IRELAND: Dispute revolution.

(From The Lawyer)

A property boom in Ireland has brought with it increased scrutiny of how the Commercial Court deals with property litigation. By Lisa Broderick

Perhaps unsurprisingly given the recent property boom in Ireland, property litigation has increased significantly over the last few years. There is a number of factors that may have influenced this, not least the availability of the Commercial Court, the value of the transactions involved and the sometimes complex manner in which the transactions are structured. The convergence of all of these factors has resulted in litigators being busier than ever before.

The Commercial Court in Ireland has now been in operation for more than two years. It has jurisdiction to deal with several types of conflicts that have repeated application in property disputes. They include disputes relating to: a business document, business contract or business dispute where the value of the claim or counterclaim is not less than E1m (GBP684,900); or the determination of any question of construction arising in respect of a business document or business contract where the value of the transaction, the subject matter thereof, is not less than E1m.

Given the exorbitant property prices in Ireland, the E1m value threshold is easily exceeded. The advantage in gaining access to the Commercial Court is access to a fast-track decision by the courts in an unprecedented swift timescale. As of 12 January 2007, the average time from entry into the Commercial Court list to the allocation of a hearing date was nine weeks. From entry to the list to the decision, the average time was 18 weeks.

Historically, one of the main disadvantages to proceeding with a property dispute before the courts was that it was likely to take two and a half to three years before the matter ultimately reached trial. Now the matter can come before the courts within five months. Consequently, litigation is a far more appealing option in resolving a dispute.

The Commercial Court is also used for planning disputes, particularly relating to decisions made by An Bord Pleanala (the Irish planning appeals board).