What applies when one parent ignores a court-approved child contact order?
In a consequences-of-divorce agreement, parents often agree not only on how the child will spend time with each of them, but also on a penalty payable by whoever fails to keep to it. It looks like an extra guarantee. In its ruling of 2 September 2026 in civil case No. e3K-7-68-684/2026, an extended panel of seven judges of the Supreme Court of Lithuania explained that such a penalty is recovered quite differently from what most people expect.
What was the case about?
One parent asked the court to issue a writ of execution for a court-approved contact order that was not being complied with, and at the same time to recover a penalty of EUR 9,000 that the parents had agreed in their consequences-of-divorce agreement. The court of first instance issued the writ for the contact order and for EUR 3,000 of the penalty, and the appellate court left that decision unchanged. The cassation court set aside the part concerning the penalty.
Why is a consequences-of-divorce agreement not a settlement agreement?
The Supreme Court explained that the two are not the same. Where a court-approved consequences-of-divorce agreement is not complied with, the writ of execution is issued as for a final court decision under Article 646(1) of the Code of Civil Procedure, and not under Article 646(3), which governs writs based on a court-approved settlement agreement. The difference is not merely procedural. It determines what the court examines at all when issuing the writ.
Does the court check whether the order was breached before issuing the writ?
No. The panel stated that at the stage of issuing the writ the court does not investigate whether the contact order was breached. That is assessed later, in enforcement proceedings: the bailiff records the specific breaches and applies to the court for measures, and the court then assesses the reasons for non-compliance and the other relevant circumstances. A writ is also issued not for any and every term of the agreement, but only for those terms that are capable of enforcement.
Can parents agree the amount of the fine themselves?
Not the fine under Article 771(6) of the Code of Civil Procedure. The panel noted that the fact this fine is awarded to the party seeking enforcement does not mean the parties are free to agree its amount. They are not prevented from agreeing on compensation for other losses, but that has no bearing on the imposition of the fine in cases of this kind.
What remedy remains when a contact order is not complied with?
Article 771(6) of the Code of Civil Procedure. Having established that the debtor has not complied with the decision or a mandatory instruction, the court may impose a fine of up to three hundred euros for each day of delay, payable to the party seeking enforcement. The panel emphasised that the purpose of this fine is to apply financial pressure on the parent who obstructs the contact order, rather than to compensate the other party’s losses. If damages are later claimed, the amount of the fine imposed is set off against them.
How did the case end?
The panel set aside the parts of the lower courts’ rulings concerning the writ for recovery of the EUR 3,000 penalty and terminated that part of the case. The question of the debtor’s civil liability cannot be decided when a writ is issued, so a separate claim had to be brought for that penalty. The remaining part of the writ question was referred back to the court of first instance, because the writ had also been issued for terms that are not capable of enforcement. The ruling is final and not subject to appeal.
What this means in practice
If your agreement provides for a penalty for breaches of the contact order, that penalty does not disappear, but there is no shortcut through a writ of execution. It is a separate case in which the breach and its consequences have to be proved. If your priority is to make the contact order work, the more effective route is for the bailiff to record the breaches and for the court to impose the fine under Article 771(6).
Our advice
Before going to court, decide what you are after: compliance with the order, or compensation for breaches that have already happened. The procedure and the evidence you need to gather depend on that choice. Our family law team in Kaunas helps assess the situation and prepare the documents for either route.
