Attacks Against the Profession
Indeed, in this country the attacks multiply against the profession which does not profit from the necessary support of its Official Authorities.
Leo Netten introduced the UIHJ, the objectives, the activities of the UIHJ, the expertise on the UIHJ for the Council of Europe, the European Union, the World Bank and other international institutions.
The delegation of the UIHJ supported the representatives of the chamber of the judicial officers of Lithuania in the person of Mrs. Inga Karaliene, President of the Chamber of the judicial officers of Lithuania, and of Mrs. Asta Astraukiene, Director of the Chamber. The delegation met the State Secretary for Justice, Mr Paulus Koverovas, at the Ministry of Justice. The meeting proved to be particularly fruitful.
Service of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents - Internal and International Regulations
Leo Netten and Bernard Menut presented the 1348/2000 European Regulation on the service of documents which should legitimately be entrusted to the judicial officers of Lithuania. They insisted on the fact that the spirit of this European text is to promote the transmission between professionals in order to reduce the times of transmission and to promote the effectiveness of justice.
For the Ministry for Justice, the current situation of service of documents via the court is an option which does not appear to exclude for the future the choice of service directly by the professional judicial officer. But it is still necessary to overcome some obstacles, in particular those relating to the question of the cost and of the payment of this service.
The delegation of the UIHJ presented the possible options and the orientations in Europe on this point, by reassuring its interlocutors on the financing for the poor which will be ensured by the legal aid.
According to the Secretary of State, there would be a lack of transparency about the cost of the fees to pay to the judicial officers in charge of the service of documents. The UIHJ developed the possible options to solve these points and to reach a reasonable cost of the trans-border service. Many references to the recommendation Rec (2003) 17 of the Council of Europe were made by the UIHJ. The latter thus could demonstrate to the Secretary of State that the trans-border service must exclusively articulate around the judicial officer with regard to the trans-border service.
Electronic Service
A discussion took place on the interest to promote the electronic service. Leo Netten and Bernard Menut presented the options of the UIHJ relating to this subject. They reflected on the practical difficulties for a document to reach to its final recipient
Obviously the arguments of the UIHJ allured the State Secretary.
Cost of the Actions of the Judicial Officer
The discussion concerned at the same time the need for and the cost of the enforcement procedures and in particular on the difficulty of knowing the cost in advance. Moreover, this cost must be proportional and reasonable compared to the stakes of the litigation. Currently, in Lithuania, certain enforcement procedures are carried out to collect very small debts, when not symbolic.
Overall, concerning the knowledge of the final cost of the procedures, the difficulty always comes from the good will or the unwillingness from the debtor to pay his debt quickly. The more reluctant the debtor is to pay his debt quickly, the higher the cost of the procedure will be for him. This is actually the existing situation in Europe, and that makes any foreseeability of the cost hazardous.
Trying to Make MPs Aware
At the Parliament, the delegation could meet Mr. Julius Sabatauskas, President of the Committee of the Legal Affairs of the Parliament of Lithuania, as well as several of his advisers.
Our interlocutors insisted on the fact that the reform of the system of execution in Lithuania is approximately 5 years old and that certain difficulties emerged following certain delicate matters, underlined by the press.
How to allow the judicial officers to be more appreciated by the population, wonders the Vice President of the Commission of the laws? Leo Netten insisted on the need for a State for having an effective execution of the court decisions, especially after the Hornsby v/ Greece and Pini v/Romania cases of the ECHR. He recalled that the UIHJ is very active within the Council of Europe, especially within the CEPEJ. He also insisted on the interest for the profession in Lithuania to have a high level of training as well as a mandatory permanent training.
Justice does not escape globalization, so that the court decisions will have to be carried out out of the country where they were made. Consequently we are heading for a harmonization of the European legislation applicable to the enforcement of the court decisions.
For his part, Bernard Menut insisted on the need to have a strong chamber of judicial officers which can implement high level ethical rules that will give a better indication of the judicial officers and of their activity and that will guarantee the quality of the services of the judicial officers in Lithuania.
Engorged Supreme Court
Mrs. Janina Stripeikiené, President of the civil chamber of the Supreme Court, received the delegation of the UIHJ and the Chamber of the judicial officers of Lithuania. Leo Netten made a short presentation of the UIHJ and its objectives.
The president insists on the gain a judicial officer can bring in the legal process, but also on the obligation for him to follow the rules that the law imposes on him.
Among the current problems, the president insists on the fact that many rules are defined in regulatory instructions and not in the law itself, which generates many recourses against the action of the judicial officers. Almost all of these recourses are rejected by the Court, but the latter is nevertheless submerged by these cases.
Among the most frequent problems which are submitted to the Supreme Court one finds the disputes on the remuneration of the judicial officers which, obviously, constitute a reason for recourse. Remuneration is envisaged by instructions and not by the law, which increases the legal insecurity and gives way to many recourses which appear finally unfruitful. Recalling the recommendation Rec (2003) 17 of the Council of Europe, the delegation of the UIHJ pointed out that the cost of the enforcement procedures must be proportional to the stakes and with what is necessary to carry out the court decision.
Currently the Supreme Court works on the procedure of seizure of immovable and the realization of the goods by way of auction concerning both movable and immovable. An increased role of the judicial officers would be welcome to secure the process of realization of these goods.
The delegation of the UIHJ underlined the need for an effective justice, in particular as regards the service of judicial and extrajudicial documents from one country to another within the European Union. The delegation insisted on the interest that there is to give to the judicial officers the service of the trans-border documents.
To Make Medias Aware
The mission of the UIHJ ended with a press conference which joined together the main medias (TV, Radio and written press). On this occasion, Leo Netten and Bernard Menut recalled the importance for a country such as Lithuania to a fast and efficient enforcement system for the court decisions. The investors are sensitive to the safeguarding of the Rule of law and the fast implementation of court decisions.
The public opinion cannot be satisfied with an ineffective justice. The judicial officers claim more means to achieve their missions. Let us guarantee that the discussions in progress between the ministry for justice and the chamber of the judicial officers will be able to achieve the ambitious objectives that a modern justice need.
