Конституционный суд
6 декабря 2012 года
Facts
The group of members of the Parliament that initiated the case requested an investigation into the constitutionality of the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code on the grounds that when a case is dealt with by written procedure, the persons involved in the case are not summoned to the court hearing and the court hearing is held in their absence.
Complaint
The applicant's doubts are based on the fact that, in the case of civil proceedings before the appellate and cassation instances, the parties are not allowed to participate in the hearing, which infringes the constitutional rights of the parties to the proceedings.
Court’s ruling
Due process is a prerequisite for a fair trial. The principle of public hearing of cases, the public interest to be informed, the right to receive information about the court held by public bodies in accordance with the procedure established by law, the principle of the rule of law (the requirement of legal clarity, etc.), enshrined in the Constitution, obliges the legislator to regulate by law the proceedings in court in a way that would enable the parties to the proceedings and the public to be aware of the proceedings, the composition of the court hearing the case, the disputes being resolved in the case, and the judgments rendered. To ensure the publicity of the court hearing as an element of court proceedings, the legislator must regulate the procedure of the court hearing in such a way as to ensure the right of the parties to the proceedings to express their views on all issues in the case.
According to the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, the obligation to hold a public hearing is not absolute, and an oral hearing is not necessary if a party expressly waives its right to such a hearing and there is no public interest in the case. Nor is an oral hearing required where there are certain exceptional circumstances, such as the absence of an examination of facts or of questions of law which cannot be adequately resolved on the basis of the written file and the written submissions of the parties alone. The waiver of an oral hearing at second and third instance may be justified if the hearing at first instance took the form of an oral hearing.
The Court stated that, in accordance with the legal regulation laid down by the Code, when a case is heard by written procedure, the persons involved in the case are notified of the place and time of the hearing; the persons involved in the case have the right to lodge written objections, applications, to state claims, counterclaims and explanations in their procedural documents, and to receive court decisions (final acts of court). In addition, according to the Law on Courts, the final acts of the courts are published on the website of the National Judicial Administration (except for the limitations and prohibitions laid down by law). The provisions of the Code challenged by the applicant have been found to be compatible with the Constitution.