Northern Ireland civil procedure
When must a party request a case stated from a Northern Ireland County Court?
21 days commencing on the decision day. Deliver the written application to the chief clerk and serve the other party. A final-decision statute can exclude the route. The judge can refuse a frivolous, vexatious or unreasonable request, subject to the statutory exceptions.
- Period
- 21 days commencing on the decision day
- Trigger
- Actual date the county-court decision was given
- Rule
- County Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1980 (SI 1980/397 (N.I. 3)), Article 61(2)
Current official revised XML accessed October 9, 2026, with retained amendment comparison. The June 2021 and February 2021 court PDFs are historical consolidation aids.
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When must a party request a case stated from a Northern Ireland County Court?
21 days commencing on the decision day. Deliver the written application to the chief clerk and serve the other party. A final-decision statute can exclude the route. The judge can refuse a frivolous, vexatious or unreasonable request, subject to the statutory exceptions.
Responsible actor. The county-court party challenging a point of law.
Actual date the county-court decision was given.
A final-decision statute can exclude the route. The judge can refuse a frivolous, vexatious or unreasonable request, subject to the statutory exceptions.
A final-decision statute can exclude the route. The judge can refuse a frivolous, vexatious or unreasonable request, subject to the statutory exceptions. The result must identify paired clerk delivery and party service for the county-court party challenging a point of law. Confirm every actual event and completion before selecting the ordinary branch.
County Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1980 (SI 1980/397 (N.I. 3)), Article 61(2)How does this provision count time?
- Establish actual date the county-court decision was given.
- Deliver the written application to the chief clerk and serve the other party.
- 21 days commencing on the decision day. Exclude the controlling event day under Order 3 rule 2(2). Count 21 following days. Intermediate weekends remain because this interval exceeds seven days.
- Deliver the written application to the chief clerk and serve the other party. Order 3 rule 4 addresses acts prevented at a court office. It does not automatically postpone this service, disclosure, validity or deemed-event boundary. Unproved nonworking endpoints remain outside numeric qualification.
21 days commencing on the decision day. Exclude the controlling event day under Order 3 rule 2(2). Count 21 following days. Intermediate weekends remain because this interval exceeds seven days.
Deliver the written application to the chief clerk and serve the other party. Order 3 rule 4 addresses acts prevented at a court office. It does not automatically postpone this service, disclosure, validity or deemed-event boundary. Unproved nonworking endpoints remain outside numeric qualification.
County Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1980 (SI 1980/397 (N.I. 3)), Article 61(2)What do independently checked examples show?
Fictitious example
Fictitious established event on Tuesday, January 13, 2026. 21 days commencing on the decision day. A final-decision statute can exclude the route. The judge can refuse a frivolous, vexatious or unreasonable request, subject to the statutory exceptions.
| Step | What is counted | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Example 1. Ordinary established facts | Fictitious established event on Tuesday, January 13, 2026. 21 days commencing on the decision day. A final-decision statute can exclude the route. The judge can refuse a frivolous, vexatious or unreasonable request, subject to the statutory exceptions. 21 days commencing on the decision day. Exclude the controlling event day under Order 3 rule 2(2). Count 21 following days. Intermediate weekends remain because this interval exceeds seven days. The independent ordinary endpoint is Tuesday, February 3, 2026 for paired-clerk-delivery-and-party-service, not a different filing, service or entitlement date. | Tuesday, February 3, 2026 |
| Example 2. Closed-day boundary | Fictitious boundary event on Friday, March 13, 2026. The source-specific completion is deliver the written application to the chief clerk and serve the other party. Deliver the written application to the chief clerk and serve the other party. Order 3 rule 4 addresses acts prevented at a court office. It does not automatically postpone this service, disclosure, validity or deemed-event boundary. Unproved nonworking endpoints remain outside numeric qualification. | The ordinary paired-clerk-delivery-and-party-service endpoint is Good Friday, April 3, 2026. RCJ Office closure cannot postpone this actual act merely because it prevents a different registry filing. Establish lawful completion on the controlling day or an actual variation. |
| Example 3. Material procedural branch | Actual date the county-court decision was given is not established. A final-decision statute can exclude the route. The judge can refuse a frivolous, vexatious or unreasonable request, subject to the statutory exceptions. The selected period cannot replace that missing source fact. A final-decision statute can exclude the route. The judge can refuse a frivolous, vexatious or unreasonable request, subject to the statutory exceptions. | Actual date the county-court decision was given is not established. A final-decision statute can exclude the route. The judge can refuse a frivolous, vexatious or unreasonable request, subject to the statutory exceptions. The selected period cannot replace that missing source fact. |
Fictitious established facts. These examples do not establish eligibility, effective service, relief or a direction.
Try these dates in the calculatorWhich conditions and exceptions apply?
- Applicable event and branch
- A final-decision statute can exclude the route. The judge can refuse a frivolous, vexatious or unreasonable request, subject to the statutory exceptions.
- Counting and boundary
- 21 days commencing on the decision day. Exclude the controlling event day under Order 3 rule 2(2). Count 21 following days. Intermediate weekends remain because this interval exceeds seven days.
- Required completion
- Deliver the written application to the chief clerk and serve the other party. Order 3 rule 4 addresses acts prevented at a court office. It does not automatically postpone this service, disclosure, validity or deemed-event boundary. Unproved nonworking endpoints remain outside numeric qualification.
- A final-decision statute can exclude the route. The judge can refuse a frivolous, vexatious or unreasonable request, subject to the statutory exceptions. The result must identify paired clerk delivery and party service for the county-court party challenging a point of law. Confirm every actual event and completion before selecting the ordinary branch.
- This procedure concerns the county-court party challenging a point of law. Its controlling event is actual date the county-court decision was given. A final-decision statute can exclude the route. The judge can refuse a frivolous, vexatious or unreasonable request, subject to the statutory exceptions.
What must the responsible actor complete?
Questions about this procedure
When must a party request a case stated from a Northern Ireland County Court?
Is the request limited to points of law?
Yes. Article 61 addresses dissatisfaction on a point of law, subject to statutes making a decision final.
County Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1980 (SI 1980/397 (N.I. 3)), Article 61(2)Must a copy be served on the other party?
Yes. Delivering the written application to the chief clerk is accompanied by the stated copy-service requirement.
County Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1980 (SI 1980/397 (N.I. 3)), Article 61(2)What if the judge refuses to state a case?
Article 61 permits the stated certificate and Court of Appeal application route, subject to its conditions.
County Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1980 (SI 1980/397 (N.I. 3)), Article 61(2)Does later receipt of the decision reset twenty-one days?
The provision uses the date the decision was given. A later copy does not automatically replace it.
County Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1980 (SI 1980/397 (N.I. 3)), Article 61(2)Who receives the original written request?
Deliver the request to the chief clerk under Article 61 and satisfy the separate copy-service requirement.
County Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1980 (SI 1980/397 (N.I. 3)), Article 61(2)Does the provision cover a decision made final by statute?
The ordinary case-stated entitlement excludes a decision made final by the controlling statutory provision.
County Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1980 (SI 1980/397 (N.I. 3)), Article 61(2)Official sources and review
Provisions used (3)
| Provision | Purpose |
|---|---|
| County Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1980 (SI 1980/397 (N.I. 3)), Article 61(2) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| Rules of the Court of Judicature (Northern Ireland) 1980, Order 3 | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| Rules of the Court of Judicature (Northern Ireland) 1980, Order 64 rule 7 | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |