| Abstract [eng] |
The Master's thesis examines and reveals the role of the court in the collection of evidence in civil proceedings, both in terms of theory and in terms of Lithuanian case law. In the first part of the thesis, in order to fully develop the chosen topic, the role of the court in different schools of civil procedure and the process of evidence gathering in different models of legal traditions are examined. The active role of the court is assessed in relation to the aim of establishing the formal, substantive or objective truth of the case. The first part of the paper also identifies the actions that the court may take at the stage of taking evidence and the relationship of these institutions to other principles of civil procedure, inter alia, the principles of cooperation and judicial direction. The second part of this thesis analyses and assesses the procedural institutes by which the court assists the parties involved in the case to gather evidence. In particular, it analyses the institute of obtaining documentary evidence, its purpose, the grounds for its application and identifies the main problems. Secondly, the right of the court to invite the parties to the proceedings to submit additional evidence is assessed; thirdly, the procedural institute allowing the court to use data from information systems and registers is analysed and critically evaluated. Finally, the institute of preserving evidence is analysed, as well as the possibilities of its practical application in court practice. The third part reveals the court's ex officio right to take evidence. In order to fully illustrate the court's right to take evidence on its own initiative, the author's assessment is that the main categories of cases giving the court the right to take evidence ex officio are: (1) family cases; (3) insolvency cases of legal persons; (3) labour cases; (4) cases of non-contentious proceedings. The analysis of the different categories of cases in which the court plays a more active role provides critical insights into the court's right to take evidence on its own initiative. |
