The High Court has dismissed Enoch Burke’s application to set aside a judgment and order made by Mr Justice Alexander Owens in proceedings brought by the Board of Management of Wilson’s Hospital School. Mr Justice Mark Sanfey ruled that the application fell far short of the “truly exceptional” circumstances required to reopen a final order.
The application was considered at a preliminary hearing on whether the court had jurisdiction to entertain it. The court did not rehear the underlying dispute or decide whether Burke’s constitutional rights had been breached. Mr Justice Sanfey’s judgment, dated 19 July 2024, says the sole issue before him was whether the application could be entertained.
Burke argued that the earlier judgment failed to address his claims that the school’s actions interfered with his constitutional rights to freedom of conscience and religion. The Board denied those claims and submitted that one High Court judge could not review another’s final decision in the circumstances. It also argued that Burke’s application was a late substitute for an appeal.
Mr Justice Sanfey noted that Burke had raised constitutional claims in his pleadings before the 2023 trial. During that hearing, however, he was excluded after what Mr Justice Owens described as disorderly conduct and persistent contempt. He was told he could resume participation if he undertook to comply with the court’s rulings, but did not do so. The counterclaim, including the claims for relief, was dismissed after it was not advanced.
Mr Justice Sanfey said Burke could have pursued those claims at trial and had a right of appeal, but had not provided a reasonable or plausible explanation for not appealing. He characterised the application as a “proxy appeal” and said finality in litigation allowed final decisions to be reopened only in very extreme circumstances, such as where a judgment was procured by fraud or similar conduct.
The 2023 order declaring Burke’s paid administrative leave lawful and restraining him from entering or trespassing on school premises without the Board’s consent remains valid. The earlier order also awarded the Board €15,000 in trespass damages. Mr Justice Sanfey said Burke had been imprisoned for repeated breaches of the premises order, and noted that he released him from prison on 28 June 2024 despite his continued refusal to purge his contempt. The present judgment dismisses the set-aside application; it does not decide the Board’s costs. The judge’s preliminary view was that the Board should receive its costs, with written submissions on any different order due by 26 July.