A witness summons is a document issued by the court, to get a witness to attend. They would usually like a witness to attend the court to give evidence for either a hearing or a court directed date. Witnesses can also be used to produce documents to the court on a fixed date of a hearing, or a fixed date that the court will state in the summons.
The general rule is that a witness summons is binding if it is served at least 7 days before the date on which the witness is required to attend before the court or tribunal. The court may direct that a witness summons shall be binding, although it will be served less than 7 days before the date on which the witness is required to attend before the court or tribunal.
You might get a summons from the court if:
- They haven’t been able to contact you with a witness warning,
- They think you might not come on the day,
- You’ve said you won’t go to court,
- You were told the date of the trial and you didn’t attend.
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