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{{Dial-A-Law TOC|expanded = lawyers}}
==People can ask to appear =Normally, parties must attend court in court by phoneperson===If In a person wants to appear court proceeding in court by phoneBC, they the people directly involved in the lawsuit (called the '''parties''') must usually need to get court approval. And they need to get the attend '''in person''' at any court approval well before the hearing, or have a lawyer appear on their behalf.
If a party does not show up, a court may rule against them. This rule applies generally to proceedings in Provincial Court and Supreme Court in BC. There are some exceptions, however, where parties can ask to attend court by phone. We explain these here. ===In some situations, parties can ask to attend court by phone===In some situations, parties may be able to attend court by phone. But parties will need to get court approval — in advance. For example, in [http://canlii.ca/t/8lld BC Supreme Court], a party in a civil case can apply to court to have an application heard by phone or videoconference. In [http://canlii.ca/t/8571 Small Claims Court], certain types of hearings can be held by phone: *if a party does not live or carry on business within a reasonable distance from the court location, or*if exceptional circumstances exist. (The option of a phone hearing in Small Claims Court does '''not''' apply for a trial or a hearing requiring sworn evidence.) A party seeking to have a phone hearing in Small Claims Court must apply to court by completing an '''application to the registrar''' (in Form 16). See the court’s Filing Assistant at [https://justice.gov.bc.ca/FilingAssistant/alphaIndex.do justice.gov.bc.ca] for instructions. Generally speaking, a court may not approve '''decline''' the request for a party to attend by phone if it the court thinks someone needs to appear in person to:
*confirm their identity
*reduce the risk of unseen and improper influences
*allow the judge or other decision-maker to see and consider the person’s facial expressions and body language
{| class="wikitable"|align="left"|'''Tip''''''Check with the registry of the court or decision-maker=='''. If you want to appear in court by phone, check rules and deadlines with the registry of the court or other decision-makerfor the case you’re involved in.|}
==Examples=Rules for tribunals vary, but many offer phone hearings==='''A tribunal''' is a body that hears disputes and makes decisions in a specific area. It is like a court but less formal. The BC Human Rights Tribunal, which deals with human rights complaints, is an example of a tribunal.
[updated January 2018]
'''The above was last reviewed for legal accuracy and edited by John Blois[http://www.robertslaw.ca/about.html Adam Roberts], Adam J. Roberts.''' ----
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