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Introduction
There are a number of ways that a person charged with an offence may be instructed to appear in court: summons, appearance notice, promise to appear etc.
A summons process is often used when the address of the person charged with the offence is known. After a summons is served, it may be unclear whether the service was valid. In such cases, the person purportedly served may wonder whether they should appear in court, or rather assume that the service was invalid and not attend court. This article contains a discussion of the requirements for valid service, and identifies some of the possible consequences of not appearing on the date indicated by the summons.
Criminal code provisions setting out the requirements for service
