68.9 thousand new claims for forced debt recovery were submitted to judicial officers during the first six months in 2020. This is 39 percent less than during the same period last year.
Amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure will enter into force on 1 July, which will speed up and reduce the cost of informing participants in the forced debt recovery process.
During the past five weeks of quarantine, the possibilities of actual debt recovery in Lithuania have decreased by half. Judging by the statistics of judicial officers, approximately 4.3 million euros of debts will not be paid to creditors in April, i.e. the amount of returned debts will be 4.3 million euros less than the usual amount repaid within a month prior to the declaration of an emergency. In March, the amount of actually recovered debts decreased by about 15 percent which is approximately 645 thousand euros.
Despite the quarantine restrictions, the 20th meeting of Lithuanian judicial officers took place. The members of the association could not meet in one hall, but all important issues were resolved by electronic voting on April 17.
After transitioning to working remotely as of March 16, judicial officers are continuing to provide most of their regular services to creditors and debtors during the quarantine period. They are aware of the fact that this temporary emergency and quarantine do not eliminate their professional duty to perform functions assigned by the state and help parties to civil proceedings ensure their interests.
Compared to the former judicial officers' system, the advantage of judicial officers' system of the liberal Moldova reformed in 2010 is already beyond doubt. The challenge today is to form clear criteria for measuring the efficiency of activities of private judicial officers and continue the modernisation of debt recovery procedures.
In 2019, judicial officers returned to creditors nearly 103.7 million euros debts. That is 53 percent, or 36 million euros more than recovered in 2018. 89.9 million euros returned to private persons, 13.8 million euros – for public authorities.
Initiated by the International Union of Judicial Officers (UIHJ), the Global Code for the Enforcement of Digital Assets aims to accelerate the development of practical recovery tools for various types of digital property.
Arbitration courts can be superior to state courts in shorter and simpler dispute resolution processes. However, effective arbitration procedures are necessary for the successful party to have a real practical outcome.
Without new information technology, further development of the Ukrainian private enforcement system is impossible. Private judicial officers in Ukraine is seeking effective debt recovery and it is useful to listen to the advice of their successful European colleagues. Such insights were expressed during international conference "New Challenges of the Private Bailiff's Profession" which took place in Odessa, Ukraine on the 26th of July, 2019.