What is a court summons?

A court summons is a notification from the court that a person is summoned to a court hearing or for the performance of another procedural action. The court may summon an expert, witness, specialist, interpreter, or a party.

A court summons is delivered to the addressee at the primary address indicated by the party, an alternative address, place of employment, another address known to the court, or in accordance with a different delivery procedure agreed upon by the parties.

A court summons may be sent: by mail; through a court courier; by technical means: telephone, fax, or other technical means.  By a different delivery procedure agreed upon by the parties.

The court independently decides which form of delivery to use for the summons, to which address to send it, and is not obliged to follow any particular sequence.

The court may also deliver the summons to the person to be summoned within the court building.

If the summons cannot be delivered to the addressee upon the first attempt, it must be sent to the person to be summoned at least once more, either to the same address or to another address known to the court.

If the parties, in accordance with the established procedure, are not notified of the time and place of the court hearing or the performance of a specific procedural action, the judge may, by ruling, assign the delivery of the court summons to the local self-government body or to the district services of the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia.

The local self-government body or district inspectors are obliged, within the period established by the ruling, to ensure the delivery of the court summons to the parties and to inform the judge about the delivery, the reasons for the impossibility of delivery, or the refusal to accept delivery.

If the summons cannot be delivered to the plaintiff at the address indicated by them, the summons shall be considered delivered. This rule applies to the defendant if the summons is sent to the address indicated in their response (statement of defense).

If the address of the defendant indicated by the plaintiff is correct and the summons cannot be delivered, the court is authorized to use public notification.

If the address of the plaintiff or defendant indicated by the plaintiff turns out to be incorrect, the court issues a ruling to leave the claim unconsidered.