By Ruth Mercer
The High Court has ruled that each side must bear its own legal costs in a judicial review case brought over delays in registering a minor on Ireland’s foreign births register.
The proceedings were brought on behalf of a child, identified only as M., against the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. The applicant alleged unreasonable delay in processing an application for foreign-birth registration and sought mandatory court relief.
The registration application had originally been submitted online in January 2019. Further documents were provided over subsequent years, with the original birth certificate supplied in January 2024. Judicial review proceedings were filed on 26 March 2024.
The Department’s decision-maker was notified of the proceedings on 18 April and approved the foreign-birth registration on 7 May. That made the judicial review proceedings moot before the application for leave had been heard.
The remaining dispute concerned costs. The applicant argued that the court proceedings had produced a practical benefit by accelerating the decision. The Department’s decision-maker swore that the determination had issued through the ordinary process and was not a response to the litigation.
Mr Justice Garrett Simons held that this sworn evidence remained unchallenged because the applicant ultimately chose not to seek cross-examination or pursue discovery. He therefore concluded that the decision had not been shown to have been expedited by the proceedings.
However, the judge said the Department’s affidavit should have disclosed that the decision-maker already knew about the judicial review and had sought legal advice. That omission contributed to further dispute over costs.
The court ordered each side to bear its own costs and formally dismissed the proceedings as moot. The judgment settles the costs issue only; it does not decide whether the original administrative delay had been unlawful.