The Courts Service is committed to ensuring this website is as accessible as possible to all users.
Our policy on accessibility
Our aim is to provide top class facilities for all users of the courts, including judges, staff, legal practitioners, victims, witnesses, accused persons, media and members of the public.
Providing facilities for all court users
Everyone who attends courts presents with a different set of circumstances, a varying degree of understanding and a personalised set of needs. We recognise that access does not stop at the level of physical access to, and within buildings. We are conscious that access to information, the understanding of court processes and inclusion in court proceedings needs to be provided in an atmosphere of equality.
Measures we have taken to improve access to the courts
- Induction loops are available in the courtrooms of refurbished buildings for use with hearing aids.
- All refurbished courthouses have clear signage and directions at entrances and exits.
- Signage and contact details for court offices are provided in Braille.
- Wheelchair ramps are available in many courthouses.
- Wheelchair users can give evidence beside the witness box in many courthouses.
If you have any queries, you can contact the Access Officer by email at [email protected] or by phone at (01) 888 6000.
Access to records of court hearings
Court records are under the control of the judge before whom the proceedings are heard. Any request for access to a record of a court hearing must be made to the judge in the proceedings concerned, in accordance with the relevant rules of court. It is a matter for that judge to decide whether access is to be made available and in what format. The applicant will generally be required to pay the full economic cost of obtaining and providing any records.
The rules governing access are prescribed in the following statutory instruments:
- S.I. No. 99 of 2013 – District Court (Recording of Proceedings) Rules 2013
- S.I. No. 100 of 2013 – Circuit Court (Recording of Proceedings) Rules 2012
- S.I. No. 101 of 2013 – Rules of the Superior Courts (Order 123) 2013
Our website
The Courts Service is committed to making our website accessible in accordance with S.I. 358/2020 .
We are committed to achieving AA standard under the WCAG 2.1 guidelines .
Status
Many documents are published as PDFs, which are less accessible than HTML pages for people using assistive technologies. Some of the issues with PDFs include:
- They are not bookmarked (WCAG 2.4.5).
- Tables in PDFs are not properly defined (WCAG 1.3.1).
Judgments and Determinations are published as PDFs on this website as this format is acceptable for use in court and inclusion in case papers. To aid accessibility, judgments are also published in Word format where available.
This is not an exhaustive list of non-accessible content.
Exempted content
PDF documents published before 23 September 2018 are exempt, except where they relate to a public service.
Videos or audio published before 23 September 2020 are also exempt.
In some sections, text may be more legalistic due to the nature of the content (for example, court rules, legislation, or judgments).
If you have any queries or comments on the accessibility of this website, please contact the webmaster at [email protected].
Our publications
We aim to present our leaflets and booklets in plain language, in a variety of languages and formats. All publications are published on our website in PDF, and many are also published in HTML.
If you experience any difficulty in accessibility or usability, or have suggestions for improvement, please email: [email protected].
Making a complaint
If you want to make a complaint under the Disability Act 2005 , please read “How to make a complaint” under Section 38 on our Customer Service page.
