Foreign court judgment: how to recover the debt in Lithuania

It depends on where the judgment was given. A judgment from another EU Member State (for Denmark, see below) in a civil or commercial matter is enforceable in Lithuania without any further procedure: the bailiff (antstolis) receives a copy of the judgment and a certificate issued by the court of origin. A judgment from a state outside the EU must first be recognised by the Court of Appeal of Lithuania (Lietuvos apeliacinis teismas). In both cases the ordinary enforcement by a bailiff follows. The bailiff can restrict the debtor’s funds held in accounts, including accounts with electronic money institutions.

How recovery works under a Lithuanian court order or judgment is covered in Court order, court fee, interest and the bailiff in Lithuania. Here: what is different when the judgment was given abroad.

First question: where was the judgment given?

This article relies on Chapter III of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (the Regulation), and on its Articles 1, 53, 57, 61 and 66, together with the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure on foreign judgments.

The Regulation applies in civil and commercial matters (Article 1(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012). It does not apply to bankruptcy or to proceedings relating to the winding-up of insolvent companies (Article 1(2)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012). It also applies only to proceedings started on or after 10 January 2015 (Article 66(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012). For proceedings started earlier, Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 continues to apply (Article 66(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012). So the procedure of this Regulation described below does not apply to such judgments; ask us about them separately.

In practice we most often see two situations. A creditor from another EU state holds judgments from its own courts, while the debtors keep their money with payment or electronic money institutions operating in Lithuania. That calls for the EU route. Or a creditor holds a judgment from a state outside the EU, and the debtor or the debtor’s assets are in Lithuania. That calls for recognition.

A judgment from another EU Member State

The main rule is simple. A judgment given in a Member State that is enforceable there is enforceable in the other Member States without any declaration of enforceability being required (Article 39 of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012). Recognition likewise needs no special procedure (Article 36(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012).

The Regulation does not bind Denmark and does not apply to it. A separate agreement on the recognition and enforcement of judgments was concluded with Denmark on 19 October 2005 (Recital 41 of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012).

Two documents go to the enforcement authority (Article 42(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012):

  • a copy of the judgment that satisfies the conditions needed to establish its authenticity;
  • the certificate confirming that the judgment is enforceable. It contains an extract of the judgment and, where relevant, information on recoverable costs and interest.

The certificate is issued by the court of origin at the request of any interested party, using the form in Annex I to the Regulation (Article 53 of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012). So ask the court that gave the judgment for the certificate before you turn to Lithuania.

On translations. The enforcement authority may, where necessary, require a translation of the content of the certificate (Article 42(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012). It may require a translation of the whole judgment only if it cannot proceed without one (Article 42(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012). The translation is done by a person qualified to do translations in one of the Member States (Article 57(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012). Documents issued under the Regulation need no legalisation or similar formality (Article 61 of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012), so no apostille is needed. When an apostille is needed in other cases is covered in Translation, notary and apostille: what your documents need.

The enforcement procedure is governed by Lithuanian law. The judgment is enforced under the same conditions as a Lithuanian judgment (Article 41(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012). The creditor does not need a postal address or an authorised representative in Lithuania, except where a representative is mandatory for everyone (Article 41(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012).

Before the first enforcement measure, the certificate is served on the debtor, together with the judgment if it has not already been served (Article 43(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012). If the debtor lives in a state other than the state of origin, the debtor may ask for a translation of the judgment into a language they understand or the language of their own state. Until the translation is provided, only protective measures may be taken (Article 43(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012). An enforceable judgment in itself carries the power to take the protective measures available under Lithuanian law (Article 40 of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012).

When the debtor can object

On the debtor’s application, enforcement is refused where one of the grounds in Article 45 of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 is found (Article 46 of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012). Grounds for refusal or suspension of enforcement under Lithuanian law also apply, in so far as they are compatible with the Article 45 grounds (Article 41(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012). The Article 45 grounds are narrow (Article 45(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012):

  • recognition would be manifestly contrary to public policy;
  • a defendant who did not appear was not served with the document instituting the proceedings in time and in a way that allowed them to prepare a defence, unless they could have challenged the judgment but did not;
  • the judgment is irreconcilable with a judgment given in Lithuania between the same parties, or with an earlier judgment given elsewhere between the same parties on the same subject and the same cause of action;
  • the judgment conflicts with the Regulation’s protective rules (where the defendant was, for example, a consumer or an employee) or with the rules on exclusive jurisdiction.

Under no circumstances may the judgment be reviewed as to its substance (Article 52 of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012). So the debtor cannot re-argue in Lithuania whether the court of origin was right to award the debt.

A judgment from a state outside the EU

Here the procedure is different. Foreign court judgments may be enforced in Lithuania only after they have been recognised by the Court of Appeal of Lithuania (Article 809(1) of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Republic of Lithuania (CPK)).

The conditions for recognition depend on international treaties. Foreign judgments are recognised on the basis of international treaties; where there is no treaty, recognition is refused in the cases listed in the CPK (CPK 810(1)). For example, where the judgment is not final, where a party who did not take part was not properly notified of the proceedings, where the judgment is irreconcilable with a Lithuanian judgment between the same parties, or where it is contrary to public policy. Where there is a treaty, the judgment is recognised on the conditions set in it (CPK 810(5)). For example, judgments from Switzerland, Norway and Iceland fall under the 2007 Lugano Convention (Recital 8 and Article 73(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012). The lawfulness and merits of the judgment are not reviewed (CPK 810(4)).

The application must be accompanied by (CPK 811(2)):

  • the foreign judgment and its translation into Lithuanian, certified as required by law;
  • confirmation that the judgment is final;
  • evidence that a party who did not take part was properly notified of the place and time of the hearing;
  • an address in Lithuania for service of procedural documents, if the applicant lives outside Lithuania and has no representative there.

For enforcement you also add confirmation that the judgment can be enforced in the state where it was given (CPK 813(3)). A foreign judgment is enforced if it is enforceable in the state of origin and has been recognised under the CPK procedure (CPK 813(1)). Permission to enforce can be requested together with recognition (CPK 812(6)).

Our experience is that the documents, not the court, take most of the time. The most common obstacle is a translation that is not bound to the original and not certified. So we first assemble the full set: the judgment, the note on finality, the evidence of notification and a certified translation of each, bound to the original. Only then do we file the application.

The application is heard by a single judge of the Court of Appeal of Lithuania, but a panel of three judges may be formed for a complex case. The application is usually heard in written proceedings. The ruling takes effect on the day it is adopted and can be challenged by a cassation appeal (CPK 812(1)). The application itself is exempt from court fee (žyminis mokestis) (CPK 811(4)). If the debtor contests recognition, the process takes longer.

Enforcement through a bailiff

Foreign court judgments are enforced under the general CPK enforcement rules in the cases set by international treaties and laws (CPK 584(1)(5)). The enforcement document is submitted to the bailiff by the creditor or its representative (CPK 650(1)).

Creditors from other states often ask whether they must first find the debtor’s assets or accounts themselves before going to a bailiff. In Lithuania the bailiff, through the Information System of Restrictions on Funds (Piniginių lėšų apribojimų informacinė sistema), instructs credit, payment and electronic money institutions to restrict the debtor’s use of the funds or to debit them (CPK 689(2)). The operator of that system receives information from the State Tax Inspectorate (Valstybinė mokesčių inspekcija) on accounts opened and closed at such institutions by Lithuanian and foreign persons (CPK 689(9)). So searching for accounts opened in Lithuania is usually part of the enforcement, not work the creditor has to do beforehand. From 1 January 2027 the same procedure will also cover institutions’ accounts in the State Treasury (CPK 689(2) and (9), as in force from 1 January 2027). From the same date the CPK also provides that where an institution is not connected to the system or the account number is not in IBAN format, the bailiff sends the instruction directly to the institution (CPK 689(10), as in force from 1 January 2027).

How to start

Send us the foreign judgment, information on whether it is final and, if the judgment was given in an EU state, the certificate from the court of origin. Tell us what you know about the debtor in Lithuania. We will assess whether recognition is needed and file the documents with the bailiff or with the Court of Appeal of Lithuania.

Phone +370 5 212 1506, email info@linden.lt

More about this service: debt recovery.

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