The Department of Justice has made the Court of Judicature Fees (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2026 (S.R. 2026 No. 39), increasing most fees for business in the Court of Judicature over three years. Uplifts are staged at 5 per cent from 1 April 2026, then 2 per cent from 1 April 2027 and a further 2 per cent from 1 April 2028. The Order was made on 3 March 2026 with the concurrence of the Department of Finance.
The statutory rule is made under section 116(1) of the Judicature (Northern Ireland) Act 1978 following consultation with the Lady Chief Justice, as required by that section. In legislative terms it amends the Court of Judicature Fees Order (Northern Ireland) 1996 by substituting new sections 1 to 6 of the Schedule, which contain the detailed fee lines.
A transitional provision preserves the pre‑amendment 1996 fees for judicial review and statutory review proceedings where the decision, act or omission under challenge is subject to the Aarhus Convention. In those environmental matters, the earlier schedule continues to apply notwithstanding the general increases.
The instrument also updates charging rules for patient property and affairs work, notably fee numbers 47, 48, 49 and 50. An annual administration fee is payable from the date the first application for the appointment of a controller or other originating process is issued until the proceedings are terminated. No administration fee is taken where proceedings end before any order is made.
Where a court officer is acting as controller for the patient, fees numbered 48 and 49 are not payable. For fee 49, a “special case” is defined to include specified orders under Article 99(1) of the relevant Order, transactions undertaken by a patient as a tenant for life under the Settled Lands Acts 1882 to 1890, and approvals under section 57(3) of the Trustee Act (Northern Ireland) 1958.
In a special case the standard fee increases where a readily ascertainable capital sum arises to or is provided by the patient, excluding loans to or repayments by the patient and ignoring any potential capitalisation of income. When a transaction is approved under an order listed in fee 49, the fee is taken on approval and the Office issues a certificate stating the amount due. Except where the court directs otherwise, no fee under fee 49 is payable on the sale or purchase of personal chattels, investments authorised for trust property, or securities quoted on a UK stock exchange.
For fee 47, the clear annual income at the patient’s disposal excludes income that accrued and became payable more than six months before the court first exercised jurisdiction. For fees 48 and 50, no annual fee is taken where proceedings terminate less than four weeks from the date the first application for a controller was issued.
Across fees 47 to 50, no fee is payable on any income comprising a war pension or a war injuries (civilian) pension. The exemption is framed by reference to specified service periods and schemes, including benefits under the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme 1983.
The Order confirms the current citation of the principal instrument as the Court of Judicature Fees Order (Northern Ireland) 1996, reflecting the renaming of the former Supreme Court of Judicature of Northern Ireland by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. This change is consequential and does not alter the substance of fee liability.
For practitioners, the staged uplifts provide a defined planning horizon for case budgeting. Civil and appellate matters outside the Aarhus carve‑out should be costed on the basis of a 5 per cent increase from 1 April 2026, with further 2 per cent uplifts applying in April 2027 and April 2028. Environmental judicial reviews and statutory reviews linked to Aarhus‑covered decisions should continue to budget against the pre‑2026 schedule.
An Explanatory Memorandum and a Regulatory Impact Assessment are available from the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service and alongside the statutory rule on legislation.gov.uk. Firms should cross‑check the revised schedule before issuing or taking fee‑bearing steps on or after 1 April 2026.