Верховный суд Литвы
27 мая 2013 года
Facts
The case concerned a dispute over the legality of disciplinary action and the validity of dismissal from work.
Complaint
The appellant based his request, inter alia, on the fact that the law does not provide for the possibility of examining newly submitted evidence in written proceedings, as this would violate the rules of evidence examination established in the Code of Civil Procedure – evidence is examined in accordance with the principle of oral proceedings.
Court‘s ruling
The Court noted that the mere fact that new evidence was accepted by the court of appeal does not in itself imply that the court is obliged to examine the appeal in oral proceedings. Appeals are usually examined in written proceedings; the court of appeal hears the case in oral proceedings if it considers that necessary; the court is not bound by the request of the parties to the case to hear the case in oral proceedings.
The court has the discretion to decide, either on its own initiative or at the request of the parties, to hear the case in oral proceedings, but this right is limited, specifying that such a decision is possible in exceptional cases. Therefore, when submitting a request for oral proceedings, the parties must justify it by indicating the exceptional circumstances.
In the case under consideration, the appellant, in submitting his response to the appeal, did not request that the case be heard in oral proceedings.