SIMPLIFIED COURT PROCEDURE ON CASES CONCERNING MONETARY DEMANDS

ECOVIS Miškinis, Kvainauskas ir partneriai advokatų kontora

According to the Code of  the Civil Procedure of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter – the Code of the Civil Procedure), some cases concerning monetary demands in the court may be examined in a common claim procedure or a simplified procedure. The simplified procedure on cases concerning monetary demands include documentary proceedings, cases concerning the issuance of a court order, disputes of small amounts of money.

The documentary proceeding and the court order procedure on the cases concerning monetary demands is admissible if the matter of the case is monetary demands arising from an agreement, tort, labor relations, maintenance order, etc. According to the Code of the Civil Procedure, the documentary proceeding is admissible if all the demands are founded on admissible documentary evidence. Claims shall not be heard by the documentary procedure if the defendant lives abroad or if the defendant’s domicile is abroad. An application shall not be heard by the court order procedure if: at the moment an application concerning the issuance of a court order is filed, a creditor has not performed a liability belonging to him (or a part thereof), for which payment is being demanded, and the debtor is demanding it be performed; it is impossible to perform the liability in instalments and the creditor demands part of the liability be performed; the debtor lives abroad or the debtor’s registered office is abroad;  the debtor’s place of residence and work are unknown.

Also, according to the Code of the Civil Procedure, the documentary proceeding and the court order procedure isn’t admissible if the defendant or debtor lives or has registered offices abroad.

On the procedure of documentary proceedings the court passes an interlocutory judgment. On the court order procedure the court issues a court order. The court order or interlocutory judgment come into force if:

1.    they and other documents of the case have been properly served to the debtor or defendant;
2.    the court has any objections of the debtor or the defendant.

If the debtor or the defendant gives objections, the claim may be examined in a common claim procedure.
Cases concerning the adjudgment of amounts of money not exceeding 1,000 litas shall be heard pursuant to the general rules of contentious proceedings, except the exceptions provided in the Code of Civil Procedure. If the claim is a small amount, the court hearing the case shall be entitled to itself decide by what form and procedure to hear the case. The case shall be heard by oral proceedings if at least one of the parties requests it. In these cases the court shall pass a judgment, which must contain a caption and resolution as well as briefly report the reasons.