Official translation
REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
LAW ON BAILIFFS
9 May 2002, No. IX-876,
Vilnius
CHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Purpose of the Law
This Law shall regulate the procedure of granting, revocation and termination of powers, professional rights and duties of bailiffs, the system of bailiffs’ self-governance as well as other relations relating to bailiffs’ activities.
Article 2. Bailiff
1. A bailiff shall be a person authorised by the State, empowered by it to perform the functions of enforcement of writs of execution, to make material ascertainments on the factual circumstances, to serve proceedings and carry out any other functions provided by law. A bailiff may provide the services set forth in this Law unless this interferes with the performance of the bailiff’s functions (hereinafter “his functions”).
2. Bailiffs shall be appointed and dismissed by the Minister of Justice, according to the procedure specified by this Law.
Article 3. Principles of Bailiffs’ Activities
1. In carrying out their functions, bailiffs must adhere to the principles of lawfulness, co-operation and democracy of bailiffs’ activities as well as to the principles of civil procedure. A bailiff must carry out his professional duties in good faith, maintain confidentiality in respect of circumstances of a person's private life, protect commercial secrets and any other statutory secrets that come to his knowledge in the course of his duties. In enforcing writs of execution, the bailiff must use all lawful remedies to protect adequately the interests of the plaintiff, without violating the rights and lawful interests of other parties to the enforcement procedure.
Article 4. Requirements Imposed on Persons Seeking to Practice the Profession of Bailiff
1. A person may be appointed a bailiff if he is a national of the Republic of Lithuania, a person of high moral character, the holder of a university degree in law (single cycle, bachelor’s or master’s degree), has served as an assistant bailiff for at least one year after winning a public tender or has practised law for at least five years after winning a public tender. A person holding a degree of Doctor of Social Sciences (Law) or Habil. Doctor of Social Sciences (Law), after winning a public tender may be appointed bailiff without an examination.
Article 5. High Moral Character
A person may not be held to be of high moral character, if he:
1) has been convicted of a serious or grave crime, irrespective of whether or not the conviction has expired;
2) has been sentenced for a misdemeanour, a minor or serious wilful crime or crime of negligence and the conviction has not yet expired;
4) his conduct or activity is incompatible with the requirements of the Bailiffs' Code of Professional Ethics;
5) has been dismissed for professional misconduct or misconduct in office from the office of a judge, prosecutor, lawyer, lawyer’s assistant, notary, assessor, a notary's agent, a court bailiff, a bailiff, a bailiff's agent, an assistant bailiff or a civil servant where less than three years have passed since the dismissal.
Article 6. Public Tender of Bailiffs
1. A public tender shall be held for persons seeking admission to the profession and to perform the duties of .bailiff. The tender shall be announced by the Ministry of Justice.
2. A public tender for bailiffs shall consist of a bailiff's qualification examination and evaluation of advantages of the applicants. The programme of the bailiff’s qualification examination shall be approved by the Minister of Justice.
3. A public tender for bailiffs shall be held by the Commission of Public Tender of Bailiffs. The Commission shall be formed, its regulations and the Procedure of the Public Tender for Bailiffs shall be approved by the Minister of Justice. The Commission of Public Tender for Bailiffs shall be provided services and support in its activities by the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuanians. The Commission shall be composed of five members, three of whom, the Chairman included, shall be appointed by the Minister of Justice, and two members - by the Presidium of the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania.
4. Persons meeting the qualification requirements set out in this Law, after filing the documents specified in the Procedure of Public Tender for Bailiffs with the Ministry of Justice and payment of a set fee to the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania are eligible to take part in the tender. The fee may not exceed the administrative expenses of the public tender for bailiffs.
Article 7. Approval of the Results of Public Tender
1. The Commission of Public Tender for Bailiffs shall submit the tender results for the approval by the Minister of Justice. The results of public tender for bailiffs shall be approved by an order indicating the winner/s.
2. The Minister of Justice may refuse to approve the results of a public tender for bailiffs, if it is established that the public tender was held in violation of the requirements set out in this Law or the Procedure of Public Tender for Bailiffs.
Article 8. Right to Engage in Business as Bailiff
1. The winners of the tender shall have a right to engage in business as bailiffs provided they are covered by insurance against civil liability in accordance with the procedure laid down by this Law, have been appointed bailiffs by the order of the Minister of Justice and have sworn an oath in accordance with the procedure laid down by this Law.
2. Within three months after the results of the public tender for bailiffs have been approved, the winner must establish a bailiff's office that meets all the prescribed requirements or must conclude a partnership agreement to conduct business at a bailiffs' office, pay a fixed premium for third party liability insurance to the Lithuanian Chamber of Bailiffs and submit documentary proof thereof to the Ministry of Justice.
3. The winner of the public tender for bailiffs, meeting the requirements set out in paragraph 2 of this Article, shall be appointed bailiff by order of the Minister of Justice within ten days after submitting the documents evidencing he has met the aforesaid requirements.
4. After swearing an oath, the person appointed a bailiff shall be included in the List of Bailiffs of Lithuania, issued a certificate confirming his right to engage in business as a bailiff, a bailiff's license and a badge.
5. The Lithuanian List of Bailiffs shall be made and administered by the Ministry of Justice. The Lithuanian List of Bailiffs shall be announced by the Minister of Justice and published in the "Valstybės Žinios"(Official Gazette).
6. An order of the Minister of Justice to appoint or to refuse to appoint a person bailiff may be appealed against to court in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Law on Administrative Proceedings.
Article 9. Bailiff's Oath
1. Before he starts the practice of his profession as a bailiff, a person, at least within two months from his appointment as a bailiff, shall swear an oath. The oath shall be sworn to the Minister of Justice.
2. The text of the oath shall be as follows:
4. After swearing the oath the bailiff shall sign the text of the oath. The text of the oath shall be kept in his personal file.
Article 10. Limitations on Bailiff’s Activities
When acting as a bailiff under this Law, the person may not hold any other paid position at enterprises, agencies and organisations or be engaged in any other work, with the exception of service at the institutions of bailiffs' self-governance, or research, creative work or teaching.
Article 11. Suspension of Bailiff's Powers
1. A bailiff's powers may be suspended by order of the Minister of Justice, if:
1) the bailiff is committed for trial. A bailiff's powers shall be suspended until the judgement in a criminal case becomes effective. If the criminal case is discontinued or the acquittal becomes effective, the bailiff's powers shall be renewed by order of the Minister of Justice;
2) during the inspection of the bailiff’s activities serious breaches were disclosed in processing, safe-keeping and disposal of moneys or other valuables given into the bailiff’s custody or received by him in the process of performance of the functions defined in this Law and, as a result, disciplinary proceedings against him were instituted. In this case, the bailiff's powera may be suspended until the completion of the disciplinary proceedings;
2. The order of the Minister of Justice to suspend the bailiff's powers may be appealed against to court under the procedure set out in the Law on Administrative Proceedings. An appeal against the order of the Minister of Justice to suspend the bailiff's powers shall not suspend enforcement of this Law.
3. The bailiff's powers may be also suspended under the procedure and grounds provided by other laws.
Article 12. Termination of Bailiff's Powers
1. The bailiff's powers shall be terminated:
2. A person shall be dismissed from the bailiff’s position in the following cases:
3) if, in the opinion of a medical commission, he is unable to work as a bailiff for health reasons;
7) upon reaching the age of 65 and where his powers have not been extended by the Minister of Justice, having regard to the results of his performance evaluation and health examination. The bailiff's powers may not be extended for a period longer than until he reaches the age of 70;
8) where, upon his appointment a bailiff, he fails to take an oath within two months after his appointment;
3. A bailiff shall be dismissed by order of the Minister of Justice. Upon termination of the bailiff's powers, the person shall be cancelled from the List of Bailiffs of Lithuania.
4. The order of the Minister of Justice to dismiss a person from the bailiff’s position may be appealed against to court under the procedure specified in the Law on Administrative Proceedings.
5. After termination of the bailiff's powers, pending cases of execution and other documents, moneys recovered but not paid down or property seized but not transferred to the plaintiff shall be passed to another bailiff/s following the procedure determined by the Minister of Justice, while all the records of the bailiff shall be transferred to the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania, following the procedure defined by the Minister of Justice. The Bailiffs Chamber must ensure that the actions indicated in this Article will be performed and the termination of employment relations of the bailiff's staff under law shall be duly executed.
Article 13. Procedure of Disciplinary Proceedings against Bailiffs/ Bailiff's Assistants
1. The bailiff/ bailiff's assistant may incur disciplinary liability provided by this Law for an act or omission committed during practice of his profession.
2. Disciplinary proceedings against a bailiff may be instituted by the Minister of Justice or the Presidium of the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania. Disciplinary proceedings against an assistant bailiff may be instituted by the Minister of Justice or the Presidium of the of Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania upon its own initiative or on the recommendation of the bailiff with whom the bailiff's assistant has concluded a contract of employment. Disciplinary proceedings against the bailiff/ bailiff's assistant must be instituted within three months from the date of disclosure of the violation. The time during which the bailiff/ bailiff's assistant was ill or on leave shall not be included in that period.
3. In cases set forth in Article 11, paragraph 1(2), the hearing of the disciplinary case against the bailiff must not last longer than thirty days from the date of institution of the proceedings.
4. Disciplinary proceedings against the bailiff/ bailiff's assistant may not be instituted later than one year after the date of the violation.
5. If it becomes known that the violation may have elements of a criminal act, the case shall be referred for investigation to relevant authorities; this, however, shall not interrupt instituting disciplinary proceedings or hearing of the case.
6. Disciplinary proceedings against bailiffs/ bailiff's assistants shall be heard by the Bailiffs' Court of Honour. The procedure for instituting and conducting disciplinary proceedings shall be defined by the regulations for instituting and conducting disciplinary proceedings which shall be approved by the Minister of Justice.
Article 14. Procedure for Imposing Disciplinary Sanctions
1. After hearing of a disciplinary case, the Bailiffs' Court of Honour shall adopt one of the following decisions:
1) to discontinue disciplinary proceedings if the fact of the violation has not been established or if it becomes known that the deadline for instituting proceedings has been missed;
2. When taking a decision, the nature and circumstances of the violation as well as the existing disciplinary sanctions imposed on the bailiff/ bailiff's assistant earlier and previous hearings of disciplinary proceedings shall be taken into account.
3. A sanction shall be imposed on the bailiff/ bailiff's assistant by order of the Minister of Justice, on the recommendation of the Bailiffs' Court of Honour. The Minister of Justice may impose a milder sanction than recommended, or refuse to impose it at all. .
4. The disciplinary sanction shall remain in force for a period of one year from the date of its imposition.
Article 15. Disciplinary Sanctions
1. The following disciplinary sanctions may be imposed upon bailiffs:
3) deprivation of the right to provide services indicated in paragraph 2 of Article 21 for a period of up to six months;
Article 16. Liability of Bailiffs
1. The bailiff shall be held liable for damage caused by him or a member of his staff in accordance with the procedure provided by law. Compensation for damage must also be paid by a person whose powers as bailiff have terminated.
Article 17. Third Party Liability Insurance of Bailiffs
1. Professional third party liability of bailiffs for damage caused to natural or legal persons in the performance of the bailiff’s functions in the amount of more than LTL 1,000 shall be covered by compulsory insurance.
2. Compulsory insurance of a bailiff against professional third party liability shall cover a bailiff’s third party liability for damage caused in the performance of bailiff’s functions by illegal actions of a bailiff, his agent, bailiff's assistant or a member of his staff.
3. Bailiffs shall be covered by compulsory insurance against professional third party liability by entering into a collective professional third party liability insurance contract of all bailiffs. The Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania of shall be the policy holder of the compulsory insurance of bailiffs against professional third party liability. Each bailiff must pay a premium to the Lithuanian Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania. The premium shall not be included in the premium indicated in paragraph 5, Article 45. The minimum amount of compulsory insurance of a bailiff against professional liability shall be LTL 200, 000 for each insurance event.
4. Bailiffs may buy a policy of additional compulsory insurance against professional third party liability for damage caused in the performance of bailiff’s functions to natural or legal persons.
5. The maximum premium for compulsory insurance against professional third party liability for damage caused in the performance of bailiff’s functions to natural or legal persons shall be determined by the Government or an institution authorised by it.
6. Insurance events shall be unlawful actions (acts or omissions) committed by a bailiff, his agent, bailiff's assistants or any other members of his staff during the insurance period, resulting in damage.
7. The insurer holding a license issued by the State Insurance Supervisory Authority under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania to engage in compulsory insurance of bailiffs against professional third party liability must enter into an insurance contract of compulsory insurance of bailiffs against professional third party liability with the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania when the latter submits the application and all other documents required for entering into such a contract. The regulations of the compulsory obligatory professional third party liability insurance of bailiffs shall be defined by the Government or an institution authorised by it.
8. Damage caused in the performance of a bailiff’s functions shall be indemnified by the insurer in the form of an insurance benefit. If the insurance benefit is not enough to indemnify the damage in full, the difference between the benefit and the actual amount of damage shall be covered by the bailiff who caused damage, with the exception of the case stipulated in Article 35(6) of this Law.
Article 18. Bailiff's Office
1. One or several bailiffs shall establish a bailiff's office to practice their profession. A bailiff's office shall be his place of business. A bailiff's office shall be established within the territory assigned for a bailiff. If a bailiff's office is to be established jointly by several bailiffs, it must be located within the territory assigned for one of the bailiffs; the territories assigned for other bailiffs must be in the vicinity of the territory where a bailiff's office is to be established..
2. A bailiff's office shall not be an entity of civil legal relations, including commercial and economic relations.
3. Requirements for the place of business and office hours of a bailiff or bailiffs shall be approved by the Minister of Justice.
Article 19. Branch of Bailiff's Office
Article 20. Address and Sign of Bailiff's Office
1. Any changes in the address or other details of a bailiff's office must be communicated by the bailiff to the Ministry of Justice or published in a national daily and local newspaper, and to the court in the territory of which the bailiff carries out his functions.
Article 21. Bailiff's Functions and Other Activities
1. A bailiff must enforce judicial decisions prescribed by law that are executory, make material ascertainments issuing out of any court, serve, by court order, written proceedings issuing out of court on natural and legal persons in the Republic of Lithuania and perform any other duty prescribed by law.
2. Bailiffs may provide, under the procedure established by law, the following services:
2) to make material ascertainments, serve written proceedings issuing out of court on natural and legal persons in the Republic of Lithuania without court order;
3) to provide legal assistance other than representation in courts and in relations with third parties;
3. Provision of services must not interfere with the performance of the statutory functions of bailiffs. When providing services, the bailiff must avoid conflict of interests or other circumstances which might raise any doubts as to the fairness and impartiality of the bailiff in the performance of the statutory functions. In all cases the bailiff must give priority to the functions established by law.
4. The procedure and amount of remuneration to a bailiff for enforcement of executory documents defined by law, making material ascertainments by a court order, service of written proceedings issuing out of court by a court order to natural and legal persons in the Republic of Lithuania shall be determined by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania or an authority authorised by it.
Article 22. Bailiff’s Right to Receive Information
1. In the performance of the functions specified in Article 21, paragraph 1, a bailiff shall have a right to receive, free of charge, the necessary information from the State Tax Inspectorate under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania, agencies of the State Social Insurance Fund, cadastres and registers as well as from other natural and legal persons, including banks and other credit and financial institutions, irrespective of the form and method of providing the information, copies of documents, computer data or their copies concerning the property, funds, proceeds, expenditure and activities as well as other information necessary for the performance of the bailiff’s functions.
Article 23. Making Material Ascertainments
1. Making material ascertainments shall be a detailed statement about the circumstances, items or property and their condition in the record of material ascertainments. Material ascertainments may also be recorded by means of other, video or audio, devices. An audio or video recording of material ascertainments shall be considered a constituent part of the record of material ascertainments.
2. The bailiff shall make material ascertainements in accordance with the principles of fairness, impartiality and accurateness.
3. The record of material ascertainments drawn up by the bailiff, following the procedure prescribed by law, shall be considered an official documentary evidence.
4. When making material ascertainments at the request of natural or legal persons, the record of material ascertainments shall be made in two copies. One copy shall be issued to a person at whose request the material ascertainments have been made, while the second copy shall be kept in the bailiff’s office. An electronic version of the record of material ascertainements, with the exception of video and audio records, shall be forwarded, not later than on the next day following the date of drawing up of the record, to the data base of the Bailiffs' Information System under the procedure defined by regulations of the Bailiffs' Information System.
Article 24. Service of Written Proceedings
1. Written proceedings issuing out of court shall be served following the procedure prescribed by the Code of Civil Procedure.
2. At the request of natural and legal persons, a bailiff shall written proceedings to other natural or legal persons in the Republic of Lithuania. The procedure of service of written proceedings shall be approved by order of the Minister of Justice.
3. Written proceedings shall be served in person, by mailing a registered letter or in any other way defined in the Procedure of Service of Written Proceedings , by communicating that the written proceedings are being served by a bailiff. At the request of the issuing person , the bailiff, when serving the written proceedings may, and in cases prescribed by law, must explain to the receiver the legal consequences of service of written proceedings or refusal to accept them.
Article 25. Mediation in the performance of Property Obligations
1. Mediation in the performance of property obligations shall be aimed at ensuring recovery of debts out of court without recourse to compulsory measures. Mediation in the performance of property obligations shall cover measures aimed at performance of a property obligation by a debtor by good will or satisfying the creditor's claim in any other lawful way.
2. When providing services of mediation in the performance of property obligations, a bailiff may not resort to measures which violate or restrict a person's rights.
3. A mediation service may not be provided in the performance of property obligations unless the time period for the fulfilment of the obligation has expired or unless the creditor has supplied to the bailiff documents in proof of the existence of a property obligation to the creditor and its amount.
4. Where the debtor contests the property obligation or its amount in court, a service of mediation in the performance of property obligations may not be provided, or must be terminated where it had already started.
5. A bailiff must immediately inform the person at whose request he is providing a service of mediation in the performance of property obligations if it transpires that, owing to the actions of the debtor or of third parties and the debtor's property situation, the debt may not be recovered out of court without resorting to compulsory measures.
Article 26. Bailiff Territory
1. The territory assigned to the bailiff shall coincide with the territory of one or several court districts. The territory assigned to the bailiff shall be determined by the Minister of Justice. Several bailiffs may carry out bailiff activities within one territory.
Article 27. Control and Inspection of the Activities of Bailiff and Bailiff's Assistant
Article 27. Control and Inspection of the Activities of Bailiff and Bailiff’s Assistant
1. The lawfulness of the procedural steps of a bailiff shall be controlled by court in accordance with the procedure set out in the Code of Civil Procedure.
2. Organisation of a bailiffs work shall be inspected by the Ministry of Justice and the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania following the procedure defined by the Minister of Justice.
3. Bailiffs activities may also be inspected by other institutions under the procedure prescribed by law.
Article 28. Assistant Bailiff
1. An assistant abiliff must be a person of high moral character, a national of the Republic of Lithuania, the holder of a university degree in law, who has entered into a contract of employment with a bailiff to fill the position of an assistant bailiff and who is eligible to perform the duties of an assistant bailiff.
2. A person shall be authorised to engage in the activities of an assistant bailiff by entering his name in the list of assistant bailiffs.
3. The list of assistant bailiffs shall be made and administered by the Ministry of Justice which shall also issue certificates of assistant bailiffs. The procedure of entering a person in the list of assistant bailiffs shall be determined by the Minister of Justice.
Article 29. Withdrawal of the Authorisation to Engage in the Activities of Assistant Bailiff
1. The authorisation to engage in the activities of an assistant bailiff shall be withdrawn by cancelling the assistant bailiff from the list of assistant bailiffs:
Article 30. Rights and Duties of Assistant Bailiff
An assistant bailiff shall have a right to serve written proceedings on behalf of the bailiff and under his written authorisation, to conduct proceedings other than making material ascertainments, instituting or staying execution proceedings, returning of a writ of execution, sale of property, collocation and distribution of pecuniary assets to the plaintiffs, computation of enforcement expenses.
2. An assistant bailiff must comply with the requirements of work discipline, the Code of Bailiffs’ Professional Ethics, perform the bailiff’s instructions diligently, behave in a manner which would not be derogatory to the reputation of the profession, and report to the bailiff forthwith about fulfilment of an instruction.
Article 31. Liability of Assistant Bailiff
1. For breaches of work discipline or damage caused, an assistant bailiff shall be responsible to the bailiff with whom he has entered into a contract of employment.
Article 32. Limitations on the Activities of Assistant Bailiff
An assistant bailiff may not have any other paid position at enterprises, offices and organisations or have any other employment other than research, creative work or teaching.
Article 33. Training and In-service Training of Assistant Bailiffs
1. Training and in-service training of assistant bailiffs shall be organised by the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania.
Article 34. Notice of Non-Performance of Bailiff’s Functions
1. If a bailiff is not able to perform his functions through a leave, illness or other cause, a bailiff’s agent or an acting bailiff shall be appointed by order of the Minister of Justice.
2. A bailiff who is not able to perform his functions for more than three days through illness, leave or other cause must give a notice to the Ministry of Justice and the Presidium of the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania. If the bailiff knows he will not be able to perform his functions for predictable reasons, he must give a notice in due time to the Ministry of Justice and the Presidium of the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania. If the bailiff failed to perform his functions for a period of three days without giving any notice to the Ministry of Justice and the Presidium of the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania, the bailiff must communicate to the foregoing institutions at their request the reasons which prevented him from the performance of his functions.
Article 35. Bailiffs’ Agent
1. A person may be appointed to the position of a bailiff’s agent if he is of high moral character, a national of Lithuania, the holder of a university degree in law (basic cycle, bachelor’s or master’s degree), has passed the bailiffs’ qualification examinations, is an assistant bailiff of at least one year standing, or practising lawyer of at least five years standing. A person having a degree of Doctor in Social Sciences (Law), and Doctor Habil.(Law) may be appointed to the position of the bailiff’s agent without examinations. The bailiff’s agent shall be appointed at the request of the bailiff and the person who agrees to act as the bailiff’s agent. Where the bailiff is incapable of performing the duties of bailiff for reasons other than his own fault and is not able to submit a motivated application for appointment of his agent, the Minister of Justice, having regard to the opinion of the Presidium of the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania, shall have a right to appoint the bailiff’s agent on his own initiative.
2. A person may be appointed an agent of one bailiff only. The bailiff’s agent may be appointed for a specific period of time which may be extended, by specifying the cases when he may act as bailiff. The duties of a bailiff’s agent may be carried out by a person who has been appointed a bailiff’s agent and who has sworn an oath under the procedure defined in Article 9 of this Law. If the person swore the bailiff’s oath before his appointment as the bailiff’s agent, following the procedure defined by this Law, it shall not be necessary to swear a new oath. The bailiff instead of whom his agent has been appointed may not carry out any duties of bailiff or render any other services set forth in the Law during the period of agency.
3. Before the bailiff’s agent starts his activities, the bailiff shall sign with his agent a written agreement of agency specifying the terms and conditions of agency and remuneration for the activities. Where the bailiff’s agent is appointed on the initiative of the Minister of Justice, an agreement with the bailiff’s agent on the terms and conditions of agency as well as the remuneration for activities of agency shall be concluded by the Presidium of the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania.
4. A bailiff’s agent shall be dismissed by order of the Minister of Justice in the following cases:
5. A bailiff’s agent shall be held liable under disciplinary procedure as a bailiff. Unless the agreement specifies otherwise, the bailiff’s agent shall have all the rights and duties of the bailiff, including those of the employer. The bailiff’s agent shall be subject to limitations applicable to the bailiff’s activities according to this Law. The bailiff’s agent shall carry out all and every action on behalf of the bailiff he is representing, using the latter’s seal indicating that he is acting in the capacity of the bailiff’s agent.
6. Damage caused by the bailiff’s agent shall be indemnified out of the insurance benefit under the professional third party liability insurance of bailiffs. The uncovered damage shall be compensated jointly and severally by the bailiff and his agent under the procedure defined by the Civil Code and this Law.
Article 36. Substitution of Bailiff
1. The Minister of Justice, on the recommendation of the bailiff, may appoint, by his order, the acting bailiff for a period not longer than 14 days. Where there is no recommendation of the bailiff, another bailiff from the same bailiffs’ office, serving as bailiff in the same or a neighbouring territory may be appointed the acting bailiff.
2. If the powers of the bailiff are suspended or if the bailiff’s agent is not appointed under the procedure set out in Article 35 of this Law, the acting bailiff may be appointed on the initiative of the Minister of Justice. In the case specified in this paragraph, the acting bailiff may be appointed for a period longer than 14 days.
3. During the period of substitution, the bailiff may not perform any duties of bailiff or render any services specified in this Law.
4. The acting bailiff and the bailiff shall conclude a written agreement on the terms and conditions of substitution and remuneration for the substitution. Where the acting bailiff and the bailiff fail to agree on the terms and conditions of substitution or where the acting bailiff is appointed on the initiative of the Minster of Justice, the terms and conditions of substitution as well as the remuneration for the acting bailiff shall be fixed under the procedure prescribed by the Minister of Justice.
5. The acting bailiff shall administer the bailiff’s office and carry out all the functions of the employer and the bailiff in the manner the bailiff would have done. The acting bailiff shall be held liable for damage caused during the period of substitution under the procedure laid down in this Law.
Article 37. Recording and Storing of Data and Information Received in the Performance of Bailiff’s Duties
1. Writs of execution accepted by the bailiff for enforcement shall be entered in the general list of writs of execution. Information about the enforcement of the writs of execution, material ascertainments and service of written proceedings shall be kept at the bailiff’s office. The procedure of acceptance and enforcement of the writs execution, making material ascertainments, and service of written proceedings as well as the procedure of safe-keeping, recording, using and destroying of the documents shall be approved by the Minister of Justice.
2. The bailiff must ensure proper use and safe-keeping of information about the enforcement of writs of execution, making of material ascertainments and service of written proceedings. Information technologies such as computers, special software, data bases, data transmission networks constituting the Information System of Bailiffs may be employed for gathering, accumulation and transmission of data. The provisions and procedure of disclosure of data shall be defined by the Minister of Justice.
3. Information about circumstances of private life and professional secrets of an individual or commercial secrets of legal entities which was received or became known during the enforcement of writs of execution, making of material ascertainments or service of written proceedings may not be disclosed or made available unless it is provided by law.
4. Statements about the acts of enforcement, material ascertainments, service of written proceedings, documents or their copies made during the process of the said actions may be made available only to the persons involved in the enforcement process, to natural and legal persons at whose request material ascertainments were made or documents were served or to their legal representatives, with the exception of cases provided by law.
5. The procedure of recording and use of documents, data and information, set out in this Law shall also apply to the bailiff’s agent, bailiff’s assistant, other staff members of the bailiff’s office who get knowledge of such data or information during their employment at the bailiff’s office, also to the persons whose services as bailiff, bailiff’s assistant and staff members of the bailiff’s office were terminated.
Article 38. In-service Training
1. Bailiffs must regularly improve their qualifications. In-service training shall be organised by the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania and co-ordinated by the Ministry of Justice.
Article 39. Performance Evaluation and Health Examination of Bailiffs
1. Performance evaluation of bailiffs shall be held every three years. Performance evaluation of bailiffs shall be carried out by the Performance Evaluation Commission. The Commission shall be formed, its regulations and the procedure of evaluation shall be approved by the Minister of Justice.
2. The Performance Evaluation Commission shall be comprised of five members three of whom, the chairman included, shall be appointed by the Minister of Justice and two – by the Presidium of the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania.
Article 40. Clerical Work
1. The state language shall be used in all clerical work and procedural actions taken by a bailiff. At the request and the expense of the plaintiff or debtor, documents may be drafted in both the state language and a foreign language of the choice of the plaintiff or the debtor.
Article 41. Bailiff’s Deposit Accounts, Seal and Signature
1. A bailiff shall have a seal with the national emblem and his name. The form of the seal shall be defined by the Minister of Justice.
2. A bailiff shall have a separate deposit account/s as well as other accounts under the procedure established by law.
3. Before starting to act as bailiff, a bailiff must provide to the Ministry of Justice and the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania a sample of his seal and signature.
Article 42. Use of National Symbols
A bailiff shall use the national emblem of Lithuania on his letterforms, seal and sign.
Article 43. Bailiff’s Records
2. The model nomenclature of bailiff’s files and the procedure of keeping executory files, making of material ascertainments, service of documents, keeping of other documents and records shall be approved by the Minister of Justice subject to approval of the Archives Department of Lithuania under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 44. Prohibition of Advertising
Article 45. Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania
2. Bailiffs of the Republic of Lithuania shall unite into the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania. Its seat shall be in Vilnius.
4. The Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania shall be a legal entity. The activities of the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania shall be regulated by the Law on Associations to the extent this Law does not provide otherwise, and by the statute of the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania.
Article 46. Functions of the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania
1. The Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania shall have the following functions:
2) representation of bailiffs’ interests at state institutions, international and foreign organisations;
3) drafting of legislation on the issues relating to bailiffs’ practice and submission thereof to the Ministry of Justice;
6) administering, under the procedure prescribed by the Minister of Justice, of the records of bailiffs whose powers have expired;
Article 47. Bailiffs’ Meeting
1. The bailiffs’ meeting shall be convened by the chairman of the Presidium of the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania. The bailiffs' meeting shall be held at least once a year. An extraordinary bailiffs' meeting must be convened when at least one third of all bailiffs request it.
2. The bailiffs' meeting shall:
5) adopt regulations of the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania and the Code of Professional Ethics of Bailiffs to be published by the Minister of Justice in the "Valstybes Zinios" (Official Gazette);
6) approve on the recommendation of the Presidium of the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania the rate of dues payable to the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania;
3. More than half of all bailiffs must be present at the bailiff's meeting for it to be valid. The bailiffs' meeting shall be presided over by the Chairman of the Presidium of the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania or any other member of the Presidium assigned by the Chairman of the Presidium. Decisions of the bailiffs' meeting shall be adopted by a simple majority of the bailiffs present.. Minutes of the bailiffs' meetings shall be signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the meeting.
Article 48. Presidium of the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania
1. The Presidium of the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania shall be the managing body of the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania. It shall have five members, the Chairman of the Presidium included, elected by the bailiffs' meeting for a term of four years. A bailiff may be elected a member of the Presidium of the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania, the Chairman of the Presidium included, for no more than two terms in succession. The Chairman of the Presidium of the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania shall represent the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania.
2. The powers and standing procedure of the Presidium shall be defined by this Law and official rules of procedure of the Presidium of the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania.
3. In performing the functions assigned to the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania, the Presidium of the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania shall:
5) may request that bailiffs provide information necessary for the performance of the functions of the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania;
4. The Presidium of the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania shall recommend the Regulations of the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania approved by the meeting of bailiffs to be made public by the Minister of Justice. The Minister of Justice may refuse to make publish the Regulations of the Bailiffs Chamber of Lithuania if they contravene this Law or any other legal acts. Refusal of the Minister of Justice to publish the Regulations may be appealed against in court under the procedure defined by the Law on Administrative Proceedings.
Article 49. Bailiffs Court of Honour
1. The Bailiffs Court of Honour shall be comprised of five members, two of whom shall be elected at the bailiffs' meeting, other two shall be appointed by the Minister of Justice and one member shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Supreme Court of Lithuania.
2. Members to the Bailiffs Court of Honour shall be appointed from among bailiffs for a term of four years. A person may be elected or appointed a member of the Bailiffs Court of Honour for no more than two terms in succession.
Article 50. Coming into Force and Implementation of the Law
The procedure of coming into force and implementation of this Law shall be defined by the