As of the 12th January 2004 Ireland has a specialist Commercial Court handling commercial cases involving claims exceeding €1,000,000.
Rule 1 of Order 63(A) sets out the categories of case which may be admitted to the Commercial Court list, which envisage most standard commercial disputes. However, admission into the commercial list is at the discretion of the Judge of the Commercial Court even if the case could fall into one of the categories contained within Rule 1 of Order 63(A).
The Commercial Court has earned a reputation for a practical and no nonsense approach to commercial litigation, with it primary aim being to reduce the time of the litigation process for Commercial Plaintiffs. The Commercial Court has therefore become a the favoured forum for those seeking a swift resolution.
In recent years there has been a significant increase in the number of cases being transferred into the Commercial List, particularly in respect of loan defaults and personal guarantees being enforced against property developers. Needless to say, many such claims have been high profile matters involving some of the countries best know developers and business figures.