Private Enforcement of European Financial Markets Regulation and Lithuanian Experience

More than decade ago EU financial regulation introduced modern, systematic and detailed administrative regulation of investor protection. In general, it did not address the civil law effects of this regime and did not specify civil remedies for the protection of the investors, except some minor exceptions, which existed even in that stage of EU financial regulation. However, the reaction to the global financial crisis forced to reconsider EU legislative policy towards enforcement efficiency and that, in turn, has led to the recent shift, albeit slight, in the attitude on the private enforcement of EU financial regulation, as evidenced by particular elements of civil actions in the EU financial markets law. As the EU system of private enforcement just recently started to emerge, it is hardly possible, that private enforcement of EU financial regulation will become fully harmonized in near future. When EU legislator will proceed further with the task of harmonization, before doing so, it would be rational to learn from the different national experiences, which encompass both – failures and solutions in the field of private enforcement of EU financial regulation. Lithuanian experience has shown that principles of private law, which were perfected for several millenniums, even today, when EU financial regulation is very detailed, sophisticated and advanced, are able to offer efficient solutions and support public supervision of financial markets – a clear domain of public law. However, Lithuanian experience has shown also particular weaknesses of the civil justice in the pursuit of private enforcement of EU financial regulation