Northern Ireland civil procedure
When must a party answer a Northern Ireland inspection notice?
Response within four counted days, inspection within seven counted days after that response. Serve a response naming an inspection time and any objections. The four-day response and seven-day inspection are chained intervals. The response identifies the place, excluded documents and grounds. Neither date proves an objection is justified.
- Period
- Response within four counted days, inspection within seven counted days after that response
- Trigger
- Actual service of the notice requiring production
- Rule
- Rules of the Court of Judicature (NI) 1980, Sch 1, Order 24, rule 11(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 answer a Northern Ireland inspection notice?
Response within four counted days, inspection within seven counted days after that response. Serve a response naming an inspection time and any objections. The four-day response and seven-day inspection are chained intervals. The response identifies the place, excluded documents and grounds. Neither date proves an objection is justified.
Responsible actor. The party receiving a notice to produce a referenced document.
Actual service of the notice requiring production.
The four-day response and seven-day inspection are chained intervals. The response identifies the place, excluded documents and grounds. Neither date proves an objection is justified.
The four-day response and seven-day inspection are chained intervals. The response identifies the place, excluded documents and grounds. Neither date proves an objection is justified. The result must identify inspection response service for the party receiving a notice to produce a referenced document. Confirm every actual event and completion before selecting the ordinary branch.
Rules of the Court of Judicature (NI) 1980, Sch 1, Order 24, rule 11(2)How does this provision count time?
- Establish actual service of the notice requiring production.
- Serve a response naming an inspection time and any objections.
- Response within four counted days, inspection within seven counted days after that response. Exclude the controlling event day under Order 3 rule 2(2). Count 4 following days. The period is at most seven days, so rule 2(5) excludes Saturdays, Sundays and specified public holidays.
- Serve a response naming an inspection time and any objections. 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.
Response within four counted days, inspection within seven counted days after that response. Exclude the controlling event day under Order 3 rule 2(2). Count 4 following days. The period is at most seven days, so rule 2(5) excludes Saturdays, Sundays and specified public holidays.
Serve a response naming an inspection time and any objections. 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.
Rules of the Court of Judicature (NI) 1980, Sch 1, Order 24, rule 11(2)What do independently checked examples show?
Fictitious example
Fictitious established event on Tuesday, January 13, 2026. Response within four counted days, inspection within seven counted days after that response. The four-day response and seven-day inspection are chained intervals. The response identifies the place, excluded documents and grounds. Neither date proves an objection is justified.
| Step | What is counted | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Example 1. Ordinary established facts | Fictitious established event on Tuesday, January 13, 2026. Response within four counted days, inspection within seven counted days after that response. The four-day response and seven-day inspection are chained intervals. The response identifies the place, excluded documents and grounds. Neither date proves an objection is justified. Response within four counted days, inspection within seven counted days after that response. Exclude the controlling event day under Order 3 rule 2(2). Count 4 following days. The period is at most seven days, so rule 2(5) excludes Saturdays, Sundays and specified public holidays. The independent ordinary endpoint is Monday, January 19, 2026 for inspection-response-service, not a different filing, service or entitlement date. | Monday, January 19, 2026 |
| Example 2. Closed-day boundary | Fictitious boundary event on Monday, March 30, 2026. The source-specific completion is serve a response naming an inspection time and any objections. Serve a response naming an inspection time and any objections. 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. | Tuesday, April 7, 2026 |
| Example 3. Material procedural branch | Actual service of the notice requiring production is not established. The four-day response and seven-day inspection are chained intervals. The response identifies the place, excluded documents and grounds. Neither date proves an objection is justified. The selected period cannot replace that missing source fact. The four-day response and seven-day inspection are chained intervals. The response identifies the place, excluded documents and grounds. Neither date proves an objection is justified. | Actual service of the notice requiring production is not established. The four-day response and seven-day inspection are chained intervals. The response identifies the place, excluded documents and grounds. Neither date proves an objection is justified. 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
- The four-day response and seven-day inspection are chained intervals. The response identifies the place, excluded documents and grounds. Neither date proves an objection is justified.
- Counting and boundary
- Response within four counted days, inspection within seven counted days after that response. Exclude the controlling event day under Order 3 rule 2(2). Count 4 following days. The period is at most seven days, so rule 2(5) excludes Saturdays, Sundays and specified public holidays.
- Required completion
- Serve a response naming an inspection time and any objections. 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 four-day response and seven-day inspection are chained intervals. The response identifies the place, excluded documents and grounds. Neither date proves an objection is justified. The result must identify inspection response service for the party receiving a notice to produce a referenced document. Confirm every actual event and completion before selecting the ordinary branch.
- This procedure concerns the party receiving a notice to produce a referenced document. Its controlling event is actual service of the notice requiring production. The four-day response and seven-day inspection are chained intervals. The response identifies the place, excluded documents and grounds. Neither date proves an objection is justified.
What must the responsible actor complete?
Questions about this procedure
When must a party answer a Northern Ireland inspection notice?
Are four ordinary calendar days always counted?
No. The High Court short-period exclusion applies to this four-day rule, unless a contrary provision or direction governs.
Rules of the Court of Judicature (NI) 1980, Sch 1, Order 24, rule 11(2)What must the response specify?
The notice must state the permitted inspection arrangements and the required production or objection information.
Rules of the Court of Judicature (NI) 1980, Sch 1, Order 24, rule 11(2)Is the inspection date the same as the response date?
No. The response and the subsequent seven-day inspection interval are separate boundaries.
Rules of the Court of Judicature (NI) 1980, Sch 1, Order 24, rule 11(2)Can an objection be ignored when calculating inspection?
No. Establish the documents objected to and the actual basis. A date does not resolve a production dispute.
Rules of the Court of Judicature (NI) 1980, Sch 1, Order 24, rule 11(2)What is the first timed act after a production demand?
Serve the prescribed response within four counted days after actual service of the notice requiring production.
Rules of the Court of Judicature (NI) 1980, Sch 1, Order 24, rule 11(2)Can the response simply say the documents are unavailable?
The source requires the stated particulars and grounds for documents objected to. Establish the actual compliant response.
Rules of the Court of Judicature (NI) 1980, Sch 1, Order 24, rule 11(2)Official sources and review
Provisions used (3)
| Provision | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Rules of the Court of Judicature (NI) 1980, Sch 1, Order 24, rule 11(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 |