Высший административный суд Литвы
5 сентября 2007 года
Facts
The applicant, Lietuvos geležinkeliai (Lithuania‘s rail operator), lodged an appeal with the court, requesting that the decision of the Customs Department and the decisions of the Vilnius Regional Customs Office be annulled.
Complaint
The appellants request that the part of the first instance court's decision rejecting the appellant's claims be overturned and that a new decision be made. The appellant claimed that European Union legislation had been incorrectly interpreted and applied.
Court‘s ruling
The Administrative Procedure Law requires that when applying to the court, the applicant properly formulate their claim (the subject matter of the complaint) and indicate the circumstances on which they base their claim (the factual basis of the complaint). Proper formulation of the subject matter and basis of the complaint is a necessary procedural condition for bringing a case before the court. Only after the subject matter and basis of the complaint have been properly formulated can the court decide whether to accept the complaint. Furthermore, it is the subject matter and basis of the complaint that essentially define the scope of the case. Even though the administrative court has a duty to be active in examining administrative cases, it does not usually have the right to change the basis or subject matter of the claim on its own initiative and, when examining the case, to go beyond the scope of the claim.
Except for clearly defined exceptions, claims that were not raised during the proceedings in the court of first instance may not be raised in the appeal. New evidence that was not presented in the court of first instance shall be examined only if the court finds that there were valid reasons for not doing so earlier or if the need to present new evidence arose later.
The court of appeal reviews the validity and legality of the decision of the court of first instance. The appeal process is not a continuation of the proceedings in the court of first instance. However, this does not prevent a party to the proceedings from detailing in the appeal their arguments already raised in the court of first instance, expanding on them, and responding accordingly to the legal and factual assessment set out in the decision of the court of first instance.
After assessing the circumstances of the case, the court dismissed the appeal.