At the hearing, if the claimant fails to appear and the defendant does not claim legitimate interest in the continuation of the case, the judge shall conclude the proceedings by order, striking out the claimant’s case, awarding costs against him and compensation for the defendant who has attended and so requests. In the alternative, a defendant who fails to appear at the hearing, shall be declared in default of appearance and the proceedings will continue.
The hearing will commence with a presentation by the claimant of the basis for the claim and seeking satisfaction through the remedies set the forth in the statement of claim. In response, the defendant may raise such arguments as he considers relevant, starting, if necessary, with the procedural issues that could prevent the court reacing a decision on the merits of the claim.
Once these issues have been dealt with, or if they are not raised, then the parties will be called on to accurately set forth the relevant facts that substantiate their respective claims. If there is no agreement on the evidence to be submitted, the parties will submit the evidence they see fit and once the judge has ruled on admissibility it will be admitted. The evidence is tested in accordance with the practice indicated above for an ordinary trial.