Northern Ireland civil procedure
How much notice is needed for a Northern Ireland County Court interlocutory hearing?
Before the beginning of the two-day period ending on the hearing day. Serve written notice on the other party and file it in the Office. Establish the judge's or district judge's availability and actual time and place. Shorter notice or dispensation requires the actual decision. Apply the County Court short-period rules rather than the High Court seven-day rule.
- Period
- Before the beginning of the two-day period ending on the hearing day
- Trigger
- The actual arranged hearing date
- Rule
- County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 14, rule 1(1)(h)(i)
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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How much notice is needed for a Northern Ireland County Court interlocutory hearing?
Before the beginning of the two-day period ending on the hearing day. Serve written notice on the other party and file it in the Office. Establish the judge's or district judge's availability and actual time and place. Shorter notice or dispensation requires the actual decision. Apply the County Court short-period rules rather than the High Court seven-day rule.
Responsible actor. The party making an ordinary interlocutory application.
The actual arranged hearing date.
Establish the judge's or district judge's availability and actual time and place. Shorter notice or dispensation requires the actual decision. Apply the County Court short-period rules rather than the High Court seven-day rule.
Establish the judge's or district judge's availability and actual time and place. Shorter notice or dispensation requires the actual decision. Apply the County Court short-period rules rather than the High Court seven-day rule. The result must identify paired notice service and office filing for the party making an ordinary interlocutory application. Confirm every actual event and completion before selecting the ordinary branch.
County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 14, rule 1(1)(h)(i)How does this provision count time?
- Establish the actual arranged hearing date.
- Serve written notice on the other party and file it in the Office.
- Before the beginning of the two-day period ending on the hearing day. The two-day period ends on the hearing day. Both service and Office filing precede its beginning. Order 43 rule 17 removes noncounting days from this period of at most three days.
- Serve written notice on the other party and file it in the Office. Order 43 rule 17 carries a final Saturday, Sunday or actual Office-closed day to the next qualifying day. Identify actual closure and satisfy every paired recipient or filing duty.
Before the beginning of the two-day period ending on the hearing day. The two-day period ends on the hearing day. Both service and Office filing precede its beginning. Order 43 rule 17 removes noncounting days from this period of at most three days.
Serve written notice on the other party and file it in the Office. Order 43 rule 17 carries a final Saturday, Sunday or actual Office-closed day to the next qualifying day. Identify actual closure and satisfy every paired recipient or filing duty.
County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 14, rule 1(1)(h)(i)What do independently checked examples show?
Fictitious example
Fictitious established event on Thursday, October 15, 2026. Before the beginning of the two-day period ending on the hearing day. Establish the judge's or district judge's availability and actual time and place. Shorter notice or dispensation requires the actual decision. Apply the County Court short-period rules rather than the High Court seven-day rule.
| Step | What is counted | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Example 1. Ordinary established facts | Fictitious established event on Thursday, October 15, 2026. Before the beginning of the two-day period ending on the hearing day. Establish the judge's or district judge's availability and actual time and place. Shorter notice or dispensation requires the actual decision. Apply the County Court short-period rules rather than the High Court seven-day rule. Before the beginning of the two-day period ending on the hearing day. The two-day period ends on the hearing day. Both service and Office filing precede its beginning. Order 43 rule 17 removes noncounting days from this period of at most three days. The independent ordinary endpoint is Tuesday, October 13, 2026 for paired-notice-service-and-office-filing, not a different filing, service or entitlement date. | Tuesday, October 13, 2026 |
| Example 2. Closed-day boundary | Fictitious boundary event on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. The source-specific completion is serve written notice on the other party and file it in the Office. Serve written notice on the other party and file it in the Office. Order 43 rule 17 carries a final Saturday, Sunday or actual Office-closed day to the next qualifying day. Identify actual closure and satisfy every paired recipient or filing duty. | The paired service and Office-filing endpoint would fall on Sunday before the two-day period begins. No later-day filing is inferred that would shorten required notice. Establish a legally sufficient earlier completion or an actual dispensation. |
| Example 3. Material procedural branch | The actual arranged hearing date is not established. Establish the judge's or district judge's availability and actual time and place. Shorter notice or dispensation requires the actual decision. Apply the County Court short-period rules rather than the High Court seven-day rule. The selected period cannot replace that missing source fact. Establish the judge's or district judge's availability and actual time and place. Shorter notice or dispensation requires the actual decision. Apply the County Court short-period rules rather than the High Court seven-day rule. | The actual arranged hearing date is not established. Establish the judge's or district judge's availability and actual time and place. Shorter notice or dispensation requires the actual decision. Apply the County Court short-period rules rather than the High Court seven-day rule. 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
- Establish the judge's or district judge's availability and actual time and place. Shorter notice or dispensation requires the actual decision. Apply the County Court short-period rules rather than the High Court seven-day rule.
- Counting and boundary
- Before the beginning of the two-day period ending on the hearing day. The two-day period ends on the hearing day. Both service and Office filing precede its beginning. Order 43 rule 17 removes noncounting days from this period of at most three days.
- Required completion
- Serve written notice on the other party and file it in the Office. Order 43 rule 17 carries a final Saturday, Sunday or actual Office-closed day to the next qualifying day. Identify actual closure and satisfy every paired recipient or filing duty.
- Establish the judge's or district judge's availability and actual time and place. Shorter notice or dispensation requires the actual decision. Apply the County Court short-period rules rather than the High Court seven-day rule. The result must identify paired notice service and office filing for the party making an ordinary interlocutory application. Confirm every actual event and completion before selecting the ordinary branch.
- This procedure concerns the party making an ordinary interlocutory application. Its controlling event is the actual arranged hearing date. Establish the judge's or district judge's availability and actual time and place. Shorter notice or dispensation requires the actual decision. Apply the County Court short-period rules rather than the High Court seven-day rule.
What must the responsible actor complete?
Questions about this procedure
How much notice is needed for a Northern Ireland County Court interlocutory hearing?
Must notice be served and filed?
Yes. The ordinary branch requires written notice on the other party and filing in the Office.
County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 14, rule 1(1)(h)(i)Can the hearing date be selected without arranging availability?
No. Establish the judge's or district judge's actual availability, time and place as required.
County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 14, rule 1(1)(h)(i)Does the High Court seven-day short-period rule apply here?
No. County Court Order 43 rule 17 uses its own three-day threshold and office-closure rules.
County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 14, rule 1(1)(h)(i)Can notice be shortened or dispensed with?
Only the actual permitted decision establishes that branch. Urgency alone does not prove dispensation.
County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 14, rule 1(1)(h)(i)What must be proved about the filing act?
Prove the written notice reached the Office through the required process before the applicable hearing interval began.
County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 14, rule 1(1)(h)(i)Does a paper-determination application always need an oral hearing date?
No. Order 14 distinguishes determination without hearing from an actual hearing arranged under the stated procedure.
County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 14, rule 1(1)(h)(i)Official sources and review
Provisions used (3)
| Provision | Purpose |
|---|---|
| County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 14, rule 1(1)(h)(i) | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981, Order 43 rule 17 | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |
| Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954, section 39 | Check the identified procedure, event, counting rule or qualification |