Administrative law
Administrative law covers administrative offenses and disputes with state or municipal authorities. We help when you receive a fine, an unfavorable decision, or no decision at all. We assess your position, prepare a complaint, and represent you before the authority and in court.
Administrative offenses and disputes with public authorities
Representing people facing administrative offense proceedings, developing their position before and during court proceedings, and preparing appeals and cassation appeals.
Representing victims in administrative offense proceedings before the case reaches court and at every court level, and preparing claims for financial and nonfinancial harm, appeals, and cassation appeals.
Protecting clients’ rights through administrative and court complaints against individual decisions, actions, failures to act, or delays by public authorities. We represent clients at every level of the court system.
When you may need an administrative law attorney
You have received a fine
The appeal deadline is 20 calendar days from the date a copy of the decision was sent or issued. We first check whether the circumstances described in the decision are supported by the case evidence.
You disagree with an administrative offense report
An offense report is not itself a penalty, but any explanations recorded in it will be considered when the case is heard. We prepare your position and evidence before the hearing before the authority or court.
An authority is not responding or keeps delaying
Failure to make a decision within the required time can be challenged in its own right. You can ask the court to order the authority to act or decide the matter on its merits.
The municipality has refused a permit
A refusal must explain its reasons and have a legal basis. We check whether that basis applies, whether the authority acted within its powers, and whether it followed the required procedure.
You are in a dispute with the land authority
Disputes over plot boundaries, easements, restoration of ownership rights, or cadastral records require timely collection of documents. The challenge must target the decision that actually creates legal consequences.
You have been harmed by someone else’s conduct
Victims have independent rights in administrative offense proceedings. You may submit evidence, take part in the hearing, and appeal a decision you disagree with.
What to know before challenging a decision
The deadline does not necessarily run from the day you learn about a decision. An administrative offense decision must be appealed within 20 calendar days after a copy is sent or issued. Unless a specific law provides otherwise, a complaint against a public authority’s decision must be filed with the administrative court within one month of publication of the act or service of the individual decision or notice. Inaction must be challenged within two months after the matter should have been resolved. The court may allow a late complaint only for valid reasons; simply delaying is not enough.
An administrative court reviews whether a decision is lawful, rather than whether it is expedient. It examines compliance with the law, the authority’s powers, and the required procedure. Saying that a decision is unfair or unhelpful is not, by itself, a legal ground. Filing a complaint generally does not suspend the challenged act. A separate request for interim relief is needed to seek suspension.
If you accept an administrative settlement notice and pay the specified fine, the proceedings end and the offense can no longer be contested. People often realize this too late. This option is not available for every offense; the law specifies exclusions. If a decision imposing a fine is appealed, the payment period runs from the date the court’s ruling rejecting the appeal is sent or issued.
Related cases
Vilnius Regional Administrative Court overturns a National Land Service decision
The complaint succeeded: the National Land Service’s decision was overturned, and the client was awarded all litigation costs.
Land use complaint resolved before a decision on the merits
The respondent granted the relief sought before the case was decided on its merits and reimbursed the client’s litigation costs.
Supreme Court of Lithuania finds truck confiscation disproportionate
After two applications to the Supreme Court of Lithuania, confiscation was found clearly excessive, and the truck remained with its owner.