LITHUANIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Gintautas Šulija and Eduard Plešak, Šulija & Partners
2.6.11 Lessees’ Entitlement to Claim Immunity None of the private companies in Lithuania are entitled to any right of immunity from suit. State immunity from suit can be waived. 2.6.12 Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Decisions Lithuania is a party to the New York Convention, effec - tive from 12 June 1995. Lithuania can be considered a favourable jurisdiction for the recognition and enforce - There are no other relevant issues that lessors should be aware of in relation to the enforcement of their rights in Lithuania. 2.7 Lease Assignment/Novation 2.7.1 Recognition of the Concepts of Contractual Assignment and Novation Lithuanian law recognises the concepts of contractual assignment and novation. 2.7.2 Assignment/Novation of Leases Under Foreign Laws An assignment/novation of leases under foreign laws should generally be held valid and enforceable by domestic courts. Assignments should be perfected by making relevant notifications to the lessee. 2.7.3 Enforceability of Lease Assignments/ Novations There is no requirement for the lease assignment/ novation to be translated, certified, notarised or legal - ised to be enforceable against a domestic party. 2.7.4 Filing/Registration of Lease Assignments/ Novations Lease assignments are neither registered nor reported to the Lithuanian authorities. ment of foreign arbitral awards. 2.6.13 Other Relevant Issues However, the civil aircraft register records the operator of an aircraft and thus needs to see the link between the owner of the aircraft and its operator (see 2.3.4 Registration of Leases With the Domestic Aircraft Registry ). If this link changes owing to a lease nova - tion (eg, a change of the lessee), such a lease nova - tion needs to be reported to the civil aviation authority (and translated into Lithuanian, if requested by the civil
aviation authority). Failure to provide the lease nova - tion, which changes the link between the owner and the operator, may result in the civil aviation authority cancelling the registration of the aircraft. 2.7.5 Taxes/Duties Payable on Assignment/ Novation There are no taxes or duties payable in Lithuania in respect of any assignment and assumption/novation agreement or as a consequence of an original or copy of it being brought into Lithuania physically or elec - tronically. 2.7.6 Recognition of Transfer of Ownership Interests The transfer of ownership interests of the entity (or the beneficial interest in the trust) owning an aircraft (with the legal title to the asset remaining with that entity) does not trigger any legal changes in the ownership of an aircraft. 2.8 Aircraft Deregistration and Export 2.8.1 Deregistering Aircraft in This Jurisdiction The aircraft can be deregistered if a relevant applica - tion is submitted to the civil aviation authority by the owner or a person duly authorised by the owner. How - ever, if the aircraft is mortgaged or seized by court order, it cannot be deregistered until the mortgage is cleared or the consent of the mortgagee is received. Additionally, any existing seizure order must be lifted. 2.8.2 Lessee’s/Operator’s Consent A lessee’s or operator’s consent is not required to deregister the aircraft. 2.8.3 Required Documentation To deregister the aircraft in Lithuania, the owner (or a person authorised by the owner) would need to file a respective application to the civil aviation authority, accompanied by an original of the certificate of regis - tration and proof of payment of the state fee. 2.8.4 Duration of Deregistration Process The legal acts state that the decision on deregistering the aircraft must be passed within ten calendar days upon receipt of the necessary documents. In practice, the deregistration is performed in one or two business days.
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