Unless the Court excuses you from attending, you must attend court whenever there is a hearing.
If you do not attend the Court hearing and do not have a lawyer appearing for you, the Court might dismiss your application in your absence and order you to pay the Minister’s costs.
In some circumstances, you can apply to the Court to set aside a judgment or orders made in your absence. To do that, you will need to file an Application in a proceeding and an accompanying Affidavit explaining why you did not attend the hearing.
What happens at the final hearing?
The Court will contact you in writing with a final hearing date at least a few weeks before the hearing. You will be contacted at the email or postal address that you have provided to the Court.
At the hearing, you will have an opportunity to address the issues in your case. If you have a lawyer, they will speak for you. The Minister will be represented by a lawyer, and you or your lawyer will have the opportunity to respond to what the Minister’s lawyer says in court.
The Judge may announce the decision at the end of the hearing, or the Judge might need more time to consider your case. If the Judge needs more time, you will be told to come back later the same day or to come back on a future date to hear the decision. The Court will then contact you when that date is set.
Be sure to keep the Court informed of your contact details. If your address changes you need to file a Notice of address for service form as soon as possible.
