2024

DOI:https://www.doi.org/10.31178/AUBD/2024.19

Summary: A trialin the presence of the parties is a guarantee of a fair trial, and their absence from the proceedings no longer results in a loss of the case. However, the waiver of guarantees of a fair trial, including hearings conducted in the presence of both parties, must be express or clearly implied by the party’s conduct. Otherwise, the court cannot proceed with the trial, a fact to which the law attaches the status of a mandatory rule.

The “presumption of withdrawal” upon which the voluntary stay of proceedings provided for in Article 411(1)(2) of the Civil Procedure Code is based has recently been challenged by the theory that a party requesting a postponement of the case for justified reasons actually intends to prevent a voluntary stay due to the absence of the parties. The implications and shortcomings of this theory will be analyzed below, in contrast to the history of trials in the absence of the parties.

Keywords: civil procedure law , stay of proceedings, voluntary stay