Country insight

The process of litigation is broadly similar across Australian courts. Proceedings are initiated by a claim or application, which must be filed in the relevant court and by the initiating party on all parties to the proceeding. Parties will then exchange pleadings (such as statements of claim, defences, counterclaims, and replies) which define the parameters of the dispute between the parties and the specific issues which are to be proved by each party. Timeframes for the progression of litigation are found in the civil procedure rules applicable in each jurisdiction. Generally, a defence must be filed within 28 days of service of a statement of claim.

For proceedings in the Federal Court, parties are required to file a genuine steps statement, which outlines the steps taken to make a sincere and genuine attempt to resolve the dispute prior to commencing litigation. Superior courts in the states may also require a party to litigation to provide details of attempts made to resolve a dispute before proceedings were commenced.

Once the exchange of pleadings is complete, parties will generally undertake the discovery (also known as the disclosure) process, and then go on to prepare their evidence for a final hearing of the dispute. It is common, particularly in complex litigation, for the parties to be obliged to attend court at regular intervals for directions hearings, in which orders are given to manage the conduct and timeframes of the case up until its final hearing.

Timeframes for each stage of proceedings vary greatly with the complexity and case management style of an individual matter and the specific jurisdiction in which the case is commenced. Each superior court in the states has in place specific practice notes or directions for the conduct of commercial disputes with the aim of ensuring that those commercial disputes are resolved in the most cost-effective and time-efficient manner possible. Generally, across all jurisdictions, parties will have 28 days from receipt of a claim to put on a defence. As noted above, the timetable from that point of time will depend on the nature of the dispute.

A straightforward commercial contract dispute will normally, court resources permitting, be resolved within 12 months.

Most state and federal courts require a corporate entity to be represented by a lawyer (which could include a lawyer employed by a company). Some jurisdictions dealing with small claims/employment issues may allow a company to appear by its director. Individuals may appear on their own behalf in most jurisdictions without a lawyer.

Civil proceedings are generally initiated by a statement of claim (Klage) which must be filed with the competent court via an electronic filing system (WebERV). In certain circumstances, claimants must be represented by an attorney. Such circumstances are:

• first instance proceedings at the Regional Court level;
• district court proceedings involving an amount in dispute exceeding EUR5,000; and
• appeal proceedings.

After the statement of claim is filed, the court will decide whether it has jurisdiction to hear the case. If the court considers the claim admissible, it will serve the statement of claim on the defendant and order it to file a written statement of defense within four weeks. The written statement of defense defines the scope of the subject matter and the specific issues in dispute. A written statement of defense is, however, not required in proceedings of first instance before a District Court.

Once the exchange of pleadings is complete, the court usually summons the parties to a preliminary hearing (Vorbereitende Tagsatzung) within the next few weeks or months. In this preliminary oral hearing, the parties discuss the facts of the case and try to reach a settlement. The court may issue a judgment and close the proceedings after the preliminary hearing. However, usually, there are subsequent evidential hearings, the number of which depends on the scope and complexity of the case. The dates of such hearings are usually agreed between the parties and the judge at the preliminary hearing.

The claimant is allowed to withdraw its claim without a waiver of claims before the defendant submits its statement of defense. Once the statement of defense has been filed, the claim may only be withdrawn with the consent of the defendant(s). However, if the claimant is willing to waive its claims, it may seek to discontinue the proceedings at any time before the trial or oral hearings are closed. The main consequence of such a discontinuance would be that the claimant must pay all costs already incurred in the proceedings.

Monetary claims not exceeding EUR75,000 must be pursued in the form of a so-called default action (Mahnverfahren). If the claim meets the necessary conditions to be classed as a default action, the court will issue a conditional order for payment (Zahlungsbefehl) without hearing the defendant’s case. The defendant then has the right to submit an objection within four weeks, otherwise the conditional order for payment will become legally binding. Providing the objection is raised within the specified timeframe, the payment order will become invalid and ordinary civil proceedings will be initiated.

Timeframes for each stage of proceedings vary considerably depending on the complexity of the case as well as the court and the parties' availability. The court will exercise its case management powers to determine the procedure and timetable for the proceedings. The average duration of civil proceedings is around nine months in the District Courts and 17 months in the Regional Courts.

The parties can, at any stage, agree to suspend (or stay) the proceedings. In this situation, they must jointly notify the court. The reasons for an agreed suspension can vary. For instance, parties may choose to stay proceedings to facilitate settlement negotiations or because a settlement has been reached. Save in the event of an agreed settlement, the proceedings can be resumed (i.e. the stay lifted) upon the request of either party after a minimum three month period. It is also possible for the parties to agree on a permanent suspension. This is regarded by the courts as a material waiver by the parties, which means that the proceedings cannot be resumed.

Proceedings are conducted in Arabic and any documents submitted to the courts must be translated into Arabic by a locally licensed translator. 

The process of litigation is broadly similar across the Bahrain courts. Proceedings are commenced when a claimant submits an application to the competent court in the form of a statement of claim to the Case Registration Department. A hearing will then be scheduled with the claimant (usually within one week). On the day following the first hearing attended by the claimant, the competent court will send the defendant a summons along with a copy of the statement of claim. In the summons, the defendant will be directed to file a defense memorandum at least three days before the date of the upcoming hearing. 

Typically, the timeframe between the date of the summons being sent to the defendant and the parties’ first appearance in court is 8 days for matters before the Court of Minor Causes and 15 days for matters before the High Court or the High Court of Appeal. 

Where urgent proceedings have been requested, the Court for Urgent Matters (a court that sits at the same level as Court of Minor Causes and its jurisdiction is limited to contingent claims relating to civil matters) will usually give a 24-hour notice period for attendance unless the court believes that the matter is of such urgency that a shorter timeframe is merited. 

Timeframes for each stage of the proceedings will vary depending on the complexity of the case and whether the court has appointed an expert. Furthermore, there are no formal deadlines by which cases must proceed.  

With the above in mind, cases before:

• the Court of Minor Causes and Court of Execution will take approximately three to six months from commencement up to judgment; 
• the High Court will take approximately three to six months from commencement up to judgment;
• the High Court of Appeal will take approximately two to four months from commencement up to judgment;
• the Court of Cassation (in respect of civil matters) will take approximately 12 months from commencement up to judgment;
• the Lower Shari’a Court will take approximately three to six months from commencement up to judgment;
• the Higher Shari’a Court will take approximately three to six months from commencement  up to judgment;
• the High Shari’a Court of Appeal will take approximately three to six months from commencement up to judgment; and
• the Court of Cassation (in respect of Shari’a matters) will take approximately 18 months from commencement up to judgment.

The timeframes provided above assume that: 

• the issues in dispute are limited to legal and factual issues;
• the court has not appointed an expert; and
• notification of the proceedings does not become protracted.

Litigants are not required to be represented by an attorney before any of the courts. At each hearing (before any of the courts), the parties themselves and/or their authorized representatives can appear.

Representation by an attorney (advocaat/avocat) in civil proceedings is not mandatory, so a party can decide to handle a case itself. It cannot, however, instruct any person to represent him. Except in some cases, for instance in employment-related matters (where an employee can be represented by a trade union representative), attorneys have a monopoly representing parties before the courts.

Civil proceedings are typically commenced by a writ of summons being served on the adverse party by a bailiff. The writ of summons is, at the same time, registered with the court.

In some cases, however, the proceedings can be initiated by a so-called application (verzoekschrift/requête) that is filed with the court and will be communicated by mail to the defendant (and thus not served on the defendant by a bailiff). The plaintiff and defendant could also decide to file a joint application and in that way initiate proceedings together.

Within one or two weeks, although this may vary in practice, an introductory hearing is scheduled. At that hearing several routes are possible:

• The court could render a default judgment if the defendant or, though exceptional in practice, the plaintiff does not appear.
• The case is postponed to a later hearing or postponed indefinitely, after which any party can have the proceedings reactivated.
• If the case is not complex and can be dealt with summarily, the case may be heard at the introductory hearing or a hearing shortly thereafter, with or without the parties having first exchanged written pleadings (korte debatten/débats succincts).
• The majority of cases are handled through the normal track, under which the parties are given the opportunity to set out their position in written pleadings followed by a hearing where the case will be pleaded orally. The parties usually agree on the procedural calendar with their respective deadlines to file the written pleadings and, should they fail to reach an agreement, the calendar is set by the court. On average, parties file one to three sets of written pleadings each. The length of time required to exchange pleadings is determined by the parties and varies from case to case, depending on the complexity of the case and the court's availability.

The hearing concludes the proceedings and usually takes between thirty minutes and three hours. Hearings that take several days are rather exceptional. Oral pleadings are important for explaining the position of the parties to the court and to focus on specific issues. In practice, a hearing allows the parties to emphasize what they deem to be important and offers the court the opportunity to ask questions of the parties. While the oral hearing is important, the court is only obliged to take into consideration the arguments raised in the written pleadings.

In principle, the court will render the judgment one month following the date of the oral hearing. However, this may take longer if the case is complex.

The timeframe for proceedings depends on the type of court and, since some courts are dealing with backlog, its workload. For proceedings before courts of first instance, the average duration for a fairly straightforward case that is handled through the normal track is approximately one year, although it is common to have longer timeframes for complex cases.

Only the federal government may legislate on civil and commercial procedures. The Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), enacted in 2015, is applicable to civil litigation proceedings and other matters for which no specific procedural rules exist. The Brazilian Federal Constitution limits trial by jury to criminal cases involving homicide.

As a general rule, representation by an attorney in civil proceedings is mandatory in Brazil. The only exception relates to lawsuits filed with the Small Claim Courts by individuals seeking to recover:

• in State Courts, an amount below the equivalent of 20 times the minimum wage; or
• in Federal Courts, an amount below the equivalent of 30 times the minimum wage.

The current minimum wage in Brazil (2023) is BRL1,320.00 (approximately USD272.24).

Civil lawsuits are initiated when the plaintiff files a petition with the relevant court. The plaintiff must serve the respondent with the filed petition and such service must take place at least 20 business days prior to a mandatory conciliation hearing, which the respondent is required to attend. This mandatory hearing:

• will take place before the court; and
• shall be scheduled at least 30 days in advance.

Should the parties fail to reach an agreement at the mandatory hearing, the respondent must file its defense within 15 business days of the date of the conciliatory hearing.

The judge may discharge the parties of their obligation to attend the mandatory conciliatory hearing. If this happens, the respondent must file a defense within 15 business days after it is served with the notice of the parties being discharged of the obligation to attend the mandatory conciliatory hearing. In cases where there is more than one respondent, the beginning of such term is the day after the last respondent is served.

After the respondent files a defense, the plaintiff has 15 business days to reply to the respondent’s allegations.

The parties have five business days, counting from the day of the decision granting them the opportunity to present evidence, to inform the court of the evidence they wish to rely on. Timeframes for this evidence presentation phase may vary depending on the complexity of the matter.

Finally, after the evidence presentation phase, the judge may grant the parties the opportunity to file their closing arguments before rendering a judgment.

The usual total timeframe for a lawsuit to be ruled upon depends mainly on the complexity of the case, the relevant court competent for judging the case, the evidence the parties want to present and the number of appeals the parties decide to file. It may range from five months (in lawsuits in which it is not necessary to present any evidence) to three years, in accordance with the table below:

Initial term	Final term	Number of days/months/ years
Service	Mandatory conciliatory hearing	40 business days
Mandatory conciliatory hearing	Defense	15 business days
Defense	Decision granting opportunity for reply	1 month
Decision granting an opportunity for reply	Reply	15 business days
Reply	Decision granting opportunity for requesting evidence production	1-2 months
Decision granting opportunity for requesting evidence production	Petition requesting evidence production	5 business days
Petition requesting evidence production	Beginning of evidence production phase	1-2 months
Beginning of evidence production phase	Closing of evidence production phase	1-2 years
Closing of evidence production phase	Decision granting opportunity for closing arguments	1-2 months
Decision granting opportunity for closing arguments	Closing arguments	15 business days
Closing arguments	Judgment	1-2 months

The sequence of a legal proceeding is similar across Canadian jurisdictions. A plaintiff initiates a proceeding by drafting a claim and then having the claim issued by the court. The plaintiff must then take steps to personally serve the issued claim on all defendants in the action. Any defendant who wishes to then defend the proceeding must serve a defense. While there are variations among jurisdictions, a defendant’s defense is generally due within 20 days after service of the plaintiff’s claim, provided that the defendant was served within the territorial jurisdiction of the court that issued the claim. If the defendant was not served within the territorial jurisdiction of the court that issued the claim, the defendant is permitted more time in which to serve a defense. In the province of Ontario, for example, a defendant served outside Ontario but in Canada or the US has 40 days to serve a defense, while a defendant served outside of Canada and the US has 60 days. It is not uncommon for the parties to agree to extend the time by which a defendant must serve a defense where the defendant can point to extenuating circumstances (e.g. the complexity of the case, difficulty in retaining counsel, etc.).

In addition to defending the plaintiff’s proceeding, defendants may also bring: 

•  a counterclaim against the plaintiff (i.e. where the defendant has an independent cause of action against the plaintiff, or seeks some relief in the proceeding other than the mere dismissal of the action, such as a declaration as to the parties’ rights and obligations);
• a crossclaim against another defendant (i.e. a claim for contribution and indemnity against another defendant in the event that the cross-claiming defendant is found liable to the plaintiff); or
• a third-party claim (i.e. a claim in which a defendant seeks contribution and indemnity from a party that is not yet a party to the litigation). 

The plaintiff’s claim and the defendants’ defenses, counterclaims, crossclaims, and third-party claims are known as the pleadings. The pleadings define the scope of the dispute among the parties. 

The length of a proceeding will be, among other things, a function of the complexity of the case, the number of parties involved, the volume of documents and the conduct of the parties (e.g. whether a plaintiff advances a case with diligence and/or whether a defendant seeks to delay proceedings). That said, a general timeline for a legal proceeding of moderate complexity is as follows:

• service of claim: (D);
• delivery of pleadings: d + 2 months to 4 months; (* See note below)
• exchange of documents: D + 8 months to 12 months;
•  completions of examinations for discovery: D + 15 months to 24 months;
• motions regarding discoveries: D + 24 months to 30 months;
• mediation (if required/applicable): D + 30 months to 36 months; and
• completion of trial: D + 36 months to 48 months. 

Generally, individuals may, as of right, represent themselves in legal proceedings. Exceptions to this general rule include individuals who are minors, who are representative parties in a class action proceeding, or who lack mental capacity. A corporation typically must be represented by a lawyer (which includes an in-house lawyer) unless the corporation obtains leave of the court to represent itself (e.g. to be represented by an officer, director, or shareholder of the corporation). 

* Note: For example, if the claim were served on January 1 ("D") of any given year, all subsequent pleadings would typically be delivered between March 1 (i.e. D + 2 months) and May 1 (i.e. D + 4 months) of that same year.

Civil and commercial procedures are, by the Code of Civil Procedure, applicable to civil litigation proceedings and other matters for which no specific procedural rules exist. Trials by jury do not exist in our system and all controversies are resolved by a judge or by a Commission.

All proceedings are initiated by a claim or interim relief, which must state the general law applicable and the facts from where the conflict arises. As a general rule, representation by an attorney in civil proceedings is mandatory.

In the ordinary procedure, the plaintiff must serve the defendant with the filed petition but has no mandatory period to serve it. The defendant can file a response, and eventually a counterclaim within 18 days, or more, depending on where the claim is served. Afterwards, the plaintiff is entitled to reply and the defendant to counter-reply, and these writs must be filed within six days of the counterparty writ being served. This stage is known as the discussion stage. With the final writs of this stage being served, the court must summon a mandatory conciliatory hearing that:

• will take place before the court; and
• shall be scheduled in a specific time frame that cannot surpass 15 days after the court has informed the resolution that summons both parties to the mandatory conciliatory hearing.

In case the parties fail to reach an agreement at the conciliatory hearing (it is very rare that parties reach an agreement at this stage), the judge can choose between sentencing or receiving the next stage, the probationary or evidence stage.

This stage begins with a judge’s resolution establishing the matters that need to be proven by the parties.

The parties have five business days, counting from the notification of the judge’s resolution, to submit a list of any witnesses they wish to rely on. The timeframe for this evidence presentation phase may vary depending on the territory in which it is going to be submitted, but the minimum for this type of procedure is 20 days. It could be longer if an obstacle impedes submitting evidence or when certain evidence must be retrieved or rendered in a foreign jurisdiction.

After the evidence presentation phase, the parties have the opportunity to file their closing arguments within a 10 day period. Before rendering judgment, the Court might consider it necessary to request further evidence.

The timeframe between the claim file and judgment will always depend on the complexity of the case and the disposition of the counterparty to cooperate. It may take from nine months to two or three years.

There are many special procedures for specific matters that modify these rules.

In the PRC, parties do not have to be represented by a lawyer in order to commence civil proceedings. Generally, a civil lawsuit is commenced by filing a statement of claim. The statement of claim must set out the cause(s) of action and claim(s), and needs to be supported by documentary evidence. The court has seven days to review the statement of claim and its supporting evidence and to decide whether or not to accept the case. Where the case is accepted, the court will serve a copy of the statement of claim on the defendant within five days of accepting and this will constitute giving notice of the claim to the defendant. Generally, where they are domiciled in the PRC, the defendant must file its statement of defense with the court within 15 days of receipt of the notice of the claim. A defendant who has no domicile in the PRC has 30 days to file its statement of defense. Once the defendant has filed their statement of defense, the court will send a copy to the claimant within five days of receiving it.

The court will also set a period for the submission of evidence. During this period:

• all evidence should be submitted;
• the defendant is entitled to file any counterclaim(s) they may have against the claimant, before the end of oral hearing(s); and
• both parties are entitled to submit a written application for an extension of time, provided they do so before the relevant period expires.

After the period for submission of evidence has concluded, an oral court hearing (i.e. a trial) will be scheduled. The timing of the hearing will depend on the court’s workload, and the parties will be given three days’ notice of the hearing. The court hearing usually consists of two parts which are: (i) the investigation of the facts; and (ii) the presentation of arguments. During the investigation of the facts, the parties present their own case and present evidence, including oral evidence given by factual witnesses. The evidence is then cross-examined by the other party and is also examined by the court. The presiding judge will then summarize the issues in dispute and the parties will put forward their respective further arguments on those issues. The law clerk will prepare a transcript of the hearing.

A judgment must be given within six months of the court’s acceptance of the case and can be given at the end of the oral hearing. The time limit to issue the judgment can be extended for six months with the approval of the court’s president, and the court may seek further extensions from a higher court. A simple civil claim to which ordinary procedure applies and in respect of which no extensions are sought is generally resolved within six months of the court’s acceptance of the case.

In Denmark, legal representation is not mandatory, which means that anyone can, in principle, represent themselves in court. However, there are certain statutory exceptions to this rule (e.g., certain family law cases, guardianship cases, etc.), and the court may also require a party to have the case conducted by an attorney if the court deems it appropriate based on the circumstances of the case.

A civil lawsuit in Denmark starts with a writ of summons filed by the claimant.

The Danish Administration of Justice Act contains legal requirements regarding the contents of the writ of summons. In general, the writ must contain the claim, its factual and legal substantiation and a list of evidence.

The writ is then served on the defendant by the court. The defendant receives instructions from the court as to how to proceed. The defendant is normally granted two weeks to file its statement of defence, but this deadline can be prolonged subject to the defendant’s request. The statement of defence must also meet the legal requirements specified in the Danish Administration of Justice Act.

After filing the statement of defence, the court typically convenes the parties to a pre-trial hearing. The court will specify the topics and questions to be discussed at the hearing. The main purpose of the pre-trial hearing usually is to set the timeframe for the remainder of the proceedings and to concentrate the proceedings on the issues in dispute.

In a straightforward civil lawsuit, the time period from serving the writ until obtaining a judgment is usually approximately eighteen months.

Civil litigation is initiated by the filing of a civil action (statement of claim). The civil action must be brought before the competent court. Failure to do so will result in the transfer of the case to the correct court.

Upon receipt of the civil action, the court shall serve it on the defendant and invite them to submit a statement of defence. This is followed by the first hearing, at which the “concentration of the proceedings” should normally take place or at least be decided. The concentration of the proceedings is the point in time at which, with certain exceptions, no new factual allegations or evidence may be introduced into the proceedings. At the first hearing, the court will also inform the parties of its preliminary views on the merits of the case and, if necessary, invite them to supplement their arguments and evidence. This may be followed by further court hearings at which evidence is taken. The proceedings at first instance are concluded with each party’s final pleading, followed by the oral pronouncement of the judgment. A written copy of the judgment is subsequently served on the parties. The described process represents the ideal course of proceedings before the courts of first instance. In practice, however, courts often do not take a strict approach to the concentration of proceedings, pushing them far beyond the first hearing.

The length of the proceedings before the court of first instance depends on, amongst other things,  the judge’s workload, and the complexity of the case. For more complex cases, the average length of proceedings at first instance is 12 to 36 months.

Legal representation is only mandatory in proceedings before the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court. Otherwise, parties can represent themselves.

Ordinary civil law cases are initiated by filing a written application for a summons with the District Court registry. Following receipt of the application by the registry, the case becomes pending. To the extent possible, the application for a summons should indicate:

• the specified claim of the claimant;
• the circumstances on which the claim is based;
• claim for compensation of legal costs; and
• the evidence that the claimant intends to present.

If the matter is not in dispute and relates to a debt of a specified sum, the application for a summons only needs to include the circumstances on which the claim is based. In this situation, there is no need to identify or include the evidence in the application.

After receiving the application for a summons, the court will issue a summons which will need to be served on the defendant by post or by bailiff. The claimant can serve the summons on the defendant where: (i) the claimant asks to be entrusted with the service of a notice; and (ii) the court deems there to be good reason for the summons to be served by the claimant. There is no specific deadline to serve the summons on the defendant and the service process usually takes at least a few weeks. After service of the summons, the defendant is usually granted a period of 30 days to file their statement of defense, although this period can be extended at the defendant’s request, for example to allow the defendant sufficient time to prepare the defense. Following the filing of the statement of defense, the court may request that the parties each provide the court with a written statement outlining the exact issues that are in dispute (i.e. the claimant will set out the issues it disputes from the statement of defense, and the defendant will set out the issues it disputes from the claimant’s written statement). The submission of these written statements (if requested) completes the written phase of the proceedings.

The oral phase of the proceedings then begins with a preparatory hearing at which issues relating to the preparation of the hearing will be discussed, and after which an oral hearing will be scheduled. Timeframes vary greatly and depend on various factors, including the complexity of the case and the workload of the court. In general, in a straightforward civil law case, the time from filing the application for a summons until obtaining a judgment varies between 12 to 24 months, the average time in 2022 being approximately 15 months.

It is not mandatory to use an attorney or counsel in court proceedings, except in circumstances when a party applies for the annulment of a judgment or files a complaint on the basis of a serious procedural error in the Supreme Court. In the event that a party decides to use counsel, only an advocate (a member of the Bar), a public legal aid attorney or counsel who has obtained the license referred to in the Licensed Counsel Act (715/2011) are entitled to act as counsel. A layperson may act as counsel in non-contentious civil matters and in-house counsel may represent their employer.

In general, the court that has territorial jurisdiction to hear a civil claim is the court of the defendant's domicile. Exceptions to this rule may apply in certain contract or tort law matters.

Representation by an attorney is mandatory before the Judicial Court and Commercial Courts, except for claims under EUR10,000, undetermined claims or claims arising from the performance of an obligation not exceeding EUR10,000. Nor is representation necessary before the Local Courts or the Labour Courts.

In order to initiate proceedings, a claimant must serve a writ of summons on the defendant. A writ of summons needs to be delivered to the defendant by a bailiff within the relevant limitation period. The writ of summons must substantiate the claim and be supported by relevant exhibits. After the summons has been served, the court will usually schedule a procedural timetable for the exchange of pleadings between the parties. The number of exchanges depends on the complexity of the case but, on average, the parties exchange two rounds of submissions and the defendant normally files the last submission. Once each party has had an opportunity to present its arguments, the dates for the closing of the exchange of the pleadings and a trial hearing for oral arguments will be scheduled.

Based on our experience, the average duration of a case before the first instance courts (both civil and commercial) is around one year. However, for complex matters requiring three or more rounds of submissions from each party and/or giving rise to procedural issues (e.g. issues in respect of document production), a case may last between 18 and 24 months, and sometimes longer, in particular in matters where a technical judicial expert is appointed by the Court. The workload of the court may also impact the length of the proceedings.

Legal representation is mandatory in all courts apart from the Local Courts (Amtsgerichte). The court's jurisdiction may be based on several factors which are connected to the dispute but, generally, the court of the defendant's domicile is competent to hear the case.

German civil actions begin with the filing of the statement of claim at the competent court (section 253 German Code of Civil Procedure, ZPO). The statement must identify and substantiate the claim. The statement of claim is served on the defendant by the court ex officio after it is filed. Service on the defendant can take several weeks. An advance covering the first instance court fees is generally required before the court serves the complaint. After the defendant receives the statement of claim, the court will usually schedule a court hearing. Prior to the hearing, there is typically one further round of pleadings exchanged by the parties. The timing of the hearing depends on the court's workload.

On average a straightforward case before the District Court will take 13 months from serving the statement of claim until a judgment is issued. However, they can last much longer than 13 months, especially when the facts are disputed and must be established by the court.

It is not mandatory for a party in any legal action in Hong Kong to have legal representation. Where the party is a corporate entity, a natural person (such as a director or officer of the entity) may be appointed with the permission of the court to act on its behalf in the legal action.

In general, the claimant would have to file a writ of summons with the relevant court to start a civil action in Hong Kong.

Once the writ of summons has been duly served on the defendant’s legal representative, or by a bailiff on the defendant, the defendant must acknowledge service within 14 days (or, generally, 28 days if the defendant is served outside of Hong Kong with the court’s permission) and state whether it intends to defend the action. The parties will then exchange pleadings (such as statements of claim, if not already served together with the writ of summons, defences, and replies) which define the parameters of the dispute and the specific issues which are to be proved by each party. If a statement of claim was not served together with the writ of summons by the claimant, the claimant will need to file and serve it within 14 days of the defendant filing its acknowledgment of service and notice of intention to defend the action.

If the statement of claim was served together with the writ of summons by the claimant, the defendant has 28 days after the deadline for filing its acknowledgment of service to file and serve its defence. Otherwise, the defendant has 28 days after the relevant statement of claim has been served by the claimant to file and serve its defence. Thereafter, the claimant has 28 days to prepare its reply. In general, timelines prescribed by the rules of the court can be extended either by application to the court or through consent of the parties (without any application to the court).

Once the exchange of pleadings is complete, parties will undertake the disclosure process and go on to prepare their evidence (which includes witness statements and, if applicable, expert reports) for a final hearing of the dispute. Parties are generally obliged to attend court at regular intervals, during which orders are given to manage the conduct and timeframes of the case up until its final hearing.

The timeframe from the commencement of proceedings to handing down of judgment varies greatly depending on the complexity and case management style of an individual matter. Usually, relatively straightforward cases are ready to be set down for trial within two years from the commencement of proceedings. Complex cases, however, may take longer before they can be set down for trial.

Legal representation is mandatory before the General Courts, Courts of Appeal, and the Curia. In particular, when the General Courts have first instance jurisdiction, the statement of claim must be submitted by an attorney.

The new Code of Civil Procedure, which came into force on January 1, 2018, introduced a two-phase procedure in civil and commercial cases. First, there is a preparatory phase, followed by a phase on the taking of evidence.

In the preparatory phase, the statement of claim is submitted to the competent court by the claimant. The court then examines the statement of claim within 30 days. Provided the statement of claim satisfies the formal requirements and does not require clarification, the court then serves it on the defendant. Following service, the defendant has 45 days to submit a written defense. If the court deems it necessary, the parties may exchange a further round of briefs.

A preparatory hearing may be held at the request of one of the parties, or if the court deems it necessary. The purpose of the preparatory phase is to define the scope of the dispute, and the facts and the evidence proposed by the parties. No taking of evidence or decisions on the merits occur during this phase. Throughout the litigation, the court informs the parties of their procedural rights and obligations. The court is now also obliged to provide material guidance to the parties to contribute to the efficient conduct of the proceedings, for example, by notifying a party if there is a contradiction in its statements, or if the court interprets the law differently to that party.

The preparatory phase is closed by an order of the court. After this order has been issued, parties are not generally permitted to change their claims, arguments, facts or evidence.

The second phase relates to the taking of evidence. Hungarian law follows a free system of evidence, which means that the parties may freely submit any type of evidence. Parties may also invite the court to summon witnesses, retain an expert or consider an expert opinion. Expert opinions may be given by a private judicial expert appointed by one of the parties, or by a court-appointed judicial expert. In the former case, the expert must still be impartial and independent, and is also obliged to answer the questions and consider the statements of the other party. There is no difference in evidential value between expert opinions made by private and court-appointed experts.

The court will render its final judgment at the end of the evidence phase and may schedule as many hearings as it deems necessary during that phase. In most cases, between one and four months will elapse between each hearing. On average, cases take between eight and 25 months in the first instance. However, complex cases which require extensive expert evidence may last even longer.

Legal representation for civil proceedings is mandatory except for disputes:

• for which the giudice di pace is competent. The giudice di pace is a judge of first instance who is competent for disputes below a certain value (EUR10,000 or EUR25,000) depending on the subject matter of the dispute) and / or disputes concerning specific subject matters; and
• where the amount in dispute either (i) does not exceed EUR1,100; or (ii) exceeds EUR1,100 but in light of the nature and amount of the dispute, the giudice di pace expressly authorizes a party not to be represented by an attorney.

Writ of summons

In Italy, civil proceedings start when the claimant serves a writ of summons, either through the use of a bailiff or, if the defendant has a certified e-mail address (PEC), by sending the writ via email.

In some proceedings, the claimant is required to file a petition before the Court which will be decided by the Judge who will issue a decree; the petition and decree are then served on the defendant.

The writ / petition will summon the defendant to appear at a hearing on the date indicated by the claimant in the writ. The writ must also contain the following information:

• details of the court before which the claim is filed;
• all the relevant information required to identify the claimant and the defendant;
• a description of the subject matter of the claim;
• an indication of statutory requirements to be fulfilled as a condition of admissibility of the writ, if required;
• a clear and specific description of the factual and legal grounds of the claim and the relative conclusions;
• an indication of the evidence on which the claimant intends to rely or request in the proceedings (for example, a party may request that witnesses are heard on specific topics or an expert is appointed by the court) and, in particular, an indication of the documents which the claimant exhibits with the writ of summons;
• the name of the lawyer(s) acting and the power of attorney; and
• an invitation to the defendant to file its statement of defense and to appear at the hearing, with the warning that, where the defendant intends to: (i) raise a counterclaim; (ii) join a third party to the proceedings; or (iii) raise objections based on procedural deficiencies or merit which the judge cannot raise ex officio, it must file its statement of defense at least 70 days before the date of the first hearing.

The first hearing

Between the date of the first hearing and the date of the service of the writ of summons on the defendant, there must be a period of at least 120 days if the place of service is in Italy, or 150 days if the place of service is abroad. When setting the date of the first hearing, the claimant must ensure it complies with these timeframes otherwise the court will declare the writ of summons null and void. Although the claimant schedules the first hearing by indicating the intended date in the writ of summons, judges may postpone the date of the hearing ex officio depending on their workload and / or calendar.

Parties to the dispute must attend the first hearing. The judge may also request or allow the summoning of a third party to the proceedings, scheduling a further hearing to allow this summons if necessary. The judge may also question the parties and use this hearing as an opportunity to explore the possibility of an amicable settlement between the parties.

Before the first hearing, the judge will verify certain preliminary procedural issues, such as the successful service of the writ of summons on all parties and the capacity of the claimant to bring the claim.

Before the first hearing, the parties are given three consecutive terms (a first term of 40 days before the date of the first hearing, a second term of 20 days and a final term of ten days before the hearing) to simultaneously: (i) file supplemental written submissions particularising or modifying the prayers for relief and the objections outlined in the writ of summons and / or in the statements of defense; and (ii) supplement the evidence requests they have made, respectively, in the writ of summons and / or the statement of defense.

Once these preliminary stages have been completed, various scenarios may follow:

• If the judge deems the dispute ready to be determined, the hearing for the submission of the parties' final prayers for relief is immediately scheduled;
• If the judge deems the dispute not to be complex, it may order an expedited procedure to be followed rather than the ordinary procedure. Alternatively, if the dispute involves disposable rights and the judge considers one party’s arguments to be made out whereas the opposing party’s are not, it may issue an order in favor of the first party. The order thus rendered is immediately executable but it is not covered by the res iudicata effect;
• Should the judge deem the dispute not ready to be determined, a hearing will be scheduled to decide whether the evidence requested by the parties will be admitted or refused. At the same time, the judge will schedule further hearings, and define the issues to be decided at each hearing. At these hearings, the judge will decide on these issues and then the evidence-taking phase begins.

The taking of evidence

Where the judge deems the dispute not ready to be determined, the judge sets the timing, place and method for the taking of evidence, taking account of the existing procedural schedule. For example, if witness testimony is admitted, the judge will set a hearing for the witness(es) to render their testimony. If the taking of evidence needs to take place outside the court's district, the judge will delegate that step to a judge in the relevant location unless, exceptionally, at the parties’ joint request, the president of the tribunal confirms that the original judge shall travel for the taking of the evidence.

The judge taking the evidence decides (by issuing an order) all of the issues which arise during the evidence-taking phase. The taking of evidence is recorded in minutes, drafted under the judge's supervision.

Once the evidence-taking phase is concluded and the judge considers the evidence which has been collected is sufficient to support the case, it submits the case for decision.

The final hearing

The hearing for the parties to submit their final prayers for relief will usually take place within one year or, in some instances, two years after the decision of the judge that the dispute is ready to be determined or the conclusion of the evidence-taking phase. The parties are then granted 60 days from the date of the hearing to file their conclusive briefs, 30 days thereafter for written closing submissions and 15 days thereafter to file the reply briefs. The judge’s decision is issued within 60 days of the parties filing their reply briefs. The decision is temporarily enforceable, notwithstanding any appeal.

If the matter is appealed, the appeal judge may stay, in whole or in part, the enforceability or execution of the judgment, with or without seeking a bond. However, the judge may only grant a stay upon receipt of a motion filed by one of the parties either with the main appeal or the incident appeal, i.e. when there are serious and well founded reasons to do so and there is a real possibility that one of the parties may become insolvent.

Debt collection

In addition to ordinary proceedings, there is a simplified judicial procedure aimed principally at commercial debt collection. Such debt collection is obtained through the issue of a payment injunction (Decreto Ingiuntivo) by the competent court. The procedure applies to debts which are:

• quantified in their amount;
• due and payable (liquidi and esigibili); and
• supported by written evidence.

As part of this simplified judicial procedure, the judge normally proceeds, without the knowledge of the alleged debtor, to a brief assessment of the documentation filed. Where the legal requirements referred to above are met, the judge will issue an order for payment which becomes enforceable if the debtor fails to oppose it within 40 days from service of a certified copy of the order where the debtor is situated in Italy, or 50 days where the debtor has its registered office elsewhere in the European Union, and 60 days in all other cases. If the debtor serves the creditor with opposition in the form of an ordinary writ of summons indicating that it will oppose the order, the proceedings will follow the ordinary procedural steps and timings referred to earlier in this section. Even where an opposition writ or summons is served, provisional enforcement of the judgment may be granted if certain legal requirements are met.

There is no general mandatory pre-action protocol in Ireland (except for personal injury cases). However, it is standard practice for the parties to engage in pre-action correspondence before proceedings are commenced (and there can be cost consequences for a failure to do so). In addition, a plaintiff’s solicitor is obliged to advise their client on the possibility and advantages of mediation before a claim can be filed.

High Court proceedings are commenced by the plaintiff filing an originating summons in court and serving it on the defendant. The originating summons is a brief document and does not set out the full details of the claim.

The defendant must then file an “Appearance” (a short, one-page document confirming that it intends to defend the claim) at the court office within eight days of service of the originating summons. If the defendant does not enter an appearance, the plaintiff can seek judgment in default of Appearance.

The plaintiff then serves a statement of claim setting out the relevant facts and the basis for its claim. This can be served up to eight weeks from the service of the originating summons (and failure to do so can allow the defendant to apply to the court to strike out the claim).

The defendant serves its defence within eight weeks of the statement of claim (although in practice a defendant may adopt certain practical measures to try to defer serving its defence, e.g. by issuing a notice to the plaintiff requiring it to provide further particulars of its claim). However, failure to deliver a defence within the time period can enable the plaintiff to seek judgment in default of defence for the entire amount of the claim. In practice the defendant must be put on notice of this, which will allow the defendant some time to deliver the defence and avoid judgment in default.

Once the parties have exchanged these pleadings, they engage in documentary discovery. This begins with voluntary requests for discovery specifying categories of documents/data to be provided and setting out reasons for each category. The requesting party must show that the documents are relevant and necessary. If the parties cannot agree on discovery, they can apply to the court to issue an order for discovery.

In the Commercial Court, the parties will exchange expert reports and witness statements. This is not automatically done in regular High Court proceedings (but can be ordered by the High Court in the course of pre-trial motions or applications to determine directions on timelines, case management or other pre-trial issues).

Timelines can generally be extended by consent or with the court's permission (but the court also has the power to impose cost consequences). As noted, the Commercial Court adheres to a stricter case management system.

The standard of proof in civil cases is the balance of probabilities.

The length of time for proceedings in the High Court from start to finish will usually be between one and two years (with Commercial Court cases generally being disposed of more quickly, the majority being decided within 12 months).

In Ireland, legal representation is mandatory for companies in proceedings, however, an individual may choose to represent themselves.

A civil claim is commenced by a plaintiff filing a petition together with supporting evidence. A petition must specify the parties and contain particulars of the claim, as well as a statement specifying the relief sought. Revenue stamps of a certain value must be affixed to the petition as a filing fee. Once a petition and a writ of summons are served on the defendant by the court via Japan Post’s special service delivery, the defendant is required to file a written answer within the period stipulated by the court, which is commonly 40 to 50 days. A party is not obliged to be represented by an attorney. In other words, a party is allowed to initiate or respond to a claim without appointing an attorney.

Thereafter, several preparatory proceedings will be held in order to clarify core issues in the case and both parties will submit documentary evidence to the court and make oral arguments. Court hearings in a case are usually held every one or two months. Witnesses are generally examined after the parties have submitted documentary evidence and made oral arguments. Once all of the evidence has been examined, a judgment will generally be rendered within two months. In first instance cases, judgment is typically given within less than twelve months from the petition being filed.

The court also offers online document submission through the court's own cloud service, often referred to as “mints”, and online conferencing through Microsoft Teams. The “mints” submission system is still being implemented and is expected to be available in all district courts by approximately November 2023.

Labor, or employment, cases are another important type of legal dispute. There are two basic types: individual employment cases, which are between an employer and an employee, and collective employment cases, which are between an employer and a union. In April 2006, Japan introduced the Labor Adjudication System for individual employment cases. Under this system, three adjudicators (one serving as judge, one representing the interests of the employer and one representing the employee respectively) form a Labor Adjudication Committee that endeavours to resolve the dispute by mediation or adjudication in no more than three sessions. The objective of this system is to resolve cases quickly, appropriately and effectively. Cases which are not resolved under this system are referred to ordinary judicial proceedings.

In Luxembourg, an ordinary civil lawsuit typically starts with a writ of summons (assignation) or, in certain procedures, it can also commence with a petition (requête), The key distinction between the two documents lies in the mode of service, with the writ of summons being served by a bailiff, appointed by the claimant, and the petition being served by a court clerk.

Procedural steps in Luxembourg differ whether the proceedings are conducted in writing or orally.

In written proceedings, once the writ of summons is served, the defendant has 15 days (which may be extended if the defendant resides abroad) to appoint their lawyer. The case will then be registered with the court clerk. Subsequently, the claimant is required to provide all supporting documentation to the defendant.

Upon service of the summons, the court typically establishes a procedural timetable for the exchange of pleadings between the parties. This timetable generally spans from 6 weeks to 3 months for each round of submissions. These periods can be extended, unless the court orders mandatory deadlines through an injunction.

The number of exchanges between the parties depends on the complexity of the case, but on average there will be two rounds of submissions. Additionally, simplified proceedings may be applicable for cases involving only one claimant and one defendant, where the amount in dispute is equal to or less than EUR100,000. Under this fast-track option, the defendant is granted a period of three months to respond to the claimant's writ of summons, followed by a one-month period for each party to file their submissions. Unlike in common proceedings, these deadlines are mandatory but may be extended once by the pre-trial judge. The judge may also order the production of additional submissions, either at their own initiative or upon a party’s request.

During the proceedings, a case management conference will be scheduled to decide how the proceedings will conclude (clôture d'instance). This will be followed by the scheduling of the trial, at which the court will give its ruling.

In oral proceedings, the defendant is required to appear before the court on the date mentioned in the writ or petition. The court will then schedule another hearing - the trial – at which a ruling will be given.

In the District Courts, a party must be represented by a lawyer who is a member of the Luxembourg Bar (although there are a few exceptions, such as in oral proceedings). Representation by a lawyer is mandatory before the Court of Appeal and Court of Cassation. On the other hand, parties have the option to personally appear before the Magistrates’ Courts or appoint a representative, who could be a lawyer, spouse, parent, or another authorized individual.

The duration of the proceedings is largely influenced by the workload of the court. In a simple civil lawsuit, the time from the service of the writ to obtaining a judgment is typically around 12 to 18 months. However, the proceedings can become more complex, leading to varying timeframes for each stage. Several factors - including procedures for the quantification of damages claims damages, the need for witness or expert hearings and disclosure disputes - can significantly extend a proceeding’s duration.

Conversely, the parties can settle their dispute at any point during the proceedings, which can result in a suspension of the case upon mutual notification to the court. The proceedings may be suspended for other reasons as well.

The first point to note is that all documents must be submitted in Arabic. Further, it may be necessary for documents that are being translated to be officially translated through the courts.

The procedures for initiating a civil or a commercial claim are essentially the same. Generally, court actions are initiated in Kuwait by the plaintiff. Legal representation is not mandatory in civil cases. However, if a party choses to be represented by counsel in civil proceedings, the legal representative must be a Kuwait qualified lawyer. A claim is initiated by submitting a statement of claim (with supporting documents) to the court clerk for the relevant court. The court clerk is required to maintain a copy and to refer the original to the Clerks Department to effect service on the defendant(s) usually between five to ten days depending upon the nature of the court circuit the claim is entertained by. After the statement of claim is properly served on the defendant, the defendant will have to respond with a statement of defense (which may include jurisdictional objections, procedural and substantive defenses, whether in the form of denials or of affirmative defenses or counter claims) with any applicable supporting evidence. The statement of defense must be filed before the date of hearing annotated on the service document.

If there are factual issues in dispute, either party may apply to the court to appoint an expert to test that evidence (or if it deems it appropriate the court itself will appoint an expert). Only if satisfied of the need for an expert will the court agree to such a request. The Ministry of Justice has a panel of experts in various fields which assist the court in cases which involve technical, factual or financial matters. The Ministry has a right to assign the external experts to test evidence. Usually, such experts are professors from Kuwait University.

A single expert or panel of experts may be assigned to a case, depending on the size of the claim and/or the complexity of the case. The designated expert(s) meets with the parties in an inquisitorial manner, and they are required to make a series of submissions and to produce evidence in support of their submissions, before the expert then provides a report to the court. It is wholly at the court’s discretion whether to accept the expert report. Generally the court will then issue a decision with facts based on those provided in the expert’s report. The court’s decision may be appealed to the Court of Appeal, which in turn may also refer the case to the Experts’ Department for fact finding. Upon the issuance of the Court of Appeal’s judgment, only points of law can be appealed to the Court of Cassation (Kuwait’s highest court).

While it is not possible to anticipate the duration of proceedings with any degree of certainty, it is commonplace for complex commercial disputes (such as those relating to engineering and construction) to take two or three years in the lower courts before final judgment. If an appeal is made to the Court of Appeal, an appellant may wait up to a year for a judgment to be handed down and if that judgment is further appealed to the Court of Cassation, this final review may be pending for a further two years. This makes it not uncommon for commercial legal proceedings in Kuwait to span six or seven years.

The litigation process is very similar in both state and federal courts. Representation by an attorney is not mandatory, although it is recommended; lawsuits may be filed directly by the plaintiff. A lawsuit is commenced (the preliminary stage) when the plaintiff files a complaint before the court. Subsequently, the defendant is summoned to appear in court. The defendant then has a limited period set by law to file a defense and, if necessary, a counterclaim.

The next phase is the evidentiary phase, and once the parties have been notified of the commencement of this phase, they have a limited period set by law to submit evidence. The court has wide discretion to admit or refuse the evidence submitted by the parties. If the court admits, the evidence must be presented by the parties. Courts have full authority to request evidence ex officio if it is considered essential to resolve the case.

The third phase is the final phase, in which the parties present their written closing arguments.

At the end of the pleading period, the judge summons the parties to the hearing and issuance of the final judgment within the law stated period.

The length of the trial can vary depending on the complexity of the case, the workload, and the agility from state to state. A simple civil case may take two to three years, including second instance and constitutional remedies.

An ordinary civil lawsuit in the Netherlands is initiated with a writ of summons. Most civil cases start in one of the district courts. The domicile of the defendant usually determines the district court that will deal with the claim. In the district courts, it is mandatory for the representative attorney to have been admitted by the Dutch Bar.

The writ contains the claim as well as its substantiation. The writ needs to be served on the defendant by a bailiff, and this process may take a few days. At the court date mentioned in the writ, the writ needs to be submitted to the court, along with evidence in the form of documents. The defendant is then granted a period of six weeks for filing its statement of defence. Following this, an oral court hearing is usually scheduled. The timing for the entire procedure is heavily dependent on the court's availability. However, in a straightforward civil lawsuit, the time from serving the writ until obtaining a judgment will usually be 12 to 18 months.

The proceedings can, of course, be of complex nature and timeframes for each stage of the proceedings vary greatly depending on the complexity of the case. A claim for damages, witness or expert hearings and requests for the submission of documents are examples of complications that may cause proceedings to take longer. Parties have much influence on the practical course of the proceedings. At any stage of the proceedings, they may request extensions for submissions and can suspend the proceedings (for example to create some time to settle the matter). In case of the latter, the court will put the matter on its docket until further notice.

Proceedings are initiated by either a claimant filing a statement of claim or an applicant filing an application in the relevant court. The claimant or applicant must then serve the statement of claim or application on all parties to the proceedings. Parties will then exchange further "pleadings" (such as defences, counterclaims, and replies) which define the parameters of the dispute between the parties and the specific issues which are to be proved by each party and determined by the court. A statement of defence must be filed within 25 working days, but this period can be extended by the court. The timeframe for litigation will depend on the type of claim and several other factors. This is usually discussed at the first case management conference, which typically occurs after a statement of defence and any reply has been filed.

For standard civil proceedings, initial disclosure of principal documents must be provided at the same time as a statement of claim or statement of defence is filed. Once the exchange of pleadings is complete, parties will generally undertake the discovery (also known as the disclosure) process, and then go on to prepare their evidence for a final hearing of the dispute.

Case management conferences are held at regular intervals throughout the process to address procedural issues as they arise and manage the conduct and timeframes of the case up until its final hearing.

A company must be represented in court by a lawyer and cannot represent itself. Individuals may appear on their own behalf without a lawyer if they choose to do so.

Before submitting a claim to the Conciliation Board or lodging a claim before a District Court, a potential claimant should notify its claim to the opposing party in writing and bring to its attention material documents and other evidence. Parties must then explore the possibility of an amicable settlement. These rules are not procedural requirements in order to initiate an action and to obtain a judgment, however, the courts may take the lack of notice and/or failure to explore resolution of the dispute outside of court into account in the final costs award (depending on the consequences of such faults in the specific matter).

In order to initiate legal proceedings before Norwegian courts, the claimant has to submit a complaint to the Conciliation Board or a writ to the District Court. The writ should provide all necessary information for a clear presentation of the case, including: (i) the claim; (ii) its legal and factual bases; (iii) proposed evidence to be relied upon as part of the claim; (iv) the claimant’s view as to jurisdiction, and (iv) the judgment which it seeks from the court. Complaints to the Conciliation Board may be less extensive than this. Self-representation is also possible before the District Court, however it is infrequent in commercial cases.

After receiving the writ, the District Court will serve it on the defendant, who generally has three weeks to provide a defense. During court vacations (which are Easter, summer and Christmas holidays), the deadline will automatically be postponed by the number of days for which the specific court vacation lasts. In complex matters, it is not unusual for a defendant to request an extension of the three-week deadline. At a minimum, the defense must contain of a short statement contesting the claim and/or objecting to the court hearing the case. However, in order to enable the defendant to produce a fuller defence beyond these minimum requirements, defendants are usually granted an initial extension on the standard three-week period.  If a further extension is requested, the court will ask the claimant if it has any objections to this.

Following submission of the defense, the District Court will promptly arrange the initial case management meeting, often within a month. This is typically conducted via a telephone conference with the judge and counsel, and serves to establish the case’s structure. The court will also schedule the main hearing at the initial case management meeting. The main hearing will usually be scheduled for within six months of submission of the original statement of claim, unless specific circumstances require a later date.

During legal proceedings in Norway, judges may suggest mediation unless this is not appropriate given the nature or circumstances of the case. Mediation can be, and often is, administered by a judge. The judge is required to maintain confidentiality if the mediation is unsuccessful. To secure the parties’ confidence in the judge’s independence, a judge who has been involved in an unsuccessful mediation may only take part in subsequent proceedings with the consent of the parties and provided that the judge does not consider it inappropriate.

Judgments are typically issued within two to three weeks of the close of the main hearing, although this is often longer in complex, multi-party cases.

This is commenced when the claimant files the statement of claim (together with supporting documents), and electronically pays the applicable court fee through the court’s system. The defendant will automatically receive an SMS on their mobile phone number registered in the commercial registration. The SMS will include the registered file number, the scheduled date for the first hearing and link to the statement of claim. In the event that the defendant has no mobile phone number registered, the court bailiff will serve a summons on the defendant. The parties or their representative lawyers are required to attend and produce their respective power of attorneys on the hearing date. The parties will exchange the submission for the next four to six months until the court is satisfied that it has seen all relevant evidence. The court will then fix a date for the examination of the claim and issue its decision with its final judgment or preliminary decision to hear witnesses, appoint experts, or any other investigative process. Although representation is not (in theory) mandatory, navigating the court system (which is complex and only in Arabic) is difficult without legal representation. In practice, parties are almost always represented.

A common and important feature of Omani court litigation (particularly in respect of complex construction disputes) is the involvement of one or more court-appointed experts which have been selected from an internal panel. Once appointed, an expert will meet the parties over a period of three to six months, review the case, and prepare a report of their findings. During this time, the court will continue to hold monthly hearings to monitor the status of the expert review process.

The parties, individually or collectively, have a right to object to the content of the expert’s report. If the court agrees with the objections raised, it may order that the expert revisit its report to address the parties’ objections or, alternatively, make an order to appoint a different expert. However, once the court is satisfied with the contents of the report, it will typically rely upon it heavily when giving its decision. It may take up to two years for a judgment to be given in cases before the Omani Primary Court.

After the judgment of the Primary Court is issued, the parties have the right to appeal to the Court of Appeal. The typical time period for appeal is 30 days, however, this may be subject to change depending on the nature of the dispute. For example, the time limit is 15 days for disputes subject to the Procedures Simplification Law and around family law disputes; while the time for appeal to the Supreme Court is 40 days.

A civil claim is commenced by filing a statement of claim with the competent court. The statement of claim must specify the amount in dispute and the relief sought, and include factual particulars of claim and supporting evidence (including documents, witness testimonies and expert opinions, where relevant).

With the exception of proceedings before the Supreme Court, parties are not required to be legally represented. Parties are allowed to appear in person but if they choose to be legally represented, such representation must be by a duly authorized lawyer, an advocate (adwokat) or an attorney-at-law (radca prawny).

The court will consider whether a statement of claim complies with the necessary formalities. If it does, the court will serve it on the defendant. Depending on the court, this stage may take from two weeks up to even two or three months.

A party may file supplementary pleadings with the court. However, all allegations, applications and evidence should be raised in the statement of claim or in the response to a statement of claim. Only in exceptional cases may a party file a subsequent initial pleading. At this stage, a defendant may raise any defense to the claim.

The judge has discretion to decide whether the applications and evidence in the initial proceedings have been raised on time or if they are late. Parties to the dispute are required to present relevant evidence only, so there is no need to present all the documents relating to the underlying facts of the case. A party may request that any person (i.e. the other party or a third party) be ordered by the court to present specific documents in their possession that are relevant to the case. However, there is no regulation about the production of documents before trial.

The timing and duration of the proceedings depend on the court’s workload. In more complicated cases which require a number of witnesses and/or expert hearings, judgment is usually delivered by the first instance court between two and five years after the claim is issued.

Proceedings are commenced by submitting an initial statement of claim to the court, usually through the e-justice platform (Citius). Under Article 552 of the Code, the claim must:

• Identify the parties and the court before which the claim is filed;
• State the factual and legal grounds of the claim and the legal consequences; and
• Provide a specific indication of the evidence that the claimant intends to offer or request in the proceedings and, in particular, list the documents which the claimant exhibits to the statement of claim.

The Court serves the claim on the defendant by post. The deadline to submit a defense varies from ten days in fast-track cases to 60 days when the defendant resides abroad.

The defense must set out all the grounds for the Court to dismiss the claim, including any that could lead to summary dismissal. Grounds for summary dismissal include:

• Expiry of the relevant limitation period;
• Lack of jurisdiction;
• Lack of legal standing;
• Res judicata (which prevents a party from re-litigating a claim or defense (or issue) already litigated); and/or
• Lis pendens (pending lawsuit regarding the same matter).

Once the defense has been submitted, the next stages include:

• A preliminary hearing;
• Expert reports and other actions relating to the production of evidence by the parties; and
• A trial hearing.

The average length of first instance proceedings may range from 18 to 24 months. For appeals in the Courts of Appeal, the average length may range from six to 12 months and for the Supreme Court of Justice from another 6 to 12 months. However, proceedings can be shorter or last much longer, especially when the facts are disputed and must be established by the court, or if other issues arise.

When the Court of First Instance issues its final decision, the deadline for the losing party to file an appeal is 30 days from notification of such decision, reduced to 15 days in cases specified by law, such as an appeal within a proceeding which is deemed to be urgent (amongst other things).

The appeal must be filed by means of an application addressed to the Court of First Instance that issued the decision being appealed and must also indicate the type, effect, and method of lodging the appeal. The application to file the appeal must contain the appellant’s briefs stating the specific grounds of appeal and respective conclusions. If all these formal requirements are fulfilled, the Court of First Instance will admit the appeal and refer it to the competent Court of Appeal.

Once the Court of Appeal has granted its decision, and if an appeal to the Supreme Court of Justice is legally permissible, the same time limits shall be observed.

Legal representation for civil proceedings is mandatory in cases where:

• An ordinary appeal is admissible due to the claim’s value;
• An appeal is always admissible, regardless of the amount; and
• Appeals are initially filed in higher courts.

Usually, proceedings before the Civil Court take a lengthy time until a final decision is issued and becomes enforceable. However, the proceedings before the Investment Court are much faster, given the nature of the disputes involved. The Investment Court operates on the following procedural timeline:

• Statement of Claim: Litigation is initiated when a plaintiff files a statement of claim.
• Service of Proceedings: The court ensures the claim is served to the defendant within three days, leveraging digital means to enhance efficiency.
• Defense Submission: The defendant must respond with a complete defense, counterclaim, and associated evidence within 30 days of being served.
• Plaintiff’s Response: The plaintiff is then required to file a rejoinder within 15 days of receiving the defense.
• Defendant’s Counter-Response: The defendant has an additional ten days to reply to the plaintiff’s rejoinder.
• Extensions: Though the court may grant extensions, these are strictly limited to a total of 45 days.

A claim is commenced when the claimant files its statement of claim (together with supporting documents). Although representation is not, in theory, mandatory, navigating the court system (which is fairly complex and in Arabic only) is difficult without legal representation and, in practice, parties are almost always represented.

A common and important feature of Qatari court litigation (particularly in respect of complex construction disputes) is the involvement of one or more court appointed expert (selected from an internal panel). Once appointed, an expert will meet the parties, review the case, and prepare a report of their findings. During this time, the court will continue to hold regular hearings to monitor the status of the expert review process.

The parties, individually or collectively, have a right to object to the content of the expert's report. If the court agrees with the objections raised, it may order that the expert revisits its report to address the parties' objections or, alternatively, make an order to appoint a different expert. However, once the court is satisfied that the content of the report is final, it will tend to rely heavily upon it when giving its decision.

It can typically take as long as six months for a judgment to be given in cases before the Qatari Court of First Instance. It can also take more or less time depending on the complexity of the case. With respect to cases heard by the Qatar International Court, a judgment will be issued within 90 days from the date on which the respondent received official notice of the claim, unless the nature of the claim requires one or several extensions, pursuant to Schedule 6 of QFC Law No. (7) of 2005.

Civil litigation begins when the plaintiff files the statement of claim at court. Legal representation is not mandatory, either in the courts of first instance or on appeal.

Generally, the jurisdiction of the courts is determined by the domicile of the defendant, although there are other relevant criteria for certain types of disputes.

The proceedings are usually divided into three main phases:

1. the written phase;
2. the evidence and discovery phase; and
3. the final pleadings phase.

The written phase

During the written phase, the plaintiff’s statement of claim is randomly assigned to a judge for a prima facie examination. If the judge finds the statement to be lacking any essential formal elements (such as the full names and addresses of the parties, or the signature, etc.), the court will notify the plaintiff who will have ten days to amend the statement of claim. Should the plaintiff fail to do so, the claim will be dismissed. The purpose of this procedure is to prevent incomplete claims from being brought before the courts. The annulment decision does not have a res judicata effect - a new statement of claim can be brought forward, if the limitation period has not expired.

If the judge is satisfied that the statement of claim meets all the necessary formal requirements, the defendant will be served with the statement of claim by the court. The defendant is then required to submit its statement of defense and (if applicable) a counterclaim within 25 days. This deadline cannot be extended, even in complex cases. However, in urgent cases, the court may shorten the time limit for the statement of defense. The claimant may file an answer to the statement of defence within ten days of the latter being filed at court and served on the defendant.

After the written pleadings have been exchanged, the judge sets the date for the first hearing, the recommended time for which is 60 days from this date. However, depending on the workload of the court and/or the urgency of the matter, the first hearing may be set outside of the recommended period.

The evidence and discovery phase

At the evidence and discovery phase, the judge decides which of the pieces of evidence proposed by the parties is relevant and pertinent to the dispute and proceeds to its management. The judge may, ex officio, order the parties to the dispute, third parties or other public authorities and institutions to submit any other evidence that the court deems necessary, even if these parties do not agree with the court's assessment.

The final pleadings phase

Once the evidence and discovery phase is complete, the parties orally present the final pleadings at the hearing on the merits of the case. Written notes may be submitted and exchanged between the parties during trial and notes may also be filed at the court before a judgment is rendered.

The judge may give judgment at the end of the final session or he may reserve judgment to a later date. The detailed reasons for the judgment will be drafted and served on the parties later (it is recommended that the detailed judgment be served within 30 days from the date of the decision but, in practice, this delay is not always observed).

Timeframes for each phase of the proceedings vary considerably depending on several factors, including the complexity of the case, the evidence to be produced, the workload of the court, the conduct of the parties etc. Typically, the written phase takes between 6 and 12 weeks. Upon completion of the written phase, a first hearing is listed to take place within two to six months. One can expect it to take a further 6 to 12 months for judgment to be given by the court of first instance depending on the complexity of the evidence which will be administered. In total, the estimated timeframe between the service of the claim and the first instance judgment for simple civil law claims is between 12 and 18 months.

As commercial disputes are predominantly heard by state commercial courts, this summary outlines the general procedure for commercial disputes in state commercial courts. 

There is no requirement for representation by an attorney (i.e. an advocate registered with one of the Russian regional bars) in state commercial courts. However, legislative amendments expected to enter into force by 1 October 2019 will require representatives to have a higher legal education or a degree in law, with some exceptions outlined in the legislation (e.g. for CEOs, patent and trademark attorneys in IP disputes and bankruptcy managers in the performance of their duties in bankruptcy cases).

For certain types of disputes specified by law, including claims for the recovery of funds, a claimant should first send the respondent a mandatory pre-trial demand letter. Generally, 30 days after sending the letter, the claimant may submit a statement of claim with supporting documents to the relevant state commercial court. If there is no requirement to send a pre-trial demand letter, the claimant may submit a statement of claim without the need to engage in pre-trial correspondence.

Usually, the claim is submitted to the court with jurisdiction over the respondent’s registered address. Once the claim is registered with the court, the judge has five business days to check whether the documents comply with the procedural rules for initiating proceedings specified by the Arbitrazh Procedure Code of the Russian Federation (i.e. the statement of claim contains all the information required by the Arbitrazh Procedure Code, including information about the subject-matter and parties to the case; all the documents required by the Arbitrazh Procedure Code are attached to the claim, etc.). If the documents are in order, the judge initiates the case and schedules a date for the preliminary (procedural) court hearing. The hearing is usually scheduled for a date one month after the commencement of the proceedings.

At the preliminary hearing, the court schedules a hearing based on merits. It is usual that several hearings take place before a final judgment is made.

In a straightforward case, the proceedings in the court of first instance may take approximately four to six months. However, proceedings may take longer, depending on the court’s workload and the case management of the proceedings by the parties.

There are also fast-track procedures whereby the court does not conduct a hearing and will make a ruling based on documentary evidence, these are (i) a court order; and (ii) summary proceedings. Such procedures are applicable to small claims below RUB500,000 (approximately USD7,500) or RUB800,000 (approximately USD12,000) or claims where the respondent had acknowledged its obligations but failed to perform them (e.g. the respondent acknowledged a debt in writing but failed to repay it). Simplified proceedings may take up to ten days (in the case of a court order) or up to two months (in the case of summary proceedings).

In the public judiciary branch, the claimant should initiate proceedings by filing a claim online through the Ministry of Justice's website. This must state the nature of the claim, the demands, and list the supporting documents that will be provided. All documents must be in Arabic. Usually, once an application is submitted, the court will take up to three weeks to review the application. The court will review the application to ensure all information and documents are provided. Once confirmed, the claimant must then visit the court within ten days to confirm the filing of the claim and have the case referred to a judicial circuit. The claimant will also receive the hearing date which will usually be between two weeks and three months of this visit to court. The court will then summons the defendant through the Summons Department which has started to use electronic methods, or alternatively the claimant can summon the defendant in person or through the post office. The time between each hearing session varies from case to case but, generally speaking, parties can expect there to be one or two months between each hearing for real estate cases, two to four weeks for family and criminal cases, and three to six weeks for commercial cases. When the court makes a decision, both parties must hear the judgment and they will then receive copies of the judgment in writing. Parties may appeal the judgment, however this must be done within 30 days.

In Saudi courts, the parties must either attend the hearings and represent themselves, or authorize individuals or attorneys to attend on their behalf and represent them (provided that an official notarized power of attorney is obtained).  Representation by an attorney is therefore not mandatory in Saudi courts, all individuals have the right to defend themselves without the need to appoint an attorney or representative.

The procedural rules for Singapore civil proceedings are contained in the Rules of Court 2021 (ROC 2021) and the relevant court's Practice Directions.

A party must make an offer of amicable dispute resolution before the commencement of and during the course of any action or appeal, unless there are reasonable grounds not to do so. Likewise, the other party must not reject any such offer unless there are reasonable grounds to do so. The court has the power to order the parties to attend alternative dispute resolution at any time it deems appropriate. A party’s failure to offer or participate in amicable resolution is a relevant consideration when the court deals with the issue of division of costs between the parties.

Proceedings are initiated by filing an Originating Claim (where there is a substantial dispute of fact) or an Originating Application (when it is unlikely to be a substantial dispute of fact, or the disputed issue is a question of law) at the relevant court. The Originating Claim is accompanied or followed by a Statement of Claim, while the Originating Application is accompanied or followed by a supporting affidavit (which contains the claimant’s evidence). The Originating Claim or Originating Application must be served within the validity period of no later than three months from the date the document is issued, although the court may extend the period of validity twice for not more than three months at a time.

The claimant must take reasonable steps to serve the originating process to the defendant as soon as possible, and in any event within 14 days after the date of issuance if the defendant is located in Singapore. The originating process must be served personally to be effective. If it is impractical to serve the Originating Claim or Originating Application on the defendant personally, the claimant may apply for an order for substituted service, which must be effected within 14 days after the court’s order permitting substituted service. If the defendant is outside of Singapore, reasonable steps to serve the originating process must be taken within 28 days after the date of issue (with the court's approval).

Personal service may be effected by a process server of the Court, a solicitor, a solicitor’s employee, a litigant who is not legally represented or such a person's employee, or any other person that the court may allow.

Where the defendant is served with an Originating Claim and wishes to contest the claim, the defendant must:

• File and serve a Notice of Intention to Contest or Not Contest within 14 days after the Statement of Claim is served on the defendant in Singapore, and within 21 days where the defendant is served out of Singapore; and, if the claim is contested
• File and serve a Defense to the Originating Claim within 21 days after the Statement of Claim is served on the defendant in Singapore, and within five weeks if the defendant is served outside of Singapore. If the defendant also intends to counterclaim against the claimant, the defendant must file and serve the Counterclaim together with the Defense. If the defendant serves a Counterclaim, the claimant must file and serve a Defense to the Counterclaim within 14 days after the Defense and Counterclaim is served on the claimant.

The claimant is not required to file a Reply to the Defense if the claimant merely wishes to deny assertions without adding anything material. If the claimant wishes to file a reply, the claimant must seek the court’s approval.  

Where the defendant is served with an Originating Application and wishes to introduce evidence in response to the claimant’s supporting affidavit, the defendant must file and serve the defendant’s affidavit on the claimant within 21 days after the Originating Application and supporting affidavit are served on the defendant in Singapore, and within five weeks if the defendant is served out of Singapore.

Throughout the case, the court will usually direct the parties to attend regular case conferences, during which the court will provide case management directions to facilitate the progress of proceedings. Such case management directions include the timelines for disclosure by parties, list of witnesses, filing and exchange of Affidavit of Evidence-in-Chief and objections, and fixing trial dates.

Legal proceedings generally take 12 to 18 months at the State Courts, and 12 to 24 months or more at the High Court. However, the actual duration for each stage of proceedings varies between cases, depending on the complexity and the case management of each case. During this process, the courts may render both interim and final judgments.

There is no mandatory requirement for parties to be legally represented, and they may represent themselves as litigants-in-person. Litigants-in-person are held to the same standard and lawyers and are required to comply with the procedural rules and standards.  

Civil litigation proceedings commence upon delivery of the lawsuit or, in the case of an application for an interim measure or freezing order, upon delivery of the application. The court should deal with the proceedings in such a way that a decision can be reached quickly and economically.

The lawsuit is a formal Court submission and must contain the following:

• the Court to which the lawsuit is addressed;
• the party making the lawsuit;
• the matter to which the lawsuit relates;
• what the lawsuit seeks to achieve; and
• a signature.

Additionally, the lawsuit must also contain an identification of the parties, a true and complete description of the relevant facts, identification of the evidence needed to prove the relevant facts and the statement of claim.

After the lawsuit has been delivered to the court (and assuming the court has not dismissed the lawsuit or decided to discontinue the proceedings), the court will itself deliver the lawsuit and any annexes to the defendant. Together with delivery of the lawsuit, the court will invite the defendant to submit a statement of defence within the time limit set by the court. Assuming the defendant does not accept the claim in its entirety, the statement of defence must set out the essential facts of the defence, attach the documents relied upon and identify the evidence in support of the defendant’s allegations. The court itself will then deliver the defendant’s statement of defence to the plaintiff and provide a time limit by which the plaintiff may respond to the contents of the statement of defence. The plaintiff may state further facts and identify further evidence to prove their case, as may the defendant by way of rejoinder to the plaintiff’s response.

Up to this stage, the proceedings will have been conducted in writing only. Once the reply and rejoinder procedure has been exhausted, a party should not, in principle, be able to adduce new facts and evidence. The court may order a preliminary hearing prior to the first hearing. If possible and expedient, the court will attempt to resolve the dispute amicably or recommend that the parties attempt mediation. The purpose of the preliminary hearing is to ensure the procedural economy of the litigation, ensuring the proceedings advance speedily and more efficiently. If it has not been possible to conclude the proceedings at this preliminary stage, the court must prepare for the subsequent hearing by imposing procedural directions on the parties, as well as indicating its preliminary legal assessment of the case. This ensures that the decision does not come as a surprise for the parties and that they have the opportunity to respond both to the court’s assessment of the dispute and the opposing party’s legal arguments and evidentiary submissions. The court shall also indicate the expected date of the hearing.

The time taken to dispose of proceedings heavily depends on the court’s workload and the complexity of the case. In Slovakia, there is no statutory limit in respect of a maximum time-period for proceedings. It is common practice for court proceedings to take several years.

Typically, there are two types of proceedings provided for in the High Court, which are action proceedings and application proceedings. The nature of the matter and whether there is a dispute of fact will determine which is the appropriate process to use.

The typical steps and timelines in each type of proceeding are set out below (these procedures may be varied in the Commercial Court):

Action proceedings

• Action proceedings are initiated by issuing, serving and filing a summons.
• Once the papers have been served, the defendant is afforded ten court days to serve and file a notice of intention to defend.
• The defendant is afforded 20 court days within which to prepare, serve and file its plea and / or counterclaim (or exception).
• After service of the defendant’s plea, the claimant is permitted 15 court days to serve and file its replication (if any). The pleadings then close.
• Various pre-trial procedures then ensue, which may include, inter alia, the discovery of documents, requests for better discovery, requests for further particulars, inspections in loco (on-site inspections) and pre-trial conferences.
• Once the pre-trial procedures are complete, the parties can apply for a trial date.
• A trial is then held where oral, documentary and electronic evidence may be adduced. Witnesses are cross-examined.
• After the close of the hearing, oral arguments may be presented. Judgment is then handed down.
• Defended action proceedings take approximately 12 to 24 months from the date of service of the summons to the date of judgment (excluding appeals). Undefended action proceedings take approximately three to six months from the date of service of summons to the date of default judgment.

Application proceedings

• Application proceedings are instituted by issuing, serving and filing a notice of motion and founding affidavit.
• The defendant is afforded ten court days to serve and file a notice of intention to oppose.
• The defendant is then afforded 15 court days to serve and file its answering affidavit.
• The claimant has ten court days to serve and file its replying affidavit.
• The evidentiary allegations and legal submissions are contained in the affidavits and no oral evidence is required.
• The written arguments are then exchanged and the matter is scheduled for hearing.
• Opposed application proceedings take approximately six to 18 months to be completed from the date of service of the notice of motion. Unopposed application proceedings take approximately three to six months from the date of service of notice of motion to the date of judgment.

Typically, decisions of Magistrates’ Courts and the High Court can be appealed. A decision of the Magistrates’ Court may be appealed to the High Court, and a decision of the High Court (as a court of first instance) may be appealed to either a full bench of the High Court or the Supreme Court of Appeal. An appeal may also be made to the Constitutional Court, either directly or indirectly, via the Supreme Court of Appeal.

A civil action is initiated with the filing of a complaint. The complaint must clearly state the names of the plaintiff and the defendant(s), the address of each party, the claim, and the cause of action. However, the complaint can be amended during the proceedings through a written submission, if:

• the underlying factual basis remains unchanged;
• the amendments do not cause a significant delay to the proceedings;
• the amended claims do not fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of another court; and
• the hearings are not closed.

In South Korea, service of process is conducted by the court. Service of process is deemed complete when a court officer or courier directly serves the documents on the defendant. However, under certain circumstances, service of process can be completed by simply depositing or posting documents to the address that the documents must be served to. In cases where the service address is unknown or no other method of service is possible, service of process may be done through a public notice.

If a party lives outside of South Korea, the method of service depends on whether the party resides in a Member State of the Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extra Judicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters (the “Hague Service Convention”). If the party resides in a Member State, the process under the Hague Service Convention on Service would apply. If the party does not reside in a Member State, the court may entrust the service documents to the Korean Ambassador, Minister, or Consul stationed in the foreign country or to the competent government authority in the foreign country pursuant to the International Judicial Cooperation for Civil Matters Act.

Upon service of the complaint, the defendant has 30 days from the date of service to submit an answer to the court, but this deadline may be extended. If the defendant fails to submit an answer within the deadline, the court may enter a default judgment without holding any hearing.

In South Korea, there is no substantive trial. Instead, the courts hold a series of separate hearings at regular intervals for case management, oral argument and witness examination. The number of hearings will depend inter alia on the complexity of the issues and the number of witnesses to be examined. The court will close the hearings for deliberation, after it has determined that the relevant issues have been fully addressed.

In contrast to jurisdictions such as the U.S., dispositive motions (e.g., motion for summary judgment), designed to dismiss some or all of the claims without further review by the court, are rarely filed or granted in South Korea. Instead, courts issue their judgment on all of the claims after completing the hearings process. While every case is different, first instance court proceedings generally take 12-18 months before the first instance court issues its judgment.

In most legal proceedings in Spain, a party must be defended by a lawyer and represented by a legal court representative (procurador de los tribunales). The legal court representative serves as a liaison between the lawyer, the client, and the court. They file and manage court documents such as pleadings and orders, and generally check on the status of the proceedings.

Ordinary proceedings (juicio ordinario) are the most common civil proceedings in Spain as they are used for claims that exceed EUR6,000 and those where the economic interests cannot be calculated. Such proceedings are initiated by the claimant issuing a claim form (demanda) that states all the facts and allegations and provides all the documents (including expert reports) on which the claim is based.

The service of a claim form on the defendant is performed by the court but can also be carried out by the legal court representative, at the request of the claimant. The defendant has a period of 20 working days to file the defence or opposition, following which the court will call the parties to a preliminary hearing (audiencia previa) to discuss certain procedural aspects (such as necessary joinders, etc.). The parties attend the preliminary hearing with their legal representative and lawyer.

At the preliminary hearing, the judge will ask the parties whether it is possible to settle the dispute. If it is not, the judge will:

• resolve any procedural issues raised by the parties;
• give the parties the opportunity to raise additional arguments that do not change the subject of the dispute or that clarify the pleading;
• hear the parties' challenges to the documentary evidence proposed by the opposing party;
• request that the parties establish the facts under dispute;
• decide on the admission of and any challenges to the evidence to be produced at the oral hearing; and
• set a date for the oral hearing.

The purpose of the oral hearing is to:

• enable the court to examine the evidence given by the parties, the witnesses, and the experts; and
• as appropriate, examine other types of evidence including documents, images and sounds.

Once the evidence has been given at the oral hearing, conclusions will be drawn from it by the lawyers and presented to the court in their closing arguments. The judgment (Sentencia) is given in writing by the judge. Other types of resolution rendered by the judge are the Autos, which are issued, for example, to admit or dismiss claims to be processed or to grant interim measures (medidas cautelares). Further, certain public servants of the judiciary other than judges (Letrados de la Administración de Justicia) also pass resolutions, such as Decretos or Diligencias.

Proceedings usually go by the following timeline:

• filing of the claim form;
• the relevant court will issue a notice accepting the claim within approximately one to three months;
• service of the claim form;
• 20 working days for the defendant to file a defence and any counterclaim;
• preliminary hearing within approximately three to nine months of the filing of the defence;
• oral hearing within approximately three to 12 months of the preliminary oral hearing; and
• judgment delivered within approximately one to three months of the oral hearing.

The timing of the entire proceedings is heavily influenced by the court's workload. However, the time from service of the claim form on the defendant to obtaining a judgment in an ordinary proceeding is 16 months, according to the 2022 official statistics.

A typical civil lawsuit in Sweden starts with the claimant’s summons application. The summons application must contain the claimant’s requests for relief and the legal grounds to support them. It should also include a preliminary statement of evidence but, in practice, claimants are permitted to submit the statement of evidence once the matters in dispute have been clarified further to avoid unnecessary litigation costs.

A writ of summons is then issued by the court and served on the defendant. The defendant is normally granted two weeks for filing its statement of defense. Depending on the nature and complexity of the case, the court may request further clarification and / or elaboration from the parties in writing, usually within two weeks for each submission, and a preliminary court hearing is scheduled within a few months (although, in practice, the time may vary considerably depending on the court’s workload). The main purposes of the preliminary hearing are to fix a timetable for the remainder of the case and to focus the case on the issues in dispute to avoid unnecessary evidence and pleadings. The judge also has a statutory obligation to try to settle the dispute, which is a fairly common outcome of preliminary hearings. After the hearing, the court will request the parties to submit their final statements of evidence and the main hearing is scheduled.

In a straightforward civil lawsuit, the time from serving the writ until the preliminary hearing will be 3 to 6 months, and the main hearing will usually be held in approximately 12 to 18 months. The judgment is handed down within a few weeks of the main hearing. The proceedings can, of course, be far lengthier if the case is complicated.

Legal representation is not mandatory in civil cases. Where parties are represented, it is not necessary for counsel to be admitted to the Swedish bar or even to hold a law degree to be allowed to appear.

Pre-litigation Mediation

Pursuant to the amendment to the Thai Civil Procedure Code (No.323) B.E. 2563, a party may now apply to the court for an in-court pre-litigation mediation, without having to file a statement of claim. An application that briefly sets out the basis of the dispute would suffice. Upon submitting the application, the court will then invite the other party to consider joining the mediation on a voluntary basis. The mediation will be presided by a court-appointed mediator. If any agreement is reached, parties may directly enter into an in-court settlement agreement and the court may directly hand down a consent judgment based on such agreement.

The key feature of an in-court settlement agreement is that upon a breach, the non-breaching party may directly commence a legal execution proceeding (i.e., assets enforcement procedure) against the breaching party. In contrast, an out-of-court settlement agreement requires the non-breaching party to file a lawsuit and can commence a legal execution proceeding against the breaching party only upon a judgment.

If the limitation period of the underlying claim expires after the pre-litigation mediation has been filed or will expire within sixty days from when the mediation is concluded, the limitation period will be automatically extended for sixty days from when the mediation is concluded.

Proceedings

Before commencing a proceeding, the plaintiff is required to send a formal demand letter to the defendant. While this is not always a mandatory requirement, it is considered an accepted practice.

The plaintiff’s lawyer files a complaint, often known in other jurisdictions as a Statement of Claim, in the prescribed form to the court. The complaint must contain:

• the name of the court;
• the names of the parties;
• details of the facts and allegations forming the basis of the claim; and
• details of the request for relief, setting out the orders that the plaintiff requests the court to hand down. The complaint does not need to contain all details and full particulars of the claim, provided there is sufficient information for the defendant to be able to respond to the claim and all facts on which the plaintiff wishes to rely on in later.

The court fee for filing a complaint is generally vary upon the quantum requested by the plaintiff.

A Power of Attorney and/or a lawyer appointment deed is required to admit legal counsels to a case. Although it is not mandatory, it is common practice to instruct legal counsel in Thai litigation proceedings.

Application Proceedings

Subject to the acceptance of the complaint, the court office will serve the court summons and a copy of the complaint to the defendant.

• The estimated time for service is usually within one (1) to two (2) months of filing the claim.
• In cases where the defendant is located overseas in a jurisdiction with a bilateral treaty concerning judicial cooperations, the service will be initiated through channels prescribed in such treaty. For instance: diplomatic channels, which usually take six (6) to twelve (12) months.
• For the defendants locating overseas in a jurisdiction without such bilateral treaty, the service can be done through an international courier, which usually takes one (1) to two (2) months. An exception to this is when such overseas defendant operates a business in Thailand by itself or through a representative. In such case, service can be made to the overseas defendant’s business operation or the representative’s address in Thailand. The defendant may accept service of the proceedings by signing the court summons. In such circumstances they have fifteen (15) days from the date of service to submit a defence and/or counterclaim. In the event that the defendant does not sign the court summons, it is usually posted to the address of the defendant, who will have thirty (30) days to submit a defence and/or counterclaim.
• Parties can apply for extensions of time, typically thirty (30) days per instance. It is typical to see a Thai court granting the first 1-2 instances of such an application.
• The time permitted for filing a defence in consumer and labour cases will be different, despite the same method of service of complaint. Neither the court nor the defendant will serve the defence on the plaintiff, and therefore it is the duty of the plaintiff's lawyers to check with the court as to whether a defence has been filed with the court, and to request a copy.

Proceedings: Procedure

• A case management hearing generally takes place between sixty (60) and ninety (90) days after the Statement of Claim has been filed in court.
• Witnesses: it is common for parties to agree to submit a written witness statement for trial. Witnesses however are still required to take the stand to undergo cross-examination from the opposing party, otherwise the witness statement may not be admissible.
• The time between the initial hearing, which determines the issues in dispute, and the date of the final hearing can vary from four (4) months to eighteen (18) months, depending on the court’s schedule.
• Closing statements are not mandatory and a judgment will still be handed down in cases where a party does not file a closing statement.
• The court issues a judgment, usually within one to two months of the end of the trial or the deadline for the submission of closing statements (if one has been provided). The first instance court process generally takes twelve (12) to eighteen (18) months from filing the initial claim to judgment.
• Parties can apply for extensions of time and request adjournments of hearings upon application to the court, which may be granted provided there is a reasonable explanation for the need for the extension or adjournment. Although not mandatory, the court encourages parties to participate in mediation.

Where the judgment concerns a monetary amount, the unsuccessful party must satisfy the judgment upon receipt of the enforcement order within the period prescribed in such order (generally within thirty (30) days). Regardless of whether all parties attend the judgment hearing, the enforcement order will be issued on the same day.

If the prescribed enforcement period has lapsed, the successful party must file an application with the court for a writ of execution and for the court to appoint an execution officer of the Legal Execution Department. Upon receipt, the execution officer will be appointed. The execution officer in principle plays a passive role in a legal execution proceeding. It is the duty of the judgment creditor to identify and locate the debtor’s assets. Upon sufficient proof of the existence and the whereabouts of the debtor’s assets, the executing officer will attach the debtor's assets. They may liquidate them at auction, depending on the type of asset.

In the course of a legal execution proceeding, if there is reason to believe that the judgment debtor has more assets than known to the judgment creditor or the whereabouts of the same are unknown, the judgment creditor may apply to the court to conduct a debt inquiry. The judgment debtor and relevant persons may be summoned to testify as to the existence or the whereabouts of the judgment debtor’s assets.

Appealing a Court of First Instance’s judgment does not constitute a ground for a stay of execution. A stay of execution should be requested separately from the Court of Appeal. Alternatively, a party at risk of stay of execution, typically places a security deposit in the amount that corresponds with the judgment debt in order to request for a suspension of execution. By law, the Court of First Instance is the competent court that grants the suspension if the security deposit sufficiently covers the judgment debt.

Recognition and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards

Thailand is a party to the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (i.e., the New York Convention). To enforce a foreign arbitral award, the applicant must first have the award recognized by the Thai court.

• A recognition application has to be filed to the Thai court within three years when the award become enforceable.
• The respondent may contest the recognition application on limited grounds.
• Upon a successful recognition application, the court will hand down a recognition judgment and an enforcement order against the respondent. The processes following the issuance of enforcement order and writ of execution in a civil proceeding will then follow.

Alternatively, a party may also apply to the Thai court to set aside an award. The opposing party to such proceeding may also challenge such an application.

Enforcement of Foreign Judgment

Thai courts do not recognise judgment of foreign courts. Party seeking to enforce a foreign judgment against a party located in the Thai court’s jurisdiction will in principle have to represent the case again in front of the Thai Courts. The foreign judgment may be adduced as evidence in such a lawsuit, but it cannot be guaranteed to be determinative of the results. The probative value of such foreign judgment may vary depending on the circumstances, facts or the evidence adduced in the case and the findings’ rationale.

Proceedings are initiated by a claim form which must be filed at the relevant court and served on all parties to the case. This is either accompanied or followed by particulars of claim, which explain the claim in more detail. Both the claim form and the particulars of claim must be sent to the defendant within four months of issue.

There is no mandatory requirement that a party has legal representation, and parties are at liberty to represent themselves as litigants in person. However, the UK Supreme Court has held that "the [court] rules do not in any relevant respect distinguish between represented and unrepresented parties" and, as such, litigants in person will not be given special treatment with regards to compliance with the relevant court rules or orders. Therefore, save in very low value claims, both parties will usually have legal representation.

The first step for a defendant is to acknowledge service of the claim. Under Part 7 of the CPR, the time limit to acknowledge service is 14 days from the service of the particulars of claim (at which point it can, if it wishes, indicate its wishes to challenge the jurisdiction of the court).

If the defendant does not challenge the jurisdiction of the court or the relevant application is dismissed, the parties then proceed to exchange pleadings, which define the parameters of the dispute between the parties and the specific issues which are to be proved by each party. These can include:

• the defence, which must be served within 14 days of the claim being issued or, if an acknowledgment of service is filed, within 28 days of the acknowledgment of service;
• counterclaims, which usually accompany the defence; and
• replies, which are optional and for which there is no definite time limit.

If an allegation has been made which is unclear, parties can also request further information.

In most cases, disclosure takes place after an order has been made at the case management conference (see further below). Parties then go onto prepare evidence for a final hearing of the dispute. This will almost always include witness statements and may include expert evidence.

Throughout the case, the court will exercise its wide case-management powers to ensure the efficient management of the proceedings. This is likely to include a case-management conference, a pre-trial review, directions orders (regarding the conduct and timetable for the case up until its final hearing) and consideration of disclosure and costs issues.

Timeframes for each stage of proceedings (and the case as a whole) vary from case to case. Most cases take a minimum of 18 months to two years from start to finish, assuming no appeal. Some will take longer, although fast-track procedures are sometimes available.

A defendant can also apply for summary judgment and/or strike out of a claim, which allows the court to decide some or all of a case without a full hearing. The defendant will have to prove that the claimant has no real prospect of succeeding on the claim and there is no other compelling reason why the case (or a particular element of it) should be disposed of at full trial.

In order to succeed, a claimant must establish that, on the balance of probabilities (i.e. that it is more likely than not) that its position is correct and that it can satisfy all of the elements of the causes of action on which its claim is based.

In Scotland natural parties can represent themselves at all stages of court proceedings. Corporate entities must ask the court for permission for a director or partner to represent them. If permission is refused, then the entity would require to be represented by a solicitor.

The main procedural steps in ordinary procedure are similar in the Court of Session and the Sheriff Court. In the Court of Session, the pursuer (claimant) commences the claim by preparing a summons. In the Sheriff Court, the initiating document is the initial writ. An individual may act as a litigant in person in either court. However, companies and other business vehicles must obtain permission from the court to be represented by a lay representative (such as a director).

The summons or initial writ is lodged with the court in order to obtain a warrant to serve. A warrant to serve is the court's authority to commence proceedings. Once the authority is obtained the initiating document is served by the pursuer on the defender (respondent). The defender has 21 days (42 days if outside the EU) to consider the claim. If the defender intends to defend the claim it must then lodge defences within either 7 or 14 days.

An adjustment period of approximately eight weeks usually follows where the pursuer and defender refine their respective pleadings. The case then calls in court for a procedural hearing. At that hearing, the judge reviews the pleadings and decides how the dispute is to be resolved.

Usually this is by either:

• the fixing of a proof, a trial on the facts of the case; or
• the fixing of a debate, a hearing on a point of law which may require to be determined before evidence can be led.

Timeframes for actions vary greatly depending on the complexity of the case. Undefended actions are generally determined within a month, whereas complex defended cases can take 18 months or more.

A fast-track, judge-managed procedure is available for commercial disputes in the Court of Session and in some Sheriff Courts.

In the vast majority of cases, judgments are in writing and are generally delivered within around three months of any substantive hearing.

The DIFC and ADGM court rules have generally similar litigation procedures. Subject to the issues in dispute, proceedings will generally go through the following stages:

• Claim: A party files its claim with the court and serves the same on the parties to the proceedings.
• Pleadings: Parties exchange their pleadings which include particularized statements of claim, defense, counterclaims and defense to counterclaims. These pleadings will identify and particularize the issues in dispute.
• Disclosure: This will begin during the pleadings phase and proceed concurrently with the remaining phases.
• Factual witnesses: Parties will exchange any statements of witnesses of fact they wish to rely on and potentially also exchange reply statements.
• Expert witnesses: Parties will exchange any statements of experts they wish to rely on and potentially also exchange reply statements.
• Trial: Parties will finally attend an oral hearing before the court to argue their respective cases. It is also at trial that the witnesses and experts of the parties will be examined and cross-examined on their evidence.

It is difficult to estimate the timeframe of proceedings in the DIFC courts, and the ADGM courts (as at the time of writing) are yet to hear cases that have been through the entirety of the litigation process (including appeals). That said, the relevant factors to be considered include:

• the complexity and number of issues in dispute;
• the availability of the parties, their respective counsel, witnesses and experts; and
• the availability of the judge(s) allocated to the case.

Legal representation in DIFC or ADGM court proceedings is not mandatory. However, in circumstances where a claim falls into a small claims category, legal representation may not be permitted by the relevant court rules.

Each of the DIFC and ADGM court rules have specific rules for when a claim is considered to fall within the jurisdiction of the small claims court or tribunal. These rules are:

• aimed at efficiently dispensing with cases and examples of this include:
  • truncated timetables for service of proceedings and pleadings;
  • no provision for a document production/disclosure process. However, orders for document production could be applied for;
  • expert evidence is not permitted without an order of the court; and
  • the ability of the parties to agree that the dispute be dealt with on the papers.
• are not solely related to value; small claims could include, for example, employment cases where the parties have agreed to refer the matter to a small claims tribunal.

It is also worth noting that each of the DIFC and ADGM rules have unique provisions and processes in respect of small claims. For example, the DIFC rules provide for:

• a conciliatory process identified as a consultation phase where the parties meet before the judge hearing their case with the aim of settling the dispute prior to a hearing on the merits; and
• hearings and consultations to be in private (unless the parties agree otherwise).

The litigation process is broadly similar across state and federal courts. Individual litigants may be represented by counsel or can choose to represent themselves (these self-represented individuals are referred to as “pro se”). Corporations are generally required to retain an attorney to represent them. In federal court and in most states, proceedings are initiated by a complaint, which is the initial document filed with the U.S. District Court or the state trial court that outlines the factual basis of the lawsuit and the relief the plaintiff seeks. Some states permit a plaintiff to commence a suit by requesting issuance of a summons without filing a complaint, although even in those jurisdictions a complaint must be filed after the summons is issued.

The summons and a copy of the complaint must then be served on the defendant. The period for service varies by jurisdiction but is typically between 30 and 90 days after the complaint was filed. Proof of service must be filed with the court (usually the person who served the document would sign an affidavit) unless the defendant waives such service requirements. Absent a good reason, the court will dismiss the action if the summons is not served on the defendant within the applicable timeframe.

There is generally no requirement in United States courts that a plaintiff provides pre-suit notice or that parties must attempt to resolve their dispute before an action is filed. Defendants have the right to file a motion to dismiss the complaint on various procedural grounds, including lack of personal jurisdiction over the defendant, lack of subject matter jurisdiction by the court, improper service or venue, or failure to state a valid legal claim. Timeframes for filing such motions vary among jurisdictions but are typically between 21 and 60 days.

If no motion to dismiss is filed or if the court denies the motion, the defendant must file an answer to the complaint (typically within 14 to 30 days depending on the jurisdiction). In the answer, the defendants may assert affirmative defenses and counterclaims against the plaintiff, allege cross-claims against another defendant, or join additional parties. Once an answer is filed, parties typically begin the discovery process.

Timeframes for discovery vary greatly depending on the complexity of the case and the case management preferences of the assigned judge and may range from a few months for simple matters to a year or more for complex ones.

Once discovery is completed, any party may file a motion for summary judgment, asking the court to enter judgment in that party’s favor based on the undisputed facts of record or a legal question that is dispositive of the case. If no motion for summary judgment is filed or if the court denies the motion, the case is scheduled for trial. Notably, many courts will strongly encourage or order the parties to participate in some form of alternative dispute resolution (for example, mediation) at some point prior to trial.

Cases typically proceed from filing to trial in two to three years, though longer timeframes may be granted for complex matters.