The plaintiff is represented by the person who files the claim in court. The application specifies certain requirements and requests that may be granted by the judge. During the court hearing, the presence of the plaintiff is mandatory, but situations often arise when a person, for various reasons, cannot come to court. If the plaintiff does not appear at the court hearing, then the case can be considered without him, but sometimes the process is postponed. Moreover, in some situations, a citizen may be held accountable for violating legal requirements.
Basic moments
If a person who is a plaintiff cannot come to a meeting for one reason or another, then he must notify judicial officials about this. He must explain the reason for failure to appear, and also hand over documents confirming this reason.
If a citizen does not provide the necessary papers to the court, then the reason for failure to appear is considered disrespectful. This may result in a fine being assessed or a hearing being held without the plaintiff. Under such conditions, the requests specified in the claim are usually not granted. Therefore, if the plaintiff does not appear at the court hearing, he may face some negative consequences. Failure to appear is permitted only if there are valid reasons.
Can the disputants be absent?
The procedural law does not oblige participants in a civil dispute to be present during court proceedings.
A party to a dispute may be absent from the court hearing without any particular reason. Legal liability for the lack of written notification of the reasons for failure to appear is not provided for by law. The court is not vested with the power to compulsorily oblige the parties to the dispute to participate in legal proceedings.
The duty of the court is to notify the parties to the case about the date of the proceedings. It is not necessary to submit an application for consideration of the case without my participation .
Legislative regulation
Basic information about how the process is carried out in the event of a plaintiff’s failure to appear at a court hearing is prescribed in Art. 167 Code of Civil Procedure. From this normative act it follows:
- each person who is a participant in a particular case must notify the court in advance of the reason for absence, and it must be valid and confirmed by official documents;
- if there are no persons who were not notified of the case in a timely manner, the trial is postponed;
- if citizens do not come to the trial without good reason, then the trial is carried out without them;
- the court may consider cases in the absence of the defendant, but only if he was officially notified of the place and date of the hearing;
- each party has the right to send a petition, on the basis of which a certain case will be considered in their absence.
If the plaintiff’s representative does not appear at the court hearing without good reason, then the procedure is carried out without him.
Sample petition for consideration of a case in the absence of the plaintiff
Applications are available on our website to simplify the application process. Today there is no official form in Russian legal proceedings. The main thing is that when filling out the document, take into account the recommendations listed above.
Below are the forms and a finished example of the design. The sample petition posted in the review can be adapted to any circumstances that meet the criterion of respect. The content is allowed to be arbitrary, but in the title please indicate the following: “An application to the court to consider the case in the absence of the applicant.”
What reasons are valid?
There are many reasons for a plaintiff's failure to appear at a court hearing, but not all of them are valid. The meeting is postponed if a citizen cannot come for the following reasons:
- the person did not receive a summons or notice of the meeting;
- the summons arrived by mail late, for example, directly on the day of the process or the next day;
- a participant in the process falls ill, but this must be confirmed by official documents received from a medical institution;
- a close relative, for example a minor child, falls ill;
- the occurrence of any emergency circumstances;
- the citizen is located in another city in the country;
- the person was sent to another state or remote region on a long business trip;
- there is no opportunity to come to court due to poor transport links.
Before the start of any court hearing, the secretary transmits to the judge information about which of the participants is absent, and the reasons why citizens were unable to come to the hearing are also announced. Therefore, if the plaintiff does not appear at the court hearing for good reasons, the process is postponed. If there are no compelling reasons for absence, then the procedure is carried out without one participant.
What to do if the witness does not come?
Not only the plaintiff may not come to the hearing for various reasons. During the trial, the judge often examines witnesses who can provide important information about a particular case. Eyewitnesses, other victims or experts may be involved as interrogators.
If a witness does not come to the hearing, this leads to a delay in the process. At the same time, the degree of importance of his testimony is assessed. If a witness is considered important, then he will not be able to avoid testifying, since in his absence the judge simply will not be able to consider the case in detail. If a citizen does not have compelling reasons for failure to appear, he will have to pay an additional large fine for obstructing the investigation.
Features for administrative processes
The consequences of a plaintiff's failure to appear at a court hearing in an administrative case are represented by the fact that the court postpones the proceedings, but only if the citizen has compelling reasons or provided that he was not notified of the date and place of the proceedings.
If there are no significant reasons for failure to appear, then a decision in absentia is made, for which the testimony of the defendant and witnesses is evaluated. Additionally, the judge considers all evidence attached to the claim.
Can the court make a decision without a plaintiff?
Properly filing a motion provides the plaintiff with the opportunity to delay the trial. If the authority accepts the evidence presented, the hearing date is set for a later period. At the same time, legal proceedings without the presence of the interested party are not excluded.
The unwillingness or impossibility of attendance can also be stated in the petition. Do not forget to justify the reason for failure to appear and the advisability of conducting the process without the appropriate person. You can additionally state your own wishes in a statement in the format “I ask you to take into account the following requirements when considering the case in my absence...”.
A representative can directly protect the rights of the applicant during the process. In this case, a default judgment is made, a copy is sent by registered mail to the plaintiff.
A third outcome is possible - the case is considered by a judge without receiving an application. Least preferred option due to possible consequences. Distributed upon confirmation of notification of the time and place of the meeting. The corresponding prerogative is secured by procedural law.
Nuances for civil cases
In civil cases, a situation often arises when the plaintiff does not appear at the court hearing. The consequences of such a decision depend on various factors:
- if all parties were promptly notified of the process, then in the absence of any citizen the court may make an absentee but reasoned decision;
- in civil cases, a plaintiff who does not come to the hearing often ends up losing, since the court often makes a decision in favor of the party present, since it cannot assess the position of the second participant;
- when making a decision in absentia, expert opinions, testimony of witnesses, as well as various evidence in the case under consideration are taken into account;
- if the failure to appear is not considered intentional, but is associated with a lack of notification or other significant circumstances, then the plaintiff may file a lawsuit demanding to cancel the decision made in absentia.
Most often in civil cases, parties do not come to meetings during divorce proceedings. When making a decision in absentia, the opinion of only one spouse is taken into account, but the court must evaluate the interests of minor children, if the participants in the process have them.
When is a claim not considered in civil proceedings?
Under certain conditions, the failure of the plaintiff to appear at the court hearing ends with the claim simply remaining without consideration. This is done in the following situations:
- the plaintiff, for various reasons, refused the mandatory pre-trial procedure for resolving the conflict that arose, for example, he did not first forward the pre-trial claim to the organization with whose representative he had disagreements;
- the claim was filed by an incompetent citizen;
- the application is signed or submitted by a person who does not have the appropriate authority;
- a similar claim was previously filed, for which a case had already been initiated, so the demands, requests and grounds remained unchanged;
- an agreement has already been drawn up between the parties, on the basis of which the case has been transferred to the arbitration court;
- participants who did not submit a request to hold a meeting in their absence did not come to the hearing;
- the plaintiff failed to come to the meeting twice without good reason, and there is evidence that he received notification, and the defendant does not need to consider this case.
Under such conditions, the court does not make any decision, since it simply refuses to consider the materials on the case. Therefore, if a person, for various reasons, draws up a statement of claim, then he must take a responsible approach to his obligations. These include the need to attend court hearings on time.
Grounds for considering the case without the participation of the plaintiff
According to the current legislation, there is no provision that can oblige those who do not wish to attend meetings. The plaintiff, like any other person interested in the case, can independently decide to be in the courtroom. Applies to both individuals and legal entities and government bodies.
However, you should not skip court proceedings only at your own request because of the possible consequences. When considering a case in court in the absence of the plaintiff, it is difficult to make a decision and fully take into account the position of the participant. As a result, the final court ruling may not satisfy the applicant's expectations. It is appropriate to choose this path only if the stated requirements are indisputable.
To avoid negative consequences, it is important to submit an appropriate petition indicating the reasons for the impossibility of attending the meeting. The list of significant conditions for a pass includes:
- incapacity of the applicant;
- caring for seriously ill relatives, if it is otherwise impossible to provide proper supervision;
- serious illness of the person concerned;
- distance from the place of judicial proceedings;
- circumstances beyond human control - transport or man-made accidents, weather conditions;
- long business trips.
It is important to document the listed factors in order for the request to be accepted by the court. There is no need to justify your reluctance to participate in legal proceedings.
On the question of what will happen if the trial took place without the knowledge of the court about my absence. In this case, the judge has the right to hold a meeting without individual participants and make a final decision on the case. Without valid reasons, the opportunity for reconsideration may not be provided to the plaintiff.
Are fines paid?
If the plaintiff does not appear at the court hearing, he is usually not held accountable, since judges are tolerant of such a situation. They accommodate even those parties to the process who do not have valid reasons for failure to appear.
If it is recognized that a person is maliciously avoiding attending court, then, in addition to making a decision in absentia, other negative measures may be applied. They are represented by the forced bringing of a person to a meeting. This usually applies to defendants or witnesses.
Additionally, on the basis of Art. 165 of the Criminal Code may impose a fine. The sanction is assessed when considering civil or administrative cases, and its amount is 1 thousand rubles. If important witnesses or defendants do not come to the hearing of the criminal case, the fine increases to 2.5 thousand rubles.
