About CourtsWise

CourtsWise is an independent information site for the person who has a District Court matter in the Republic of Ireland: a summons, a charge sheet, a fixed charge notice, a drink-driving arrest, a drugs or public-order charge, a small claim, a maintenance or domestic-violence application, a licence renewal, a child in the Children Court. It works out the person’s own figures and dates (points, payment windows, the disqualification band, the appeal deadline, the fine schedule, the date a conviction becomes spent) and says, honestly, when legal aid, a solicitor or a support service is the right next step.

Who is behind it

CourtsWise is published by Codable Labs Ltd, an Irish company, and is part of the StampWise family of independent guides alongside StampWise.ie (Irish immigration), EmploymentWise.ie (rights at work), DivorceWise.ie, DefamationWise.ie and SettleWise. It is not a law firm and not affiliated with the Courts Service, An Garda Síochána, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Legal Aid Board, the Road Safety Authority or any Government department. It is not connected with the shop at courtwise.ie.

How the content is kept honest

• Every guide names the Act or official page it comes from and shows the date it was last checked.
• Every tool reads its rules from a versioned configuration file with its own source list and dated figures; nothing is hard-coded in a page. Figures with a date certain are entered in advance and switch on the day. Rules whose wording could not be checked against the Act itself are marked as awaiting that check, on the sources page.
• The court venues come from the Courts Service’s own open data and pages, re-read each term; where a detail could not be confirmed the page says so.
• A weekly check flags any guide or configuration that has not been verified in 90 days; the rules are re-read each quarter, on every fees and penalty-point order, and every 1 January.
• Law in force, law enacted but not commenced, and announced plans are kept apart on the rule-change tracker.

What the site will not do

• It gives no legal advice and never predicts what a judge will do, whether legal aid will be granted, or how a charge will end.
• It never publishes who was in court, never republishes a court list, never comments on a live case, and never names a judge in connection with a named defendant. The “cases today” intent is sent to the Courts Service with an explanation.
• It explains the lawful routes only: the third payment option, a plea, mitigation, the Probation Act, an appeal. Nothing on evading a prosecution, a reading or a test.
• It carries no enquiry form on the family-law or children’s pages; the support services and legal aid come first there.
• It sells no letters and no pleadings: the checklist and the character reference template are free, generic and in the reader’s own words.
• It never describes a route as quick, easy or guaranteed, and never uses the phrase the advertising rules ban.

Corrections

Corrections are welcome: write to hello@courtswise.ie with the page address and the official source. Where a page and the Act differ, the Act is right.