An obvious construction defect is hidden, traces of flooding dry up, an online record is deleted. Evidence lost today can mean losses tomorrow. Facts recorded by a bailiff no longer disappear.
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However, as seen from a survey conducted in March 2026, only one in four Lithuanian residents currently knows about the fact-finding service provided by bailiffs. To make this legal tool more accessible, the Lithuanian Chamber of Bailiffs is launching a special website.
“As the pace of life accelerates, it is useful for everyone to have not only their own doctor or lawyer but also a bailiff. The new website faktines.eu is an additional opportunity to contact a bailiff and timely secure reliable evidence that can be decisive in case of a dispute,” says bailiff and chairman of the presidium of the Lithuanian Chamber of Bailiffs, Irmantas Gaidelis.
Tests of production equipment and land plot boundaries are recorded
According to the Bailiffs’ Information System, over more than two decades, various facts have been recorded in Lithuania more than 64,000 times at clients’ requests. Bailiffs call the recording of the progress and quality of construction works, the effects of storms and heavy rains, or evidence in the digital space a daily routine. However, sometimes very specific circumstances must be recorded. For example, tests of production equipment in a fish products company’s workshop.
According to bailiff and member of the presidium of the Lithuanian Chamber of Bailiffs Laurynas Lukšys, it was precisely the protocol of fact-finding that helped one service client win a dispute with the equipment manufacturer. The manufacturer did not respond to previous requests to fix defects. The custom-made device cut fish fillets irregularly, leaving a lot of waste. Only after the bailiff, with an expert present, recorded the production process, detached parts of the device, and errors shown on the control panel in the workshop, did the manufacturer refund the money for the defective product.
In another case, a bailiff recorded how a surveyor-cartographer restored the boundaries of a land plot, which no longer matched the plot plan due to an excessively wide pond. Boundary markers were hammered even in the depth of the pond.
Quite often, bailiffs are asked to record various waste sorting, storage, and warehousing conditions, as well as sample collection. “In such cases, the sample collection procedure, defined by relevant standards, is also recorded because the samples then go to laboratories,” says bailiff L. Lukšys.
Timely recorded housing condition – safer rental
The beginning of autumn is an active housing rental period. Students flood big cities, tenants change, and new rental agreements are made. Therefore, bailiffs are more often asked to record the condition of housing, although such requests are common throughout the year.
“If unruly tenants knew how serious evidence a bailiff’s recorded condition of a damaged property is, they would probably take better care of the owners’ property,” considers bailiff and member of the Bailiffs’ Honor Court Neringa Bacevičienė. Having a protocol prepared by a bailiff, owners quite successfully claim compensation for damages.
Sometimes tenants disappear without paying rent and leave the property damaged. “Once, a tenant of a modernly furnished apartment nailed nails into a new beautiful table and mounted electrical outlets on it,” recalls the bailiff.
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Housing owners often attach photos of premises and items taken by themselves to the rental agreement. However, in case of a dispute, questions may arise about when and under what circumstances they were taken. A bailiff’s fact-finding protocol is more weighty evidence because the facts are recorded by an impartial professional.
Fact-finding also helps resolve disputes about communication with children
Fact-finding can also be useful in disputes about parents’ communication with children. For example, if one parent claims that the other did not arrive at the agreed time to pick up the child, and the other denies it, it can be difficult to determine what really happened.
“In such a situation, a bailiff objectively records the facts: that a specific person arrived at a certain place at a certain time, rang the doorbell, or performed other actions, but, for example, the door was not opened. The circumstances recorded by the bailiff facilitate dispute resolution,” says bailiff I. Gaidelis.
Official evidence recorded using modern tools
When providing the fact-finding service, a bailiff objectively and impartially records what is happening, visible, or audible at a specific moment. Various technical means are used if necessary – from smartphones and drones to thermal imagers, moisture meters, or crack gauges. Experts may be involved for specific measurements.
According to bailiff Mindaugas Dabkus, experts arriving at construction sites or flooded premises often bring “a whole car” full of special devices. “I have had to record premises flooded with a 10 cm layer of water and collapsed concrete floors under which the soil was washed away by heavy rain. Without special devices, it would be impossible to measure concrete saturation or other specific parameters, which can be decisive in resolving disputes,” says M. Dabkus.
Photos, videos, and recorded measurement data become an integral part of the fact-finding protocol. The protocol prepared by the bailiff is official written evidence. All fact-finding protocols are stored in the Bailiffs’ Information System and cannot be altered.
At clients’ request, protocols are also provided electronically along with photos. The digital protocol is convenient to submit to the court via the Electronic Services Portal together with a claim or as an additional document in the case under consideration.
You can apply for the fact-finding service from any chosen bailiff. More information and the possibility to submit an inquiry here.
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