The High Court rejected a challenge to rules requiring English translations of certain Irish language legal documents, finding that the rules did not discriminate against people choosing Irish or breach section 8(6) of the Official Languages Act 2003.
In a judgment delivered on 18 December 2009, Mr Justice Charleton considered an application by solicitor Colm MacAodháin for declaratory relief. He argued that rules 2 and 3 of Order 120 of the Rules of the Superior Courts placed an unlawful burden on people using Irish, compared with the rules of the District and Circuit Courts.
The applicant said translation requirements caused extra work and expense for him and his Irish speaking clients and could delay issuing and serving legal documents. He also relied on section 8(6) of the 2003 Act, which provides that a court or public body must not impose extra inconvenience or expense when a person chooses one official language over the other.
The judge interpreted Order 120 as allowing a legal document to be served in Irish without an English translation on a person resident in the Gaeltacht. Where a document in English is served there, an Irish translation must accompany it. Outside the Gaeltacht, the judgment said, a document in Irish served on a person resident outside the Gaeltacht requires an English translation.
The court held that the rules made a reasonable provision for sharing the translation burden between the initiating party and the respondent. It concluded that Order 120, rules 2 and 3 did not discriminate under the Constitution and did not breach section 8(6) of the Act.
The judgment did not determine costs. Because there had been uncertainty about the correct interpretation of Order 120, the judge said he would hear submissions on any discretion the court might have regarding costs.