Procedural Rights in Lithuanian Administrative Law – Resistance Fuelled by the Past?

Abstract

Despite the prevailing trend towards the codification of administrative procedures on the European plane – both on supranational and domestic levels –, the Lithuanian legal system stays immune to it. The purpose of this article is, hence, to explore the underlying reasons for the said resistance towards a clear enunciation of procedural rights on statutory level as well as its more practical implications in Lithuania. Namely, the main focus lies on the analysis of the said deficiencies as reflected by the administrative case law. In order to reach this goal, firstly, the (somewhat limited) notion of administrative procedure found in the legal framework of Lithuania is dissected and compared to respective notions found in few other legal systems of EU Member States boasting more comprehensive codifications of administrative procedure. Secondly, the relevant administrative case law in which the paradigmatic examples of procedural rights (such as the right to be heard and access to one's file) can be found is analysed. In the end, the reasons of the said resistance towards codification of procedural rights in the Lithuanian legal system are offered together with a reflection on whether that can still be justified in view of the results revealed by the case law analysis, or whether the time to innovate has come and the more coherent and logically-organized system of administrative procedure is needed.