Examined the Case and Made a Decision Without Involving the Interested Person – How to Proceed?

There was a ruling adopted in the civil case No. e3K-3-106-823/2022 on 28 April 2022, by which the Supreme Court of Lithuania provided relevant explanations concerning reopening of civil proceedings under one of the basis provided in Article 366 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Republic of Lithuania.

On this basis, the proceedings may be reopened if the court has ruled on the substantive rights or obligations of the persons not included in the proceedings.

In the aforementioned ruling, three steps to be taken when assessing application for reopening the proceedings were distinguished by the court of cassation. The court also noted that failure to comply with these steps not only leads to an incorrect examination of such application, but is also considered to be a restriction of applicant’s procedural rights and a violation of his right to a fair trial and due process.

Legal commentary in Lithuanian prepared by Andrius Lukašonokas, Associate Partner, Attorney at Law