Communicated on 19 June 2020 Published on 6 July 2020

SECOND SECTION

Application no. 42180/19 Saulius JAKUTAVIÄŒIUS against Lithuania lodged on 1 August 2019

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

The applicant was sanctioned by the police who found that he was driving whilst being intoxicated. By a final decision of 27 July 2015 the Vilnius Regional Administrative Court quashed the police decision and exonerated the applicant. Afterwards, the applicant started another set of court proceedings, asking to be compensated, as pecuniary damage, for the legal cost incurred during the first set of litigation. His claims were dismissed, the proceedings having ended by the Supreme Administrative Court ’ s decision of 3 April 2019.

The application concerns the applicant ’ s complaint that he had been unable to obtain compensation for the legal costs, which he sees as a violation of the right to access to court.

QUESTION TO THE PARTIES

Has there been a breach of the applicant ’ s right to access to court, as provided for in Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, on account of the fact that the courts refused to compensate the legal expenses incurred by the applicant during administrative court proceedings when contesting the administrative law violation (see Černius and Rinkevičius v. Lithuania , nos. 76579/17 and 14620/18, §§ 65-74, 18 February 2020)?