Litigation is about settling disputes in court. Disputes can take many forms, such as claims for damages, dissolution of contracts or inheritance disputes. Before a case goes to court, there is often an attempt to settle the dispute through mediation. The vast majority of disputes are settled before they reach court. You can read more about mediation and conciliation in disputes Here.
In this article, we look at the initiation of litigation and the preparatory phase. Although the culmination of the litigation is the main hearing and judgment, the preparation is often the most laborious and important part of the process, and much of the work of the parties and their counsel is focused on the preparation.
Starting a dispute
The dispute is initiated when the written application for a summons to appear is submitted by the plaintiff to the district court. In more complex cases, it is advisable to leave the drafting of the application to legal experts so that the main points can be presented in a structured and reasoned manner. The main purpose of the writ of summons is to set out what the plaintiff is seeking from the defendant and on what grounds. The statement of claim should be accompanied by evidence in support of the claimant's claims and should state the evidentiary issues, i.e. the facts that each piece of evidence seeks to establish. In simple, uncontested debt cases, the procedure is more limited and no evidence need be attached.
Once the summons has been processed by the district court, the defendant is served with a summons to answer the plaintiff's claims within the time limit. The time limit starts to run when the summons is served, which can be by telephone, post or bailiff. It is important for the defendant to respond within the time limit, as failure to do so may result in a default judgment in favour of the plaintiff without a hearing. If the defendant objects to the action, the case will continue either in writing or orally at the preparatory stage.
Written and oral preparation
The objectives set for the preparation of litigation come directly from the law. According to the Code of Judicial Procedure, the preparation of a dispute must include the parties' claims and the grounds on which they are based, what the parties disagree about, what evidence will be presented and what each piece of evidence is intended to prove, and the conditions for settlement. It is the court's task to ensure that the above objectives are achieved during the preparation.
During the written preparation, the district court may order the parties to the dispute to submit a written statement to the district court on a specific issue ordered by the court. As a general rule, a written statement may not be requested more than once, unless there is a special reason for doing so. Therefore, a situation where the court requests written statements after the statement should not arise. At the conclusion of the written preparation, the district court will prepare a summary of the case, which will serve as a basis for the oral preparation. The summary is the district court's understanding of the dispute at hand and is a very central document for the parties to the dispute. If the summary contains errors and these are not corrected later in the preparation, for example at the preparatory hearing, this can have adverse effects as the court's perception of the subject matter of the proceedings will differ from that of the parties.
After the written preparation is completed, the matter is usually continued in an oral preparation in a separate preparatory session. The main purpose of the preparatory hearing is to ensure that the case can be taken up for decision in the main hearing at a later stage. Careful preparation for the preparatory hearing is very important, as it is generally not possible to make any further changes after the preparatory hearing. The summary submitted to the parties during the written procedure will be discussed at the preparatory hearing and corrections will be made where necessary. This requires vigilance on the part of the parties to the case and their assistants. The preparatory meeting will also go through the contentious and non-contentious issues. The evidence, including written evidence and witnesses, should focus on the disputed facts, as evidence on the uncontested facts is obviously not necessary. The conciliation hearing also explores the possibility of settlement and the presiding judge has a statutory duty to promote an amicable settlement of the case. The parties can be motivated to settle, for example by reminding them of the risks involved in the main hearing, including the risk of litigation. If no agreement is reached in the preparatory session, the case will be continued later from the main hearing.
Amos Law Office provides services in litigation matters. If you have a pending dispute that is about to go to court, please contact us! Article written by a lawyer Santeri Valkamo. You can always call him free of charge on 010 299 5090. You can check our price list Here.
Related articles:
Dispute mediation & conciliation
Main hearing of the dispute
The course of the dispute process
This article has been updated 10.2.2024