What will happen if you fail to appear in court: as a witness, as a defendant?

Failure to appear in court has various consequences both for the case and for the person who failed to appear in court. This is not always an offense, and does not always become an obstacle to legal proceedings.

The consequences of failure to appear in court, including for individual participants in the process, are provided for by the relevant procedural legislation: Civil Procedure Code, Arbitration Procedure Code, Civil Procedure Code, Code of Administrative Offenses and CAS of the Russian Federation. In addition, the law determines which cases of failure to appear in court are considered legitimate and what needs to be done to avoid negative consequences. Each process has its own nuances.

Civil procedure (Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation)
Arbitration process (Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation)
criminal process
Cases of administrative offenses (Administrative Offenses Code of the Russian Federation)
Administrative proceedings (CAS RF)
Valid reasons for failure to appear in court

Civil procedure (Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation)

The general rule in a civil case is that all persons summoned to court and duly notified of the time and place of the hearing are required to appear or notify the court of the reasons for failure to appear.

If the defendant, plaintiff and (or) their representatives do not appear in court:

The court postpones the proceedings if there is no information about the notification of the absent person or the reasons for failure to appear indicated by such person are considered valid by the court.
The court postpones the proceedings or continues them (at the discretion of the court) - if the representative of the plaintiff or defendant does not appear, and the relevant party requests to postpone the consideration of the case, citing valid reasons for the failure of his representative to appear.
The proceedings are ongoing - if there is information about proper notification of the absent person, he did not report the reasons for his failure to appear, or the court considered such reasons to be disrespectful.
The court considers the case without the participation of the parties or one of the parties, if a request for this has been received in advance from the plaintiff and defendant or from the absent party.

If other participants in the process (witness, translator, specialist, expert) do not appear in court, the issue of continuing or postponing the proceedings is put up for discussion with the participation of the parties to the case. But the final word belongs to the court. He, of course, will take into account the opinion of the plaintiff, defendant, and their representatives, but he has the right to decide for himself whether to continue the process or postpone it in order to ensure the appearance of the absent person.

The plaintiff, defendant and their representatives have the right not to come to court only because they do not want to participate in the consideration of the case. The only negative consequence is that the case is considered without them, which may well affect the court’s decision not in favor of the absent party. If other persons fail to appear without a valid reason, in the opinion of the court, fines (up to 1 thousand rubles) may be applied, and a witness may be subject to forced delivery to court (arraignment).

The result of the appearance of a judicial representative at a court hearing

The plaintiff's representative, a lawyer, stated during the meeting that in order to postpone the meeting, evidence was needed to justify the defendant's failure to appear. It was also stated that the defendant organization’s staff includes a director, deputy director, and the interests of the defendant are represented by a lawyer under the contract.

The court listened to the lawyer, took into account the circumstances of the case and the opinions of the parties. The court took into account that consideration of the case on the merits is possible based on the evidence presented in the case, that the defendant did not object to the completion of the preliminary hearing and the transition to consideration of the merits of the stated claims, that the defendant’s appearance was not recognized as mandatory. On these grounds, the court rejected the request to postpone the trial.

The result of the lawyer’s appearance at the court hearing was that the court completed the preliminary proceedings and immediately proceeded to consider the case on the merits of the stated claims, without postponing the court hearing to another day.

Arbitration process (Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation)

The consequences of failure to appear in an arbitration court are somewhat different than in civil proceedings:

The parties have the right to decide for themselves whether they will participate in the case or not. If participation in the process is not planned, it is necessary to submit a corresponding application or notify the court in another way. In this case, the reasons for absence do not need to be specified - they do not play any role.
If the defendant or plaintiff does not appear in court, but was duly notified of the time and place of the hearing, then the court has the right to continue the proceedings in the absence of a party to the case. If both parties fail to appear, the trial may take place without them at the discretion of the court.
The failure of representatives of the parties, third parties and their representatives, who were duly notified of the court hearing, to appear in court does not prevent the consideration of the case.
Failure of a witness, translator or expert who has been properly notified of the hearing to appear in court entails the adjournment of the trial, except in cases where the parties ask the court to continue the consideration of the case in the absence of the person who failed to appear.
If, according to a court decision, a participant in the process (plaintiff, defendant, third party, their representatives) was obliged to appear at the hearing, but did not appear, penalties may be applied to him (up to 2,500 rubles for citizens, up to 5,000 rubles for officials, up to 100 thousand rubles – legal entity).
If a witness, expert or translator does not appear at the hearing, justifying his absence with valid reasons, and the court does not recognize these reasons as valid, then penalties may also be applied - both to the parties to the proceeding and their representatives.

criminal process

In criminal proceedings, the participation of the defendant, his defense attorney and the prosecutor (prosecutor or private prosecutor) is mandatory:

If the participation of a defense lawyer is not possible, either the lawyer is replaced or the hearing is postponed.
If the prosecutor fails to appear in court, it is possible to replace the state prosecutor, but until the circumstances of the failure to appear are clarified, the court hearing is usually postponed.
Failure of a private prosecutor (victim in private prosecution cases) to appear in court entails, firstly, clarification of the reasons for the absence. If the reasons are unjustified or the court recognizes them as such, then the case (prosecution) is terminated for lack of corpus delicti. If the reasons are valid, then the court itself decides whether to postpone the hearing or consider the case in the absence of the victim. There are situations when the court decides that the participation of the victim in the process is mandatory, and if the victim does not appear, he can be brought in.
If the defendant fails to appear, the consideration of the case is postponed, and an arrest may be applied against him and (or) the preventive measures may be changed. Consideration of cases of crimes of minor or medium gravity is possible in the absence of the defendant, if he has asked the court about this in advance. For other categories of cases, it is also possible to consider the case without the defendant, but only if he left Russia and (or) is hiding - in these cases, as a rule, the defendant is arrested in absentia and put on the wanted list, if this has not been done earlier.

The consequences of failure of a victim or witness to appear in court in a criminal case depend on the importance of their testimony, the position of the court, the prosecutor and the defense. Valid options include:

adjournment of the proceedings until the appearance of the victim or witness is ensured;
bringing a victim or witness;
continuation of the proceedings without hearing and taking into account the testimony of the victim or witness;
continuation of the proceedings with the announcement of the testimony of a witness or victim given during the preliminary investigation;
the last resort is criminal liability for the refusal of a witness or victim to testify (Article 308 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

The court has the right not to consider a civil claim if the plaintiff does not appear in court - he will have to apply through civil law. However, the claim can still be considered if the plaintiff asked in advance to do so in his absence, the claim is supported by the prosecutor's office, or the defendant admits the claim in full.

What awaits you for absence from a meeting?

Each of the participants in the proceedings must be properly informed about the upcoming meeting. The consequences of absence depend on what procedural position the participant in the case occupies, as well as on whether the circumstances are being considered in a civil, administrative or criminal case.

As a defendant, plaintiff

If one of the main participants does not come to the court hearing in a civil case, then the court examines the case materials without him.
However, the absentee risks facing negative consequences: he will not be able to substantiate his claims, provide refutations and evidence, and the outcome of the case may not be decided in his favor. When examining a case in absentia, the court will examine expert opinions, interview witnesses, and examine documents and evidence. Attention! If a participant in the case was absent from the meeting for reasons beyond his control (for example, due to late notification), then he has the right to file a claim to annul the absentee ruling.
When a case of administrative violation is being considered, the court may postpone its examination. If the participants in the case were properly informed about the date of the hearing, the court will make a decision in absentia, using the testimony of the participant present and the collected evidence. For example, a case of deprivation of a driver’s license is being considered, but the person himself is absent from the meeting - then the court will consider the circumstances in absentia and satisfy the requirements of the traffic police.
In a criminal case, you cannot simply be absent from a hearing - the court may consider this an attempt to evade responsibility and hide important information. Those who are absent can be forcibly brought to court and, in addition, fined up to 2,500 rubles .

The fine also applies in civil proceedings - about 1000 rubles .

In this case, the victim may be absent from the court hearing in the criminal case. He needs to send a statement to the court in advance stating that for such and such reasons he is not able to come to court on the appointed date. You will also need to draw up a second statement - about the absence of claims against the defendant. If during a private prosecution the victim is not present at the hearing and no statement has been received from him, then the criminal proceedings are terminated.

As a witness

The same rules apply - failure to appear during the consideration of a criminal case is unacceptable. If a witness fails to come to the hearing without reason, he may be forcibly brought into the courtroom. He may also be subject to a monetary penalty.

If for compelling reasons a witness is unable to come to court, he may be questioned at his place of residence.

Moreover, if the importance of the presence of a witness at the meeting is insignificant, then the court will simply read his testimony.

Cases of administrative offenses (Administrative Offenses Code of the Russian Federation)

Almost all cases must be considered with the participation of a person charged with an administrative offense. If the offender fails to appear without good reason, he may be subject to arrest.

The failure of a witness to appear may be considered an administrative offense under Art. 17.7 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (fine for citizens - up to 1,500 rubles). The same liability may threaten other participants in the process, since the article is of a general nature - failure to comply with the legal requirements of the person conducting proceedings in a case of an administrative offense.

Administrative proceedings (CAS RF)

According to the rules of the CAS RF, much depends on the position of the court. If in an administrative case appearance is not mandatory or is not recognized by the court as mandatory and all participants in the process do not appear in court, then the case is considered without them in a simplified manner.

In other cases, various options are possible:

The trial is postponed:

if there is no information about proper notification of the absent person;
if the administrative defendant did not appear;
if the representative of the participant in the case does not appear.

Proceedings may be adjourned if the failure to appear is due to valid reasons and the absent person has requested the adjournment.
A court fine is applied if the person was obliged to, but did not appear in court without good reason. The size of the fine varies: the fine for failure to appear in court for citizens is up to 5,000 rubles, for a municipal or civil servant - up to 10 thousand rubles, for government agencies - up to 100 thousand rubles, for other public authorities and organizations - up to 80 thousand rubles.
In case of repeated failure to appear without good reason, the administrative defendant may be subject to arrest.

Good reasons are the main factor in the absence of violation

Negative consequences, in particular fines and imprisonment, are applied only in cases where the failure to appear in court was not due to valid reasons . In this case, two situations are possible: the absent person did not justify his absence in any way, or the court did not recognize the specified reasons as valid.

As a rule, valid reasons for failure to appear in court are:

illness confirmed by medical documents;
receiving a notice from the court (summons) too late, for example, directly on the day of the hearing;
personal difficult circumstances, such as the death of a close relative or his illness, which required presence;
a business trip due to which it was objectively impossible to come to the trial;
Emergency situations, accidents, etc. incidents in which it was necessary to take part in eliminating the consequences or due to which it was not possible to come to court;
participation in another legal process;
being in custody, including administrative detention.

Having a good reason is not a sufficient circumstance in itself . Documentary evidence is required. And in any case, the court will make an assessment of the circumstances, their respectful nature and the evidence presented.

Why do they win in court?

Anyone who has ever encountered the judicial system knows that participation in a court hearing is mandatory. By participating in the trial personally, or through a professional representative, the party to the case will be able to defend their rights, avoid negative consequences, or minimize the consequences.

The court evaluates the evidence according to its internal conviction, based on a comprehensive, complete, objective and direct examination of the evidence available in the case (Article 67 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, Article 71 of the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation).