If the applicant for compensation was told the hearing date but did not appear, may the court still decide the application without the applicant's statement?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
The practice file is read for the proof that the hearing date was notified to the applicant, the hearing record showing whether the applicant appeared, and any written submissions the applicant filed before the hearing date.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading makes notification the built-in condition: where a compensation application has been made the court must tell the applicant the hearing date, and only where the applicant was notified and still did not attend may the court decide the case without hearing the applicant's statement.
Another reading notes that the power to proceed depends on the applicant having been notified, so a file showing no notice was sent, or no proof the applicant received one, does not meet the condition the provision sets; what weight a filed but unexplained written submission carries is left open.
Your judgment
If the applicant was notified but absent, what in the record could show whether the claims were still supported by the papers already filed?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to change the effect of non-attendance, or if a court decision settles whether the file must prove the notice was received rather than merely sent.