Ordinary Jurisdiction (Lithuania)

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Supreme Court of Lithuania
District Court Kaunas ( lit.Kauno apygardos teismas )
District Court Šiauliai ( lit.Siaulių apygardos teismas )
District Court of Šiauliai
Kaunas District Court

The ordinary courts in Lithuania is based on constitutional and international regulations.

Article 12 of the Judiciary Act of the Republic of Lithuania establishes the following judicial system: The judicial system of the Republic of Lithuania consists of courts of general jurisdiction and special courts.

Courts of general jurisdiction or courts of first instance, d. H. District and local courts ) are responsible for all civil matters. These are disputes relating to civil life, family, work, intellectual property, bankruptcy, restructuring and other private legal relationships. The courts are also competent for extraordinary proceedings and requests concerning the recognition and enforcement of judgments of foreign courts and arbitration judgments in the Republic of Lithuania (Article 22 Code of Civil Procedure ).

Special dishes , d. H. Administrative courts (district administrative courts) are responsible for administrative matters that arise from legal relationships under administrative law.

Civil and criminal courts

Differentiation between lower and upper ordinary civil courts

The local and district courts are primarily responsible for civil matters (Article 25 of the Code of Civil Procedure).

Article 26 of the Code of Civil Procedure stipulates that the local courts have jurisdiction over all civil matters. However, Articles 27 and 28 allow exceptions to this basic rule. The district courts are responsible for certain things. The Vilnius District Court has exclusive jurisdiction for certain matters .

  • District courts are primarily responsible for civil matters in which the value in dispute is over LTL 100,000, unless it is a family matter in which the division of assets is being negotiated (Article 27 (1) of the Code of Civil Procedure).
  • As courts of first instance, the district courts are also responsible for the following civil matters (Article 27 of the Code of Civil Procedure):
  • Legal relationships in the event of a violation of copyright.
  1. Legal relationships in a civil public tender.
  2. Bankruptcies and reorganizations.
  • In the event that a bank's interim administrator applies to reduce a bank's authorized capital.
  1. When either party is another country or state.
  2. If a lawsuit is brought about the forced sale of shares (dividends, interest).
  3. When there is a lawsuit relating to an investigation into the activities of a legal entity.
  4. Other civil matters for which the district courts are competent as courts of first instance according to applicable law.

As the court of first instance, the Vilnius District Court has exclusive jurisdiction for the following civil matters (Article 28 of the Code of Civil Procedure):

  • Litigation under the licensing law of the Republic of Lithuania.
  • Litigation under the trademark law of the Republic of Lithuania.
  • Civil matters in which a citizen of another state applies to adopt a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania, regardless of whether the Lithuanian citizen in question is resident in the Republic of Lithuania or abroad.
  • Other civil matters for which the Vilnius District Court has exclusive jurisdiction as the court of first instance under applicable law.

Local jurisdiction

Basic rule

The defendant's place of residence determines which court is to be sued. A lawsuit directed against a legal person must be brought to the court that has jurisdiction for the seat of the legal person named in the register for this legal person. If the defendant is a state or a municipality, the action must be brought before the court that has jurisdiction for the seat of the institution that represents the state or the municipality (Article 29 Code of Civil Procedure).

Exceptions

The competent court can be chosen by the plaintiff in the following cases (Article 30 of the Code of Civil Procedure):

  1. A lawsuit against a defendant whose place of residence is unknown can be brought at the place of his property or at his last known place of residence.
  2. A lawsuit against a defendant who does not have a place of residence in the Republic of Lithuania can be brought at the place of his property or at the last known place of residence in the Republic of Lithuania.
  3. A lawsuit in relation to the activities of the establishment of a legal person can also be brought at the place of establishment.
  4. An action for maintenance payment as well as for the determination of paternity and maintenance obligation can be brought at the place of residence of the plaintiff.
  5. A claim for damages because of personal injury caused to a natural person or because of their death can be brought at the place of residence of the plaintiff or at the place where the damage was caused.
  6. A claim for damages for pecuniary damage caused to a person can be brought at the place of residence of the plaintiff or at the place where the damage was caused.
  7. A claim for damages for unlawful conviction, unlawful application of detention measures, unlawful arrest, unlawful application of coercive measures, unlawful imposition of administrative penalties - arrest - as well as damage sustained by unlawful acts of a judge or a court in the negotiation of a civil matter can be filed on Place of residence of the plaintiff.
  8. A claim for damages due to a ship collision or compensation for aid and rescue operations carried out at sea, as well as all other claims in disputes relating to maritime shipping, can also be brought at the location of the defendant's ship or at the port of registry of the defendant's ship.
  9. A lawsuit in relation to agreements and contracts for which a place of performance has been determined can also be brought at the place of performance of the agreement or contract.
  10. A lawsuit in relation to the activity of a curator or an asset manager can also be brought at the place of residence of the curator (trustee) or at the place of residence or domicile of the administrator.
  11. A lawsuit relating to consumer contracts can also be brought at the consumer's place of residence.

Several defendants

A lawsuit against several defendants who live or stay in different places is also to be brought at the plaintiff's own discretion at the place of residence or domicile of one of the defendants (Article 33 Part 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure).

  • A lawsuit relating to contracts specifying the place of performance may, at the plaintiff's discretion, be brought either at the place of residence of the defendant or at the place of performance of the contract. A lawsuit relating to consumer contracts can be brought at the place of residence or domicile of the defendant or the consumer.
  • A lawsuit for maintenance payments may be brought at the place of residence or domicile of the defendant or the plaintiff at the plaintiff's discretion.
  • A civil action for damages resulting from criminal proceedings can be brought in accordance with the jurisdiction regulation contained in the Civil Procedure Code of the Republic of Lithuania, if the action was not brought or decided during the criminal proceedings. Etc.

Bringing an action in a court other than that at the place of residence of the defendant

Article 31, paragraphs 1 to 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Republic of Lithuania contains the following exceptions to the principle of general local jurisdiction. These exceptions are binding for the plaintiff when bringing an action:

  1. An action for real rights to immovable property, for the use of immovable property (except in the case of an application for the division of the spouses' property in divorce proceedings) as well as an application for annulment of the seizure of immovable property is at the place of the immovable property - or its main part - to raise or provide competent court.
  2. Actions by the testator's creditors that are brought before the heirs have accepted the inheritance fall under the jurisdiction of the court competent for the location of the inheritance or its main part.

In accordance with Article 33 Part 2 to 4 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Republic of Lithuania, the following also applies:

  • A counterclaim, regardless of jurisdiction, must be brought before the court in which the original action was brought. If a counterclaim in any matter changes specific jurisdiction, the court hearing the original claim will refer the entire case to the court having jurisdiction under the specific jurisdiction.
  • If any of the plaintiff's claims are to be brought under the rules of extraordinary jurisdiction, the entire action must be brought under the rules of extraordinary jurisdiction.
  • If one of the plaintiff's claims falls within the jurisdiction of a district court, the entire claim must be heard before the district court.

In a case, the contracting parties can change the local jurisdiction through a written agreement between them. However, special and extraordinary responsibilities cannot be changed by an agreement between the contracting parties (Article 32 Code of Civil Procedure of the Republic of Lithuania).

If a defendant, whose place of residence was not known beforehand, applies for the matter to be referred to a court competent for his place of residence, the court shall refer the case to the other court by decision (Article 34 Part 2 Paragraph 2 Code of Civil Procedure of the Republic of Lithuania ). C. If a special jurisdiction has jurisdiction, how do I find out where I specifically need to bring an action?

Administrative courts specifically responsible for administrative matters are not competent for civil matters in the Republic of Lithuania. Therefore, a description of the regulations on the jurisdiction of the administrative courts and the exceptions applicable in this context should be omitted in this overview.

See also

Web links, sources