Adjournment: When Is It Sought & When Is It Attained [legal terminology explained]

Описание: An adjournment is a postponement or suspension of court appearance. If the Court adjourns the litigant’s appearance, it is effectively placed on hold for a period of time. The adjournment can be for a prescribed period of time as set down by the Court or indefinitely, referred to as “sine die” from the Latin term “without day.”
There are numerous reasons for which the parties might seek an adjournment:
i. One of the parties is not ready or has not had the time to prepare.
ii. One of the parties wants to present new evidence discovered right before the court date or one or more of the parties is considering how this newly discovered evidence might effect the case and their position therewith.
iii. The parties are close to negotiating a resolution to the matter that is presently set before the court but require additional time to settle certain outstanding aspects to effect that resolution such that postponing the court date is advantageous to all parties concerned.
Adjournment might be effectuated by mutual agreement of all the parties to the matter (although even where made on consent, an adjournment is not made as of right and must be judicially sanctioned), or alternatively, might be sought by one of the parties from the presiding justice, should one of the other parties not provide their consent to the requested adjournment. Nevertheless, in circumstances where one of the parties refuses to consent to the requested adjournment, the determination as to whether or not an adjournment will be granted rests with the discretion of the presiding justice based upon the particular facts and circumstances.
Some of the consideration that a presiding justice might well take into account as to whether or not to grant an adjournment were summarized in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice decision in Ariston Realty Corp. v. Elcarim Inc. as follows:
the overall objective of a determination of the matter on its substantial merits;
the principles of natural justice;
that justice not only be done but appear to be done;
the particular circumstances of the request for an adjournment and the reasons and justification for the request;
the practical effect or consequences of an adjournment on both substantial and procedural justice;
the competing interests of the parties in advancing or delaying the progress of the litigation;
the prejudice not compensable in costs, if any, suffered by a party by the granting or the refusing of the adjournment;
whether the ability of the party requesting the adjournment to fully and adequately prosecute or defend the proceeding would be significantly compromised if the adjournment were refused;
the need for the administration of justice to orderly process civil proceedings; and
the need for the administration of justice to effectively enforce court orders.