Until recently the rules for conducting commercial litigation in Ireland were deceptively similar to those in England and Wales. Recent changes in each jurisdiction have been driven by identical concerns (making litigation faster, cheaper and more responsive to the needs of the parties), but these challenges have been addressed in different ways, accentuating the differences between the neighbouring systems.
Traditionally the obvious similarities between the Irish and English jurisdictions included a shared common law heritage and a similar procedural code, with virtually identical law on many issues such as discovery. The substantive law, whether derived from statute or from case law was also similar in many respects, although the jurisdictions diverged on various issues of both substantive law and procedure.
