Changes in the Case Law of the Supreme Court of Lithuania Regarding the Burden of Proof under a Contract of Purchase and Sale

The purpose of this article is to assess the changes in the case law of the Supreme Court of Lithuania regarding the distribution of the burden of proof when a dispute arises between the parties regarding the payment of the price for the sold item after the seller transfers the item to the buyer’s ownership. It should be noted that at the end of 2019, the Supreme Court of Lithuania began to form the practice that the seller, who claims that the buyer did not pay with him, must prove it. Only a little over a year later, the Court of Cassation essentially formulated a new rule of interpretation and application of the law, stating that in the event of a dispute over the proper performance of the obligation to pay the price under the contract of purchase and sale, it is the buyer who must prove this fact. Thus, the ruling adopted by the extended panel of judges of the Civil Cases Division of the Supreme Court of Lithuania on 24 February 2021, rebutted the previously established presumption that after the seller handed over the item, the buyer is deemed to have fulfilled his obligation to pay for the purchased item. This article seeks to assess why there was a need to change the case law and how the new precedent formed by the Supreme Court will help to ensure the balance of interests and legitimate expectations of the subjects of legal relations of purchase and sale