30-CE /00-36 COUNTRY REPORT LITHUANIA. Jean ALBERT Team Leader

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1 30-CE /00-36 IMPLEMENTED BY FOR ENTERPRISE AND INDUSTRY DG STUDY ON POSSIBLE NATIONAL LEGAL OBSTACLES TO FULL RECOGNITION OF ELECTRONIC PROCESSING OF PERFORMANCE INFORMATION ON CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS (UNDER THE CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS REGULATION), NOTABLY WITHIN THE REGIMES OF CIVIL LIABILITY AND EVIDENTIARY VALUE Jean ALBERT Team Leader COUNTRY REPORT LITHUANIA Submitted by Mindaugas VADAPALAS Country Expert December

2 1. CHAPTER 1: Introduction Summary of the regulation implementing Directive 89/106/EEC Summary of the changes that are taking place following the adoption of the CPR Current system Changes proposed or implemented (including repealing of Directive 89/106/EEC transposing legislation) CHAPTER 2: Legal context in which the DoP may be relevant Presentation of the type of legal contexts in which the DoP may be relevant (i.e. authorizations, liability, procedure and evidentiary rules) Summary of construction products liability Statute of limitations in the area of construction products liability Summary of the rules relating to authorizations pertaining to the use of construction products Administrative bodies that may require the DoP Presentation, role, function and competence of these bodies Link with the field of construction products Context in which these bodies might need access to the DoPs (including reference to rules and examples) Judicial bodies that may require the DoP Presentation, role function and competence of these bodies Link with the field of construction products Context in which these bodies might need access to the DoPs (including reference to rules and examples) Insurance organisations Role of insurance organisations in the construction products industry Context in which these organizations might need access to the DoPs CHAPTER 3: Electronic/digital provision of the DoPs before administrative and judicial bodies Provision of electronic documents to administrative bodies Admissibility of electronic documents (including reference to rules and summary of case examples) Weight of admissible electronic documents (including reference to rules and summary of case examples) Authentication and integrity requirements (including those on preservation) Provision of electronic documents to judicial bodies Admissibility of electronic/digital evidence (including reference to rules and summary of case examples) Weight of admissible electronic/digital evidence (including reference to rules and summary of case examples) Authentication and integrity requirements (including those on preservation) CHAPTER 4: Case Study Conclusion Use of electronic means to provide DoPs before administrative bodies Use of electronic means to provide DoPs before judicial bodies

3 1. CHAPTER 1: Introduction 1.1. Summary of the regulation implementing Directive 89/106/EEC Lithuania has implemented the Directive 89/106/EEC and its amendments into national law by Law on Construction (Lithuanian: Statybos įstatymas), by Order No. D1-215 of the Technical Construction Regulation STR :2008 on development and adoption of construction products technical approvals (Lithuanian: Aplinkos ministro įsakymas Nr. D1-215 Techniniai liudijimai. Rengimas ir tvirtinimas patvirtinimo ) as well as by Order No. 187 of the Technical Construction Regulation STR :2002 on construction products, conformity assessment and CE marking of approval (Lithuanian: Aplinkos ministro įsakymas Nr. 187 Dėl statybos techninio reglamento STR :2002 Statybos produktai. Atitikties įvertinimas ir CE ženklinimas patvirtinimo). This Technical Construction Regulation establishes the application of essential requirements to structures in performing conformity attestation of construction products. The Regulation implements in Lithuania the provisions of the Council Directive of 21 December 1988 on The approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to construction products (89/106/EEC). This Regulation is obligatory for all bodies that in accordance with the authorization granted to them by laws of the Republic of Lithuania and decrees of the Government, performs conformity attestation of construction products, conducts construction, manufacture and supply construction products, design structures, prepare and approve the obligatory legal documents where essential requirements shall apply. Also relevant to the matter at hand is the Order No. D1-217 of the Technical Construction Regulation STR :2008 "Declaration of conformity of construction products" (Lithuanian: Aplinkos ministro įsakymas Nr. D1-217 dėl Lietuvos Respublikos aplinkos ministro 2002 m. balandžio 18 d. įsakymo Nr. 189 Dėl statybos techninio reglamento STR :2002 Statybos produktų atitikties deklaravimas patvirtinimo pakeitimo ). 3

4 This Technical Construction Regulation establishes the general requirements to conformity declaration of construction products. Supplier shall declare under his own responsibility the conformity of his products to certain standards or other normative documents (technical specifications). This Regulation is obligatory for all legal and natural persons that in accordance with the authorization granted to them by the Laws of the Republic of Lithuania and Decrees of the Government, manufacture and supply construction products, perform conformity assessment, conduct the state surveillance of the market of construction and construction products Summary of the changes that are taking place following the adoption of the CPR When it comes to changes that are taking place following the adoption of the CPR there is a list of drafts or already established legislations which are prepared by the Ministry of Environment, however it must be noted that the following are, by all means, not the full list, but main and most important legislations. Those are amendments of Law on Construction (this law establishes main requirements for constructions held in the Republic of Lithuania, procedures of research, design, construction, reconstruction, repair, commissioning, usage and demolition of these constructions, relationship between legal and natural persons engaged in construction process and principles of activities of the state authorities in this area), Technical Construction Regulation, which sets requirements for testing laboratory and assignation of certification institutions as well as requirements for construction product, which does not apply to harmonized technical specifications, performance assessments, requirements of inspection and declaration, also a new version of Technical Construction Regulation Technical approvals. Development and adoption, annual order on the list of Regulated Construction products prepared by Ministry of Environment and others (This order of the Ministry of Environment approves the adjusted list of construction products subjected to regulatory area. Prior to the adoption of the list, all EU Member States were informed of the publication of a draft document following the rules of Lithuania s government of exchange of information about standards, technical regulations and 4

5 procedures of conformity assessment (Lithuanian: Vyriausybės nutarimas Nr. 617 Dėl keitimosi informacija apie standartus, techninius reglamentus ir atitikties įvertinimo procedūras ) Current system When implementing the Directive Lithuania made CE marking mandatory by Order No. 187 of the Technical Construction Regulation STR :2002 on Construction Products, Conformity Assessment and CE Marking of approval, (paragraph VIII CE conformity marking ) Changes proposed or implemented (including repealing of Directive 89/106/EEC transposing legislation) By implementing The Construction Products Regulation 305/2011/EU, which will establish harmonized conditions for the market of construction products and annul Directive 89/106/EEB, Ministry of Environment has proposed these draft legislations: 1. Amendments and supplementations regarding Articles 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 16, 18, 18 1, 29, 36, 40, 41, 43 (1), 47 of the Law on Construction and Annex No. 2 a) After implementation of Construction Products Regulation 305/2011/EU, which is legal act of direct applicability there will be no need for national law to regulate requirements of construction products that belong to the field of harmonized specifications (harmonized standards and European Technical Assessments). Therefore draft legislation mainly offers new provisions that establish requirements of construction products which do not fall into the field of harmonized technical specifications. b) Language Requirements: Declarations of performance, instructions and safety directions shall be provided in Lithuanian language when a construction product is placed on the Lithuanian market. c) Harmonization of terminology and definitions in accordance to Construction Products Regulation 305/2011/EU. 5

6 2. Technical Construction Regulation STR :2013 Assessment, verification and declaration of consistency of performance of construction products for which no harmonized technical specifications exist. Designation of testing laboratories and certification bodies (Lithuanian: Aplinkos ministro įsakymas Nr. D1-612 dėl statybos techninio reglamento STR :2013 Statybos produktų, neturinčių darniųjų techninių specifikacijų, eksploatacinių savybių pastovumo vertinimas, tikrinimas ir deklaravimas. Bandymų laboratorijų ir sertifikavimo įstaigų paskyrimas patvirtinimo) draft legislation. a) Technical Construction Regulation establishes the requirements for the assessment, verification and declaration of the consistency of performance of construction products for which no harmonised technical specifications exist, as well as the procedure for the designation of testing laboratories and certification bodies to carry out third party tasks in the process of assessment and verification of the consistency of performance of construction products. 3. Order of the Ministry of Environment on The Regulated Construction Products list draft legislation. a) The update of construction products list. 4. Law on Supplementations of Articles 9 1, 9 2 and Amendments of Articles 24, 43 1, 51 as well as Annex 2 of Law on Construction (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Respublikos statybos įstatymo papildymo 9 1, 9 2 straipsniais ir 24, 43 1, 51 straipsnių, 2 priedo pakeitimo ir papildymo įstatymas) (hereinafter referred to as the Law on Supplementations). a) Construction Products Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 under Article 10 part 1 indicates that Member States shall designate Product Contact Points for Construction pursuant to Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 764/2008. Therefore Law on supplementations sets principles and rules for government to assign such institution. 5. Resolution of Government No. 82 (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Respublikos Vyriausybės nutarimas Nr. 82 dėl lietuvos respublikos vyriausybės 2010 gruodžio 1 d. nutarimo nr dėl paslaugų ir gaminių kontaktinio centro veiklos ir 6

7 bendradarbiavimo su Lietuvos Respublikos kompetetingomis institucijomis tvarkos aprašo patvirtinimo pakeitimo ) that changed Resolution of Government No on product and service contact point activity and cooperation with other competent Lithuania s institutions. a) Such Resolution authorized Enterprise Lithuania (Lithuanian: VšĮ Versli Lietuva ) to operate as product contact point for construction. 2. CHAPTER 2: Legal context in which the DoP may be relevant 2.1. Presentation of the type of legal contexts in which the DoP may be relevant (i.e. authorizations, liability, procedure and evidentiary rules) The Declaration of Performance (hereinafter referred to as the DoP ) might be relevant in four types of situations. Those are building permit process, supervision of construction, completion of the construction and market surveillance. The DoP shall be also relevant in situations related to the liability for the defects of construction projects and for the damage caused by the defective products as well as relating to situations regarding marketing of construction products. Building permit process Article 23 of Law on Construction establishes a list of mandatory documents that must be presented to the director of Municipality Administration in order to receive building permit. There are specific situations when additional documents (including DoP) must be presented (i.e. construction in specific areas, such as old town). Supervision of construction. Under Article 4 of the Law on Construction the building shall have the technical properties that are essential in terms of, for example, load capacity, stability and other characteristics. Compliance with this provision is safeguarded by State territorial planning and construction inspectorate under the Ministry of Environment (Lithuanian: Valstybinė teritorijų planavimo ir statybos inspekcija prie Aplinkos ministerijos). This institution exercises state supervision of construction in Lithuania (Article 27 part 1 of the Law on Construction). Under Article 27 part 4 paragraph 2 of the Law on Construction officials exercising the state supervision of construction have the right to 7

8 request from construction participants so that they produce all construction-related documents. The DoP might be requested by the officials since it contains the technical characteristics of construction products. Completion of the construction. Under Technical Construction Regulation STR :2010 on Completion of the construction (Lithuanian: Aplinkos ministro įsakymas Nr. D1-828 Dėl statybos techninio reglamento STR :2010 Statybos užbaigimas patvirtinimo ) certificates or declarations of conformity must be presented to the commissions on completion of the construction due to the construction products which influence the conformity of the building with the essential requirements. Market surveillance. The State Non Food Products Inspectorate under the Ministry of Economy was established on the 1 st of July, 2000 by Resolution No. 505 of the Government of 4 May, 2000 after the reorganization of the Lithuanian State Quality Inspectorate, State Hygiene Inspectorate and State Veterinary Service, therefore is responsible for carrying out market surveillance of construction products covered by the Directive 89/106/EEC and Regulation 305/2011/EU. In its market surveillance The State Non Food Products Inspectorate performs the functions of the control body. Quality tests are carried out by accredited laboratories. Inspectorate performs inspection on the characteristics of construction products by means of documentary review and, where appropriate, physical and laboratory checks on the basis of adequate samples. The DoP may have relevance in market surveillance executed by the Inspectorate, since such inspections may include both review of documents and of physical samples. Liability for Defective Construction Products and for Damage caused by the Defective Product. Defective Products. 8

9 The DoP may be relevant in construction projects, for example in relation to liability for defective construction products and to liability for damage caused by the defectiveness of the products. The defective product acquisition is governed by the Civil Code (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Respublikos civilinis kodeksas), Rules of Return and Exchange approved by the Ministry of Economy (Lithuanian: Ūkio ministro įsakymas Nr. 217 dėl daiktų grąžinimo ir keitimo taisyklių patvirtinimo ), Law on Consumer protection (Lithuanian: Vartotojų teisių apsaugos įstatymas). A seller s liability for defective products is primarily governed by the Civil Code. Article part 1 specifies: where the things sold do not correspond to the quality requirements and the seller did not discuss the defects with the buyer, upon buying things of unsatisfactory quality the buyer shall be entitled to demand, at his own choice: 1) To replace the thing this is characterised in the contract by its kind by the thing of satisfactory quality unless the defects are minor or appeared due to the fault of the buyer; 2) To reduce the purchasing price; 3) That the seller eliminates the defects within a reasonable time without any additional payment or reimburses the buyer s expenses for the elimination of defects if these may be eliminated; 4) To restore the price and repudiate the contract, where the sale of things of unsatisfactory quality is an essential breach of contract. In situations where the buyer is a consumer, a seller s liability for defective construction products is governed by the Law on Consumer Protection. The liability for the lack of conformation is, however, similar as established in the Civil Code. In addition, the Law on Consumer Protection (Lithuanian: Vartotojų teisių apsaugos įstatymas) may be applicable if a contractor performs services for consumers, for example repairs the family apartment. 9

10 Since the seller is responsible for the defects relating to the characteristics of the products, or a contractor for defects relating to performed services, a DoP may be relevant to determine whether a product or a service is considered defective or not. Liability for Damage caused by the Defective Product. According to section IV, Article of Civil Code a producer and a supplier are liable for damage caused by a defect of their product, i.e. for personal injuries or damage to any item of property other than the defective product itself if the item is of a type ordinarily intended for private use and was used for such purposes by the injured person. Section IV is based on Directive 85/374/EEC concerning liability for defective products. Such responsibility is applicable to movables, even if incorporated into another movable or into an immovable. A product is defective when it does not provide the safety which a person is entitled to expect, taking all circumstances into account, including the presentation of the product. In consequence, the DoP may be considered as such presentation of the product, meaning that incorrect information in the DoP may be of relevance for determining whether a producer is liable for damage caused by a defect of his product. Misleading marketing Practices. The DoP might be relevant, when the subject turns to misleading marketing practices. The Article 5 of the Law on Advertising (Lithuanian: reklamos įstatymas) states that use of misleading advertising shall be banned, meaning that claims presented in advertising are false (and shall be banned), if the provider of advertising cannot substantiate accuracy of the assertion during the time of use. A decision regarding whether there are enough information substantiating accuracy of claims present in the advertising shall be based upon the consideration of an individual case. Since the DoP carries important information about particular features of the object it can be as well regarded as advertising and is therefore governed by the Law on Advertising. Basically a trader, whose marketing practise is misleading, might receive a fine (under the Article 22 of the Law on Construction) and/or a warning. 10

11 Summary of construction products liability Liability of things including construction products is mainly regulated by the Civil Code. According to Article of the Civil Code the seller is bound to deliver to the buyer things, the quality whereof meets the conditions of the contract of purchase-sale and the requirements of the documents determining the quality of things. The seller shall be liable for the defects of the things provided the buyer proves that the defects appeared before the delivery of the things or due to reasons which appeared before the delivery of the things. Furthermore, where the quality of the things is not agreed upon in the contract, the seller is bound to deliver them to the buyer in the condition fit for the use for which it is usually intended. The things shall be deemed not to meet quality requirements if they lack the qualities which the buyer could have reasonably expected, i.e. which are necessary for the things to be fit for the purpose they would ordinarily be used or for a particular purpose. Article of the Civil Code regulates rights of buyers who bought things of unsatisfactory quality. Those are primarily rectification of the defective product, replacement or price reduction. In addition the buyer may be entitled to terminate the contract and to claim damages. These are also mentioned in the Rules of Return and Exchange approved by the Ministry of Economy (Article 4) In addition the rules of liability relative to construction parties in Lithuania are mainly governed by the Civil Code, the Law on Construction, Technical Construction Regulations, standards developed by the Lithuanian Standards Board. Moreover methodical documents and guidelines created by the research institutes and private companies are available and offer methodological guidelines on implementation of the Technical Regulations. According to the Civil Code, the liability of a party may arise either from a nonperformance of a duty established by the law or by a contract, from actions that are prohibited by law or by a contract or from violation of the general duty to behave with care. 11

12 The Civil Code defines the respective duties of the parties to the construction contract and distribution of the risks between the parties to the project at hand. The Civil Code also indicates essential provisions, which must be included in the construction contract. Under the Article of the Civil Code, the contractor shall be obliged, within the period established in the contract, to build a determined construction works according to the task of the customer or to fulfil another construction work, while the customer shall take an obligation to create the necessary conditions for the contractor in order to fulfil the work, to accept the result of the work performed, and pay the price stipulated in the contract. Article of the Civil Code (Liability of the independent work contractor for the quality of work) provides that the independent work contractor shall be liable for any deviations from the requirements of the technical construction regulations and also for the failure to achieve the indicators of the objects of construction, specified in these documents or the contract (productive capacity of the enterprise, resistance, etc.). In the event of the reconstruction of construction works and installations, the independent work contractor shall be liable for any reduction or loss of reliability, durability and resistance of the construction works or installation. The independent work contractor shall not be liable for minor deviations from the technical construction regulations made with the consent of the customer if he proves that these deviations have not influenced the quality of the construction object and will not bring about negative consequences. Article of the Civil Code (Liability for the collapse of a construction works) provides that the independent work contractor, architect and the technical supervisor of the construction shall be respectively liable for the collapse of a construction works and the resultant damage if the object collapsed due to the defects in the design, structures of construction work, or the performance of construction work, likewise due to unsuitable ground. The architect and the technical supervisor of the construction shall be relieved from liability if it is proved that the collapse of the object was not caused by defects in the design, structures of construction work, or inadequate supervision, or control of construction work, but through faulty actions of the independent work contractor or the customer. The independent work contractor shall be relieved from 12

13 liability if it is proved that the collapse of the object occurred through the fault of the architect, or the technical supervisor of the construction who were chosen by the customer, or through faulty actions of the customer. In the event where it is not possible to establish through the fault of which of the concrete persons the collapse of the construction works has occurred, they shall all be solidary liable. Article of the Civil Code (Guarantee of the quality of work) provides that the independent work contractor, unless otherwise provided for in the contract of construction independent work, shall ensure throughout the whole guarantee period the compliance of the object of construction to the indicators established in the technical construction regulations and its fitness for use for the designation specified in the contract. The parties to the contract shall have the right to establish upon their agreement a more extended guarantee period. The independent work contractor, architect and the technical supervisor of the construction shall be liable for the defects discovered within the guarantee period unless it is proved that the defects occurred as a consequence of the normal wear and tear of the objects or parts thereof, its inappropriate use, or improper repair made by the customer or third persons engaged by him, or any other faulty actions of the customer or third persons engaged by him. The running of the guarantee period shall be interrupted for the entire period during which the object could not be used as a consequence of the discovered defects for which the independent work contractor is liable. In the event of discovering defects of the object during the guarantee period, the customer must within reasonable time from their discovery state them to the independent work contractor. The Law on Construction refers to requirements for constructed objects as well as their inspection, planning, rehabilitation, repair, use and demolition. It also clarifies rights and responsibilities of all parties in the construction process, including state institutions and defines certification requirements for the persons involved in planning, design, technical supervision and construction. The Law on Construction defines requirements relative to building products certification procedures and imposes mandatory compliance with established normative standards and other requirements. 13

14 The Law on Construction was subject to several amendments relative among others to harmonization of the aspects of structural design and issuance of construction permits with the EU legislation, introduction of compulsory civil liability insurance for designers and building contractors, minimal requirements for energy performance of buildings compulsory for new buildings or buildings under major refurbishment works as well as energy conservation and heat retention Statute of limitations in the area of construction products liability Statute of limitations according to the Civil Code is provided in Article Where the general statute limitation under this Article is provided as 10 years, when it comes to claims arising from shortage in the goods, statute limitation period is shortened to 6 months. However this period only applies after warranty period (if such was given by seller or manufacturer etc.). Therefore Civil Code provides Article that regulates period of warranty of quality of things (Article 6.335). The law or the contract may provide that the warranty of quality of things given by the seller is valid for a certain period of time. In this case the warranty shall be valid for all its component parts unless otherwise established by the law or the contract. Furthermore the period of warranty shall start to run from the moment of delivery of things unless the contract provides otherwise. In addition, if the buyer was unable to use the things due to the defects, warranty shall be extended for such period, provided that the buyer duly notified the seller of the perceived defects. Under Article part 5 of the Civil Code, where the period of warranty of quality fixed for a thing in the contract is less than two years and the defects of the thing are discovered after the expiration of the time period but not after the lapse of two years from the day of delivery of the thing, the seller shall be liable for the defects of the thing if the buyer proves that the defect appeared before the delivery of the thing or due to the reasons which appeared before the delivery and for which the seller is liable. Therefore it is notable that buyer by all means may file claims regarding the defects of the thing within a reasonable time but not later than within two years from the day of sale of the thing, unless a longer time period is provided by law or the contract. The Civil Code (Article 6.698) also sets out construction guarantee periods. The independent work contractor, architect and the technical supervisor of the construction 14

15 shall be liable for the collapse of the object or defects if the object collapsed or the defects were discovered within the time-limit of: 1) five years; 2) ten years, in existence of hidden constructions of the construction works (structures of construction works, pipelines, etc.); 3) twenty years, in existence of intentionally concealed defects Summary of the rules relating to authorizations pertaining to the use of construction products The Law on Construction provides building regulations with mandatory provisions and general recommendations regarding constructions and on the design of structural components etc. (Article 4). However, the use of construction products is currently not a subject to any mandatory authorizations in Lithuania. Instead there is national system for construction product accession and verification established and regulated by Law on Conformity Assessment (Lithuanian: atitikties įvertinimo įstatymas), Technical Construction Regulation Construction products. Conformity attestation and CE marking, Technical Construction Regulation Declaration of conformity of construction products, Technical Construction Regulation Technical approvals. Development and adoption. Lithuanian National Accreditation Bureau is responsible for accreditation according to EU Regulation (EC) No. 765/2008 setting out the requirements for accreditation Administrative bodies that may require the DoP Administrative bodies that may require the DoP are the Director of Municipality Administration, State Territorial Planning and Construction Inspectorate under the Ministry of Environment, State Non Food Products Inspectorate under the Ministry of Economy, State Consumer Rights Protection Authority Presentation, role, function and competence of these bodies Director of Municipality Administration According to Law on Construction, director of Municipality Administration is the responsible body for issuing a construction permit for a new construction. However 15

16 applications for building permit has to be submitted through the e-government website infostatyba ( State Territorial Planning and Construction Inspectorate under the Ministry of Environment The Institution s goal is to take part in developing the policy on territorial planning and the state supervision of construction and supervision of the use of structures as well as to control and coordinate the implementation of the policy. The most important tasks of this institution are: 1. To carry out state territorial planning maintenance within institutions competence; 2. To carry out state construction maintenance; 3. To improve public administration services and public administration service accessibility within construction field as well as to improve their quality by using information and communication systems for people and business; 4. To create and instill territorial planning documentation informational system; 5. To create and instill territorial planning documentation register. State Non Food Products Inspectorate under the Ministry of Economy Its goal is to protect the national market from dangerous and low quality non food products (Articles and services), to protect consumer rights while performing market surveillance. The main activities are: 1. Control of non food products supplied to the market for consumer purposes and their compliance with the obligatory safety and marking requirements set in legal acts. 2. Prohibit the supply of dangerous non food products to the market and perform the control of their withdrawal and destruction. 3. Consumer protection, investigation of consumer complaints concerning improper quality of non food products. 4. Provide information to consumers on dangerous products placed to the Lithuania market. 5. Consult producers, service suppliers, importers and sellers on issues concerning the safety of non food products and services. 16

17 6. Dissemination of information on the activities, objectives and goals of the Inspectorate, provide information to national, international or foreign authorities. State Consumer Rights Protection Authority The goal of the Authority is to ensure a high protection level of consumers in the Republic of Lithuania through building of the consumer rights protection system aligned with European Union law. Authority s activities are: 1. Coordinates state institutions' activities on protection of consumers; 2. Protects consumers' public interest; 3. Performs alternative consumers' disputes resolution; 4. Undertakes control over practice of unfair terms specified in the contracts with consumers; 5. Analyzes consumer complaints on unfair contract terms; 6. Coordinates and implements protection of consumer economic interests, supervises market of consumer products and services; 7. Carries out-of-court examination of consumer complaints resulting from consumers' disputes with credit providers; 8. Undertakes control on how requirements for advertising stipulated in the Law of Advertising are complied with; 9. Within the limits of its competence applies action measures intended by law to trespassers who infringe the Law of Consumer Rights Protection, Law of Product Safety and Law of Advertising; 10. Organizes and carries out education of consumers, sellers, producers and services providers'; 11. Provides information for consumers about unsafe products, which have appeared or may appear in the market; 12. Organizes the exchange of information with the European Union and Member States; 13. Represents the Republic of Lithuania in European Union and international organizations in consumer rights protection field. Construction Products Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 under Article 10 part 1 indicates that Member States shall designate Product Contact Points for Construction pursuant to 17

18 Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 764/2008. It is foreseen that the authority to implement functions given to Contact Points will be given to public institution, government agency Enterprise Lithuania (Lithuanian: Všį Versli Lietuva ). Their mission is to be the most effective business-promoting agency in Lithuania, valued by their clients and partners. Therefore the main goal of this agency related to field of construction products is: 1. In order to provide better access to information about the Regulation, Enterprise Lithuania aims to provide independent free advice, particularly to small enterprises. Certification Centre of Building Products Certification Centre of Building Products is an independent state enterprise established by the Ministry of Construction and Urban Development (currently the Ministry of Environment) and operating since The main aim of the company is to provide good services of certification, attestation, evaluation and consulting in accordance with the rules of legal acts and standards of the Republic of Lithuania and European Union Link with the field of construction products Director of Municipality Administration According to the Law on Construction, the director of Municipality Administration is responsible for examining and issuing permits and tentative approvals. State Territorial Planning and Construction Inspectorate under the Ministry of Environment State Territorial Planning and Construction Inspectorate under the Ministry of Environment is the government authority that is officially assigned to carry State s area planning and construction supervision, therefore one of the authority s responsibilities is to verify that all of the required documents (including DoP) would be consistent with the law. State Non Food Products Inspectorate under the Ministry of Economy 18

19 By protecting the national market from dangerous and low quality non-food products, State Non Food Products Inspectorate deals with consumer complaints concerning improper quality of non-food products as well as prohibits the supply of dangerous nonfood products to the market and performs the control of their withdrawal and destruction. Those might as well be construction products. State Consumer Rights Protection Authority In general, State Consumer Rights Protection Authority ensures a high level protection of consumers in the Republic of Lithuania through building of the consumer rights protection system aligned with European Union law. It is main authority regulating consumer rights in Lithuania. Therefore construction products might be one of many products that falls into the field of the consumer rights protection. Certification Centre of Building Products Certification Centre of Building Products is responsible for certification, attestation, evaluation of construction products in accordance with the rules of legal acts and standards of the Republic of Lithuania and European Union Context in which these bodies might need access to the DoPs (including reference to rules and examples) Director of Municipality Administration Director of Municipality Administration might need access to the DoPs, when determining whether building permits and tentative approvals should be issued. State Territorial Planning and Construction Inspectorate under the Ministry of Environment Considering that State Territorial Planning and Construction Inspectorate under the Ministry of Environment is the government authority that officially carries construction supervision, there might be situations when authority requires DoP for inspection to verify that DoP is consistent with the law. State Non Food Products Inspectorate under the Ministry of Economy 19

20 During disputes between consumer and manufacturer, supplier or any other relevant construction industry party, State Non Food Products Inspectorate under the Ministry of Economy might need access to the DoPs in order to inspect the information provided within and reach the verdict. State Consumer Rights Protection Authority Context in which the State Consumer Rights Protection Authority might need access to the DoPs are similar to the situations discussed above at State Non Food Products Inspectorate under the Ministry of Economy Judicial bodies that may require the DoP A court system of the Republic of Lithuania is made up of courts of general jurisdiction and courts of special jurisdiction. The Supreme Court of Lithuania (1), the Court of Appeal of Lithuania (1), regional courts (5) and district courts (49) are courts of general jurisdiction dealing with civil and criminal cases. District courts also hear cases of administrative offences coming within their jurisdiction by law. The regional courts, the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court of Lithuania have the Civil Division and the Criminal Division. The Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania (1) and regional administrative courts (5) are courts of special jurisdiction hearing disputes arising from administrative legal relations Presentation, role function and competence of these bodies A district court is first instance for criminal, civil cases and cases of administrative offences (assigned to its jurisdiction by law), as well as cases relating to the enforcement of decisions and sentences. Judges of a district court also perform the functions of a pretrial judge, an enforcement judge, as well as other functions assigned to a district court by law. 20

21 A regional court is first instance for criminal and civil cases assigned to its jurisdiction by law, and appeal instance for judgments, decisions, rulings and orders of district courts. The Chairman of a regional court organizes and controls the administrative activities of district courts and their judges within the territory of his activities in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law. The Court of Appeal is appeal instance for cases heard by regional courts as courts of first instance. It also hears requests for the recognition of decisions of foreign or international courts and foreign or international arbitration awards and their enforcement in the Republic of Lithuania, as well as performs other functions assigned to the jurisdiction of this court by law. The Chairman of the Court of Appeal organizes and controls the administrative activities of the regional courts and their judges in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law. The Supreme Court of Lithuania is the only court of cassation instance for reviewing effective judgments, decisions, rulings and orders of the courts of general jurisdiction. It develops a uniform court practice in the interpretation and application of laws and other legal acts. A regional administrative court is the court of special jurisdiction established for hearing complaints (petitions) in respect of administrative acts and acts of commission or omission (failure to perform duties) by entities of public and internal administration. Regional administrative courts hear disputes in the field of public administration, deal with issues relating to the lawfulness of regulatory administrative acts, tax disputes, etc. Before applying to an administrative court, individual legal acts or actions taken by entities of public administration provided by law may be disputed in the pre-trial procedure. In this case disputes are investigated by municipal public administrative dispute commissions, district administrative dispute commissions and the Chief Administrative Dispute Commission. The Supreme Administrative Court is first and final instance for administrative cases assigned to its jurisdiction by law. It is appeal instance for cases concerning decisions, rulings and orders of regional administrative courts, as well as for cases involving 21

22 administrative offences from decisions of district courts. The Supreme Administrative Court is also instance for hearing, in cases specified by law, of petitions on the reopening of completed administrative cases, including cases of administrative offences. The Supreme Administrative Court develops a uniform practice of administrative courts in the interpretation and application of laws and other legal acts. It is worth mentioning that although the Lithuanian system of jurisprudence formally does not have binding power of precedent in the sense of common law tradition, derogation from the officially published case-law of Supreme Court may serve as an absolute ground for cassation. Finally, even those decisions of Supreme Court, which are not officially published, are highly authoritative and its decisions are rarely derogated by the courts of lower instances Link with the field of construction products Disputes may arise in relation to the liability for defects in construction projects and for damage caused by defective products as well as in customer and traders relations regarding misleading marketing practise. In addition decisions made by State Consumer Rights Protection Authority or State Non Food Products Inspectorate under the Ministry of Economy might be appealed to the first instance courts Context in which these bodies might need access to the DoPs (including reference to rules and examples) Disputes arising from the field of construction products are mostly subject of general civil procedural regulation law. Therefore it is quite possible that in order to prove their right, parties might submit DoP as evidence. Under Article 177 of the Civil Procedural Code, evidence are perceived as any actual data, according to which court, following the law, is able to decide whether the circumstances that validate demand of the party exists or not as well as whether there are other circumstances that have importance to the case or there are not. Under Article 179 of the Civil Procedural Code, evidence is presented by parties and other persons involved in the case. However, if there is situation, when presented 22

23 evidence are not enough, court might suggest to present additional evidence and sets term to present them. In conclusion, there could be situations, when court might need to inspect DoP in order to verify construction object conformity with national legal standards Insurance organisations Role of insurance organisations in the construction products industry Mandatory insurance The matters of insurance of civil liability for the construction works are regulated by the Law of Construction on the Chapter 11 Subject matter of insurance and insurance contracts. Article 37 provides that civil liability of the designer and the contractor of a construction works shall be insured with a compulsory insurance, regardless of the sources of design and construction financing, a type of the ownership of a construction works, and the legal status of the designer, the contractor and the builder (client). The subject matter of insurance shall be civil liability of the designer and the contractor of a construction works for the damage caused to the builder (client) and the third parties. Insurance of civil liability of the designer and the contractor of a construction works shall comprise the insurance of civil liability of their subcontractors. When the builder (client) does not conclude a design contract with a designer for the preparation of the design documentation of a construction works of a whole construction works, but concludes contracts with different designers for the preparation of separate parts of the design documentation of a construction works, civil liability of each designer shall be insured separately. When the builder (client) does not conclude a contract with the contractor for carrying out all construction operations, but concludes contracts with different contractors to carry out separate construction operations, civil liability of each contractor shall be insured separately. Parties to the insurance contract shall be a police holder (designer or contractor of a construction works) and an insurer which, in accordance with the procedure laid down by legal acts, has the right to perform compulsory insurance against civil liability of the designer and contractor. When designing and constructing simple construction works and carrying out simple repairs of a construction works, it shall not be obligatory to take out compulsory insurance 23

24 against civil liability of the designer and the contractor of a construction works. Natural persons, legal persons ought not to take out compulsory insurance in the case of selfdependent construction. Periods of validity of insurance shall be set in the rules of compulsory insurance against civil liability of a designer of a construction works and the rules of compulsory insurance against civil liability of a contractor approved by the Bank of Lithuania. Contracts of compulsory insurance against civil liability of the designer and the contractor shall be concluded in accordance with the rules of compulsory insurance against civil liability of a designer of a construction works and the rules of compulsory insurance against civil liability of a contractor approved by the Bank of Lithuania. If an insurance contract has been terminated or the period of validity thereof has expired prior to the term indicated in an insurance policy, the policyholder must conclude a new insurance contract. The amount of contributions of compulsory insurance against civil liability of the designer and the contractor shall be established in insurance contracts. Other construction related insurance types Contractors All Risks (hereinafter referred to as the CAR ) construction all risk insurance. The object of this insurance is multi-purpose building and construction and installation work. The insurance reimburse damages that incurred to the object and were not mentioned in the contract. For example: fire, explosion, struck of lightening, flood, storm, earthquake, robbery, acts of third persons and others. Such insurance might be relevant for contractors, sub-contractors, banks, leasing firms etc. Warranty insurance In general, warranty is one of the forms of security for the obligation to ensure. Warranty insurance is subjected to compensate direct losses suffered by the insured for failure to fulfil obligations or their improper performance. Completion warranty insurance It is policyholder s obligation assurance on the basis of the contract drafted with the builder. For example: corrections that might be done during warranty period for construction works defects that occurred because of the contractors actions. Main insurance organisations 24

25 The main insurance organisations in Lithuania are BTA Insurance company SE, ERGO Insurance SE, LIETUVOS DRAUDIMAS AB, PZU LIETUVA UAB DK Context in which these organizations might need access to the DoPs Insurance organisations might need access to the DoPs in case defects or damage caused by defects concerning the contract work occurs. In consequence, the DoPs may be of relevance in determining who is liable for a defect or damage. 3. CHAPTER 3: Electronic/digital provision of the DoPs before administrative and judicial bodies Article 1.73 part 2 of the Civil Code provides that documents signed by the parties and transmitted by means of telegraph, facsimile communication or over any other means of communication terminal equipment shall be conferred the same power as having been made in the written form, providing the protection of the text is guaranteed and the signature can be identified. This provision attaches to electronic document the identical legal value as to paper based documents. Thus electronic documents may not be discriminated against paper documents and may not be deprived of legal effect solely on the grounds of electronic format. According to Lithuanian law, electronic document authorised by an electronic signature is equated to a written or paper document. So the overview of notions of electronic document and electronic signature is of a great importance before discussing the admissibility and evidentiary weight of electronic documents. The Law on Documents and Archives describes a Document as information recorded in the course of activities of a legal or natural person, regardless of its mode, form and medium. According to this law, Electronic document means a document of a legal or natural person, which is created, approved or received by information technology tools in accordance with the procedure laid down by regulations and is signed with a legally binding electronic signature. 25