On December 26, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. The number of applications for initiating summary proceedings received by the Economic Court of the Vitebsk Region increased 1.6 times in January-November of the current year compared to the same period in 2010. This was reported to a BELTA correspondent by Olga Kibisova, Head of the Judicial Practice Department of the Economic Court of the Vitebsk Region. In connection with the changes in legislation, the active development of summary proceedings and conciliation procedures, as well as their promotion, the structure of appeals received by the Economic Court has fundamentally changed. Thus, compared to the 11 months of 2010, the number of lawsuits received in January-November of the current year decreased by 63%, while the number of applications for initiating summary proceedings increased by 163%. According to Olga Kibisova, the popularity of summary proceedings is explained by the fact that it allows businesses to save money and time: the review is carried out within 20 days and without summoning the parties, but most importantly, there is a significant difference in state duty rates. For example, when recovering Br1 billion through the Economic Court in litigation, one must pay Br11.2 million in state duty, while for recovering the same amount in summary proceedings, the duty will be only Br175 thousand. This significant difference is the main incentive for businesses when choosing methods of debt recovery, the interviewee stated. The Law "On Amendments and Additions to Certain Codes of the Republic of Belarus on Improving Economic Proceedings" provides that claimants in summary proceedings can now include penalties and interest for the use of other people's money in the amount of claims. Documents confirming the debtor's debt or acknowledgment of debt can be not only a settlement reconciliation act, but also a response to a claim, as well as other written evidence signed by an authorized representative of the debtor. In addition, evidence that the debtor does not dispute the claimant's claims may be the debtor's inaction (silence), in particular, leaving the claim unanswered, unless otherwise provided by the agreement of the parties. -0-

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