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Recognition of foreign judgments and arbitral awards

Some clients having received favorable judgments in foreign jurisdictions contemplate how they should be enforced in Lithuania. We draft relevant court documentation and assist our clients in recognising foreign judgments and arbitral awards in Lithuania. We act both on claimants and defendants, when they argue that the foreign court ruling or arbitral award has to be recognized or such recognition has to be denied in Lithuania.  

Knowledge & Insights

Recognition rules

A final and conclusive judgment given by the courts of EU countries would be recognized and enforceable in the Republic of Lithuania in accordance with the Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, which is binding in its entirety and directly applicable in the Republic of Lithuania, and applicable rules of the Civil Procedure Code of the Republic of Lithuania. 

 Lithuanian Code for Civil Procedure specifies for different recognition procedures for judgment adopted by the courts from the EU countries and non-EU countries. A foreign judgment would normally be recognized in Lithuania, unless: 

Foreign arbitral awards shall be valid and enforceable in the Republic of Lithuania in accordance with the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. 

Applications for recognition

The Lithuanian Court of Appeal handles the questions whether foreign court rulings and arbitral awards have to be enforced in Lithuania. Also, the Lithuanian Court of Appeal handles the question whether foreign court ruling or arbitral awards have to be denied recognition in the Republic of Lithuania.  

 An application to recognize a foreign court ruling has to be made to the Lithuanian Court of Appeal. The application to recognize or refuse to recognize a foreign court ruling or an arbitral award must be appended with:

 Relevant court ruling or an arbitral award including its translation into Lithuanian. If the court ruling is issued by a country that is the signatory to The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents of 5 October 1961, such court ruling must be apostilled. The rulings of the EU countries to be recognized under the Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 must be confirmed by the court or governmental authorities that these rulings are authentic and  are enforceable in the respective jurisdictions;

Šulija Partners Law Firm Vilnius, registered office Jogailos street 11, Vilnius, LT-01116, Lithuania, fax +370 52051926, e-mail: info@SulijaPartners.com

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