Private Members’ Motion
Subject: Court fees and access to constitutional justice
Dear Teachta Dála,
I am writing to you as a constituent to raise a concern about access to justice and court fees in the High Court.
At present, citizens are generally required to pay court stamp fees to bring proceedings in the High Court, even where the purpose of those proceedings is to protect or vindicate fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution. In practice, only a very narrow category of constitutional cases—primarily applications under Article 40.4—are clearly exempt from fees.
This means that people seeking to vindicate other core constitutional rights, such as equality before the law, personal rights, family and children’s rights, property rights, or freedom of conscience and expression, may be required to pay significant fees simply to access the courts. Rights that depend on the ability to pay are not being vindicated equally.
By contrast, the current fee rules provide a broad automatic exemption where a party is represented by certain State legal offices, regardless of the nature of the case. This creates an imbalance between citizens and the State in accessing the courts.
The Constitution guarantees equality before the law and obliges the State to vindicate personal rights. A court fee system that burdens citizens seeking to enforce constitutional rights, while exempting State-represented parties as a matter of course, raises serious concerns about equal access to justice.
I understand that this issue can be addressed without a referendum or primary legislation, as the court fees regime can be amended by statutory instrument.
I would respectfully ask that you raise this issue within the Dáil, or with the Minister for Justice, with a view to ensuring that proceedings whose main purpose is the protection or vindication of fundamental constitutional rights are not blocked by court fees.
I would appreciate hearing your views on this matter.
Yours sincerely,
[Name]
[Address]
[Constituency]
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