Summoning witnesses to court – How to summon witnesses correctly?

When is it necessary to summon witnesses?

Summoning witnesses to court may be necessary in a situation where you are seeking to prove a claim or act that the witness witnessed. Sometimes the testimony of the witnesses may be critical to the success of the lawsuit, so it is important to ensure that the witnesses are summoned in a manner that ensures their actual attendance at the hearing where they will need to be questioned.

Summoning witnesses to court may be especially important when it comes to a defense attorney whose testimony you relied on throughout the pleadings. If he does not appear for questioning, and you do not have a satisfactory explanation for the witness's failure to appear, this may be imputed to your obligation (after all, it is clear that a litigant who relies on the testimony of a witness and claims that the witness will testify in his favor will do his best to ensure that the witness actually arrives at the hearing. If the defense attorney did not ensure that the witness appears at the hearing, the concern arises that the litigant did not correctly describe what the witness saw or heard, and this doubt will play to his disadvantage).

An important condition for subpoenaing witnesses is the submission of List of witnesses Before the first pre-trial.

Summoning witnesses to court through a request to summon witnesses

Summoning witnesses to court can be done by submitting Request to summon witnesses (You can use the witness summons form. As part of this request, which must be submitted sufficiently in advance of the hearing, the witness's details (name, surname, ID card, residential address) must be specified, and why the witness is needed for the purpose of a primary investigation or Cross-examination And why the witness did not submit an affidavit on his behalf (it may be a witness who simply does not want to be involved in the legal process, or it may be a witness who is related to the opposing party and is not interested in testifying in your favor).

After the opposing party's response to the request to summon witnesses on your behalf is filed, the court will rule on it. To the extent that the matter is indeed relevant to the dispute between the parties, the court will usually order the summoning of the witness. In the vast majority of cases, the court will require the party that requested the summoning of the witness to deposit a sum of several hundred shekels (in exceptional cases, even more), which will constitute the witness's salary (in order to arrive at the hearing, the witness will probably lose several hours of work, and in any case, he will incur inconvenience). The court may require the party that lost the trial to pay or compensate the opposing party for the fee paid for the summoning of the witnesses.

After deciding on the application, the court will order the court secretariat or the party who requested the witness's summons to the hearing to send him the summons to the hearing (which will be provided by the court secretariat). It is important to ensure that the witness actually received this summons, and in any case, my recommendation is not to rely solely on the court secretariat and in any case to send the summons by courier or at least by registered mail, so that it can be proven that the witness was duly summoned, and in the event that the witness or witnesses do not arrive at the hearing, the hearing may be postponed and the judge may order the Israel Police to ensure that the witness is brought to the next hearing.

It is not always necessary to summon a witness through a court order.

In a significant number of cases, the summoning of witnesses can be done informally by requesting the witness to attend the hearing and assist in giving testimony. In these cases, it is important to have the witness sign the witness's name in advance. Affidavit of first witness on his behalf, and to actually submit it on the date set by the court, so that he can actually testify. A person who does not submit a primary witness affidavit in a civil lawsuit may testify only with the approval of the court. The court's authority to require any person present in the courtroom to testify is set forth in Regulation 69(a) of the Regulations Civil procedure, which states as follows:

69. (a) The court may summon any person to give evidence, require any person present in the courtroom to testify, and re-summon additional testimony until he has been questioned.

For reasons of caution, if the witness is not someone very close to you (a family member, a close friend, a person you can trust 100 percent), it is very advisable to summon the witness through a request to summon witnesses and deliver the decision and invitation to him personally (including with written confirmation of delivery).

A request to summon witnesses was submitted too close to the hearing date – what might happen?

If for some reason you did not bother to submit a request to summon witnesses in sufficient time before the hearing, it is very possible that the court will deny the request. In this case, you may have trouble proving your claims in court, and this may be imputed to your liability as part of the judgment.

Another possibility is that the court will be convinced that the witness is necessary and order a postponement of the hearing. In such a situation, you will definitely be expected to pay legal costs for your failure to appear, which led to a delay in the investigation of the claim.

It is possible that the court will order the summons of the witness despite the short period of time remaining until the hearing date, but will order you to immediately deliver the decision and the invitation to the hearing by courier on your behalf. On the other hand, it should be taken into account that if the period of time is very short (a few days), the witness may inform the court that he objects to appearing due to prior commitments, and that it is not his fault that you remembered to summon him to the hearing so shortly before the hearing. In such circumstances, the court may grant the witness's request, may order the postponement of the hearing, and may even require the party who remembered late to summon the witness to pay court costs.

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Summoning Witnesses