Following the UK’s exit from the EU there is no provision after 31 December 2020 to initiate new European cross border claims.  Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgements under Order 71 of the Rules of the Court of Judicature (NI) 1980 continue to be available. However, you may want to consider using a process where the respondent resides to try to claim your money back. Source: https://www.justice-ni.gov.uk/articles/small-claims

In practice, the NI Courts Service can still accept claims against addresses in the Republic of Ireland (with an outside jurisdiction annex attached) via the NI Small Claims system. This is not available online, a paper copy must be requested directly from the Civil Processing Centre.   There is no onus on the ROI courts to enforce a decree from the NI Small Claims Court. Therefore, while it’s an option available to an NI resident, if they do obtain a judgment, they may still have to apply to the Court in Ireland to enforce it with no guarantee that it will.

It is possible to lodge a small claim with the applicant being in ROI and the respondent being in Northern Ireland. However, if the case goes through to Decree stage ( County court Judgement), they may face difficulty getting the decree enforced.

NI Court Service, Outside Jurisdiction Information Form / Republic of Ireland information

If your small claims application requires service in the Republic of Ireland you are required to sign and date the certification. Before you decide to proceed with the application it is important that you are aware of the following factors:

1. It takes longer to obtain a decree as additional time is required for service
   outside the jurisdiction.
2. If you are successful in obtaining a decree and wish to enforce it, you can
   only enforce it through the enforcement procedures in the Republic of Ireland.
3. It is possible in most cases to initiate proceedings in the Republic of Ireland
   where the defendant resides.
4. If you would like further information on the registration or enforcement
   procedure in the Republic of Ireland you should contact the Central Office of
   the High Court in Dublin (Tel No. 003531 8886576).

Read the full document on www.justice-ni.gov.uk

Alternatively, you can find details on the Irish Small Claims process here: How to go about making your claim to the Small Claims Registrar.

Please note: 

A judgement obtained in either jurisdiction may have to be lodged in the high court of the other jurisdiction and enforced through that system. 

Other factors to consider:

• Small claim through District Courts in Ireland cannot exceed €2000
• Standard fee of €25 for Irish Small Claims Court application
• Claims up to £5000 can be made in the NI Small Claims Court
• There is a sliding fee scale for NI Small Claims applications. If you are on a low income, or if you are on certain benefits, you may not have to pay a fee, or you may be able to get some money off the fee. This is known as fee exemption or remission. For further information please see Department of Justice / Court Fees

See also:

• NI Department of Justice – Small Claims forms (full list) 
• Irish Courts Service – Small claims procedure

Page last checked 18 April 2024

This webpage is for general information purposes only and while we endeavour to keep it up-to-date, errors may occur.  It is very important that you check with the relevant body to ensure the information is current and is applicable to your situation: – North /  South

If you would like to suggest amendments or highlight new information that could be useful to others please don’t hesitate to get in touch.