Publications : Litigation & Dispute Resolution
01-09-2010 - A Mareva injunction is used to restrain the dissipation or removal of assets before or after a judgement. It effectively freezes the assets so that the party affected cannot remove them from the jurisdiction or otherwise dispose of the assets (at least below a certain value) wherever they might be located until the court tells them otherwise. Such injunctions can prevent a defendant from frustrating an actual or an anticipated order of the court. more...
Defamation Bill, 2008 (formerly Defamation Bill, 2006)
11-02-2009 - Principal changes to existing defamation law contained in Bill as passed by Seanad Éireann, 2008 with commentary on certain aspects more...
When is the right time to Mediate?
06-08-2008 - The Honourable Ms. Justice Maureen Clark of The High Court showed the Wisdom of Solomon recently when presiding over the case of Charlton v Kenny & another, 2006 No. 4266P by successfully encouraging the parties to agree to mediate their dispute. Having since agreed a mediated settlement before going into evidence in the litigation, the parties have demonstrated the extraordinary power and value of the mediation process for resolving civil and commercial disputes. Notwithstanding the eleventh hour mediation and the legal costs of going so far in the litigation, the parties now enjoy the benefits of a mediated settlement. There are lessons to be learned here for anyone involved in civil or commercial disputes who may be contemplating issuing court proceedings. more...
The Press Ombudsman and the Press Council of Ireland
05-11-2007 - Following the announcement on 5 December 2006 by the then Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Michael McDowell, that the Irish printed media industry had approved the establishment of a Press Council of Ireland (as reported by EFC on 19 December 2006) to be its own regulator, Professor Thomas Mitchell was appointed Chairman of the inaugural Press Council of Ireland (the Press Council) on 26 January 2007. more...
09-08-2007 - Council Directive 86/ 653/ EEC of 18 December 1986 on the coordination of the laws of the Member States relating to self-employed commercial agents introduced a requirement to indemnify or compensate a commercial agent, as defined, where the agency had terminated. more...
01-08-2007 - The Commercial Court came into operation on 12 January 2004 bringing with it a more focused and speedier form of litigation. During the course of its subsequent operation further refinements to the system have been introduced by way of court direction and interpretation. more...
Irish Commercial Court supports mediation for commercial disputes
15-11-2006 - On Monday 13 November 2006, Mr. Justice Peter Kelly admitted a claim by Irish folk group The Dubliners (Baycourt Limited and Others) against EMI Records (Ireland) Limited into the Commercial List of the High Court. The Group had sued EMI over its promotion and selling of its CD Box Set, The Dubliners Platinum Collection. The dispute concerned copyright over seven songs featured in the Box Set collection. more...
Arbitration - Case Law Update 2006
23-10-2006 - Broström Tankers AB vs. Factorias Vulcano SA (2004) 2 IR 191. more...
Court Determines that Referential Bid(s) Invalid
07-06-2006 - In a recent decision by Mr Justice Kelly in the Commercial Court, involving a dispute surrounding the sponsorship of the weather forecast on RTÉ television, it was held that a so called “referential bid” was an invalid basis for tendering for that contract. more...
Mediation - Don't make a drama out of a crisis
07-03-2006 - Access to the Courts is one of the fundamentals of our constitutional democracy in Ireland. It is available to the petty criminal and to big business alike. Irish business, as in most other developed western economies, has traditionally chosen litigation as the means of resolving commercial disputes. The Courts function in assessing and adjudicating on the competing legal rights and obligations of the parties has been seen as the best way of resolving commercial disputes. more...
Recent Judgments show a willingness to enforce 'Restraint of Trade' clauses
09-08-2005 - There is a general view that restraint of trade covenants, even though often included in employment contracts, are narrowly interpreted by the courts and are difficult to enforce. more...
Separate Legal Personality - Lifting the Corporate Veil
04-07-2005 - The case of Salomon v Salomon & Co. firmly established the principle of the separate legal personality of a company i.e. that a company, once incorporated, is a legal person in its own right and is to be regarded as a separate entity from its members. The court in that case did however recognise that there could be instances where the courts would have to deviate from the principle of separate legal personality (commonly called " lifting the veil of incorporation") by stating that the principle was to be of general application provided that there was "…no fraud and no agency and if the company was a real one and not a fiction or a myth." more...
Arbitration in the Republic of Ireland - An Update Dec. 2004
07-12-2004 - more...
Health & Safety at Work - A Changing Environment
04-10-2004 - The Safety Health & Welfare at Work Bill 2004 has again raised the profile of Health & Safety legislation and its impact upon employers and employees. more...
13-05-2004 - Two cases of interest have recently been decided in the area of arbitration in Ireland:- more...
01-01-2004 - It is becoming a little more frequent in Ireland for commercial contracts to provide that before the parties refer a dispute to arbitration or litigation they will in the first instance seek to resolve it by mediation, negotiation or some other form of alternative dispute resolution. For a number of years the standard contracts in the Irish Construction Industry have had such a requirement. more...
Staying Court Proceedings where there is an Arbitration Agreement
09-05-2003 - Under Section 12 of the Arbitration Act 1954 ("the Principal Act") the Court had power to stay proceedings in relation to any matter brought before it where the applicant party could show that the matter was the subject of an existing arbitration agreement. The Court had however to be satisfied firstly that there was not sufficient reason why the matter should not be referred to arbitration in accordance with the agreement and secondly that the applicant was, at the time when the proceedings were commenced, and still remained, ready and willing to do all things necessary for the proper conduct of the arbitration. It was therefore entirely in the discretion of the Court as to whether or not it would grant a stay. In exercising its discretion the Court would have full regard to all the circumstances of the case and in particular whether all of the issues in dispute were the subject matter of the arbitration agreement and whether the arbitration agreement applied to all of the parties in dispute. more...
Internet Defamation - Universal Principles Applied
03-03-2003 - Although the first internet defamation case to come before the Irish courts (USA Rugby -v- Calhoun) foundered on the protective reef that serves to define the jurisdiction of this country's courts, the principles applied in that case are entirely consistent with those articulated in the Australian case of Dow Jones & Co Inc -v- Gutnick where jurisdiction was accepted. A brief review of the facts of each case is necessary to understand the basis of the respective decisions. more...
Arbitration in Ireland - A General Overview
07-11-2002 - more...
Domestic Arbitration - Recent Case Law
21-10-2002 - more...
01-10-2002 - The American Arbitration Association (AAA) has just opened its second International Centre for Dispute Resolution office in Dublin. more...
01-10-2002 - USA Rugby Football Union Limited -v- Ivan Calhoun more...