... Where at the time and place appointed for the hearing or adjourned hearing of a complaint the defendant appears but the complainant does not, the court may dismiss the complaint or, if evidence has been received on a previous occasion, proceed in the absence of the complainant.
Section 56: Non-appearance of complainant.
Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 · 1980 c. 43View on legislation.gov.uk
Part II: Civil Jurisdiction and Procedure
About this text
This legislation text comes from legislation.gov.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. These source and reuse terms cover the legislation text, not Remedy's commentary.
Reuse reviewed 21 August 2026 under Open Government Licence v3.0.