On Thursday, 21 May, the Saeima adopted in the final reading amendments to the Civil Procedure Law introducing full automation of the enforcement of obligations under the warning procedure. This means that, in certain simple debt recovery cases, the court will henceforth be able to adopt decisions automatically, without individual assessment by a judge in each case.
The amendments will apply to cases where enforcement of obligations is possible under the warning procedure, namely, in simple debt recovery cases. In such proceedings, the ruling by the judge is already taken on the basis of criteria clearly defined in the law, and the envisioned automation will make this process more efficient.
The deadline for submitting objections has also been extended from 14 to 30 days. This means that debtors will have more time to receive the warning and assess their options. The amendments also expressly provide for a mechanism enabling the court to rectify errors found in automated decision-making, either on the initiative of the court itself, or upon application by a party to the case.
The authors of the draft law at the Ministry of Justice indicate that automation will only apply to cases where there is no dispute on the merits or where the debtor has been given the opportunity to raise such a dispute by submitting objections within the established deadline. Thus, automation will significantly reduce the workload of the courts and allow judges to devote more time to examining more complex civil cases.
Enforcement of obligations under the warning procedure may be applied only in simple debt recovery cases—for example, where the obligation can be substantiated by documents, such as a contract or invoice. This procedure will not be applied if the debt amount exceeds EUR 15,000, in cases of joint liability, or in other instances specified by law.
The amendments also transfer the functions of the Insolvency Control Service to the Ministry of Justice and the Court Administration. Complaints regarding the conduct of insolvency administrators will henceforth be examined by the court to assess decisions adopted by the Ministry of Justice, while matters concerning the payment of insolvency proceedings deposits will be overseen by the Court Administration. A clear system of judicial review over institutional decisions is also introduced, establishing an appeal procedure.
The amendments to the Civil Procedure Law will enter into force on 1 July 2026.
Saeima Press Service