High Court (Amendment) Rules , 2024

The Chief Justice and Judge President have rewritten large parts of the High Court Rules, 2021 (S.I. 202 of 2021) to run the court on the Integrated Electronic Case Management System. These rules also repeal the earlier High Court (Amendment) Rules, 2023 (No. 1), published in S.I. 153 of 2023.

Service is now electronic by default. Every document, pleading or process must be served on the IECMS platform, with only four carve-outs: initial service of a summons commencing action, notices of set down on the unopposed matrimonial roll, process for the arrest of a person, and writs and warrants. A judge can authorise service by other means on good cause shown. Where service is not electronic, it must happen between 07:00 and 21:00 on any day other than a Sunday, except arrest process, which is valid at any time. Proof of service must reach the Registrar within 48 hours. Electronic service by email or web portal is allowed where the Chief Justice designates it, and a sent status report is prima facie proof of service.

Filing: litigants can e-file at any hour, but process is only issued out of the Registrar's office during office hours (08:30–13:00 and 14:00–16:00 on working days), and a filing that breaches the dies induciae will not be accepted. Every litigant and representative must first create an IECMS account, keep it secure — the platform administrators take no liability for a compromised account — and notify the Registrar of changes to their details within 48 hours. Fees can be paid electronically.

Formatting is now a rejection ground. All documents in a case must be in a single PDF identical to the hard copies, paginated at the top right, with an index prepared by the applicant or appellant. Pleadings must be in Times New Roman size 12 at 1.5 line spacing, in paragraphs, and must not be unreasonably long or convoluted. The Registrar shall reject anything that does not comply.

Access: e-filing centres with internet, computers and staff assistance must exist at every High Court station and every magistrates' court station, free of charge. Litigants can use the nearest centre to reach their account, read the other side's filings, serve documents, track their case and join a virtual hearing. The Judicial Service Commission must facilitate access particularly for persons with disabilities and persons in detention.

Virtual hearings get a full framework. They are voluntary and by consent — the agreement must be in writing, signed jointly and lodged at least ten days before the hearing — but the court can direct a virtual hearing in the interests of justice, and a judge in chambers decides where the parties disagree. Hearings may be hybrid, with one side in court and the other remote. Witnesses can appear from the nearest court, with strict rules on separating a party from their witnesses, and the police officer present must prevent communication between them. The public can follow through a court-generated link unless the court orders otherwise. A party who agrees or is directed to appear virtually and then fails to attend faces default judgment, and cannot plead lack of technical resources unless they raised it with the Registrar beforehand.

Execution also changes: movable property sold in execution is to be sold by the Sheriff through an electronic auction system, with the notice of sale published both in a newspaper circulating in the country and on the IECMS website. Where a third party claims property taken in execution, the Sheriff must notify the execution creditor forthwith. Notice of set down may now be given personally, by registered post or by email to the address for service.

Two caveats. First, the text available here is truncated partway through the amendment to rule 70 on execution against movable property, so any later amendments in these rules are not covered above. Second, there are drafting slips in the printed text: the numbering of the amending sections repeats and skips (a stray "1." and two paragraphs numbered "3."), and new rule 56A cites the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act as "[Chapter 7:06]", which is the High Court Act's chapter number.