Judicial officers: the amount of repayable debts is increasing and the flow of new debts is stable

During the first half of 2023, the judicial officers returned 139 million euros of debts to the creditors. This is 28 percent more than in January-June 2022. 27.7 million euros were returned to the state institutions and 111.3 million euros to the private individuals and legal entities.

From the beginning of this year until the 1^st of July, 121 000 enforcement cases were completed in the judicial officers' offices, of which 60 percent was completed in full. In these cases, the creditors recovered all the debts claimed.

After the sharp fluctuations caused by the pandemic, the overall flow of new debt has remained stable recently. According to the data of the Judicial officers ' information system, 110 100 new claims for debt recovery were submitted to the judicial officers during six months of this year. This indicator is only 0.7 percent higher than in the corresponding period of 2022. The number of individuals, whose unpaid obligations require the creditors to turn to the judicial officers also remains similar. There were 60 475 such debtors in the first half of 2023, or 0.7 percent less compared to the first half of 2022.

However, there are clear changes in the structure of new debts. There was a record-breaking increase of 38 percent in new claims for maintenance (so-called alimony). The reason for this is the avoidance of maintenance payers from indexing periodic payments and paying significantly higher amounts. As of the 1^st of February, 2023, the consumer price index has been increased to 121.7 due to double-digit inflation, so maintenance payments determined in a fixed amount (in money) must be increased by 21.7 percent. When an amicable agreement on indexing fails, debt collectors (most of whom are mothers, who raise children) have to turn to the judicial officers for help.

There has been a noticeable increase in demands to collect unpaid administrative fines. In January-June of this year, 42 400 enforcement documents of this category were submitted to the judicial officers, or 9.4 percent more than in the first half of 2022.

The total amount of debts for which the creditors turned to the judicial officers during the first half of this year amounted to 274.4 million euros. Compared to the data of the first half of 2022, the amount of new demanded debts decreased by six percent. According to the judicial officers, recently there are fewer applications for five- or six-figure debts. It is more financially beneficial for owners of appreciating real property to sell such property themselves and settle their creditors on their own, rather than waiting for a forced realization process. During the first six months of 2023, only 463 objects of loaned property were sold through the auctions, or 41 percent less than during the corresponding period of 2022.

In total, in the first half of 2023, 1.6 million enforced decision enforcement processes initiated in various periods were carried out in the Lithuanian judicial officers ' offices. Among them – 821 000 processes initiated according to the requirements of state institutions and 759 200 processes initiated by private individuals and legal entities.

Currently, 108 judicial officers and more than 600 hired employees (assistant judicial officers, lawyers, administrators, and others) work in the Lithuanian enforcement system. There are 93 judicial officers ' offices and eight branches of judicial officers' offices.

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