Poland considers electronic judicial officer that is taking root in Lithuania as an example to follow

From L. to R.: S. Vircickas, the representative of the Chamber of Judicial Officers of Lithuania, V. Nekrošius, the professor and habilitated doctor of Vilnius University Faculty of Law, I. Gaidelis and R. Gražienė, members of the Court of Honour of Judicial Officers, D. Satkauskienė, director of the Chamber of Judicial Officers of Lithuania, S. Vaicekauskienė, member of the presidium of the Chamber of Judicial Officers of Lithuania, I. Karalienė, Chairwoman of the of the presidium of the Chamber of Judicial Officers of Lithuania, R. Fronczek, the President of the Chamber of Judicial Officers of Poland, M. Borek, Directof of the Science and Training Centre of the Chamber of Judicial Officers of Poland, V. Čeglikas and L. Jankauskas, representatives of the the Chamber of Judicial Officers of Lithuania, S. Kastanauskienė, member of the presidium of the Chamber of Judicial Officers of Lithuania, A. Adomaitienė, member of of the Court of Honour of Judicial Officers

The variety of electronic procedures of enforcement of decisions installed in Lithuania and their practical benefit is an example to follow for Poland where modernisation of activities of judicial officers is also gaining pace.

On 24 March this was stressed in the international conference Transfer of Enforcement of Decision Online. Experience of Poland and Lithuania which took place in Warsaw.

The transfer of auctions online shall be attributed to the principle changes of enforcement process in Lithuania.

According to the Chairwoman of Presidium of the Chamber of Judicial Officers of Lithuania Inga Karalienė, the conference enriched law scientists and practitioners in both countries by new ideas and decisions. According to the President of the Chamber of Judicial Officers of Poland Rafał Fronczek, the experience of Lithuanian judicial officers will help the Polish judicial officers to develop further directions for improvement of the system of enforcement of decisions. 

The professor and habilitated doctor of Vilnius University Faculty of Law Vytautas Nekrošius presented the participants of the conference with the status of judicial officers in Lithuania and the limits of their competences. He believes that the scope of legal services provided by judicial officers should be increased because Lithuanian judicial officers are recognized as qualified professionals in this field. 

“Modern electronic services ensure the transparency and efficiency of enforcement of decisions, as well as better protection of interests of the parties to the process”, stressed the manager of the Chamber of Judicial Officers of Lithuania Dovilė Satkauskienė when speaking about information systems applied in activities of judicial officers.  

Modern information system of judicial officers became the basis for creation and installation of new electronic procedures in Lithuania, such as electronic seizure of the debtor’s funds or electronic auction open since 2013 where movable and immovable property is sold. As a whole various measures and procedures are gradually turning into electronic enforcement: already 70% of functionalities of electronic enforcement are operating, residents and business subjects acquire the possibility to participate at a distance in the processes carried out by judicial officers.

During the conference the representatives of the Chamber of Judicial Officers of Lithuania presented unprecedented Information System of Cash-Flow Restrictions (PLAIS) that distributes recovered funds proportionally to all debt collectors and significantly reduces the extents of paper documents.

The member of the Chamber of Judicial Officers of Lithuania and the judicial officer Sonata Vaicekauskienė explained to the participants of the conference how the Social Support Information System for Families (SPIS) helps judicial officers to determine the provenance of funds paid to disadvantaged persons and allows the recipients to use the social support intended for them continuously.    

During the conference the judicial officer Valdas Čeglikas and the judicial officer and the member of the Chamber of Judicial Officers of Lithuania Vitalis Milevičius revealed the principles of organization of electronic auctions installed in Lithuania, the order of enforcement and the advantages of electronic services. One of the most important ones is that the sales of debtors’ assets increased by 20% in comparison to auctions previously carried out at the offices of judicial officers. 29 738 auctions in total were announced in Lithuania during the period from 2013 to 2017. 6 615 auctions took place where the assets worth 175 957 729 Euro were sold. The price of sold assets was increased from 20% to 150% (0.2‒2.5 times).

As stressed by the chairwoman of the Division of Civil Proceedings of the Court of Appeal of Lithuania professor Egidija Tamošiūnienė, the transfer of auctions online shall be attributed to the principle changes of enforcement process in Lithuania.  Enforced realisation of assets became transparent and accessible to everyone, the possibility to sell assets at the auction for the highest possible price is also ensured.   

Chairwoman of Presidium of the Chamber of Judicial Officers of Lithuania Inga Karalienė introduced Polish colleagues with the development of regulation of charges of enforcement of decisions and the principles of their establishment in Lithuania. The necessity to justify the costs of enforcement of decisions by economic calculations was established by the Law on Judicial Officers since 1 April 2009. It was defined that the costs of enforcement must ensure economic independence of a judicial officer, encourage effective recovery, create proper conditions of client services, etc. Such regulation of charges creates possibilities for smooth and continuous operation of system of enforcement of decisions. 

This international conference was organised in cooperation with Vilnius and Szczecin Universities, the Chamber of Judicial Officers of Poland, Science and Training Centre of Chamber of Judicial Officers of Poland and the Chamber of Judicial Officers of Lithuania.

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