme are broadly in line with the approach set out in the Implementation Plan. 

On publishing the General Scheme, the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Mr Jim O’Callaghan, said that it “…delivers on the vast majority of the recommendations in the Kelly Report and expands upon them in some cases.” He placed particular emphasis on the proposed reforms to judicial review which have been the subject of significant media coverage in recent months noting that: “Most significantly, the Bill provides for an overhaul of the judicial review mechanism, which will result in greater transparency and a more streamlined process.”

Some of the proposals outlined in the General Scheme have the potential to fundamentally change the way litigation is conducted in the Irish courts. Those involved in commercial litigation will need to pay particular attention to developments regarding the proposed reforms to: (i) Judicial review; (ii) Discovery; and (iii) Case Conduct and Pleadings. We have considered these proposed reforms in further detail below.

Judicial review

While the recent Planning and Development Act 2024 (PDA 2024) introduced a number of very significant reforms to judicial review proceedings in the planning sphere, the General Scheme envisages broad reform of judicial review more generally.

Part 3 of the General Scheme aims to put judicial review on a statutory basis. Subject to certain limited exceptions set out under Head 13, the validity of an act of a public body may only be challenged by way of statutory appeal or by way of judicial review under the Bill.

Head 8(5)(a) provides that a remedy under judicial review may only be granted where all of the following conditions are met:

1. the respondent has acted unlawfully,
2. the applicant has suffered harm or prejudice,
3. any error of law, or procedural error, was material to the decision,
4. the interests of justice require such a remedy to be granted, taking into account both the interests of the applicant and the public interest, and
5. the granting of the remedy leaves the applicant in a significantly better position.

Head 8(7) provides that, subject to other legislative provisions, costs in judicial review proceedings may generally only be awarded to an applicant where the final decision of the court provides a significant benefit to the applicant.

While Head 9 of the General Scheme provides that the Circuit Court and the High Court are to have concurrent jurisdiction to hear and determine applications for judicial review, certain classes of applications will generally be required to be initiated in the Circuit Court. These include applications concerning citizenship, migration and asylum; District Court decisions; decisions of certain public bodies (as yet to be identified); and proceedings concerning certain enactments (as yet to be identified).

While the General Scheme provides for some limited exceptions (e.g. applications for judicial review under Part 9 of the PDA 2024), leave to apply for judicial review will, consistent with current practice, be required in most cases. Leave will only be granted if certain criteria are fulfilled including that (i) there are arguable grounds that a remedy should be granted and that granting the remedy would provide a significant benefit to the applicant; (ii) the claim has a reasonable prospect of success; and (iii) the issue is appropriate for the court and not of a minor nature. In order to satisfy the standing requirements, an applicant will have to be directly affected by the challenged act and have a sufficient interest in the matter.

The General Scheme also proposes shortening the general time limits within which judicial review applications can be made to eight weeks. Applications to extend this period are subject to stringent criteria and to a hard cap of sixteen weeks.

Discovery/ production of documents 

Part 2 of the General Scheme deals with new ‘Production of Documents’ rules for both parties to proceedings (Head 5) and non-parties (Head 6). As anticipated, the existing discovery, inspection and production procedures will be abolished (Head 4) and replaced with a new, front-loaded production regime whereby the parties will be required to produce the documents on which they intend to rely shortly after delivering their pleadings. Only new actions, initiated after the commencement of Part 2, will be subject to this new regime (Head 7).

Head 5 - Production of Documents in Civil Proceedings, provides that parties to civil proceedings shall produce all documents within their power, possession or control which:

• they intend to rely on at trial
• are relevant and material to the outcome of the proceedings (to include documents that the other side would be reasonably likely to rely on at trial)
• are necessary for the administration of justice

Timelines for the production of such documents will be short under the new regime. Unless otherwise agreed between the parties or permitted by the Court, a claimant will have to provide such documents within 28 days of the service upon the respondent of the claim form, and a respondent will have to provide such documents within 42 days of the service on the claimant of the respondent’s defence.  If parties do not comply with this requirement to produce documents, then the Court will be able to order the production of documents either on the application of a party, or on its own initiative. The Court will also be able to exclude documents from production for a range of reasons, including on the application of a party.

Head 5 further provides for the production of additional documents to other parties, including witness statements and expert reports, 28 days prior to the date of trial.

Pleadings reform, case conduct principles and pre-action protocols  

Part 4 of the General Scheme sets out proposed reforms to Civil Procedure in the Courts and covers a range of important procedural matters including pre-action protocols, pleadings reform and case conduct principles.

Pleadings reform

As proposed in the Kelly Report, the General Scheme envisages the introduction of a single originating document to be described as a ‘claim notice’ (Head 25). A note in the text confirms that a full list of the originating documents to be replaced is being collated.

Case conduct principles

Head 15 outlines a proposal requiring parties and their representatives to adhere to the following case conduct principles: 

• that matters of law and fact arising in the proceedings which are at issue between the parties should, at as early a stage and to the extent as is practicable, be identified, defined, narrowed (where possible) and prioritised or sequenced,
• that proceedings should be conducted in a manner which is just, expeditious and likely to minimise the costs of those proceedings, and
• that the parties should use alternative dispute resolution procedures, where appropriate, to settle the whole or part of the proceedings where practicable and should be facilitated in doing so.

It is also proposed to place an express obligation on the court to ensure adherence to these principles and emphasises the importance of active case management and appropriate allocation of court time and resources.

Pre-action protocols

Marking a significant shift in civil proceedings in Ireland, the General Scheme provides for the Minister to issue regulations for pre-action protocols for ‘specified areas of litigation’ (Head 19). The focus of the Kelly Report in this regard was on clinical negligence, but the General Scheme envisages a potentially wider application of such protocols. However, it does require that in advance of making such regulations the Minister must consult with the Court Rules Committee and any legal regulatory authorities or bodies and any other bodies they consider appropriate.

Monetary jurisdiction and other reforms

Part 5 of the General Scheme deals with the jurisdiction of the Circuit and District Courts increasing their monetary jurisdiction (with some exceptions) to €100,000 and €20,000 respectively.

Other significant civil procedure reforms include:

• Presumption against granting of adjournments in civil proceedings (Head 16): the text includes a range of considerations for the Court in deciding whether to grant an adjournment/ extension of time/ stay.
• Deemed discontinuance of civil actions (Head 17): where an action has not yet been set down for trial and no steps have been taken by the other party for six months, a party will be able to notify the other party of its intention to apply for deemed discontinuance. If no steps are taken by the other side within 28 days of service of that notice, the serving party may lodge an application for deemed discontinuance, and the proceedings will be deemed discontinued as at the date of lodging.
• Time limit for furnishing party and party bill of costs (Heads 26 and 27) – this must now be done within three months of the conclusion of proceedings.

Conclusion

We are now poised to enter a new era in civil litigation in Ireland. The General Scheme gives us an overview and a clear sense of the potential impact of the reforms it envisages. We await with interest, however, the publication of the draft Bill and the legislative scrutiny that will follow.

For further information in relation to this topic, please contact Nicholas Cole, Partner, Sinéad Hayes, Practice Development Consultant, Rachel Kemp, Senior Practice Development Lawyer or your usual contact in the Litigation Department.  

Date published: 9 January 2026