5.  The applicants were born in 1963 and 1964 respectively and live in Kaunas.
6.  The first applicant was the owner of a private unlimited liability company (individuali įmonė) (see paragraphs 29-31 below). In 2001 another company brought a claim against her company to recover rent arrears for its premises together with interest for late payment. During the proceedings before the court of first instance the first applicant asked for several adjournments due to her illness, one of which was granted. On 27 February 2001 the Kaunas Regional Court ordered the first applicant’s company to pay a total of 211,883 Lithuanian litai (LTL – approximately 61,365 euros (EUR)) to the claimant company. The first applicant appealed and on 26 June 2001 the Court of Appeal remitted the case to the court of first instance for fresh examination. On 27 September 2001 the first applicant brought a counterclaim for LTL 167,018, alleging that the claimant company had failed to properly fulfil its contractual obligations. On 8 April 2002 the Kaunas Regional Court allowed the claim and allowed the counterclaim in part, ordering the first applicant’s company to pay LTL 211,884 and the claimant company LTL 5,295. The first applicant appealed and on 15 July 2002 the Court of Appeal increased the sum to be paid by the claimant company to LTL 8,103. The first applicant submitted a cassation appeal and on 29 January 2003 the Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeal’s decision. In those proceedings the first applicant’s company was always represented by a lawyer hired by her.
7.  On 28 March 2003 the Kaunas Regional Court instituted bankruptcy proceedings in respect of the first applicant’s company.
8.  In 2004 the second applicant asked the domestic courts to reopen the rent arrears proceedings and to suspend the bankruptcy proceedings. He claimed that he had not been party to the proceedings even though he was the first applicant’s husband and the private unlimited liability company was a joint matrimonial asset. The second applicant was represented by a lawyer throughout those proceedings. The second applicant also asked for an adjournment of the proceedings due to his lawyer’s absence and his request was granted.
9.  On 25 May 2004 the Kaunas Regional Court refused to reopen the proceedings because the second applicant had failed to lodge his claim within the prescribed time-limit of three months of becoming aware of the circumstances providing the grounds for the reopening of the proceedings. He appealed and on 26 August 2004 the Court of Appeal returned the case to the court of first instance for fresh examination. During the proceedings, the second applicant asked for adjournment due to his lawyer’s absence, which was granted. On 7 January 2005 the Kaunas Regional Court decided to reopen the rent arrears proceedings. On 19 January 2005 it joined them to the bankruptcy proceedings. The second applicant submitted several appeals against the joining of the two cases but they were subsequently dismissed.
10.  On 20 June 2005 the Kaunas Regional Court examined the reopened rent arrears case, concluded that the second applicant should not have been involved in the proceedings and rejected the request of the second applicant to have the decision of the Kaunas Regional Court of 8 April 2002 quashed (see paragraph 6 above). The applicants appealed against this decision and on 9 August 2005 the Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the Kaunas Regional Court of 20 June 2005 not to quash the decision of the Kaunas Regional Court of 8 April 2002 regarding the payment of rent arrears, but observed that the second applicant should have been involved in the proceedings because that was the main reason for reopening the rent arrears case. The second applicant requested legal aid in order to prepare a cassation appeal against the Kaunas Regional Court’s decision of 20 June 2005 and the Court of Appeal’s decision of 9 August 2005. On 4 November 2005 his request was accepted by the Kaunas State Guaranteed Legal Aid Service (hereinafter “the Legal Aid Service”). The first applicant also requested legal aid to prepare comments on the second applicant’s cassation appeal. On 6 January 2006 her request was granted by the Legal Aid Service. On 20 March 2006 the Supreme Court examined the applicants’ cassation appeals, observing that the reopened case concerned only procedural aspects and that the merits had not been examined at all. The case was returned to the Kaunas Regional Court for fresh examination.
11.  On 12 August 2005 both applicants requested legal aid to prepare claims with regard to the bankruptcy and rent arrears proceedings. On 7 September 2005 both applicants’ requests were denied because their claims were directly related to their commercial or independent professional activities. The applicants started administrative proceedings, complaining about the decisions of the Legal Aid Service not to provide them with legal assistance. The applicants asked for legal aid in the administrative proceedings, which they were given on 2 November 2005 and 6 January 2006 respectively. On 10 February and 1 August 2006 respectively the Kaunas Regional Administrative Court and the Supreme Administrative Court dismissed as unsubstantiated the applicants’ claims concerning the refusal to grant them legal aid, holding that under domestic law, legal aid was unavailable if the claims were directly related to a person’s commercial or independent professional activities (see paragraph 28 below).
12.  On 4 April 2006 the Kaunas Regional Court decided to separate the bankruptcy case from the rent arrears case.
13.  On 8 May 2006 both applicants requested that the Court of Appeal transfer the bankruptcy and rent arrears cases to the Vilnius Regional Court, but their request was dismissed on 15 May 2006 by the Court of Appeal.
14.  On 22 May 2006 both applicants submitted two requests for legal aid: one concerned the preparation of the cassation appeal against the Court of Appeal’s refusal to transfer their cases to the Vilnius Regional Court and the other concerned the reopening of the bankruptcy case. The requests were rejected on 25 May 2006 by the Legal Aid Service as their claims were directly related to their commercial or independent professional activities (see paragraph 28 below). The applicants started administrative proceedings, complaining about the decisions of the Legal Aid Service not to provide them with legal assistance. On 28 September 2006 and 6 April 2007 respectively their complaints were dismissed by the Kaunas Regional Administrative Court and the Supreme Administrative Court, which again held that under domestic law, legal aid was unavailable if the claims were directly related to a person’s commercial or independent professional activities. The applicants asked for the proceedings to be reopened but their request was dismissed on 8 May 2008 by the Supreme Administrative Court.
15.  On 12 July 2006 the second applicant submitted a request to have the examination of the rent arrears case suspended because the administrative proceedings concerning legal aid were ongoing (see paragraph 11 above). His request was granted by the Kaunas Regional Court the same day. In the meantime the applicants submitted a request to the Kaunas Regional Court and asked for the time-limit for submissions in the rent arrears case to be extended and the legality of the refusal of the legal aid to be examined. On 22 August 2006 the time-limit for submissions was extended but the legality of the refusal to grant them legal aid was not examined as it was considered to be outside the court’s jurisdiction.
16.  On 5 July 2006 both applicants submitted a request for legal aid for their representation in the reopened rent arrears case. It was rejected on 12 July 2006 by the Legal Aid Service as their claim was directly related to their commercial or independent professional activities (see paragraph 28 below). The applicants started administrative proceedings, complaining about the decision of the Legal Aid Service not to provide them with legal assistance. On 22 December 2006 and 8 June 2007 respectively their complaint was dismissed by the Kaunas Regional Administrative Court and the Supreme Administrative Court, which again held that under domestic law, legal aid was not available if the claims were directly related to a person’s commercial or independent professional activities. The applicants asked for the proceedings to be reopened but their request was dismissed on 8 May 2008 by the Supreme Administrative Court.
17.  The examination of the rent arrears case was resumed but was suspended by the Kaunas Regional Court on 5 September 2006 due to the ongoing administrative proceedings concerning the legal aid (see paragraph 16 above).
18.  After the examination of the rent arrears case was resumed on 28 June 2007 by the Kaunas Regional Court, the applicants asked for adjournments numerous times due to their own inability to be present. All their requests were granted by the Kaunas Regional Court.
19.  On 21 November 2007 both applicants submitted a request to the Legal Aid Service for legal aid for their representation in the reopened rent arrears case but their requests were dismissed on 27 November 2007 as their claim was directly related to their commercial or independent professional activities (see paragraph 28 below). The applicants started administrative proceedings, complaining about the decision of the Legal Aid Service not to provide them with legal assistance. On 7 April 2008 and 6 February 2009 respectively their complaint was dismissed by the Kaunas Regional Administrative Court and the Supreme Administrative Court, which again held that under domestic law, legal aid was not available if the claims were directly related to the person’s commercial or independent professional activities.
20.  On 20 December 2007 the Kaunas Regional Court examined the reopened rent arrears case and held that the first applicant’s company had to pay LTL 134,746 in unpaid rent and interest.
21.  On 19 January 2008 both applicants appealed, asking for the examination of the rent arrears case to be suspended until the administrative proceedings concerning legal aid were concluded (see paragraph 19 above). Their request was granted on 6 May 2008 by the Kaunas Regional Court.
22.  On 3 June 2009 the Court of Appeal resumed the rent arrears case and scheduled a hearing for 6 October 2009. On 25 June 2009 the applicants were sent a notice informing them that the case would be examined in a “public hearing in writing” (viešame teismo posėdyje rašytinio proceso tvarka) on 6 October 2009. The applicants responded on 2 October 2009 (as indicated on the post mark) that they would not be able to attend the hearing because on 30 September 2009 they were sent a notice that another case involving the first applicant was being examined at the same time that day. This letter was received by the Court of Appeal on 7 October 2009. On 6 October 2009 the Court of Appeal held an oral hearing where none of the parties were present. It examined the case in the parties’ absence, holding that all the parties had been duly notified of the date and time of the hearing. On 23 October 2009 the applicants’ appeal was dismissed.
23.  On 3 November 2009 both applicants submitted requests for legal aid for the preparation of a cassation appeal against the decision of 23 October 2009 of the Court of Appeal. Their requests were left unexamined on 6 November 2009 as they were considered to be analogous to the previously submitted and already rejected requests.
24.  As a consequence, no cassation appeal was submitted because in accordance with the provisions of domestic law, such appeals had to be submitted by a lawyer.
25.  The applicants brought proceedings against the State for damages, alleging that the decisions of the domestic courts had been unlawful. They submitted numerous complaints, including about being deprived of legal representation. On 3 March and 17 November 2014 respectively their complaints were rejected by the Vilnius Regional Court and the Court of Appeal. Their cassation appeal was rejected on 24 February 2015 by the Supreme Court.