The Rules of the Supreme Court (Northern Ireland) (Revision) 1980

Service of notice of judgment on person not a party

3.—(1) Where in an action for—

(a) the administration of the estate of a deceased person, or

(b) the execution of a trust, or

(c) the sale of any property,

the Court gives a judgment which affects the rights or interests of persons not parties to the action or directs any account to be taken or inquiry made, the Court may when giving the judgment or at any stage of the proceedings under the judgment direct notice of the judgment to be served on any person interested in the estate or under the trust or in the property, as the case may be; and any person duly served with notice of a judgment in accordance with this rule shall, subject to paragraph (5), be bound by the judgment to the same extent as he would have been if he had originally been made a party to the action.

(2) The Court may direct a notice of judgment to be served personally or in such manner as it may specify on the person required to be served, or if it appears to the Court that it is impracticable for any person to serve such notice on any such person it may dispense with service of the notice on that person.

Before notice of a judgment is served the notice must be indorsed with a memorandum in Form No. 36 in Appendix A.

(3) The party prosecuting the judgment must leave at the Chancery Office the stamped copy of the memorandum of appearance of any person served with notice of the judgment or, as the case may be, a certificate that no appearance has been entered by him.

(4) Where the Court dispenses with service of notice of a judgment on any person, it may also order that that person shall be bound by the judgment to the same extent as if he had been served with notice thereof, and he shall be bound accordingly except where the judgment has been obtained by fraud or non-disclosure of material facts.

(5) A person served with notice of a judgment may, within one month after service of the notice on him, and without entering an appearance, apply to the Court to discharge, vary or add to the judgment.

(6) A person served with notice of a judgment may, after entering an appearance to the notice, attend the proceedings under the judgment.

(7) Order 12, rules 1 to 4, shall apply in relation to the entry of appearance to a notice of judgment as if the judgment were a writ, and the person by whom the notice is served were the plaintiff and the person on whom it is served a defendant.