Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania.
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Legislation
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Date of latest amendment
Abstract
The Lithuanian Civil Code regulates each person’s rights and duties, family relations, property, inheritance, damages, contracts and commercial transactions. The Civil Code consists of 6 books. Book 1 is for general provisions; Book 2 describes persons, companies and their rights; Book 3 is for family law; Book 4 establishes property rights and limitations; Book 5 deals with inheritance; and Book 6 describes all forms of contracts.
PROPERTY AND REAL RIGHTS. As mentioned, property law is contained in book four. Specifically, it regulates ways of acquisition and transfer of possession. Acquisition of possession can be in good faith or in bad faith (art. 4.26). Possession shall be deemed to be in good faith when the person who takes possession is convinced that nobody has more rights to the thing that he is taking over than himself. Possession shall be terminated when the possessor relinquishes his as possessor’s rights to the thing, i.e. when he relinquishes the actual possession of a thing or keeping it as his own, and in other cases provided by law (art. 4.31). Things are defined in article 4.1 as objects of the material world obtained from nature or manufactured. Real rights are defined as an absolute right that manifests itself by the right of the owner to implement the right of possessing, using, disposing or by some of these rights. Regarding real rights, part two of book four contains the general provisions applicable to real rights. As for ownership, it is regulated under chapter V of the book and defined as the right to manage, possess, use and dispose of an object of ownership right at one’s volition, without violating the laws and the rights and interests of other persons (art. 4.37). The owner of a land parcel shall have as his ownership the upper layer of the soil of the parcel, the construction works and the appurtenances constructed on the parcel, as well as other immovable things, if the law does not provide otherwise (4.40). The owner of a land parcel shall have the right to cut off and take such roots and branches of trees, bushes, and other vegetation growing in a neighbouring parcel as grow on his parcel, when he has requested in advance the owner of the neighbouring parcel that such removal should be carried out, establishing the timeframe for their removal and seeing the failure to remove them in the timeframe established (art. 4.42). Article 4.92. on its behalf regulates common joint ownership right of spouses. Provided no agreement has been reached on the matter and Book Three of this Code does not stipulate otherwise, common joint ownership of spouses shall also include agricultural implements acquired by the common funds of spouses. Finally, according to article 4.67, the State may expropriate a thing from an owner for the benefit of the public good, with due recompense, or without recompense, as a sanction for violation of the law, only in cases and in the order established by law.
INHERITANCE. Book 5 regulates law of succession. Succession is the devolution of property rights, duties and some other personal non-property rights of a deceased natural person to his heirs by operation of law (intestate) or/and to successors by the will (testate). The following shall be subject to succession: material objects (movable and immovable things) and non-material objects (securities, patents, trade marks, etc.) claims of patrimonial character and property obligations of the bequeather; in cases provided for by laws – intellectual property (authors’ property rights to works of literature, science and art, neighbouring property rights and rights to industrial property), as well as other property rights and duties stipulated by laws (Art. 5.1). Particularly, article 5.71 regulates inheritance of farmstead. In the instances where a division of a farmstead may destroy the farm, the priority right to get the farm and the inventory thereof shall be granted to the successor who has worked most in the inheritable farm and is inclined and prepared to engage into farming himself. In the event of a dispute, the court may schedule the compensation to other successors for the shares of the property belonging to them to be paid within the period of ten years by deciding to establish a mandatory mortgage for all the immovable things of such successor. In addition, according to article 5.73, in the event where a successor, who has inherited a farmstead pursuant to Article 5.71 of this Code, sells the farmstead before the expiry of a ten-year period from the day of inheritance, priority right to purchase the farmstead shall be awarded to the other successors if the compensation provided for in Article 5.71 has not been paid to them in full. Upon the sale of the farmstead, the other successors shall obtain the right to demand immediate payment of the remaining part of the compensation.
OBLIGATIONS AND CONTRACTS. Contract law and law of obligations are contained in book six. Specifically, part I of the book regulates obligations. According to article 6.1, an obligation is a legal relationship one party of which (debtor) shall be bound to perform for the benefit of another party (creditor) a determined action or to refrain therefrom, and the creditor shall have the right to demand from the debtor the performance of his duty. Obligations shall arise from transactions or from any other legal facts which are capable of producing obligatory relationships under the valid laws (art. 6.2). Chapter III specifies types of obligations. On the other side, Part II of the book fixes the general rules of contract law. Notably, chapter 23 regulates contracts of purchase-sale. It's worth mentioning section four, dedicated to the consumer contract of purchase-sale; and section seven (arts. 6.383 to 6.391), that regulates contracts for purchase-sale of energy. Under the contract of purchase-sale of energy (or energy resources) an energy supply enterprise undertakes to supply the subscriber (consumer) via the connected energy supply network an amount of energy of the type provided for in the contract, whereas the subscriber (consumer) obligates himself to pay for the supplied energy and comply with the energy consumption regime specified in the contract, ensuring safety of exploitation of the energy supply network and maintenance in good condition of the installations and facilities owned by him (art. 6.383). The scope of application of the contract includes supply of electricity, heat energy, gas, oil and oil products, water and other energy through the distribution network, unless the laws establish otherwise or unless, taking into account the essence of the obligation, a different conclusion should not be made (art. 6.391). The section includes provisions on conclusion and extension of the contract; tariffs; and energy quality, among other issues. Other relevant type of contract regulated under this book is the land lease contract. According to article 6.550, the following must be stated in a land lease contract: conditions of use of the construction works and installations situated on the leased land and belonging to the owner of the land or any other persons under the right of ownership, as well as the conditions of erecting new buildings, construction works, building of roads and water reservoirs, or other conditions, likewise the intended use of the buildings or installations upon the expiry of the time-limit of the land lease contract; conditions of use of the surface and subterranean waters, mineral resources (with the exception of amber, oil, natural gas and quartz-sand) found in the land plot to the extent that they are not contrary to laws; special conditions of the use of land; restrictions of the use of land; land servitudes and other real rights.
AGRICULTURE. Notably, under the section dedicated to contracts, the Code includes several provisions on farm enterprises. Article 6.553 regulates the sub-lease of land. According to this article, land designated for agricultural purposes may not be sub-leased for any other purposes than determined in the land lease contract. Expenses incurred by the lessee for the improvement of land designated for agricultural purposes shall be reimbursed in the event where it is so provided for in the land lease contract or upon the agreement (additional written agreement) of the parties made prior to the commencement of work concerned upon the character, scope and the costs of the land improvement work (art. 6.554). In the event of improper use of agricultural lands by the lessee with resultant deterioration of their quality, the lessee of the land shall be obliged to compensate to the lessor the damages caused (art. 6.556). Article 6.564 also contains rules on the dissolution of a land lease, stating that, in the event of a contract of the lease of agricultural land being dissolved before the expiry of its time-limit at the demand of the lessor, the harvest shall be gathered by the lessee, or the lessor shall compensate the lessee for the damages incurred due to the dissolution of the contract. On the other hand, article 2.116 regulates Persons Entitled to File an Application for Forced Sale of Shares, stating that one or some members of an agricultural partnership or co-operative society whose contribution accounts for no less than 1/3 of all contributions shall have the right to file an application for forced sale of shares (interest, contributions). Article 2.125 also provides some rules on farm enterprises, establishing that members of a farming partnership or a co-operative society (co-operative) whose contributions account for no less than 1/10 of all contributions are entitled to apply for investigation of the activities of the enterprise.
ANIMALS. Book four, dedicated to property law, contains several provisions on animals. Article 4.41 defines the content of ownership right of animals. According to this article, the owner of animals, in realising the ownership right, must follow the laws governing the protection and keeping of animals, and other requirements stipulated by legal acts. Article 4.59 is dedicated to wild animals. Animals in a state of freedom which have been caught or shot as provided by law, become property of the person that caught or shot them, unless the law provides otherwise. Similar to this, article 4.60 regulates wild and domestic bees, stating that a swarm of wild bees shall be considered ownership of a person on whose land parcel it was caught. The owner of bees shall enjoy the right to pursue a swarm of bees on another person’s territory provided he indemnifies the damage caused by such pursuit. Untended and stray domestic animals are also susceptible of acquisition. A person that catches an untended or stray domestic animal shall immediately inform thereof the owner of the animal and restitute such animal to him, or, if he does not know the owner of such animal or his address, shall inform the police or a municipal office within three days of the capture of the animal. If the owner of the animal is not found in the period of one month, he shall lose the right of ownership to such animal. In such case the animal shall remain, without recompense, to the person who has tended it. In addition, article 4.120 defines the servitude of right Right of Way Granting the Right to Drive Cattle. Finally, article 6.267 regulates liability to compensation for damage caused by animals.
WATER. Finally, the code includes several provisions on water. First of all, under the article referred to public contracts (art. 6.161), the code defines this contract as a contract concluded by a legal person (businessman) that renders services or sells goods to an indefinite number of persons, i.e. to everyone who makes a request (enterprises of transport, communications, electricity, heating, gas, water supply and others). In line with this, article 6.292 settles liability of a producer and supplier of services for damage caused by defects of products and services, and includes water supply and waste water disposal under the definition of "service". Moreover, the section dedicated to the contract of purchase-sale of energy, includes some provisions on water supply.
PROPERTY AND REAL RIGHTS. As mentioned, property law is contained in book four. Specifically, it regulates ways of acquisition and transfer of possession. Acquisition of possession can be in good faith or in bad faith (art. 4.26). Possession shall be deemed to be in good faith when the person who takes possession is convinced that nobody has more rights to the thing that he is taking over than himself. Possession shall be terminated when the possessor relinquishes his as possessor’s rights to the thing, i.e. when he relinquishes the actual possession of a thing or keeping it as his own, and in other cases provided by law (art. 4.31). Things are defined in article 4.1 as objects of the material world obtained from nature or manufactured. Real rights are defined as an absolute right that manifests itself by the right of the owner to implement the right of possessing, using, disposing or by some of these rights. Regarding real rights, part two of book four contains the general provisions applicable to real rights. As for ownership, it is regulated under chapter V of the book and defined as the right to manage, possess, use and dispose of an object of ownership right at one’s volition, without violating the laws and the rights and interests of other persons (art. 4.37). The owner of a land parcel shall have as his ownership the upper layer of the soil of the parcel, the construction works and the appurtenances constructed on the parcel, as well as other immovable things, if the law does not provide otherwise (4.40). The owner of a land parcel shall have the right to cut off and take such roots and branches of trees, bushes, and other vegetation growing in a neighbouring parcel as grow on his parcel, when he has requested in advance the owner of the neighbouring parcel that such removal should be carried out, establishing the timeframe for their removal and seeing the failure to remove them in the timeframe established (art. 4.42). Article 4.92. on its behalf regulates common joint ownership right of spouses. Provided no agreement has been reached on the matter and Book Three of this Code does not stipulate otherwise, common joint ownership of spouses shall also include agricultural implements acquired by the common funds of spouses. Finally, according to article 4.67, the State may expropriate a thing from an owner for the benefit of the public good, with due recompense, or without recompense, as a sanction for violation of the law, only in cases and in the order established by law.
INHERITANCE. Book 5 regulates law of succession. Succession is the devolution of property rights, duties and some other personal non-property rights of a deceased natural person to his heirs by operation of law (intestate) or/and to successors by the will (testate). The following shall be subject to succession: material objects (movable and immovable things) and non-material objects (securities, patents, trade marks, etc.) claims of patrimonial character and property obligations of the bequeather; in cases provided for by laws – intellectual property (authors’ property rights to works of literature, science and art, neighbouring property rights and rights to industrial property), as well as other property rights and duties stipulated by laws (Art. 5.1). Particularly, article 5.71 regulates inheritance of farmstead. In the instances where a division of a farmstead may destroy the farm, the priority right to get the farm and the inventory thereof shall be granted to the successor who has worked most in the inheritable farm and is inclined and prepared to engage into farming himself. In the event of a dispute, the court may schedule the compensation to other successors for the shares of the property belonging to them to be paid within the period of ten years by deciding to establish a mandatory mortgage for all the immovable things of such successor. In addition, according to article 5.73, in the event where a successor, who has inherited a farmstead pursuant to Article 5.71 of this Code, sells the farmstead before the expiry of a ten-year period from the day of inheritance, priority right to purchase the farmstead shall be awarded to the other successors if the compensation provided for in Article 5.71 has not been paid to them in full. Upon the sale of the farmstead, the other successors shall obtain the right to demand immediate payment of the remaining part of the compensation.
OBLIGATIONS AND CONTRACTS. Contract law and law of obligations are contained in book six. Specifically, part I of the book regulates obligations. According to article 6.1, an obligation is a legal relationship one party of which (debtor) shall be bound to perform for the benefit of another party (creditor) a determined action or to refrain therefrom, and the creditor shall have the right to demand from the debtor the performance of his duty. Obligations shall arise from transactions or from any other legal facts which are capable of producing obligatory relationships under the valid laws (art. 6.2). Chapter III specifies types of obligations. On the other side, Part II of the book fixes the general rules of contract law. Notably, chapter 23 regulates contracts of purchase-sale. It's worth mentioning section four, dedicated to the consumer contract of purchase-sale; and section seven (arts. 6.383 to 6.391), that regulates contracts for purchase-sale of energy. Under the contract of purchase-sale of energy (or energy resources) an energy supply enterprise undertakes to supply the subscriber (consumer) via the connected energy supply network an amount of energy of the type provided for in the contract, whereas the subscriber (consumer) obligates himself to pay for the supplied energy and comply with the energy consumption regime specified in the contract, ensuring safety of exploitation of the energy supply network and maintenance in good condition of the installations and facilities owned by him (art. 6.383). The scope of application of the contract includes supply of electricity, heat energy, gas, oil and oil products, water and other energy through the distribution network, unless the laws establish otherwise or unless, taking into account the essence of the obligation, a different conclusion should not be made (art. 6.391). The section includes provisions on conclusion and extension of the contract; tariffs; and energy quality, among other issues. Other relevant type of contract regulated under this book is the land lease contract. According to article 6.550, the following must be stated in a land lease contract: conditions of use of the construction works and installations situated on the leased land and belonging to the owner of the land or any other persons under the right of ownership, as well as the conditions of erecting new buildings, construction works, building of roads and water reservoirs, or other conditions, likewise the intended use of the buildings or installations upon the expiry of the time-limit of the land lease contract; conditions of use of the surface and subterranean waters, mineral resources (with the exception of amber, oil, natural gas and quartz-sand) found in the land plot to the extent that they are not contrary to laws; special conditions of the use of land; restrictions of the use of land; land servitudes and other real rights.
AGRICULTURE. Notably, under the section dedicated to contracts, the Code includes several provisions on farm enterprises. Article 6.553 regulates the sub-lease of land. According to this article, land designated for agricultural purposes may not be sub-leased for any other purposes than determined in the land lease contract. Expenses incurred by the lessee for the improvement of land designated for agricultural purposes shall be reimbursed in the event where it is so provided for in the land lease contract or upon the agreement (additional written agreement) of the parties made prior to the commencement of work concerned upon the character, scope and the costs of the land improvement work (art. 6.554). In the event of improper use of agricultural lands by the lessee with resultant deterioration of their quality, the lessee of the land shall be obliged to compensate to the lessor the damages caused (art. 6.556). Article 6.564 also contains rules on the dissolution of a land lease, stating that, in the event of a contract of the lease of agricultural land being dissolved before the expiry of its time-limit at the demand of the lessor, the harvest shall be gathered by the lessee, or the lessor shall compensate the lessee for the damages incurred due to the dissolution of the contract. On the other hand, article 2.116 regulates Persons Entitled to File an Application for Forced Sale of Shares, stating that one or some members of an agricultural partnership or co-operative society whose contribution accounts for no less than 1/3 of all contributions shall have the right to file an application for forced sale of shares (interest, contributions). Article 2.125 also provides some rules on farm enterprises, establishing that members of a farming partnership or a co-operative society (co-operative) whose contributions account for no less than 1/10 of all contributions are entitled to apply for investigation of the activities of the enterprise.
ANIMALS. Book four, dedicated to property law, contains several provisions on animals. Article 4.41 defines the content of ownership right of animals. According to this article, the owner of animals, in realising the ownership right, must follow the laws governing the protection and keeping of animals, and other requirements stipulated by legal acts. Article 4.59 is dedicated to wild animals. Animals in a state of freedom which have been caught or shot as provided by law, become property of the person that caught or shot them, unless the law provides otherwise. Similar to this, article 4.60 regulates wild and domestic bees, stating that a swarm of wild bees shall be considered ownership of a person on whose land parcel it was caught. The owner of bees shall enjoy the right to pursue a swarm of bees on another person’s territory provided he indemnifies the damage caused by such pursuit. Untended and stray domestic animals are also susceptible of acquisition. A person that catches an untended or stray domestic animal shall immediately inform thereof the owner of the animal and restitute such animal to him, or, if he does not know the owner of such animal or his address, shall inform the police or a municipal office within three days of the capture of the animal. If the owner of the animal is not found in the period of one month, he shall lose the right of ownership to such animal. In such case the animal shall remain, without recompense, to the person who has tended it. In addition, article 4.120 defines the servitude of right Right of Way Granting the Right to Drive Cattle. Finally, article 6.267 regulates liability to compensation for damage caused by animals.
WATER. Finally, the code includes several provisions on water. First of all, under the article referred to public contracts (art. 6.161), the code defines this contract as a contract concluded by a legal person (businessman) that renders services or sells goods to an indefinite number of persons, i.e. to everyone who makes a request (enterprises of transport, communications, electricity, heating, gas, water supply and others). In line with this, article 6.292 settles liability of a producer and supplier of services for damage caused by defects of products and services, and includes water supply and waste water disposal under the definition of "service". Moreover, the section dedicated to the contract of purchase-sale of energy, includes some provisions on water supply.
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Repealed
No
Source language
English
Legislation Amendment
No