er indicated that the default judgment of 11 July 2001 had been fully based on the courts' findings in the criminal case against the applicant. Lastly, the Regional Court established that the applicant's submissions about the circumstances of the deal with the car would not have had any impact on the findings of the default judgment. In conclusion the court stated as follows:
"The argument that [the applicant's] absence in court was excusable because he had been unable to inform the court in a timely fashion of the valid reasons for his absence cannot be accepted as a sole ground for quashing the judgment since the default judgment may only be quashed if both of the above-mentioned conditions have been met. Furthermore, [the applicant] does not explain why he was not able to inform the court that he was serving a prison sentence."
20. As a consequence, the Regional Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the default judgment.
II. Relevant domestic law
21. Parties to civil proceedings could appear before a court in person or act through a representative (Article 43 of the Code of Civil Procedure in force until 31 January 2003 ("the old CCP").
22. Article 106 of the old CCP provided that a summons was to be served on the parties and their representatives in such a way that they would have enough time to appear at the hearing and prepare their case. Where necessary, the parties could be summoned by a telephone call or a telegram. Pursuant to Articles 108 and 109, court summonses were to be sent by post or by courier and served on the person who was a party to the case. The party was to sign the second copy of a summons which was to be returned to the court. If a summons could not be served on a party, it was to be served on an adult family member who lived with the party. If a party was absent, the person who delivered the summons was to note on the second copy of the summons where the party could be found (Article 109).
23. Article 144 required that civil cases be heard in a court session with mandatory notification of the case to all parties. Article 151 provided that court sessions started with the court secretary informing the judge of the parties who had received summons but had failed to appear. The secretary had to inform the judge of the reasons for their absence. Pursuant to Article 157, if a party to the case failed to appear and there was no evidence that the party had been duly summoned, the hearing was to be adjourned.
24. Article 213-1 provided that if a defendant was duly notified of the hearing but failed to appear, the court might proceed with the case, provided that the plaintiff did not object. Article 213-6 provided that a default judgment could be challenged either by lodging a request for the reopening of the case with the first-instance court, or by appealing directly to the court of appeal. Under Article 213-9, a decision of the first-instance court not to reopen the case was subject to an appeal as well. Under Article 213-11, the reopening of a case was possible if two conditions were met: (a) the absent party had been unable, with good reason, to attend the hearing or to inform the court in a timely fashion thereof, and (b) the absent party produced evidence which might have affected the outcome of the case.
25. The Penitentiary Code provides that convicted persons may be transferred from a correctional colony to an investigation unit if their participation is required as witnesses, victims or suspects in connection with certain investigative measures (Article 77.1). The Code does not mention the possibility for convicted persons to take part in civil proceedings, whether as plaintiffs or defendants.
26. The USSR Advocates Act (Law of 30 November 1979), together with the RSFSR Rules on Advocates (Law of 20 November 1980), in force until 1 July 2002, provided that free legal assista
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