bUGS-BY6 Nov 2019 20:11
random.....
Court practice
On 13 September 2019, the Supreme Court of
Georgia issued clarifications regarding the
excuses for the failure to appear in court.
The counsel for the appellant submitted an
application to the court, requesting
postponement of the hearing scheduled in the
Court of Appeals. The application state that the
counsel and the appellant were unable to
participate in the hearing for the reasons that
the counsel had to attend a training course and
the client had fallen sick.
The Court of Appeals ruled that the application
failed to provide a sufficient substantiation. As a
result, the application was dismissed at the
motion of the opposing party.
The Supreme Court of Georgia referred to the
Civil Procedure Code which establishes the
reasons for non-appearance at court, including
illness, death of a close relative, or forcemajeure.
The Supreme Court held that the Court of
Appeals was duly notified of the non-appearance
of the counsel and the appellant and the
application provided the relevant excuses. The
Supreme Court further found that the scheduling
of a hearing for a time when both the counsel
and the appellant were unable to appear at court
violated the appellant’s right to participate in
hearing. Thus, the Supreme Court resolved that
the appeal was dismissed unlawfully.