Preliminary court hearing in civil proceedings

When is it appointed?

After accepting the statement of claim, the official issues a ruling on preparing the case for consideration.
The preparatory stage has the following goals:

clarification of the circumstances of the case, which will help to present the situation more clearly;
determination of the composition of participants in the trial;
provision of evidence by interested parties;
application of measures to reconcile the parties.

In accordance with Art. 152 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, an official may schedule a preliminary hearing to clarify the circumstances of the case. This procedure is not mandatory, so it is not carried out in all civil cases. Therefore, the question often arises as to why a preliminary examination of the case is necessary.

The hearing is scheduled to confirm the parties' actions in preparation for the trial.

Including:

if the plaintiff refuses the application;
to reconcile the parties and conclude an agreement;
when the defendant acknowledges the claims, etc.

The official may schedule a preliminary meeting to resolve the following tasks:

consideration of the circumstances of the case that will affect its resolution;
determining the sufficiency of evidence presented by both parties;
bringing forward issues related to the subject of the dispute;
consideration of reasons for missing deadlines for filing an application.

Reference! In one case, a judge may hold several preliminary hearings in preparation for trial.

❗ What to leave at home

The bottom line. The following items are absolutely prohibited from being brought into the courthouse:

piercing and cutting objects;
gas cartridges;
weapons of any type and type and their imitation;
industrial tools that can be used as weapons (pliers, hammers, screwdrivers, etc.).

Any poisonous or poisonous substances, gunpowder and explosives are also prohibited.

You should not even try to bring in prohibited items - you will have to go through a metal detector at the entrance, plus the bailiffs may ask you to show the contents of your bags.

You can take your mobile phone with you, but before the start of the court hearing you will be asked to turn it off so as not to interfere with the process.

Order of conduct

In Art.
152 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation regulates how the preliminary court hearing takes place in civil proceedings. The official makes his or her own determination as to whether a hearing is necessary during the preparation phase. The decision is brought to the attention of the participants in the process. The plaintiff and defendant are notified of the date and time of the preliminary hearing. Participants in the trial have the right to file a petition and present evidence at a preliminary hearing in accordance with Art. 56 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. The failure of one of the parties to appear at the hearing is not an obstacle to its holding.

The preliminary examination of the case has the following features:

It is conducted by a single judge.
The official decides independently which issues will be considered.
Parties are allowed to participate in the meeting and present their arguments and evidence.

At the preparatory stage, debates between the plaintiff and the defendant are excluded.

Speaking about whether a meeting is mandatory or not, it should be noted that the judge has the right to independently decide whether the procedure is necessary. If the court considers that the case is completely ready for consideration, then an appropriate decision will be made and a date for the main hearing will be set.

The procedure for holding the meeting is regulated by Art. 158 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. The judge opens the hearing by announcing the civil case and what issues will be heard. The parties have the right to present arguments and make statements. At the same time, the official examines in full only those evidence that relate to the limitation period. The remaining arguments will be considered during the main hearing.

Other circumstances of the return of materials to the prosecutor

If there is a need to draw up an indictment/conclusion when a decision is made to apply compulsory medical measures, a preliminary hearing in criminal proceedings is also scheduled. This circumstance is revealed when the question of placing the accused under medical supervision is raised. After reviewing the materials, the court may not agree with the decision to apply compulsory medical measures. In this regard, he may admit that the proceedings should be carried out according to the general rules - with the investigation carried out in full and the indictment/conclusion drawn up based on its results. A preliminary hearing in criminal proceedings is also appointed when:

Identifying circumstances that make it possible to combine production into one.
Lack of clarification of the rights provided for the accused under Art. 217, part 5 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, when familiarizing him with the materials.
The need to take investigative measures against a subject hiding from court.

Deadlines

The preparatory consideration of the case must be scheduled within the period of the main proceedings (Article 154 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation).
In accordance with the legislative act, a response to the statement of claim must be given within 2 months from the date of receipt of the petition by the judicial authority. An exception is made for proceedings on the following grounds:

collection of alimony;
demolition of self-built buildings;
labor disputes regarding reinstatement at work;
bringing unauthorized buildings into compliance, etc.

These cases are considered within 1 month from the date of receipt of the application. The time limit does not include the time for which the meeting was postponed to reconcile the parties.

Attention! The magistrate is required to review the document and schedule a hearing within 1 month.

In Part 3 of Art. 152 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation states that an official has the right to schedule a hearing later than the established deadlines if the case is classified as complex. Time may be required in cases where research, expert assessment, etc. are necessary to clarify the circumstances.

✅ What documents to take with you

The bottom line. It is mandatory to take an identification document - it will be checked at the entrance. If you are invited as one of the participants in the process, and did not come as a spectator (although since the beginning of the pandemic, spectators are rarely allowed into courtrooms), then you must take with you a summons or a phone number to which you received an SMS message with a call (if there was one) consent to SMS notification has been received).

Outsiders are not allowed into the courthouse just like that, so the summons will serve as evidence of the purpose of the visit. If necessary, nonresident participants in the process provide travel certificates.

If you are a participant in the process, then take with you documents related to the case - if you have any on hand, and there is a suspicion that they may be needed. A clean notebook and pen or pencil will be useful.

Do you know the rules of conduct in court?

I think you just need to behave decently, as in any public place. Yes, I know, since I myself have been to court hearings. I don’t know, I wasn’t interested.

Results

As a result of the preliminary hearing, the judge may make the following determinations:

suspension of the proceedings;
leaving the application without consideration;
cessation of production.

The court decision can be appealed privately. If one of the parties was not present at the meeting, then a copy of the decision is sent to it within 3 days after its adoption (Article 227 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation).

The preparatory stage often involves finding out the facts of missing deadlines for applying to the court. The court considers all arguments and evidence related to this issue.

Based on the results of the proceedings, decisions may be made:

assignment of the case to trial;
refusal to accept the claim.

The case is assigned for further consideration if the court finds the reasons for missing the deadline to be valid. The legislation does not clearly define these circumstances.

Valid reasons may include:

plaintiff's illness;
being on a long business trip;
death of a close relative;
the need to care for seriously ill patients, etc.

If the court makes a ruling on the expiration of the statute of limitations and refusal to accept the petition, then further circumstances of the case are not considered. The official's decision may be appealed.

In cases where court proceedings involve children, a preliminary hearing is held for the following purposes:

determining the place of residence of minors before a final court decision is made;
clarification of the order of parental rights of one of the parties during the main trial.

The meeting is held in the presence of representatives of the guardianship authorities. Based on the results of consideration of all the circumstances, a determination is made. The decision of the official is carried out on the basis of the characteristics of the parents, the conclusion of the guardianship authorities, and the opinion of the minors themselves.

Based on the results of the preparatory stage, a protocol is drawn up. The progress of the meeting and the decision taken are included in it. A note is made in the document if the parties have reached a common decision and entered into a settlement agreement.

Jury participation

A preliminary hearing in criminal proceedings if there is a request to involve assessors is based on general rules. However, given the specifics of such proceedings, the legislation establishes a number of reservations:

A crime for which several subjects are held accountable is considered against all of them if at least one of them has submitted a request for a jury.
If the relevant request was not sent or was not confirmed during the meeting, the proceedings are carried out in another court. It is determined according to the rules of Art. 30 Code of Criminal Procedure.
The resolution that sets up a preliminary hearing in a criminal case, in addition to resolving other issues, determines the number of candidate jurors to be called, which must be at least 20.

The decision to schedule a jury trial is final. Subsequently, the defendant’s refusal to consider the case in such a composition will not be accepted. At the request of the parties, they are given copies of the resolution.

Failure of one of the parties to appear at the hearing

The legislation states that the absence of a plaintiff or defendant at a preliminary hearing is not a valid reason for it not to take place.
But in practice, the judge can schedule a meeting in order to clarify the circumstances of the case, including from one of the parties. Therefore, if there are no participants in the process, the preliminary hearing may be postponed to another date. The plaintiff or defendant may file a motion not to participate in the preparatory hearing of the case. The application will need to indicate a valid reason for failure to appear. A representative of one of the parties may be present at the meeting if there is a notarized power of attorney.

The question of what a preliminary court hearing is in civil proceedings and why it is necessary often arises among the participants in the process. The procedure involves consideration of the circumstances of the case and the availability of evidence from both parties at the preparatory stage. A preliminary hearing may not be ordered by the judge if he believes it is not necessary.

Thus, the preparatory meeting is not related to the consideration of the case on the merits. The procedure is a set of measures to prepare for the main process. The issues considered during the hearing relate to procedural or organizational issues. The preliminary hearing is designed to help prepare the case in such a way that it can be examined on its merits as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Grounds for holding a preliminary hearing in criminal proceedings

The circumstances under which the considered stage of the proceedings is permitted include:

Receipt of a request from one of the parties to exclude evidence.
Detection of circumstances under which the return of materials to the prosecutor is permitted.
Discovery of facts, the presence of which may result in termination or suspension of the proceedings.
Receipt of a petition from the accused to schedule a hearing with the participation of a jury.

An application serving as the basis for a preliminary hearing in criminal proceedings may be filed after the defendant has familiarized himself with the materials or within three days after the prosecutor has sent them to the court and served the indictment (conclusion) on the subject.