Užsienio teismų sprendimų pripažinimas Lietuvos apeliacinio teismo praktikoje

LTStraipsnyje nagrinėjama užsienio teismų sprendimų pripažinimo ir leidimo vykdyti problematika. Analizuojamas šios srities teisinis reguliavimas, kreipimosi dėl užsienio teismų sprendimų pripažinimo ir leidimo vykdyti tvarka ir tokių prašymų nagrinėjimas Lietuvos apeliaciniame teisme. Vertinama neretai praktikoje pasitaikanti problema - netinkamas informavimas apie užsienio valstybės teisme vykusį teismo procesą, kuri gali lemti sprendimo nepripažinimą. Taip pat analizuojamos išimtys, kai užsienio teismų sprendimų pripažinimo procedūra nėra taikoma. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Tarptautinis civilinis procesas; Užsienio teismo sprendimų pripažinimas ir vykdymas; Teisė į teisingą teismo procesą; International civil procedure; Recognition and enforcement of foreign judgment; Right to fair trial.

ENThe Article examines the procedure of recognition of foreign judgments in the case law of the Court of Appeal of Lithuania. The gradual abolition of exequatur in the European Union law has reduced the number of cases of recognition of judgments rendered by the courts of the European Union Member States. However, this procedure is still relevant and raises various issues in practice. The Court of Appeal of Lithuania enjoys special jurisdiction to examine applications for recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments in the Republic of Lithuania. Also, the procedure of recognition of foreign judgments is regulated by the special rules established in the Code of Civil Procedure of the Republic of Lithuania and the special law, which regulates this procedure in detail. The authors suggest that the examination of an application for recognition of foreign judgments cannot be considered as an appeal procedure because it begins without proceedings before the court of first instance. Another peculiarity of such procedure is the competence of the court. The Court of Appeal of Lithuania does not assess the merits of the foreign judgment, which has to be recognized. It means that in such cases the Court of Appeal of Lithuania does not examine how the foreign court applied substantive and procedural rules. Therefore, the court only examines only the relevant criteria for non-recognition established in international, European Union or national law. For instance, Article 810 (1) of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Republic of Lithuania establishes the grounds for non-recognition of a foreign judgment. One of the practical problems of recognition of foreign judgments is a failure of notification of the parties by the court of origin. The Article examines what is the standard of a proper notification of the parties and the right to a fair trial in recent cases.The authors have found that in such cases the Court of Appeal of Lithuania analyses whether the court of origin ensured that the person knew (should have known) about the court proceedings and the manner and time of informing and service of procedural documents did not prevent this person from effectively exercising the rights established in the procedural legal acts of a foreign state. Also, the Article examines exceptions established in the Code of Civil Procedure of the Republic of Lithuania when recognition of a foreign judgment is not required. The procedure for recognition is intended for judgments that require enforcement measures to be undertaken in the Republic of Lithuania. Accordingly, if a judgment does not require enforcement measures, the court shall refuse to accept the application for recognition of a foreign judgment as inadmissible. The exceptions when recognition of a foreign judgment is not required intend to facilitate and expedite the international civil process and the protection of individual rights. [From the publication]