CFR

20.700—Rule 700. General.

(a) Right to a hearing. A hearing on appeal will be granted if an appellant, or an appellant's representative acting on his or her behalf, expresses a desire to appear in person.

(b) Purpose of hearing. The purpose of a hearing is to receive argument and testimony relevant and material to the appellate issue. It is contemplated that the appellant and witnesses, if any, will be present. A hearing will not normally be scheduled solely for the purpose of receiving argument by a representative. Such argument should be submitted in the form of a written brief. Oral argument may also be submitted on audio cassette for transcription for the record in accordance with paragraph (d) of this section. Requests for appearances by representatives alone to personally present argument to Members of the Board may be granted if good cause is shown. Whether good cause has been shown will be determined by the presiding Member assigned to conduct the hearing.

(c) Nonadversarial proceedings. Hearings conducted by the Board are ex parte in nature and nonadversarial. Parties to the hearing will be permitted to ask questions, including follow-up questions, of all witnesses but cross-examination will not be permitted. Proceedings will not be limited by legal rules of evidence, but reasonable bounds of relevancy and materiality will be maintained. The presiding Member may set reasonable time limits for the presentation of argument and may exclude documentary evidence, testimony, and/or argument which is not relevant or material to the issue, or issues, being considered or which is unduly repetitious.

(d) Informal hearings. This term is used to describe situations in which the appellant cannot, or does not wish to, appear. In the absence of the appellant, the authorized representative may present oral arguments, not exceeding 30 minutes in length, to the Board on an audio cassette without personally appearing before the Board of Veterans Appeals. These arguments will be transcribed by Board personnel for subsequent review by the Member or Members to whom the appeal has been assigned for a determination. This procedure will not be construed to satisfy an appellant's request to appear in person.

(e) Electronic hearings. When suitable facilities and equipment are available, an appellant may be scheduled for an electronic hearing. Any such hearing will be in lieu of a hearing held by personally appearing before a Member or panel of Members of the Board and shall be conducted in the same manner as, and considered the equivalent of, such a hearing. If an appellant declines to participate in an electronic hearing, the appellant's opportunity to participate in a hearing before the Board shall not be affected.

Code of Federal Regulations

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 7102, 7105(a), 7107 )

Code of Federal Regulations

[57 FR 4109, Feb. 3, 1992, as amended at 58 FR 27935, May 12, 1993; 61 FR 20450, May 7, 1996]

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