WHETHER HEARING NOTICE SERVED BY SMS IS GOOD HEARING NOTICE IN LAW?

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WHETHER HEARING NOTICE SERVED BY SMS IS GOOD HEARING NOTICE IN LAW?

by Branham Chima.

✓ DEFINITION(S):
Hearing notice:  a hearing notice refers to a formal notification or communication sent to the parties involved in a legal proceeding to inform them of the date, time, and location of a scheduled hearing or court proceeding. It serves as a means of ensuring that all parties are aware of the upcoming hearing and have an opportunity to prepare and present their case.

SMS: SMS stands for Short Message Service. It is a text messaging service that allows the exchange of short text messages between mobile devices, typically using cellular networks.

Good in law: The term ‘good in law’ generally refers to something that is legally valid, acceptable, and compliant with the requirements and standards set forth by the law. It means that it meets the legal criteria and is considered valid and legally enforceable.

✓ ANSWER:
Yes, hearing notice delivered to party/counsel via SMS is good hearing notice.

Per P.A. Galumje, JSC. in Compact Manifold & Energy Services Limited v Pazan Services Nigeria Limited (2019) - SC.361/2017, ruled in respect thus: ‘In the instant case, there is evidence that parties left their phone numbers with the registry of the Court. The phone numbers were supplied for the purpose of communication between the parties in this matter and the registry. There is evidence that a text message containing 15th March, 2016 as the hearing date of this matter was sent to learned counsel for respective parties through their phone numbers. Clearly, parties were properly served with hearing notice. I agree with the lower Court that at this age of information technology super highway, it will be foolhardy for any litigant to insist on being served with hard copy hearing notice. Once a notice is sent to the GSM numbers supplied by the litigants, that is sufficient. Learned senior counsel for the respondent was served the same way appellants counsel was served. At the lower Court, learned counsel for the appellant did not deny at the earliest opportunity that he did not receive any hearing notice. He only argued that the hearing notice was not served in accordance with the rules of Lagos State High Court. His sudden somersault before this Court is an attempt to frustrate the speedy disposal of this case. From the history of this case, learned counsel for the appellant has not been forthright in pursuit of this case. Having therefore been properly served with hearing notice, the appellants right of fair hearing has not been breached at all.’

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