Communicated on 11 May 2020 Published on 8 June 2020

SECOND SECTION

Application no. 42177/19 Algimantas MARAZAS against Lithuania lodged on 31 July 2019

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

The application concerns refusal of State-guaranteed legal aid.

The applicant was involved in civil li tigation with a bank. The first ‑ i nstance and appellate courts allowed the bank ’ s claim and ordered the applicant to pay approximately 726,000 euros (EUR). The applicant applied for State-guaranteed legal aid in order to lodge an appeal on points of law, which could only be lodged by a lawyer. The authorities acknowledged that the applicant ’ s financial situation warranted granting him legal aid; however, the civil case was related to his commercial activities, and domestic law explicitly excluded the provision of State-guaranteed legal aid in such cases.

The applicant complains under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention and Article 14 of the Convention that he was denied access to a court and that the refusal to grant him legal aid disadvantaged him vis-à-vis the bank.

QUESTION TO THE PARTIES

Has there been a violation of the applicant ’ s rights under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention in view of the fact that he was refused State-guaranteed legal aid for the sole reason that the civil case was related to his commercial activities (see Urbšienė and Urbšys v. Lithuania , no. 16580/09, §§ 52-54, 8 November 2016)?