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Legal aid in Lithuania

Questionnaire on legal aid 
Conference in Palermo on 12th and 13th November 2009

 

I./ Procedural aspects

 

State-guaranteed legal aid in LITHUANIA include the primary legal aid (the provision of legal information, legal advice and drafting of the documents to be submitted to state and municipal institutions, with the exception of procedural documents; this legal aid covers advice on the out-of-court settlement of a dispute, actions for the amicable settlement of a dispute and drafting of a settlement agreement; this legal aid does not cover completing of the returns submitted to a tax administrator) and secondary legal aid (drafting of documents, defence and representation in court, including the process of execution, representation in the event of preliminary extrajudicial consideration of a dispute, where such a procedure has been laid down by laws or by a court decision; this legal aid also covers the litigation costs incurred in civil proceedings, the costs incurred in administrative proceedings and the costs related to the hearing of a civil action brought in a criminal case).

1./ Who decides whether legal aid is granted to a party?
Primary legal aid must be provided immediately upon the application of a person to the executive institution of a municipality (no special decision is taken). Primary legal aid is provided by civil servants of the municipality administration, the employees working under the employment contracts or lawyers (professional partnerships of lawyers) or the public agencies with which municipalities have concluded an agreement.
A decision on the provision of 
secondary legal aid is taken by State-guaranteed legal aid services (hereinafter referred to as “the services”). The services are budgetary state institutions, and the geographical areas in which they have jurisdiction correspond to the geographical areas of county courts. The Ministry of Justice is the founder and participant of the services.

 

2./ Is it possible to challenge this decision?
Decisions of the service may be appealed against in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Lithuanian Law on Administrative Proceedings (usually to the administrative court).

 

3./ Is it possible to obtain legal aid already during the administrative procedure?
No special regulation or restrictions on this question.
4./ Is legal aid valid for the whole procedure, legal remedies included or is decided separately for each level of the law suit?
Legal aid is valid for the whole procedure, unless the status of a person changes.

5./ Do applications for legal aid have any impact on the course of the procedure, in particular on the run out of time limits (f.e. for legal remedies)?
No special regulation or exceptions on this question.

II./ Prerequisites for legal aid
1./ Financial means
a./ Are there thresholds concerning income ruled by law or by court practice?
Yes. The property and income levels, which must not be exceeded, are established by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. There is a list of criteria established in the law, when persons shall be eligible for secondary legal aid regardless of the property and income levels established by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania for the provision of legal aid.
b./ Are there also such thresholds for real estates and other values?
Yes. The property and income levels, which must not be exceeded, are established by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. There is a list of criteria established in the law, when persons shall be eligible for secondary legal aid regardless of the property and income levels established by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania for the provision of legal aid.

c./ Are there special rules for legal entities (societies, associations)?
Only natural persons are eligible for secondary legal aid. The only exception - representation of a legal person subject to criminal liability.

 

2./ Is the possible outcome of the case of relevance for granting legal aid? 
Secondary legal aid shall not be provided where claims of the applicant are manifestly unfounded or representation in a matter has no reasonable prospects of success (more details in the answer to the next question).

3./ Are there other criteria for granting or refusing legal aid?
I. Secondary legal aid shall not be provided where:
1) claims of the applicant are manifestly unfounded;
2) representation in a matter has no reasonable prospects of success; 

3) the applicant is claiming non-pecuniary damage related to the protection of his honour and dignity, but has suffered no property damage; 
4) the application concerns a claim arising directly out of the applicant’s trade or self-employed profession;
5) the applicant can receive required legal services without resorting to State-guaranteed legal aid;
6) the applicant applies with respect to the violation of the rights other than his own, with the exception of the cases of representation under the law;
7) the claim for which an application for secondary legal aid is filed has been passed to the applicant for the purpose of receiving State-guaranteed
 legal aid;
8) an applicant abuses State-guaranteed
 legal aid and his substantive or procedural rights;
9) an applicant to whose property and income the second level is established does not agree to pay 50 per cent of the costs of secondary legal aid.

II. A service shall have the right to refuse to provide secondary legal aid where: 
1) upon examination of the merits of a request, it establishes that the possible costs of secondary legal aid would significantly exceed the amount of property claims (property interests) of the applicant;
2) upon examination of the merits of a request, it establishes that the non-pecuniary claim of the applicant lacks merit;
3) it establishes that the applicant is able to independently, without a lawyer’s assistance exercise or defend his rights or interests protected under law;
4) the applicant is provided secondary legal aid in more than 3 matters.

III. Paragraphs I and II shall not apply in respect of the provision of secondary legal aid in criminal matters and the matters concerning administrative offences, with the exception of applications for the renewal of proceedings, appeals or statements in accordance with the procedure of private prosecution. Subparagraphs 1, 2, 3, and 4 of paragraph I and subparagraph 1 of paragraph II shall not apply to the provision of secondary legal aid at international judicial institutions. Where the persons receiving a social allowance under the Republic of Lithuania Law on Cash Social Assistance for Low-Income Families (Single Residents) and the persons maintained in stationary care institutions wish to receive only the State-guaranteed legal aid specified in the Law, paragraphs I and II shall not apply. 

III./ Benefits 
1./ What kinds of costs are covered by legal aid?
a./ Court fees
b./ Costs of witnesses, interpreters and experts
c./ The party’s travel expenses
d./ Advocates or other representatives 
The costs of secondary legal aid shall comprise the costs from which the applicant shall be exempted, that is: the litigation costs incurred in civil proceedings, the costs incurred in administrative proceedings, the costs related to the hearing of a civil action brought in a criminal matter, the costs related to defence and representation in court (including the appeal and cassation proceedings, irrespective of the initiator) as well as the costs of the execution process, the costs related to the drafting of procedural documents and collection of evidence, interpretation, representation in the event of preliminary extrajudicial consideration of a dispute, where such a procedure has been laid down by laws or by a court decision. 
The costs of State-guaranteed
 legal aid shall also cover the costs of interpretation of communication between the lawyer and the applicant where, in the cases provided for in international treaties of the Republic of Lithuania, it is impossible to ensure that a person providing State-guaranteed legal aid communicates with the applicant in the language which the latter understands.
The costs of State-guaranteed
 legal aid shall not cover the costs which the court awards to the party for which the decision has been rendered from the losing party as well as the costs incurred by the debtor in the execution process. 
Where the physical presence of an applicant is required by the law or by the court, the travel costs to be borne by an applicant shall be borne by the services from the state budget finds allocated for that purpose.
Usually the costs of secondary legal aid, by taking account of a person’s property and income, shall be guaranteed and covered by the State as follows:
1) 100 per cent – where the first level is established to the person’s property and income;
2) 50 per cent – where the second level is established to the person’s property and income.
There are some special rules concerning certain categories of applicants.
The provision of secondary legal aid shall not divest an applicant of the right to make use of the privileges of coverage and/or reimbursement of the litigation costs or of the costs of the proceedings as established in the laws on civil and administrative proceedings.

d.a./ Under which conditions are advocates or other representatives at the disposal of the beneficiary in order to represent him in the lawsuit?
No special conditions. Secondary legal aid is usually provided by advocates (lawyers).
d.b./ How are these advocates or other representatives selected? Has the party any influence in this selection procedure?
The services shall select lawyers for the provision of secondary legal aid on the basis of competition and conclude agreements with them. The competition regulations shall be approved by the Minister of Justice upon agreement with the Lithuanian Bar.
When selecting a lawyer, the service shall take into account an applicant’s proposal regarding the specific lawyer, the place of residence of the applicant, the place of employment of the lawyer, the workload of the lawyer and other circumstances significant for the provision of secondary legal aid. At all pre-trial (non-trial) and trial stages of a matter, secondary legal aid shall be normally provided by one (the same) lawyer. A lawyer providing secondary legal aid may be replaced upon a written reasoned request of an applicant or the lawyer himself in the event of establishment of a conflict of interests or of other circumstances due to which the lawyer providing secondary legal aid cannot provide legal aid in the instant case. A decision on the replacement of the lawyer providing secondary legal aid shall be taken by the service.

d.c./ Who covers the costs for these advocates or other representatives?
The State.
e./ Has legal aid an influence on the obligation of the beneficiary to refund certain expenses of opposing parties if he finally looses the case? 
The costs of State-guaranteed legal aid shall not cover the costs which the court awards to the party for which the decision has been rendered from the losing party as well as the costs incurred by the debtor in the execution process. 
IV./ Can legal aid be revoked? 
1./ Under which conditions is it possible to revoke legal aid?
The provision of secondary legal aid shall be terminated where:
1) it transpires that a person receiving secondary legal aid is not eligible for secondary legal aid;
2) the person has deliberately submitted inaccurate information on the merits of a dispute or a case, his property or income;
3) the circumstances on the basis of which the person has been assigned to the persons eligible for secondary legal aid undergo a change;
4) the level of the person’s property and income changes, and the person is divested of the right to receive secondary legal aid under the Law;
5) an applicant fails to present a resident’s (family’s) annual return of assets with a stamp of the local tax administrator confirming the submission of the return within the time limit laid down by the Law, where secondary legal aid is provided for a period longer than one year;
6) an applicant abuses State-guaranteed legal aid, his substantive or procedural rights or demands that a lawyer exercises and defends the rights in an unacceptable manner; 
7) following a change in the circumstances, it is established that the possible costs of secondary legal aid would significantly exceed the amount of property claims (property interest) of the applicant or that the non-pecuniary claim of the applicant lacks merit or that he is capable of independently exercising or defending his rights or the interests protected under law without the assistance of a lawyer; 
8) an applicant submits an application for the termination of the provision of secondary legal aid;
9) representation in a case has no reasonable prospects of success; 
10) a person receiving secondary legal aid does no longer co-operate with a service or a lawyer providing secondary legal aid;
11) an applicant to whose property and income the second level is established does not agree to pay 50 per cent of the costs of secondary legal aid;
12) an applicant dies.

 

2./ Can it be revoked even retroactively and can recovery of the state’s expenses be ordered? Which are the conditions for such a decision?
Yes. 
When it transpires that a person receiving secondary legal aid is not eligible for secondary legal aid, the person has deliberately submitted inaccurate information on the merits of a dispute or a case, his property or income, an applicant abuses State-guaranteed legal aid, his substantive or procedural rights or demands that a lawyer exercises and defends the rights in an unacceptable manner, the provision of secondary legal aid has to be terminated. The costs of legal aid in these cases must be recovered from the person to whom it has been provided in accordance with procedure laid down by the law.
Where secondary legal aid is provided to the persons eligible for the litigation costs (costs of the proceedings) insurance benefits, which, according to the conditions of an insurance contract, are paid after the incurrence of the costs, the costs of the secondary legal aid which has been provided must be refunded to the state budget within one month of the payment of an insurance benefit in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Minister of Justice. Where a person fails to refund these costs, they shall be recovered in accordance with the procedure laid down by the law. 
Where 50 per cent of the costs of secondary legal aid are covered, and an applicant fails to fulfil the duty of paying 50 per cent of the costs of the proceedings in the case of civil proceedings or 50 per cent of the costs related to administrative proceedings within the time limits and in accordance with the procedures laid down in procedural laws, which results in the termination of the civil or administrative proceedings without the court taking a decision on the merits of the case, the applicant must refund the costs of provided secondary legal aid to the state budget within the time limits laid down by the service. 
There are some more rules, concerning separate categories of applicants.

 

3./ Are there time limits for such decisions?
No special term. The decision must be taken as soon as possible.

V./ Practical importance of legal aid
1./ What is the percentage of cases with legal aid in general?
In 2008 secondary legal aid was provided to 44154 persons (in 2007 – to 43063 persons).( no statistics on percentage of cases).
2./ Are there any scopes of administrative law where legal aid is of special importance? What is the percentage of cases with legal aid in these particular fields of administrative law?

No statistics on this.