ENSURING THE RULE OF LAW.
CURRENT ISSUES IN LITHUANIA
Prof. Dr. Ignas Vėgėlė
Chairman of the Lithuanian Bar Association
ENSURING THE RULE OF LAW. CURRENT ISSUES IN LITHUANIA
CONTENT
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History and beyond
Organisation
Advocate’s profession
Statistics
Current reforms
Strategic goals
ENSURING THE RULE OF LAW. CURRENT ISSUES IN LITHUANIA
HISTORY AND BEYOND
• National Bar Association established on 3 December 1918.
• The advocacy institute itself may be associated with three pillars of
legal benchmarks, namely the Lithuanian Statutes dated 1529,
1566, 1588 consisting of three sets of legal documents and laws.
• Today we have unitary system of the Bar (no regional bar
associations).
• Legal acts: Law on the Bar (2004), Law on the State legal aid (2000),
Code of Ethics of Advocates (2005).
ENSURING THE RULE OF LAW. CURRENT ISSUES IN LITHUANIA
ORGANISATION OF BAR (1)
The Lithuanian Bar Association is a public legal entity.
Self-governing bodies:
• General Meeting of Advocates
• The Bar Council of the Lithuanian Bar Association
• The Court of Honour
• The Audit Commission
Committees:
• Disciplinary Committee
• Civil and Civil Procedure Law Committee
• Criminal and Criminal Procedure Law Committee
• IT Committee
• State Legal Aid Committee
Groups: e.g. The group of experts to draft a new Code of Ethics, etc.
ENSURING THE RULE OF LAW. CURRENT ISSUES IN LITHUANIA
THE BAR COUNCIL
The Bar Council is a body comprised of 11 elected advocates
for 4 years. Members of the Council are elected at the
General Meeting for 4 years from the advocates having at
least 10 years of advocate’s practice.
The Bar Council meets once per month unless urgency
requires.
Mission of the Bar Council - to seek optimal balance between
various groups and interests of advocates, to foster traditions
of the Bar, its contemporary needs and expectations, to
ensure the availability of legal protection and the quality of
legal services.
ENSURING THE RULE OF LAW. CURRENT ISSUES IN LITHUANIA
ADVOCATE’S PROFESSION
Legal services provided by advocates:
• legal advising
• preparation of legal, procedural documents
• representation on legal issues
• defence and representation in courts.
An advocate can provide services as an administrator of bankruptcy,
restructuring, property or inheritance, a lobbyist, a liquidator, a curator, an
executor of a will, a trustee of property, a patent trustee, as well as to act as
an arbiter, a mediator, a conciliator or a legal expert in commercial disputes
for remuneration. These professionals may be the members of the governing
or supervisory body, work at all levels of the election, referendum
commissions, municipal councils, they also may be members of commissions
to which advocates are delegated by the Parliament, the President or the
Government. Advocates collaborate and engage in working panels for
drafting legislation, offering research services for drafting legal acts.
ENSURING THE RULE OF LAW. CURRENT ISSUES IN LITHUANIA
STATISTICS (1)
Free legal professionals
-Advocates: 2074 (female– 38,4 %)
-Assistant advocates: 845 (female – 53,8 %)
-Bailiffs: 126
-Notaries: 133
Civil servants
-Judges: 779
-Prosecutors: 717
-Statutory police officers, investigators: 9500
Membership fees /Eur per year/
-Entrance fee (one-time fee): 500 Eur
-Fee for practicing advocates: 347,52 Eur*
-Fee for practicing advocates‘ assistants:
243,24 Eur*
-Fee for non-practicing advocates (from 0107-2015): 132 Eur
Other
-Advocates practising in Vilnius: 1243 (60 %)
-The average age of advocates is 47.1 years
-1 advocate for 1404 inhabitants
-13 EU lawyers
*Exceptions apply
ENSURING THE RULE OF LAW. CURRENT ISSUES IN LITHUANIA
STATISTICS (2)
ENSURING THE RULE OF LAW. CURRENT ISSUES IN LITHUANIA
STATISTICS (3)
STRUCTURE OF THE LAW FIRMS (% from the total number of
advocates)
1 adv.
2 adv.
3 adv.
4 adv.
2.83%
5 - 10 adv.
1.13%
4.71%
11.22%
11 - 20 adv.
0.28%
0.19%
3.68%
75.97%
21 - 30 adv.
31 - 54 adv.
ENSURING THE RULE OF LAW. CURRENT ISSUES IN LITHUANIA
THE RULE OF LAW: STATE LEGAL AID
There was a state’s debt of 1 mEur to advocates providing state
legal aid in 2013. That situation threatened the quality of the state
legal aid.
Under the initiative of the Lithuanian Bar Association, the debt is
eliminated. The Association is working on to increase the
remuneration to advocates.
New Commission on the state legal aid under the Lithuanian Bar
Association was created.
The new rules on administration of the state legal aid as well as
rules on provision of state legal aid are currently under
development.
ENSURING THE RULE OF LAW. CURRENT ISSUES IN LITHUANIA
THE RULE OF LAW: COMMON EXAM
The law on Common Qualification Exam was drafted, adopted by
the Government and will be discussed in the Parliament.
The draft law envisages common unified exam for all legal
professions present at courts – judges, prosecutors and advocates
(notaries and bailiffs opted out).
Pros: better understanding between the professions, easier to
swich to the other profession.
Contra: the exams differ dramatically
ENSURING THE RULE OF LAW. CURRENT ISSUES IN LITHUANIA
THE RULE OF LAW: ACCESS TO THE
DETAINEE (1)
The Order of the Director of the Prisons department: the advocate
may get access to the detainee only after he/she is approved in
that case by the prosecutor (2014).
The Order withdrawn (2015).
ENSURING THE RULE OF LAW. CURRENT ISSUES IN LITHUANIA
THE RULE OF LAW: ACCESS TO THE
DETAINEE (2)
Directive 2013/48/EU of 22 October 2013 on the right of access to
a lawyer in criminal proceedings and in European arrest warrant
proceedings …
The right to a fair trial:
Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU;
Article 6 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms;
Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
ENSURING THE RULE OF LAW. CURRENT ISSUES IN LITHUANIA
THE RULE OF LAW: ELECTRONIC PRE-TRAIL
CASES (E-CASE)
All the pre-trial investigation shall become electronic (E-CASE);
Participation of the Lithuanian Bar Association in the E-CASE
project was deemed unnecessary.
The actions of the Lithuanian Bar Association ensured:
• The suspension of the project due to the infringement of the
right to a fair trial;
• Amendment of the Code on the Penal Procedure ensuring the
mandatory consent of the Bar Council to any legislation related
to E-CASE.
ENSURING THE RULE OF LAW. CURRENT ISSUES IN LITHUANIA
THE RULE OF LAW: CHALLENGES IN
CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS
More to be done in the criminal proceedings:
• Ensuring the adversarial process through various means (e.g.,
strengthening the rights of advocate, access to various
databases, inclusion of the prie-trial data to the file and etc.);
• Changing public attitude to the advocate;
• Strengthening the self-governance and administration of the
Bar.
ENSURING THE RULE OF LAW. CURRENT ISSUES IN LITHUANIA
OTHER REFORMS: STRENGTHENING THE SELF GOVERNANCE
As of 2016: Lithuanian Bar Association will be pre-trial authority in
the disputes between clients and advocates regarding standard
unfair contractual terms of legal services contract (following the
decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union, case C537/13)
The Council of the Lithuanian Bar Association shall nominate 3
members and 2 members will be nominated by the Minister of
Justice to the Commission for prie-trial authority on the disputes
between clients and advocates.
ENSURING THE RULE OF LAW. CURRENT ISSUES IN LITHUANIA
OTHER REFORMS: MINIMIZING FINANCIAL
BURDEN FOR WINNING PARTY IN CIVIL CASES
Recommendations on the Fees Adjudicated in Civil Cases (Order of
the Minister of Justice, 2004). The courts follows the
recommendations as if it is mandatory legislation.
Amendments to the Recommendations on the Fees Adjudicated in
Civil Cases (Order of the Minister of Justice, 2015):
• Adjudicated fee levels increased significantly (approx. 2-3
times).
ENSURING THE RULE OF LAW. CURRENT ISSUES IN LITHUANIA
OTHER REFORMS. STRENGTHENING OF A POSITION
OF ADVOCATE IN CIVIL AND ADMINISTRATIVE
PROCEDURE
According to the draft law on the Code of Civil Procedure, only
advocates may represent clients at courts.*
Similar norms in the draft law on the Procedure of Administrative
Cases.*
Both laws were approved by the Government and await the
decision of the Parliament.
*Minor exceptions apply (for e.g., other persons having law university degree in
exceptional cases).
ENSURING THE RULE OF LAW. CURRENT ISSUES IN LITHUANIA
OTHER REFORMS
• Modernisation of Lithuanian Bar Association database and
integration with the other databases;
• Development of the internal e-services: self-service, advocate’s
profile, data management system;
• Development of e-archive services;
• Planning to participate in the project regarding digitalisation of
state legal aid procedures (e-legal aid);
• Participation in the project (CCBE level) regarding CCBE lawyers
professional identity card.
ENSURING THE RULE OF LAW. CURRENT ISSUES IN LITHUANIA
STRATEGIC GOALS (1)
• Preparation of the new code of ethics;
• Preparation of the new disputes resolution procedures
(between advocates and clients);
• Preparation of the new qualification and training procedures;
• Modernisation and integration of IT systems;
• Better administration, communication and management.
ENSURING THE RULE OF LAW. CURRENT ISSUES IN LITHUANIA
STRATEGIC GOALS (2)
• Pro-bono development and implementation.
• Centralised insurance for advocates /mandatory versus
voluntary/
• Better social guarantees (today – no sickness benefits, low
pensions, no professional pension funds).
• The broad intercultural competence and leadership of
advocates in the geographical region.
ENSURING THE RULE OF LAW. CURRENT ISSUES IN
LITHUANIA
THANK YOU!