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Dear clients and cooperation partners,
On 21 July 2011, at the third reading the parliament adopted amendments to the Latvian Civil Procedure Law developed to accelerate adjudication of small court claims.
The parliament approved the draft law enabling money claims and claims for maintenance where the principal amount does not exceed LVL 1,500 (approx EUR 2,135) to be reviewed in written proceedings, thus accelerating adjudication of cases and decreasing court caseloads. Upon a party’s request or when the court considers it useful, small claims can also be adjudicated at a court hearing.
The new procedure will be applied to claims where the principal debt or the total sum of payments in a money claim and claim for maintenance does not exceed LVL 1,500 on the day of filing the claim. The court judgment will not be appealable in cases of small claims but parties in the case will be allowed to challenge the judgment under cassation procedure.
The draft law also significantly amends the Civil Procedure Law in other ways. For example, the draft law states that a court will be allowed to decide on an application to extend the procedural term or to renew a delayed term in written proceedings without convening a court meeting, while the parties’ consent will not be obligatory in relation to merging civil cases. The amendments determine that experts and witnesses can be interviewed without their direct presence in court – also by video conferencing. And court documents can be supplied by electronic mail if the party concerned has formally agreed to communication with the court by electronic mail.
The Civil Procedure Law on adjudication of small civil claims is expected to come into force on 1 September 2011. The provisions will not apply for claims filed with the court on or before 31 August 2011. |
