The time period for consideration of the statement of claim in court is one of the most discussed points in the procedural legislation. Due to the workload of judges, this topic is constantly being raised in legal circles. This is not surprising, since the delay in the consideration of the case gives the right to compensation.
Legislative regulation
The provisions on the time limits for consideration by the court of the statement of claim, the procedure for their calculation are scattered across a number of articles of the Civil Procedure Code. There are general rules and special ones that establish exceptions and clarifications. Therefore, before accusing a judge of violating the deadlines, it should be clarified whether his actions are legal. Moreover, a number of techniques have been developed that allow, from a formal point of view, to comply with deadlines or to minimize violations. They are described below.
Justices of the peace
Justices of the peace bear the burden of considering cases in which the main difficulty is working with documents. A significant portion of the controversy is formal. For example, filing a lawsuit for divorce spouses who have children in common. Without a judge, even with mutual desire, they won’t get a divorce.
Justices of the peace are involved in the issuance of court orders regardless of the amount of claims, all other disputes are considered by them if the limit of the amount does not exceed 50 thousand rubles. Apparently for this reason, from the moment the claim is accepted by the secretary in the case no later than a month later, a substantive judicial act must be issued. The term for consideration of a statement of claim in a court of world justice is one, no exceptions are provided.
District Courts
Judges of district courts, as well as of higher instances, considering cases in the first instance, are obliged to meet two months from the date of acceptance of the claim. The time period for consideration of claims in a district court is longer, but the complexity of the cases there is higher. Due to the difficulties associated with the actions of the parties (being late with the submission of documents, the periodic non-appearance of participants, which are necessary), the terms of consideration are constantly violated. In addition, in some cases (on reinstatement, recovery of alimony), the judge is given a one-month period.
Procedural deadlines
The judge, one way or another, is limited in time. After the court accepts the documents, he has no more than 5 days to decide the fate of the claim:
- open proceedings;
- leave the lawsuit motionless;
- return the claim to the plaintiff;
- leave the claim without consideration;
- refuse to open production.
In fact, it takes at least a week before the judge and the assistant begin to study the documents. Judges use a little trick: they put dates on the procedural documents that meet the requirements of the law, but do not meet the actual circumstances. For example, the determination was formally issued on October 10, the date of sending the document affixed by the secretary is the same or a day later, and the actual time of departure, judging by the envelope, is the 20th of the same month or a later date.
Consequences of decisions hindering production
If one of the decisions was taken in the lawsuit, in addition to opening a case, the plaintiff has the right to appeal it directly, with the exception of leaving the lawsuit without consideration. If the complaint is successfully resolved, it is believed that the claim was accepted on the day of the initial filing of the documents. If the materials were left without movement, then the plaintiff eliminated the shortcomings, the day of filing the application is the day when the initial package of documents was submitted to the secretary.
Suspension and adjournment
The law gives the right in some situations to suspend the proceedings, and with it the course of time. For example, in the case of the appointment of an examination, the direction of a court order , etc. The meeting is adjourned if someone does not appear in court, and it is not yet possible to make a decision without his participation (the plaintiff must miss the appearance twice in a row).
And in this situation, the suspension of time does not occur. If the parties wish to resort to conciliation procedures, the court has the right to postpone consideration of the claim for no more than 60 days.
Cessation of production
Usually closing a case creates obstacles to further action, but there is one exception: leaving the application without consideration. This is possible if:
- application submitted by a legally incompetent person;
- the procedure for conciliation has not been fulfilled by sending a claim or applying to other authorities, if necessary;
- the applicant did not provide a power of attorney or other documents confirming his right to file a claim;
- on the same grounds and on the same occasion, a case is already being conducted in court;
- if there is an agreement of the parties on the transfer of the case to the arbitral tribunal before the filing of the claim, it is valid, and the parties did not refuse it;
- the plaintiff and the defendant did not appear in court twice in a row and did not ask to pre-trial the case without them;
- the plaintiff did not come to court for the second time in a row, and the defendant does not ask to consider the case without a second party.
The peculiarity of the procedure is as follows: in the last two paragraphs, the parties have the right to ask the court to resume the proceedings, while the judge is sent a statement indicating the reasons for the failure to appear in court. The refusal of a judge can be appealed within 15 days after receiving the determination. If the statute of limitations has not been missed, it is easier to apply to the court with a new lawsuit, which is more convenient for the judge and the plaintiff.
Denial of claim
This is a form of termination initiated by the plaintiff. Its peculiarity is that then a statement with the same participants and the same subject of the dispute will not be accepted again in court. The law allows this to be done until the judge leaves the deliberation room. At the stage of appeal, cassation or supervision, a waiver of a claim is possible provided that the case is examined again on the merits. It is more often practiced at the appeal stage after the cancellation of a previous decision.