When considering a court case, each of the parties may have circumstances that will not allow them to participate in the meeting. It may seem that in the absence of one of the parties, especially the defendant, it is not possible to deal with the claims of the plaintiff. Nevertheless, the current legislation allows the consideration of the case, subject to the filing of a motion to consider the case in the absence of the defendant or plaintiff.
Why can't skip meetings
First of all, if the defendant does not attend court hearings, this will contribute to delaying the process, which may be disadvantageous for both parties.
Another unpleasant moment that the defendant may face is a fine. If the judge does not see the petition for the consideration of the case in the absence of the defendant, he can regard the failure to appear as disrespect and impose a fine.
And the third option is to consider the claim without the participation of the defendant. In fact, this party will simply deprive itself of the exercise of the right to protect its interests.
These three options will definitely not lead to the fact that the defendant will be able to defend himself and win the court at least partially. Moreover, the filing of an application for consideration of the case in the absence of the defendant confirms the seriousness of intentions and respect for the judge himself and the justice system as a whole.
Legal basis
According to the requirements of Article 167 of the Code of Civil Procedure, parties to the process are not entitled to refuse to participate in the process, they are obliged to report that they will be absent. In this case, the reasons for the absence must necessarily be respectful, for example:
- death of a loved one;
- disease;
- long business trip to another region or country and so on.
Any justification must be documented.
Rules for registration
The Code of Civil Procedure does not provide for a regulated petition for consideration of a case in the absence of a defendant. However, practicing lawyers recommend that you adhere to the following structure of the document, based on the requirements of Article 131 of the Code of Civil Procedure:
- The heading of the document or the introductory part. According to the requirements of office work, this part of the document is located in the upper right corner. The details of the recipient, that is, the court, the data of the defendant, that is, the applicant, are indicated in the "header" of the document.
- Descriptive part. Initially, the title of the document is indicated: “Application for consideration of the case in the absence of the defendant”. Under the name indicates the date and number of the case. Then a brief summary of the matter is presented, and who is the plaintiff and who is the defendant. The following paragraph lists the reasons for not attending the meeting.
- The operative part. This part of the document proclaims the petition itself. It is possible to indicate not only a specific date when it is not possible to be present in court, but also to submit a request for consideration of the case without your participation.
At the end of the document details of all documents that are attached to the application are prescribed. Then a date is put down, a signature is placed and its decoding.
Sample petition for trial in the absence of the defendant (Code of Civil Procedure, Article 167)
In .... the name of the court ....
The applicant ... ..
Title of the document
Legal Details
In production ........ .... there is a lawsuit ... to the defendant .... a brief description of the essence of the dispute ...
The hearing is scheduled for .... date ... time ... I was notified on time.However, I do not have the opportunity to appear in the courtroom for the following reasons ... ... ..
Based on the foregoing and guided by the article ... Code of Civil Procedure,
I beg
- Conduct a lawsuit ... details ... ... without my presence.
- After drawing up the decision, send me a copy to the address: ....
Signature and full name Applicant's date of compilation.
Conclusion
The petition itself is examined directly at the hearing. The judge assesses the validity of these reasons and listens to the opinions of those present. According to the results of the meeting, a decision is made.
The main thing is to always remember that absence at a meeting is deprivation of a full-fledged assertion of one’s interests, which can negatively affect a decision. Therefore, before submitting a petition, you should think several times, perhaps it is the defense in the courtroom that will allow the winner to finish the case.