Application of Soft Law Instruments in International Economic Law: Insights on Lithuanian Practice on the Legal Regulation of Customs Duties

Purpose – the main aim of this article is to describe the legal status and purpose of soft law sources in international economic law (international customs law, regulating the taxation of international trade) and their relationship with the rules of the European Union (hereinafter EU) and national customs law. Design/methodology/approach – analysis of relevant issues is based both on theoretical (analysis and synthesis, systematic, comparative) and, in particular, empirical methods (statistical analysis of data, analysis of documents, generalization of professional experience, in particular – practice of the courts of Lithuanian Republic in disputes with customs authorities as well as the practice of the CJEU. The article consists of an introduction, four chapters and conclusions. Finding – the results of the research points out that currently the national courts of Lithuania, as an EU Member State, aren't fully following the constantly evolving jurisprudence of the CJEU, in particular, on issues of soft law sources applicable to the tariff classification of goods, customs valuation and their relationship with the EU customs legislation (EU Combined Nomenclature, Community Customs Code). Research limitations/implications – the analysis is limited to a certain period of time (yrs. 2010 – 2015) and is based on the practice of the Lithuanian Supreme Administrative Court in cases related to the activities of customs authorities and taxation with customs duties in Lithuania as well as the practice of the CJEU, concerning the tariff classification of goods. Practical implications – as it can be seen from the practice of national (Lithuanian) cases, related to the tariff classification of goods and their customs valuation, there are various obstacles to the efficient functioning of relevant soft law sources in coherence with the EU practice, formulated by the CJEU. These obstacles and problems includes accessibility to the certain soft law sources (HSENs) on the national level, incorrect recognition of their legal value in national judicial proceedings and, in certain cases, granting the direct effect to the WTO soft law sources, while such feature is generally not recognized by the CJEU. This implies the need to modify and adjust the rules of national law, in particular, the Law on Customs of the Republic of Lithuania. Originality/Value – general questions on the status of soft law sources in the field of international economic law are considered quite widely in the legal doctrine by foreign authors (Lux, 2007; Weerth, 2007; Schaffer, Pollack, 2010; Wolffgang, Kafeero, 2014). However, the national legal doctrine (in Lithuania) examines only the general issues on application of soft law sources, recognizing the importance of the formally legally non-binding legislation, whose purpose is to ensure the uniform application of customs legislation (Medelienė, Sudavičius, 2011). On the other hand, the practical application of these sources of law (the analysis of specific examples of the national case law) is not assessed, described and / or compared to the analogous CJEU practice.