Free legal aid is no longer available for appeals. Why is it absolutely worth requesting access to the Lithuanian court portal, and how can it be used? What tools exist to defend your right to protection? This episode features the story of a refugee from Belarus who went through several rounds of court proceedings. How does the appeals process work — and what role does the human factor play?
A rejection of asylum doesn’t always mean you don’t meet the criteria. The process is deeply subjective: human factors, political context, and chance can completely change the outcome. One officer might recognize the threat of persecution in your case, while another might not. That’s why a rejection should not be seen as a final sentence.
Since 2025, free legal assistance is provided only during the first stage of the appeal process. If the court upholds the Department of Migration’s decision, you will need to file your own appeal in the second stage. At the appeal level, you are left alone to face the system. You will have to find your own resources — both financial and emotional. You can turn to humanitarian organizations, but their help is limited: their lawyers do not represent you in court. Without a lawyer, you’ll have to manage the process yourself — submit motions, monitor court responses, and track replies from the authorities.
The court portal e.teismas.lt is a tool that lets you stay in control of your case. Through it, you can receive notifications, submit documents, track your case progress, and — most importantly — not depend on court office hours or postal delays. It’s best to sign up early — already during the first-instance procedure — so you can monitor the work of your free legal aid attorney and quickly respond if the case moves to the appeal stage.
The appeal process has two stages: first, the regional court; then, the Supreme Administrative Court. An appeal is submitted through the court of first instance, but it is reviewed by the Supreme Administrative Court, usually in written form — meaning you will not be required to attend the hearing.
In what cases can you request access to a case in the e.teismas system?
- Your case is already being heard in court.
- If you are only planning to file an appeal, you can request access at the same time you submit your complaint.
Steps to obtain access to your case
- Fill out the request form. To request access credentials, you need to fill out a special application form. You can download the form here: Download the application form.
- Send the request to the court. Send the completed form to the email address of the court that is reviewing your case. Contact details can be found on the official websites of the courts.
If your case has not yet been initiated, the request should be submitted together with your complaint.
- Receive your login credentials. After your request is reviewed, you will be invited to the court to receive your login information: a username and password. With these, you will be able to access your account on the e.teismas portal.
- Share your login credentials with the court secretary. To make your case materials accessible in your account, provide your login information to the secretary of the judicial panel’s chairperson. If you do not know who that is, send an inquiry to the court’s general email address.
Having access to information is crucial in such matters. You should not rely solely on your lawyer — as shown by the story of Yegor, a Belarusian asylum seeker who went through several rounds of appeals.
Yegor applied for asylum in Lithuania back in 2020, but the Migration Department denied him protection. He began appealing the decision: first in the court of first instance, and then in the appeals court, as the first court had also rejected his claim.
Yegor won the appeal — the court overturned the Migration Department’s decision and ordered it to be reviewed. However, the Belarusian asylum seeker remained unaware of this for a long time, because the state-appointed lawyer never informed him about the outcome. He found out about the victory much later.
In Yegor’s opinion, the lawyer was not interested in him winning the case. The court, however, sided with him, having identified procedural violations by the defendant.
The Migration Department delayed making a new decision, so Yegor filed a lawsuit over the delay — and won again. After that, the department finally issued a new decision but once more rejected his asylum request. This time, instead of questioning the authenticity of the court summons (as they did previously), they deemed the application unfounded, arguing that the article mentioned in the document referred to hooliganism, which they claimed was not politically motivated.
The Belarusian man resumed the appeals process. The regional court rejected his claim again, but the appellate court ordered the lower court to review the decision. However, the claim was once more denied, and the case ultimately reached the Supreme Administrative Court — which also ruled against the asylum seeker.
He believes not all judges are well-informed about the political situation in Belarus. If a judicial panel tends to trust the Migration Department, it’s difficult to convince them otherwise — making the process highly subjective. Similarly, within the department, some inspectors are known for denying cases more often than others.
Yegor’s story clearly shows that, unfortunately, the human factor plays a major role. It also highlights flaws in the work of lawyers, who may fail to properly inform the applicant about the status of the case. This can lead to missing hearings or not learning the outcome in time. While little can be done about the human factor, ensuring access to information is crucial — lacking it can result in serious consequences.
If you would like to be a guest on the Easier Said podcast as a guest or have a question, we invite you to anonymously fill out a feedback form: https://forms.office.com/r/R6zVM97JfP
If you would like to participate in the recording, it is possible for those who are in Vilnius, because we record the podcast here. If you are not from Vilnius but want to share your story, we can tell it in the podcast instead of you. In this case, select “Have a question/suggestion or want to share information” in the second question of the form and tell your story in as much detail as possible, so that it helps other refugees or asylum seekers who have faced a similar problem and have not yet solved it.
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