How does a court hearing in a civil case work?

Powers of participants in court proceedings

There are general rules that determine how to behave in court, established for all participants in the process. And here it makes no difference who it is - the applicant in the case or the plaintiff, the defendant or a person who arrived in another capacity (for example, a witness or a third party).

It is advisable to appear in court on days when citizens are received. Receptions are conducted by staff members (on issues related to the reception of documents or a specific case). Such communication with citizens is not related to the resolution of the case on its merits.

Assistants and secretaries can:

• provide information on what time the hearing of the case is scheduled;
• inform about what time you can come for a particular document;
• issue documents, court decisions, orders.

In the reception or office, secretaries accept documents or issue them.

When accepting documents, the secretary must check whether all copies described in the attachment are present. They always ask to show a passport and power of attorney in a situation where the papers are not handed over personally by the participant in the case.

The receptionist can also tell you what may be missing in the claim, since registration problems arise quite often.

The secretary checks whether there are the required number of copies to provide them to the other party. If this is an arbitration court, then the secretary will ask to provide evidence of sending copies of the claim and the papers attached to it to the other party. It is imperative to check the availability of receipts for payment of state fees.

It is always necessary to show politeness and patience; often gloomy employees, accustomed, as a rule, to visitors who allow themselves to behave beyond the bounds of decency, in response to good treatment, do everything possible for a calm and understanding visitor.

This means that when going to court, you should not expect to demand more from employees than they are required to do by virtue of their official position.

Obligations of the plaintiff during the trial

The plaintiff, as the initiator of the case, must come to court whenever the judge calls him. If you don’t show up twice, then the paperwork stops and everything needs to start over.

There is a rule in court: every time the judge enters the courtroom or office, you must stand up. You can only speak in front of the judge while standing, unless the judge allows you not to rise from your chair. The norm is to address “Dear Court” or “Your Honor”.

Starting the hearing, the judge introduces himself and asks if there are any challenges to the court or the secretary. If there are no claims, then the question is asked about requests to the court. In this case, the plaintiff must be the first to make his requests (call a witness, request documents, order an examination).

When calling a witness, you need to provide his details, place of residence, and explain what he can report. When submitting a request for documents, the plaintiff explains the reason for the impossibility of obtaining them without the help of the court, and explains from whom these documents must be requested.

It is advisable to submit petitions in writing by submitting the appropriate paper through the office in advance.

How does a court hearing in a civil case work?

The trial is one of the stages of the civil process. The entire procedure in a court hearing is regulated by the norms of Chapter 15 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation. The process is led by the judge presiding over the case.

The trial begins with its opening and the judge announcing the name of the case that will be heard. Then the judge establishes the identities of the persons who appeared at the court hearing, where, when asked by the court, you will have to give your last name, first name, patronymic, date and place of birth, address of registration and actual place of residence, where and by whom you work. In addition, you may be asked to provide your telephone number.

Do not be alarmed by such specification, since all this data can subsequently speed up the process of obtaining a writ of execution and further collection on it.

Next, the judge will announce his last name and the last name of the secretary of the court session, who keeps the minutes of the court session. If a prosecutor or, for example, a representative of the guardianship and trusteeship authority takes part in the court hearing, they will also be presented to the other participants in the process. Afterwards you will be asked whether you have challenges to the composition of the court.

To this question, you must indicate whether you trust this judge to hear your case. The judge will then explain your rights and responsibilities as a litigant and ask about any pending motions. Very often, it is the word “petition” that scares people who do not have a legal education. A petition simply means any request to the court, for example, to postpone a court hearing, to include documents that you brought with you to court, or to order an examination.

When all motions are resolved, the court will ask if you agree to hear the case in the absence of any of the absent parties. If there are none, then the court will immediately proceed to the consideration of the case, first announce or briefly outline the essence of the claim, ask the plaintiff whether he insists on his demands, the defendant - whether he agrees with the claim, then, give the opportunity to all participants in the process in order of priority speak out, that is, give brief explanations and ask each other questions.

Next, the court examines all documents available in the case file. Ideally, the court should read out each document, but in practice, due to the heavy workload, the matter is almost always limited to simply listing the sheets of the case and the name of the document.

At this stage of the process, you are not deprived of the right to ask questions about the submitted documents or comment on them in any way. It is worth noting that it is at this stage that other evidence is examined and reviewed, for example, a video recording from the scene of an accident, a medical record, photographs, and other things.

After examining all the evidence, the judge will ask you to add explanations; if there are no additions, the court will move on to the judicial debate. Judicial debates represent a kind of summing up of everything previously said. Replicas follow. A remark is a brief remark about what your opponent said.

The final stage of the process is the removal of the judge to the deliberation room, that is, a separate room where the judge makes a decision on a specific case. It takes from several minutes to several hours to make a decision. Afterwards, the judge returns to the room where the trial is taking place and announces either a decision.

All participants in the process listen to the announcement of the decision while standing. You must also stand when the judge enters the courtroom, gives explanations, and answers questions. In addition, it should be noted that the trial in reality is significantly different from how it is shown in well-known “staged television programs.”

In life, the process is more orderly, the stages follow each other, shouting from the place and interrupting is prohibited. If you violate the established order, the judge may even remove you from the courtroom.

In general, you should not be afraid of lawsuits, because sometimes this is the only way to protect your rights.

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How to behave in court as a plaintiff

The judge is responsible for order in the courtroom. Therefore, you need to contact him first of all in all cases, asking him to protect the defendant from insults or slander.

The judge, when considering the case, asks the plaintiff to be the first to explain the essence of the claim, and may ask questions as the plaintiff’s story progresses.

The defendant has the right to file a response to the claim. If the review is voluminous and complex, on its own initiative or on the initiative of the plaintiff, the court may postpone the hearing to study the materials. The defendant’s efforts to speak clearly and to the point, without wasting unnecessary time on it, are appreciated, especially in debates, when one can limit oneself to a phrase about supporting one’s claims.

Violations by a judge can be recorded for yourself using portable recording equipment. Disagreement with any actions of a judge should be expressed correctly, in particular, by demanding that this be recorded in the protocol.

The plaintiff has the grounds and right to complain about violations, if any. Private complaints upheld in a higher court can influence the judge and return the process to the legal course.

A case that is not of a personal nature (where information about the state of health or personal life is disclosed) can be considered in the presence of strangers without the special permission of the judge.

The plaintiff must fulfill his obligations to request documents, call witnesses, and request to appoint an examination. When you see violations, you should not react violently, but, if possible, complain or record everything for a future appeal.

Conduct in court

Yes, it is not so rare that both citizens and representatives of organizations feel fine in the courtroom and win cases, for which they can, of course, be congratulated. However, most often these are quite simple matters that do not require any special knowledge - perhaps only prudence and self-confidence.

If the matter is a little more complicated, then problems arise both on a psychological level (a government institution, a “severe” judge, etc.), and even more so on a legal level, and one is connected with the other. People simply do not know the rules of behavior in the courtroom, since they are familiar with them only from movies, and when the judge corrects them, they begin to get lost, some begin to argue with the judge, interrupt their opponent, which is not allowed, and make other mistakes. This includes an incorrect reaction to certain questions from an opponent (and if he is a professional, he knows how to ask questions correctly, pushing him to the desired answer), untimely provision of evidence, and much more. As a result, the person himself feels uncomfortable, and the opponent may “crush”, and the judge may regard uncertain answers and incorrect behavior as not in favor of this party in the case.

That’s why, by the way, many lawyers really don’t like being accompanied by a client into the meeting room: a professional knows what and when to do and say, has already calculated all the expected options for the development of the meeting, instructed the client how to behave, has prepared himself, but... For For a lawyer, a court hearing is just a job, albeit a responsible one, for the client it is his family, his blood, and his nerves can’t always stand it: he begins to ask the lawyer why he is silent (when he should be silent) and makes all the mistakes described above. As a result, the work is many times harder - much like how a doctor would feel performing an operation in the presence of the patient’s relatives.

How to behave at an administrative court

An administrative matter is most often resolved in one meeting, so you need to prepare in advance. The judges try to decide everything quickly, without wasting extra time. The only way to reschedule the proceedings in this case is to invoke the right to obtain legal assistance.

Violating the right to defense means ensuring the reversal of the decision in the future, and the court always prefers to postpone consideration of the case for this reason.

The beginning of the process occurs in a standard way: the judge introduces himself, introduces the secretary, asks about challenges, explains rights and asks whether there are any requests, even if there are already all the materials submitted through the office.

You should not be afraid of this question; you need to insist on petitions set out in writing and list them briefly.

The trial is proceeding according to the general scheme. The chance to defend your case is real if all the requirements for submitting documents are met. Petitions must be submitted in advance through the office, and not in the judge’s office. Then there will be no loophole for ignoring the position of the person being held accountable.

If there are papers, video recordings, witnesses, you need to ask the court to study all these materials and call witnesses. You can call the officials who compiled the protocol for questioning. There is also such a right as the exclusion of a protocol or other evidence from a case due to violations committed during its receipt.

How to behave at an administrative court if the judge proposes to minimize the amount of a fine or other punishment? The judge may offer to reduce the defendant's sentence, but if you know the full extent of the guilt, you must insist on your evidence and arguments.

When asking questions, a person has the right to use his notes, this is allowed. If you are not satisfied with the decision, you can petition a higher court.

In any case, your preparedness, confident tone of voice, compliance with the entire procedure for filing documents and the necessary information will help you successfully resolve legal issues and win the trial. These recommendations are relevant not only when considering an administrative case, but also when resolving any other issue in court.

Stages of filing an application

To gain access to an online hearing, a petition is submitted to the arbitration court. To do this, fill out an electronic form on the “My Arbitrator” service.

Sequence of filing an application:

• log into the “My Arbitrator” IS using a confirmed ESIA account;
• go to the “Applications and Petitions” section;
• enter the case number and information about the applicant in the “Start” tab;
• select the type of appeal (type of document and document format). After this, information will appear that access to online hearings is only available in those courts that are testing the pilot project. Then follow the link provided to the list of judicial organizations to make sure that the authority organizes meetings in the format of online conferences;
• select the authority in the “Court” item. If the selected option does not conduct video hearings, a window will appear with the relevant information;
• Upload the application in the “Documents” section. You are also required to provide a scan of your passport, law degree, power of attorney (other official paper will do) to represent the interests of a citizen;
• click the “Submit” button, confirm the information provided and click “Submit” again to register the request.

Subtleties of approving an application

The registration of the petition is carried out by a judicial employee who accepts papers in electronic format. After which the applicant is sent a corresponding notification by e-mail (the address is activated in advance in his own profile of the “My Arbitrator” resource). The judge responsible for the proceedings is responsible for the approval . Once approved, the applicant will be sent a letter with the date and time of the online hearing.

After approval of the document, some information on the service will change:

1. The “Online Hearings” section will begin to display information about scheduled hearings, approved motions, and authorized persons.
2. An icon will appear in the “Calendar” item indicating that meetings are organized online.
3. An event about scheduling a hearing with detailed information will appear in the “Card” section. The date of approval of the permit, the date and time of the meeting, the type of paper in the form of an event, the name and initials of the judge, and information about the appointment of the hearing are indicated.
4. Information about event registration will be published in the “Card” section. The date of approval of the document, the type of paper in the form of an event, the name of the applicant, and the status of the document are indicated.

Question for an arbitration lawyer

How to start online meetings?

To take part in the hearing, you must follow the link in the hearing status in the “Online hearings” section at the specified time. The responsible judge initiates the video conference.

Sample application

To the Arbitration Court of the Udmurt Republic address:___________________________

Plaintiff: XXX LLC (OGRN 3338837387389, INN 8888888888) address:______________________________ tel.________________________________

Defendant: LLC "YYYY" (OGRN 77777777777777, INN 222222222222) address:______________________________ tel.________________________________

Case No. A71-6667Y/2020

APPLICATION for participation in a meeting through the use of video conferencing systems

The Arbitration Court of the UR is considering case No. A71-No. A71-6667Y/2020 on the claim of XXX LLC against YYYY LLC for the recovery of funds. The court hearing is scheduled for August 1, 2021, 2:30 p.m.

In accordance with Part 1 of Article 153.1 of the Arbitration Procedural Code of the Russian Federation, persons participating in the case and other participants in the arbitration process may participate in the court hearing through the use of video conferencing systems, subject to their filing a petition for this and if the relevant arbitration courts have the technical ability to carry out video conferencing.

Due to the significant distance of the Arbitration Court of the UR from the location of the plaintiff - Moscow, guided by Part 1 of Article 153.1 of the Arbitration Procedural Code of the Russian Federation, I ask you to provide XXX LLC with the opportunity to participate in the court hearing through the use of video conferencing systems.

General Director of XXX LLC _______________ I.I. Ivanov