Parents who win child removal cases may receive court cost compensation

A member of Lithuania’s parliament has proposed amending civil procedure rules to allow parents who successfully challenge child removal cases in court to recover their legal expenses, LRT reports.

Vytautas Sinica, a lawmaker from the National Union party, registered a draft amendment to the Civil Procedure Code on Monday. If adopted, parents or guardians who win cases against unjustified child removal would be entitled to reimbursement of their litigation costs.

“The goal is to ensure that parties wrongly drawn into legal proceedings over the removal of their children—and forced to hire legal representation—can recover the expenses they incurred,” Sinica said in a statement.

Under current rules, no litigation costs are reimbursed in such cases, even if the court ultimately finds the removal request unfounded. Sinica argued this places parents at a significant disadvantage compared to state-funded child protection agencies, which have in-house legal teams covered by taxpayer funds.

“Parents bear all legal costs themselves, even when the court rules in their favour,” he noted, calling the existing system “clearly unequal” for families facing potential separation.

The proposed change would take effect next year if approved. Sinica framed the reform as part of broader efforts to address Lithuania’s declining birth rate, stating that state actions causing financial harm to parents undermine incentives to raise children.

Child protection authorities currently face no cost penalties for unsuccessful removal cases, while families must cover their own legal fees regardless of the outcome.