Article 41 - Right to good administration
Article 47 - Right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial
Key facts of the case:
According to the Order No. 1V-899/V-330 On the Procedure for Issuing Visas approved by the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, a civil servant of the Visa Centre ( a public administration entity) when has established any of the grounds for refusing to issue a national visa, listed in the Law on the Legal Status of Foreigners, must make an administrative decision on the refusal to issue a national visa by writing a decision in a standardised form. This form does not provide for the possibility to state the factual basis of the administrative decision or other circumstances that influenced the administrative decision, as well as the reasons for the administrative decision (or at least to indicate the essence of the grounds for refusing to issue a visa or summarised reasons). The Supreme Administrative Court, deciding the issue of the justification of the decision on the refusal to issue a national visa in another case, questioned whether such legal regulation does not contradict the constitutional principle of the rule of law, the provisions of the Constitution of Lithuania and the Law on Public Administration. As a result, the process of this case was initiated.
Key legal question raised by the Court:
Whether the standard form for the decisions on the refusal to issue a national visa does not provide for the possibility to state the factual basis for the administrative decision or other circumstances that influenced the administrative decision, as well as the reasons for the administrative decision (or at least to indicate the essence of the grounds for refusing to issue a visa or summarised reasons), complies with the principle of good administration established in Articles 10(5) and 10(6) of the Law on Public Administration?
Outcome of the case:
The standard form for the decisions on the refusal to issue a national visa does not provide for the possibility to state the factual basis for the administrative decision or other circumstances that influenced the administrative decision, as well as the reasons for the administrative decision (or at least to indicate the essence of the grounds for refusing to issue a visa or summarised reasons), do not comply with the principle of good administration established in Articles 10(5) and 10(6) of the Law on Public Administration.
37. It is important to note that, as revealed in the collective monograph "The Application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union as a Standard for the Defence of Individual Rights at the Supra- and National Levels", the content of the right to good administration in the law of the European Union (the content of the personal right at the supranational level), as well as the development of this right, is mainly determined by the jurisprudence of the CJEU, as well as the primary law of the European Union. Accordingly, the concept of the right to good administration in the national law of the member states of the European Union, including the Republic of Lithuania (the content of personal rights at the national level) is formed not only by the constitutional and ordinary law of the respective state, but also by supranational law, that is, the law of the European Union.
38. The right of every person to good administration is established in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. According to the provisions of the Charter, this right means that institutions should handle affairs impartially, fairly and within a reasonable time (Article 41 (1)). Article 41 (2) of the Charter states that the right to good administration includes: the right of every person to be heard before any individual measure which would affect him or her adversely is taken (point a); the right of every person to have access to his or her file, while respecting the legitimate interests of confidentiality and of professional and business secrecy (point b); the obligation of the administration to give reasons for its decisions (point c).
39. The consistently developed practice of the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania clearly reveals that these provisions of the Charter express general legal values, which, when deciding on the content of the principle of good administration in Lithuania, can be considered as an additional source of legal interpretation.
40. According to the Court of Justice, the right to good administration enshrined in Article 41 of the Charter reflects a general principle of Union law. This article also reflects the obligation to state reasons, which is considered a general principle of Union law applicable to Member States when they implement the right to good administration. In accordance with the right to an effective legal defence guaranteed by Article 47 of the Charter, the reasons provided must allow, on the one hand, the interested parties to assess whether the decision taken may have defects that could challenge its validity and, on the other hand, for the competent court to exercise legality control.
37. Svarbu atkreipti dėmesį, kaip atskleista kolektyvinėje monografijoje „Europos Sąjungos pagrindinių teisių chartijos, kaip individualiųjų teisių gynybos standarto, taikymas supra- ir nacionaliniu lygmenimis“, teisės į gerą administravimą turinį Europos Sąjungos teisėje (individualios teisės turinį supranacionaliniu lygmeniu), taip pat šios teisės raidą daugiausiai lemia ESTT jurisprudencija, taip pat Europos Sąjungos pirminė teisė. Atitinkamai teisės į gerą administravimą sampratą nacionalinėje Europos Sąjungos valstybių narių, iš jų ir Lietuvos Respublikos, teisėje (individualios teisės turinį nacionaliniu lygmeniu) formuoja ne tik atitinkamos valstybės konstitucinė ir ordinarinė teisė, bet ir supranacionalinė, tai yra Europos Sąjungos teisė
38. Kiekvieno asmens teisė į gerą administravimą nustatyta Europos Sąjungos Pagrindinių teisių chartijoje. Pagal Chartijos nuostatas ši teisė reiškia, kad institucijos reikalus turėtų tvarkyti nešališkai, teisingai ir per kiek įmanomai trumpesnį laiką (Chartijos 41 str. 1 d.). Chartijos 41 straipsnio 2 dalyje nurodyta, kad teisė į gerą administravimą apima: kiekvieno asmens teisę būti išklausytam prieš taikant bet kokią individualią jam nepalankią priemonę (a punktas); kiekvieno asmens teisę susipažinti su savo byla, laikantis teisėto konfidencialumo ir profesinio bei verslo slaptumo (b punktas); administracijos pareigą pagrįsti savo sprendimus (c punktas).
39. Nuosekliai išplėtota Lietuvos vyriausiojo administracinio teismo praktika aiškiai atskleidžia, kad šios Chartijos nuostatos išreiškia bendro pobūdžio teisines vertybes, į kurias, sprendžiant dėl gero administravimo principo turinio Lietuvoje, gali būti atsižvelgiama kaip į papildomą teisės aiškinimo šaltinį.
40. Pasak Teisingumo Teismo, Chartijos 41 straipsnyje įtvirtinta teisė į gerą administravimą atspindi bendrą Sąjungos teisės principą. Šis straipsnis taip pat atspindi pareigą motyvuoti, laikomą bendruoju Sąjungos teisės principu, taikytinu valstybėms narėms, kai jos įgyvendina šią teisę. Remiantis teise į veiksmingą teisinę gynybą, garantuojama Chartijos 47 straipsnyje, pateikti motyvai turi leisti, viena vertus, suinteresuotiesiems asmenims įvertinti, ar priimtas sprendimas gali turėti trūkumų, dėl kurių būtų galima ginčyti jo galiojimą, ir, kita vertus, jurisdikciją turinčiam teismui vykdyti teisėtumo kontrolę.
