A lawsuit is the initial act that initiates a litigation process.
The lawsuit is filed in a sufficient number of copies for the court and the opposite party.
Upon receiving the lawsuit, the court will conduct a preliminary examination of the lawsuit to determine whether it contains all the elements required by the provisions of the Law on Civil Procedure. If it is found that the lawsuit is unclear or incomplete, or if there are deficiencies related to the capacity of the litigants to participate in the litigation, or deficiencies related to the legal representation of a party, or deficiencies regarding the authority of the representative to initiate the lawsuit if such authority is required, the court shall take the necessary measures to rectify these deficiencies. If the deficiencies cannot be remedied, the court shall issue a decision dismissing the lawsuit.
The court then serves a copy of the complaint to the defendant, at which point the litigation commences.
In high-value disputes, the court will instruct the defendant that he is required to provide a response to the lawsuit within 30 days from the date of receiving the lawsuit. If the defendant fails to comply with the court’s order and does not submit a response to the lawsuit within the legally prescribed timeframe, the court may resolve the proceedings by issuing a default judgment ( judgment in favor of a plaintiff ).
Lawsuits in civil proceedings can be categorized into three types: mandatory, declaratory and conversion (constitutive).
A lawsuit in which the plaintiff requests the court to condemn the defendant to perform a specific act, i.e., to give something, do something, or refrain from something, is called a mandatory or condemnatory lawsuit. In a condemnatory lawsuit, the plaintiff asks the court to order the defendant to engage in a particular behavior, condemn them to perform a certain action or refrain from it—taking a specific action, refraining from an action, or enduring an action. Examples of such lawsuits include those seeking the payment of a specific monetary amount (debt lawsuit, lawsuit for compensation for material and non-material damages, groundless enrichment lawsuit), lawsuits for the delivery of an item, lawsuits restraining the defendant from undertaking specific actions, and so on.
A lawsuit in which the court is requested to determine the existence or non-existence of a specific right or legal relationship, or the truth or falsehood of a document, is called a declaratory lawsuit. A declaratory lawsuit seeks the court’s determination of the existence or non-existence of a particular right or legal relationship or the truth or falsehood of a document. In such lawsuits, the plaintiff is required to demonstrate a legal interest in filing the lawsuit. The lawsuit may request the court to establish the existence of a specific right or the existence of a legal relationship as a whole. Examples of declaratory lawsuits include a lawsuit to determine the nullity of a real estate purchase contract, a lawsuit to determine the nullity of a life support contract, a lawsuit to establish property rights, a lawsuit for interference with possession, a lawsuit to determine the unlawfulness of enforcement on an execution subject, and similar cases.
A lawsuit that requests a change in a specific legal relationship is a transformative lawsuit (constitutive). In a transformative lawsuit, the plaintiff seeks a change in a particular legal relationship. This type of claim can be made when altering the legal relationship is only possible with the consent of the opposing party, which is not obtained. Typical examples of such lawsuits are divorce petitions or contract termination lawsuits. The actual change takes effect upon the legal validity of the decision that approves the plaintiff’s request.
One lawsuit can encompass multiple claims. For example, a lawsuit for the annulment of an unlawful termination of an employment contract can include a request for the annulment of the decision terminating the employment contract, a request for the reinstatement of the employee, and a request for the employer to pay all salary compensations from the moment the employment contract was unlawfully terminated until the employee’s reinstatement.
Similarly, a divorce lawsuit often includes a request that the court obligates the parent who does not independently exercise parental rights to provide financial support to the parent entrusted with parental rights for the maintenance of the common child – alimony.