The ‘Oral Hearing’ Issue

Abstract

In this chapter, the author discusses when there is a right to an oral hearing before at least one instance. This issue is referred to as the oral hearing issue. While a civil litigant as a starting point is entitled to an oral and public hearing, such a hearing can be dispensed with in ‘exceptional circumstances’. The author analyzes the Court’s case law in this regard, pointing out that the circumstances do not really have to be exceptional—the lack of an oral hearing may be justified in a large number of cases, such as cases concerning either highly technical or purely legal questions. At the same time, the case law gives the impression that the Court, on occasion, will conduct quite an intensive review of the national court’s own assessment of whether an oral hearing had been necessary or not. The author furthermore discusses when there is a right to an oral hearing at the appeals stage. The author also discusses when an oral hearing can be regarded as waived by one or both parties.