European payment order

  • 2010-10-20
  • By Marius Matiukas, Associate lawyer

ECOVIS Miškinis, Kvainauskas ir partneriai advokatų kontora

(Continued from last issue)

The signed application may be submitted in paper form or by any other means of communication (including electronic ones) accepted by the Member State in which the European order for payment is issued (the member state of origin) and available to the court issuing the European order for payment (the court of origin).

The court to which an application for a European order for payment has been made considers whether the applicability conditions have been met (the cross-border nature of the case in civil and commercial matters, the jurisdiction of the court in question, etc.) as soon as possible, and examines the well-foundedness of the claim.
If the conditions for applying for a European order for payment are met, the court issues the order as soon as possible and normally within 30 days of the lodging of the application.

A European order for payment is served on a defendant in accordance with the national law of the State in which service is to be effected. The Regulation sets out minimum procedural standards regarding service either with proof of receipt by the defendant.

The person who receives a European order for payment, i.e. the defendant, may lodge a statement of opposition with the court that issued the order for payment (the court of origin). The statement of opposition must be sent within 30 days of the order being served on the defendant. When a defendant lodges a statement of opposition, the proceedings continue before the competent courts of the member state of origin in accordance with the rules of ordinary civil procedure, unless the claimant has requested that the proceedings be terminated in that event. If the court rejects the defendant’s application, the European order for payment remains in force. If, on the other hand, the court decides that there is a case for a review, the European order for payment becomes null and void.