What happens if the court cannot find me?

A judicial notice is a procedural act by which a judge brings certain information to the attention of a person. Generally, it is an order, resolution or situation. But what happens if the court cannot locate me and, therefore, cannot deliver it to me? This is undoubtedly a very interesting question that we will answer below.

Notification, summons and notice

As discussed in the introduction to this article, a notice is a written document whose function is to give notice to a person. Generally, it has to do with a decision taken.

When we speak of a judicial notice, what we are referring to is that it has been issued by a court. However, it can also be issued by an administrative body (the Tax Agency, the local council, the National Social Security Institute...).

The problem is that, in many cases, we tend to confuse the concepts of notification, summons and requirement. Here we are going to define them so that there is no doubt:

• Summons. In this case, the court summons a person to appear in court within a certain period of time in order to carry out a certain action. For example, to appoint a solicitor. It is also known as a summons.
• Injunction. By means of this document the court urges a person to carry out an action or, on the contrary, to refrain from doing so. For example, to pay a fine.

What happens if a person cannot be notified?

Judicial notifications are key elements in the functioning of justice. This is mainly because they establish a chain of responsibility between the receiver and the sender. However, there are occasions when it is impossible to deliver them. This would be the case, for example, of someone whose home address is not up to date.

Sentencing in absentia

Many people believe that if they do not receive a notice they will escape the legal responsibilities associated with it. However, they are profoundly mistaken. In fact, the court can make a judgment even if the person in question has not appeared.

Such judgments are called "judgments in absentia" and have the same force as any other judgment. In other words, they are binding. To this end, after the day of the summons has passed without the accused having attended the summons, the trial will continue without the accused being able to articulate his defence.

Let's take an example. Let's imagine a woman who reports her ex-husband because he has not paid her child support for a year. After filing the complaint, the man does not receive the notification because he has recently changed his address but has not changed his registration information.

After following the notification procedure provided for by law, the trial will be held without him being present. Moreover, the judge will order him to pay the debt and impose any measures he deems appropriate to locate him and force him to pay the debt.

In extreme cases, the judge may consider the defendant in default. This could add an offence of disobedience to the sentence. It is worth remembering that failing to attend a court summons without justification if you are obliged to do so can lead to a fine of between 200 and 5000 euros.

What if I don't understand it?

Sometimes it is difficult to understand what the court is asking for in the notice. After all, it tends to use legal language that is not accessible to many people.

In this type of situation, the best thing to do is to contact a lawyer who can explain it to us and also give us the advice we need to act in the best way to defend our interests.

In short, this is what happens if the court cannot find you. We hope we have made you understand the importance of collecting your notices and not ignoring them.