COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 2024 Rule of Law Report Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania Accompanying the document COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 2024 Rule of Law Report The rule of law situation in the European Union
Date: 2024-07-24
Institutions: European Commission, Secretariat-General
Subjects: Lithuania, administrative transparency, corruption, democracy, freedom of the press, independence of the judiciary, infringement of EU law, pluralism in the media, rule of law, whistleblowing

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 24.7.2024  SWD(2024) 815 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 2024 Rule of Law Report           Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania Accompanying the document COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 2024 Rule of Law Report                        The rule of law situation in the European Union {COM(2024) 800 final} - {SWD(2024) 801 final} - {SWD(2024) 802 final} - {SWD(2024) 803 final} - {SWD(2024) 804 final} - {SWD(2024) 805 final} - {SWD(2024) 806 final} - {SWD(2024) 807 final} - {SWD(2024) 808 final} - {SWD(2024) 809 final} - {SWD(2024) 810 final} - {SWD(2024) 811 final} - {SWD(2024) 812 final} - {SWD(2024) 813 final} - {SWD(2024) 814 final} - {SWD(2024) 816 final} - {SWD(2024) 817 final} - {SWD(2024) 818 final} - {SWD(2024) 819 final} - {SWD(2024) 820 final} - {SWD(2024) 821 final} - {SWD(2024) 822 final} - {SWD(2024) 823 final} - {SWD(2024) 824 final} - {SWD(2024) 825 final} - {SWD(2024) 826 final} - {SWD(2024) 827 final} - {SWD(2024) 828 final} - {SWD(2024) 829 final} - {SWD(2024) 830 final} - {SWD(2024) 831 final}  
 
 
ABSTRACT 

The justice system continues to perform efficiently, and the use of digital tools continues to 
be  fostered.  A  reform  of  judicial  salaries  adopted  in  July  2023  is  positively  assessed  by 
judges, while concerns remain as to the remuneration of court staff and prosecutors. The new 
selection procedures for judicial appointments in force since January 2023 have allowed for 
multiple  appointments  to  the  Supreme  Court  without  delays  but  there  are  calls  to  reinforce 
some  more  safeguards  on  the  transparency  of  judicial  appointments  in  the  law.  There  are 
concerns that the discretion in announcing competitions and finalising judicial appointments 
may lead to delays in appointments and to vacant posts in lower courts. The Government has 
condemned acts of intimidation by Russian courts whereby they rendered sentences against 
judges,  exerting  pressure  on  judges  and  prosecutors.  The  reform  of  the  legal  aid  system 
continues  to  advance  but  is  not  yet  finalised,  while  legal  aid  providers  underline  that  the 
stipulated increase of hourly fees remains below inflation rates. 

The  first  implementation  plan  2023-2025  for  the  National  Anti-Corruption  Agenda  2022-
2033 is well on track. The implementation of the law on the adjustment of public and private 
interests  remains  efficient,  while  further  adjustments  are  under  way  to  improve  the 
declaration  process.  The  investigations  and  prosecutions  in  relation  to  corruption-related 
offences  are  carried  out  efficiently.  There  continue  to  be  concerns  over  shortcomings 
regarding  the  handling  of  foreign  bribery  cases  and  the  authorities  are  considering  the 
appropriate follow-up. High-risk areas for corruption, including public procurement, continue 
to be addressed by the authorities. The number of submitted lobbying declarations increases 
annually.  The  current  rules  on  political  party  financing  are  being  implemented.  The 
whistleblowing  framework  is  functioning  well,  and  the  authorities  aim  at  further 
strengthening the current rules.  

The  legal  framework  for  media  freedom  and  pluralism  in  Lithuania  continues  to  guarantee 
the fundamental right of freedom of expression and the right to information. The broadened 
composition  of  the  media  self-regulatory  body  has  been  predominantly  met  with  positive 
reactions. Transparency of media ownership is further promoted by linking it to access to the 
new  Media  Support  Fund  which  announced  the  first  recipients  in  April  2024.  The  public 
service  broadcaster  continues  to  operate  independently.  The  situation  regarding  access  to 
documents is better with the guidelines for public authorities, although their implementation 
by public authorities at all levels of government can still be improved. The Government has 
adopted  an  action  plan  for  the  safety  of  journalists  and  continues  to  strengthen  their 
protection against abusive lawsuits.   

Additional  human  and  financial  resources  have  been  allocated  to  the  Office  of  the 
Parliamentary  Ombudspersons.  New  rules  to  improve  the  quality  of  legislation  are  under 
preparation.  The  civic  space  continues  to  be  considered  open,  but  concerns  have  been 
expressed  among  civil  society  organisations  regarding  their  effective  participation  in 
decision-making  processes  and  access  to  information.  The  Judicial  Council  is  preparing  a 
proposal  to  be  granted  the  right  of  constitutional  appeal  regarding  legislation  affecting  the 
judiciary. 

1 

 
 
RECOMMENDATIONS  

Overall,  concerning  the  recommendations  in  the  2023  Rule  of  Law  Report,  Lithuania  has 
made: 

•  Some  further  progress  on  continuing  the  reform  of  the  legal  aid  system  by  ensuring 
adequate  conditions  for  the  participation  of  legal  aid  providers,  taking  into  account 
European standards on legal aid. 

•  Some further progress on continuing efforts to improve the transparency of the system of 
appointments  to  judicial  positions,  notably  to  the  Supreme  Court,  taking  into  account 
European standards on judicial appointments. 

•  Significant  progress  on  continuing  efforts  to  provide  adequate  resources  for  the  justice 
system,  including  on  the  level  of  remuneration  for  prosecutors  and  non-judicial  staff, 
taking  into  account  European  standards  on  resources  and  remuneration  for  the  justice 
system.  

•  Significant  progress  on  providing  adequate  human  and  financial  resources  for  the 
functioning  of  the  Office  of  the  Parliamentary  Ombudspersons,  taking  into  account 
European standards on resources for Ombudsinstitutions and the UN Paris Principles. 

On this basis, and considering other developments that took place in the period of reference, 
it is recommended to Lithuania to: 

•  Finalise  the  reform  of  the  legal  aid  system,  in  particular  by  reducing  the  administrative 
burden  and  ensuring  adequate  conditions  for  the  participation  of  legal  aid  providers, 
taking into account European standards on legal aid. 

•  Continue  efforts  to  improve  the  transparency  of  the  system  of  appointments  to  judicial 
positions,  notably  to  the  Supreme  Court,  taking  into  account  European  standards  on 
judicial appointments. 

•  Continue  efforts  to  provide  adequate  human  and  financial  resources  for  the  justice 

system, taking into account European standards on resources for the justice system. 

2 

 
 
 
 
 
I. 

JUSTICE SYSTEM  

The  justice  system  is  composed  of  the  Constitutional  Court1,  courts  of  general  jurisdiction 
(the  Supreme  Court,  the  Court  of  Appeal,  regional  courts  and  district  courts)  and  courts  of 
special jurisdiction (the Supreme Administrative Court and a Regional administrative court). 
The  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  as  well  as  its  President  chosen  from  among  them,  are 
appointed  and  released  by  Parliament  (Seimas)  upon  submission  by  the  President  of  the 
Republic.  The  judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeal,  as  well  as  its  President  chosen  from  among 
them,  are  appointed  by  the  President  of  the  Republic  upon  the  assent  of  Parliament.  The 
judges  and  presidents  of  district,  regional,  and  specialised  courts  are  appointed,  and  their 
places  of  work  can  be  changed,  by  the  President  of  the  Republic.  The  Judicial  Council, 
entirely composed of judges appointed by their peers, is the executive body of judicial self-
governance,  and  ensures  the  independence  of  courts  and  judges2.  The  Judicial  Council 
advises the President of the Republic on the appointment, promotion, and transfer of judges, 
or their release from duties. The National Courts Administration, which is independent from 
the  executive,  is  competent  for  providing  material  and  technical  support  to  the  courts, 
ensuring the efficient functioning of the court system and the training of judges. Prosecutors 
are independent; the Prosecutor General  is  appointed and dismissed by the President of the 
Republic  upon  the  assent  of  Parliament3.  Lower-ranked  prosecutors  are  appointed  by  the 
Prosecutor  General,  on  the  recommendation  of  a  Selection  Commission4.  Lithuania 
participates  in  the  European  Public  Prosecutor’s  Office  (EPPO).  The  Bar  Association  is  an 
independent part of the legal system.   

Independence  

The  level  of  perceived  judicial  independence  in  Lithuania  continues  to  be  average 
among  the  general  public  and  high  among  companies.  Overall,  56%  of  the  general 
population and 62% of companies perceive the level of independence of courts and judges to 
be ‘fairly or very good’ in 20245. Among the general public, this figure has slightly decreased 
in comparison with 2023 (57%), but it is higher than in 2020 (52%). The perceived judicial 
independence among companies has decreased in comparison with 2023 (64%), as well as in 
comparison with 2020 (66%)6. 

1   The  Constitutional  Court  is  composed  of  nine  judges,  appointed  by  Parliament,  from  among  candidates 
presented  by  the  President  of  the  Republic,  the  Speaker  of  Parliament,  and  the  President  of  the  Supreme 
Court. 

2   Art. 119, Law on Courts. 
3   Deputy Prosecutors General are appointed and dismissed by the President of the Republic on the proposal of 

the Prosecutor General. 

4   Arts.  22  and  26,  Law  on  the  amendment  of  the  law  on  the  prosecutor’s  office,  No.  I-599,  of  13  October 

1994. 

5   Figures 51 and 53, 2024 EU Justice Scoreboard, and Figures 50 and 52, 2022 EU Justice Scoreboard. The 
level  of  perceived  judicial  independence  is  categorised  as  follows:  very  low  (below  30%  of  respondents 
perceive judicial independence as fairly good and very good); low (between 30-39%), average (between 40-
59%), high (between 60-75%), very high (above 75%). 

6   54% of the companies in Lithuania are either fairly or very confident that their investments are protected by 
the  law  and  courts  in  the  Member  State.  26%  of  the  surveyed  companies  see  the  quality,  efficiency  or 
independence of justice as one of the main reasons for concern about investment protection in the country. 
Figures 55 and 56, 2024 EU Justice Scoreboard.  

3 

 
 
The  new  selection  procedures  for  judicial  appointments  in  force  since  January  2023 
have allowed for multiple appointments to the Supreme Court without delays resulting 
in  some  further  progress  to  improve  the  transparency  of  judicial  appointments,  but 
there  are  calls  to  reinforce  some  more  safeguards  in  the  law.  The  2023  Rule  of  Law 
Report  recommended  to  Lithuania  to  ‘[c]ontinue  efforts  to  improve  the  transparency  of  the 
system  of  appointments  to  judicial  positions,  notably  to  the  Supreme  Court,  taking  into 
account  European  standards  on  judicial  appointments’7.  As  mentioned  in  the  2023  Rule  of 
Law  Report,  amendments  to  the  Law  on  Courts, which  introduced  changes  to  the  selection 
procedures  for  candidates  for  judicial  office,  came  into  force  in  January  20238.  During  the 
reporting period, and under the new provisions, multiple appointments to the Supreme Court 
took  place,  without  the  delays  reported  in  previous  years9.  According  to  the  new  system, 
candidates  to  judicial  office  are  evaluated  by  a  Selection  Commission  and  entered  in  a 
general ranking list of courts of the relevant jurisdiction10. The order of candidates on the list 
is determined by the date at which they were added to the list of candidates11, and not by an 
assessment  ranking.  No  further  changes  were  introduced  during  the  reporting  year,  in 
particular with regard to the discretionary power of the President of the Republic in selecting 
candidates,  without  an  obligation  to  motivate.  The  opinion  of  the  Selection  Commission 
remains  consultative  and  candidate  judges  who  are  not  appointed  cannot  request  judicial 
review12.  However,  stakeholders  report  that  there  have  been  fewer  instances  in  which  the 
decisions of the President of the Republic departed from the lists prepared by the Selection 
Commission13.  Stakeholders  have  welcomed  the  improvements  in  the  practices  regarding 
appointments  but  continue  to  call  for  a  legislative  change  which  would  provide  for  the 
obligation  to  motivate  the  decisions  concerning  appointments,  and  for  the  possibility  of 
judicial review14,15. New discussions in this respect were triggered in March 2024, when the 
integrity  officer  of  Lithuanian  courts16  decided  to  investigate  one  case  where  the  candidate 

7   2023 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, p. 2. The 2022 Rule of 
Law Report had also recommended to Lithuania to ‘‘[i]nitiate a process in view of adapting the system of 
appointments  to  judicial  positions,  notably  to  the  Supreme  Court,  including  to  improve  transparency  and 
taking  into  account  European  standards  on  judicial  appointments’  (2022  Rule  of  Law  Report,  Country 
Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, p. 2). In the 2023 Rule of Law  Report, the Commission 
concluded that some progress was made on the recommendation. 

8   2023 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, p. 4. 
9   2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, p. 3; 2023 Rule of Law 

Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, pp. 3-4. 

10   Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 3. 
11   Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 6. 
12   2023 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, p. 5. 
13   Information received from the Judicial Council in the context of the country visit to Lithuania. 
14   Information  received  from  the  Judicial  Council  and  National  Courts Administration  in  the  context  of  the 
country visit to Lithuania. See also Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)12 of the Committee of Ministers of the 
Council of Europe, para. 47. The Court of Justice of the European Union has underlined that it is necessary 
to ensure that the substantive conditions and procedural rules governing the adoption of judicial appointment 
decisions  are  such  that  they  cannot  give  rise  to  reasonable  doubts,  in  the  minds  of  individuals,  as  to  the 
imperviousness  of  the  judges  concerned  to  external  factors  and  as  to  their  neutrality  with  respect  to  the 
interests  before  them,  once  they  have  been  appointed  as  judges  (see  e.g.  Court  of  Justice  of  the  European 
Union, judgment of 20 April 2021, Repubblika, C-896/19, para. 57, and the case law cited. 

15   In view of the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court (ruling of 9 May 2006), the Lithuanian authorities 
express doubt as to whether such legislative amendments, in particular, regarding judicial review, would be 
compatible with that jurisprudence. 

16   2023 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, p. 5. 

4 

 
 
with  the  lowest  assessment  was  selected  for  appointment17.  Overall,  there  has  been  some 
further progress on the recommendation made in the 2023 Rule of Law Report. 

The discretion in announcing competitions and finalising judicial appointments leads to 
delays in appointments and to vacant posts in lower courts. The amendments to the Law 
on  Courts,  were  expected  to  speed  up  the  process  of  appointments  in  all  instances18. 
However, it is reported that the reform has not led to the process being as fast and effective as 
expected at the level of lower courts19. Stakeholders consider that the fact that the President 
of the Republic retains discretion to announce the opening of the selection procedure, as well 
as to decide on the selected candidates to be appointed, without there being any timeline20, is 
leading to delays in the appointment procedures to lower courts21. Such delays have led to an 
increase in vacancies in district and regional courts22, with considerable impact on the courts 
capacity to operate23. Both the Judicial Council and the National Courts Administration have 
called on the Office of the President of the Republic for more predictability24, and are seeking 
to optimise the institutional cooperation in this regard25. 

The Government has  condemned acts of intimidation by Russian courts whereby they 
render  sentences  against  judges,  exerting  pressure  on  judges  and  prosecutors.  On  17 
August 2023, the Basmannyj District Court in Moscow sentenced in absentia and authorised 
the  arrest  of  three  Lithuanian  judges,  who  had  delivered  the  first  instance  judgment  of  27 
March 201926 in the case related to the events of 13 January of 199127, when the armed forces 
of  the  USSR  committed  an  act  of  aggression  against  the  independent  state  of  Lithuania, 

17   Meeting  of  the  Judicial  Council  of  1  March  2024,  available  at:  https://www.teismai.lt/lt/teismu-
savivalda/teiseju-taryba/teiseju-tarybos-posedziu-transliacijos/9653;  see  also  Lrytas,  ‘Head  of  the  Judicial 
Council S. Rudėnaitė on the procedure for appointing judges: the president cannot put his hand in the bag 
and pull out the 90th candidate’, 3 April 2024. 

18   2023 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, p. 4. 
19   Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 3. See also Contribution from European Network 

of Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ) for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 26. 

20   Reply  from  the  National  Courts Administration  of  the  Republic  of  Lithuania  to  the  judicial  independence 

questionnaire distributed by the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary, February 2024. 

21   Information  received  from  the  Judicial  Council  and  National  Courts Administration  in  the  context  of  the 

country visit to Lithuania. 

22   In January 2024, there were 63 vacancies in district courts, 8 vacancies in regional courts and 2 vacancies in 

regional administrative courts (Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 3). 

23   Information  received  from  the  Judicial  Council  and  National  Courts Administration  in  the  context  of  the 

country visit to Lithuania. 

24   Information  received  from  the  Judicial  Council  and  National  Courts Administration  in  the  context  of  the 

country visit to Lithuania. 

25   Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 3. See also Contribution from European Network 

of Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ) for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, pp. 26-27. 

26   Charges were brought in the Vilnius Regional Court against Dmitry Yazov, former Defence Minister of the 
Soviet  Union,  Vladimir  Uskhopchik,  the  Soviet  army’s  former  Vilnius  garrison  commander,  Mikhail 
Golovatov, former commander of the KGB’s special forces and 64 other former officials of the Soviet Union 
alleging their participation in crimes against humanity and war crimes during the events which took place in 
Vilnius on 13 January 1991. On 27 March 2019 the Vilnius Regional Court gave its judgment finding all the 
accused guilty of various crimes against humanity or war crimes.  See also ‘European association of judges 
statement on the purported prosecution of Lithuanian judges by Russian authorities’. 

27   See also ‘European Parliament resolution of 28 November 2019 on recent actions by the Russian Federation 
against  Lithuanian  judges,  prosecutors  and  investigators  involved  in  investigating  the  tragic  events  of  13 
January 1991 in Vilnius’ (2019/2938(RSP)). 

5 

 
 
which  left  14  people  dead  and  nearly  800  injured28.  Stakeholders  and  the  Lithuanian 
Government  have  condemned  these  actions29,  and  raised  concerns  that  these  may  not  only 
exert pressure on Lithuanian judges, but also on the judges of the international community30. 
The concerns were also brought to the attention of the European Commission by the Judicial 
Council31.  According  to  European  standards,  judges  should  have  unfettered  freedom  to 
decide  cases  impartially,  in  accordance  with  the  law  and  their  interpretation  of  the  facts32. 
The  interpretation  of  the  law,  assessment  of  facts  or  weighing  of  evidence  carried  out  to 
determine cases should not give rise to criminal liability, except in cases of malice33. 

Initiatives to support integrity in the justice system continue to be prioritised. In 2023, 
the Judicial Council approved the Policy of the Transparency of Lithuanian Courts34, setting 
up  the  essential  values  and  general  principles  to  be  promoted  in  courts,  that  should  be 
complied with by all agents in the justice system35. Special training on ‘Creation of an anti-
corruption  environment  in  the  judiciary’  is  also  being  conducted,  and  is  now  part  of 
compulsory  introductory  training  for  judges36.  Following  an  OECD  recommendation37,  a 
‘risk map of the justice sector’ is currently under preparation38. 

Discussions continue regarding the need to regulate ‘revolving doors’ in appointments 
to  the  Constitutional  Court.  The  2023  Rule  of  Law  Report  took  note  of  the  discussions 
concerning  the  need  to  regulate  ‘revolving  doors’  in  the  Constitutional  Court  as  currently 
there are no limitations for political officials to become a judge of the Constitutional Court if 

28   Between July 2018 and April 2019, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation initiated criminal 
proceedings  against  the  prosecutors,  investigators  and  judges  of  the  Republic  of  Lithuania  who  were 
involved  in  investigating  and  judging  the  events  of  13  January  of  1991.  On  14  December  2020,  the  same 
Committee announced that charges had been brought against those judges. There is increasing concern about 
the  possibility  that  the  Russian  authorities  would  request  Interpol  to  issue  a  notice  targeting  the  judges 
involved  in  the  case  at  first  and  second  instance;  information  received  from  the  Judicial  Council  and 
National Courts Administration in the context of the country visit to Lithuania. To minimise the possibility 
of using Interpol’s search channels, Lithuanian authorities provide Interpol with updating reports concerning 
individuals potentially facing political persecution due to their involvement in investigating cases linked to 
the  events  of  13  January  1991  (information  received  from  the  Ministry  of  Interior  in  the  context  of  the 
country visit to Lithuania). 

29   Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ‘Lithuania’s Permanent Representative asks UN Special Rapporteur to react to 

Russia's illegal actions against Lithuanian judges in January 13 case’, 21 December 2020. 

30   Information received from the Lithuanian Government, Judicial Council and National Courts Administration 
in the context of the country visit to Lithuania. See also ‘European association of judges statement on the 
purported prosecution of Lithuanian judges by Russian authorities’. 

31   Letter from the Judicial Council to the European Commission, of 29 August 2023. 
32   Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)12 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, para. 5. 
33   Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)12 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, para. 68. 
34   Available at: https://www.teismai.lt/data/public/uploads/2023/01/skaidrumo-politika.pdf. 
35   In  particular,  it  establishes  a  policy  of  non-tolerance  to  bribery,  trade  and  abuse  of  office  by  employees, 
abuse of authority, any means of protection of family members, close persons, relatives and other persons. It 
also establishes that no gifts or other thanks, rewards for the work of judges or court employees are tolerated 
in the courts, except for thanks or awards given within the court system (Input from Lithuania for the 2024 
Rule of Law Report, p. 14). 

36   Contribution  from  European  Network  of  Councils  for  the  Judiciary  (ENCJ)  for  the  2024  Rule  of  Law 

Report, p. 12. 

37   Available at:  https://www.oecd.org/publications/review-of-lithuania-s-national-agenda-on-the-prevention-of-

corruption-e6efed26-en.htm. 

38   Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 14. 

6 

 
 
the  other  requirements  set  out  in  the  Constitution  are  met39,  or  regarding  employment  post 
tenure  at  the  Constitutional  Court40.  In  this  context,  in  July  2023  a  group  of  members  of 
Parliament  proposed  draft  amendments  to  extend  the  cases  of  disqualification  of  judges  in 
concrete  constitutional  cases  in  order  to  address  cases  of  political  officials  who  become 
judges  to  the  Constitutional  Court41,  but  it  was  not  taken  forward  in  Parliament42.  The 
Government considers that, despite the absence of concrete regulation on ‘revolving doors’, 
the legal provisions on self-disqualification or disqualification of Constitutional Court judges, 
applicable  in  cases  that  can  raise  doubts  as  to  the  impartiality  of  the  judge,  provide  the 
necessary  safeguards43.  Following  the  appointments  which  took  place  in  2023  and  which 
gave  rise  to  the  discussions  referred  to  in  the  2023  Rule  of  Law  Report44,  there  have  been 
three requests for disqualification of a judge, and three cases of self-disqualification, which 
were  accepted45.  According  to  the  Constitutional  Court,  these  instances  of  disqualification 
have not had an impact on the Constitutional Court’s activity46. 

Lawyers continue to raise concerns regarding the respect for professional  secrecy and 
the right of the Minister of Justice to initiate disciplinary actions. As noted in the 2022 
and  2023  Rule  of  Law  Reports47,  concerns  regarding  alleged  control  of  communications 
between lawyers and their clients led the Bar Association to bring an application before the 
European Court of Human Rights48, and the case remains pending49. Further concerns have 
been expressed in  the reporting period such as  the existence of video surveillance in  police 
and detention facilities, and the lack of guarantee that exchanges between lawyers and clients 
are  not  recorded50.  Instances  of  lawyers  being  called  to  testify  about  facts  covered  by 
professional  secrecy,  although  prohibited  in  law,  have  also  been  reported51.  According  to 
European  standards,  all  necessary  measures  should  be  taken  to  ensure  the  respect  of  the 
confidentiality  of  the  lawyer-client  relationship52.  Lawyers  continue  to  contest  the  fact  that 
the  Minister  of  Justice  can  initiate  disciplinary  proceedings  against  them53.  In  this  context, 
parliamentarians  have  proposed  draft  amendments  to  limit  the  powers  of  the  Minister  of 
Justice, and the Minister of Justice also  submitted a draft proposal  to  decrease his/her  role. 

39   Being a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania with an impeccable reputation, higher education in law, and not 
less than a 10-year length of service in the field of law or in a branch of science and education as a lawyer, 
according to Art. 103 of the Constitution. 

40   2023 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, p. 6. 
41   The  proposal  would  amend Art.  48  of  the  Law  on  the  Constitutional  Court,  ‘The  Self-Disqualification  or 

Disqualification of a Justice of the Constitutional Court’. 

42   Information received from the Constitutional Court in the context of the country visit to Lithuania. 
43   Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 7. 
44   2023 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, p. 6. 
45   Information received from the Constitutional Court in the context of the country visit to Lithuania. 
46   Information received from the Constitutional Court in the context of the country visit to Lithuania. 
47   2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, p. 6; 2023 Rule of Law 

Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, p. 6. 

48   Application no. 64301/19. 
49   Information received from the Bar Association in the context of the country visit to Lithuania. 
50   Contribution  from  the  Council  of  Bars  and  Law  Societies  of  Europe  (CCBE)  for  the  2024  Rule  of  Law 

Report, p. 86. See also Figure 45, 2024 EU Justice Scoreboard. 

51   Ibidem. 
52   Recommendation No. R(2000)21 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on the freedom of 

exercise of the profession of lawyer, para. 6. 

53   Figure 67, 2024 EU Justice Scoreboard. See also 2023 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of 

law situation in Lithuania, p. 7. 

7 

 
 
The  later  proposal  was  however  formally  opposed  by  the  Bar  Association54,  which 
considered that it did not sufficiently address their concerns regarding the composition of the 
Disciplinary Court, where two out of five members are appointed by the Minister of Justice 
and can only be revoked by the Minister55. 

Quality  

There  has  been  significant  progress  in  providing  adequate  resources  for  the  justice 
system,  including  on  the  level  of  remuneration  for  prosecutors  and  non-judicial  staff, 
although the implementation of the reform is not finalised. The 2023 Rule of Law Report 
recommended to Lithuania to ‘[c]ontinue efforts to provide adequate resources for the justice 
system, including on the level of remuneration for prosecutors and non-judicial staff, taking 
into  account  European  standards  on  resources  and  remuneration  for  the  justice  system’.  As 
mentioned  in  the  2023  Rule  of  Law  Report56,  the  Law  on  Remuneration  of  Judges  of  the 
Republic of Lithuania, which came into force on 1 July 2023, led to an increase in the salaries 
of the judges (at all instances), presidents of the courts, vice-presidents, and presidents of the 
court’s  sections57.  The  changes  are  in  line  with  European  standards58,  and  were  assessed 
positively by the judiciary59, which expects the new system to be less politicised as no annual 
negotiations  on  indexation  in  the  context  of  the  State  budget  will  be  necessary,  and 
responsive  to  economic  changes60.  Although  the  case  concerning  the  adequacy  of  judicial 
salaries  under  the  previous  system  had  been  dismissed  by  the  Constitutional  Court61,  inter 
alia, due to the non-legal reasoning of the petitions, a question for a preliminary ruling was 
referred to  the Court of Justice of the European  Union62. Concerns had also  been raised on 
the  level  of  remuneration  of  prosecutors63.  In  December  2023,  Parliament  adopted 
amendments  to  the  Law  on  the  Public  Prosecution  Service,  which  provides  for  a  phased 
increase in the salaries of prosecutors, as of 1 January 2024 and as of 1 January 202564. While 

54   Contribution  from  the  Council  of  Bars  and  Law  Societies  of  Europe  (CCBE)  for  the  2024  Rule  of  Law 

Report, p. 87. 

55   Contribution  from  the  Council  of  Bars  and  Law  Societies  of  Europe  (CCBE)  for  the  2024  Rule  of  Law 

Report, p. 87. 

56   2023 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, p. 8. 
57   Contribution  from  European  Network  of  Councils  for  the  Judiciary  (ENCJ)  for  the  2024  Rule  of  Law 

Report, p. 32. 

58   Recommendation  CM/Rec(2010)12  of  the  Committee  of  Ministers  of  the  Council  of  Europe  to  member 
states on judges: independence, efficiency and responsibilities, para. 54 and para 33. The Court of Justice of 
the European Union has declared that the receipt by the members of the judiciary of a level of remuneration 
commensurate  with  the  importance  of  the  functions  they  carry  out  constitutes  a  guarantee  essential  to 
judicial  independence  (Court  of  Justice  of  the  European  Union,  judgment  of  27  February  2018,  C-64/16, 
Associação Sindical dos Juízes Portugueses, ECLI:EU:C:2018:117, para. 45).  

59   Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 4. 
60   Contribution  from  European  Network  of  Councils  for  the  Judiciary  (ENCJ)  for  the  2024  Rule  of  Law 

Report, p. 32. 

61   Information received from the Constitutional Court in the context of the country visit to Lithuania. 
62   Case C-374/23, Adoreikė. 
63   2023 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, p. 8. 
64   Input  from  Lithuania  for  the  2024  Rule  of  Law  Report,  p.  19.  The  legislative  proposal  submitted  by  the 
President of the Republic to Parliament on 15 June 2023, mentioned in the 2023 Rule of Law Report (p. 8) 
which  provided  for  an  increase  of  the  salaries  of  prosecutors  as  of  1  October  2023,  was  opposed  by  the 
Government (Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 17). 

8 

 
 
this increase has been welcomed65, prosecutors have raised concerns regarding the process of 
the  reform,  as  the  prosecution  was  initially  not  involved66  and  underlined  the  current 
disproportion of salaries between judges and prosecutors67. In addition, an increase of salaries 
of  prosecutors  was  phased  in,  while  salaries  of  judges  and  all  other  institutions,  that 
participated  in  the  reform,  have  been  increased  immediately.  Concerning  non-judicial  staff, 
the reform of civil service provides for an increase in salaries as of 1 January 2024. Although 
the legal basis for an increase in the salaries of civil servants has been established, no funding 
has yet been granted or planned for the increase of the salaries of civil servants in the Public 
Prosecution Service. The reform does not address the situation of court or prosecutor’s office 
staff  contracted  under  general  labour  law.  Some  concerns  have  been  expressed  by  the 
judiciary that despite an increase in the budget allocated to courts in 202468, the increase in 
funding  would  be  insufficient  to  ensure  the  foreseen  level  of  salaries69.  Consequently, 
concerns remain among the judiciary and the National Court Administration as to the number 
of vacancies and attractiveness of the profession70. Stakeholders have raised concerns that the 
current situation may have an impact on the efficiency of the justice system71. According to 
EU  Justice  Scoreboard  data,  Lithuania  is  among  the  Member  States  with  the  lowest 
Government expenditure on law courts, both in absolute terms and  as percentage of GDP72. 
In line with European standards, each state should allocate adequate resources to the courts, 
and  a  sufficient  number  of  judges  and  appropriately  qualified  support  staff  should  be 
the  courts73.  Therefore, 
allocated 
the 
recommendation made in the 2023 Rule of Law Report. 

there  has  been  significant  progress  on 

to 

New  amendments  to  the  judicial  map  have  been  adopted,  which  provide  for  the 
reorganisation  of  district  courts.  On  29  June  2023,  Parliament  adopted  the  law 
implementing  the  reform  of  district  courts,  which  introduced  changes  to  the  judicial  map. 
One  of  the  goals  of  this  reform  is  to  ensure  more  equal  and  effective  use  of  the  resources 
allocated to the  courts74. The changes  aim to  reduce the number of district  courts  and their 

65   The  Venice  Commission  has  recalled  the  importance  of  ensuring  a  sufficient  remuneration  of  prosecutors 
(Venice  Commission,  Independence  of  the  Judicial  System,  Part  II:  The  Prosecution  Service,  CDL-
AD(2010)040, para. 69). 

66   In  particular, prosecutors raised concerns regarding the discussions during the legislative process, warning 
that  the  manner  in  which  it  was  conducted  and  statements  from  the  executive  and  legislative  powers 
regarding  the  prosecution  could  be  perceived  as  a  form  of  pressure  (Information  received  from  the 
Prosecution Service in the context of the country visit to Lithuania; Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule 
of Law Report, pp. 17-19). 

67   Input  from  Lithuania  for  the  2024  Rule  of  Law  Report,  p.  17.  The  Consultative  Council  of  European 
Prosecutors  (CCPE)  has  recommended  that  ‘the  remuneration  of  prosecutors  is  established  at  a  level 
analogous to the remuneration of judges, or at least at a comparable level, and without any disproportionate 
differences’  (Opinion  of  the  CCPE  Bureau  following  a  letter  of  the  Prosecutor  General  of  Lithuania 
concerning  legislative  developments  resulting  in  a  disproportionately  large  gap  in  the  remuneration  of 
prosecutors and judges, para. 27). 

68   Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 22. 
69   Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, pp. 4, 22. 
70   In March 2023, 90 posts of judicial assistants and 60 posts of court hearing clerks were vacant (information 

received from the National Courts Administration in the context of the country to Lithuania). 

71   Information received from the National Courts Administration in the context of the country to Lithuania. 
72   Figures 33 and 34, 2024 EU Justice Scoreboard. 
73   Recommendation  CM/Rec(2010)12  of  the  Committee  of  Ministers  of  the  Council  of  Europe  to  member 

states on judges: independence, efficiency and responsibilities, paras. 33 and 35. 

74   Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 7. 

9 

 
 
chambers, taking into consideration their workload and efficiency75, as well as to change the 
territories of some district courts76. The law provides that any changes to the structure of the 
courts do not affect the exercise of the powers of the judges appointed to that court until 31 
December  202377,  which  is  in  line  with  European  standards  on  irremovability  of  judges78. 
According  to  the  Lithuanian  authorities,  the  changes  to  the  judicial  map  are  expected  to 
translate into savings in the expenditure on the justice system79. 

There has been some further progress in continuing the reform of the legal aid system, 
as  the  conditions  for  the  participation  of  legal  aid providers  have  been  improved.  The 
2023 Rule of Law Reports recommended to Lithuania to ‘[c]ontinue the reform of the legal 
aid system by ensuring adequate conditions for the participation of legal aid providers, taking 
into account European standards on legal aid’80. Parliament adopted amendments to the Law 
on State-Guaranteed Legal Aid in June 2023, which came into force on 1 January 2024. The 
amendments,  prepared  in  consultation  with  the  Bar  Association81  and  the  State  Guaranteed 
Legal Aid Service, envisage special training for advocates who provide legal aid in specific 
areas82, to be organised by the Bar Association. Pursuant to the law as amended, lawyers who 
complete special training and provide state-guaranteed legal aid in those specific areas will be 
paid double for those services83, which corresponded to a demand of the Bar Association84. 
Additionally,  as  had  been  announced85,  the  hourly  fee  for  the  remuneration  of  lawyers  was 
revised,  and  increased  to  EUR  25  as  of  1  January  202486.  However,  lawyers  consider  this 
increase to be nominal, as it remains below the inflation rates registered in 2022 and 202387. 

75   There will be 11 district courts and 24 court chambers instead of the current 12 district courts and 48 courts 

chambers.  

76   Input  from  Lithuania  for  the  2024  Rule  of  Law  Report,  p.  8;  Contribution  from  European  Network  of 

Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ) for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 27. 

77   Ibidem. 
78   Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)12 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, para. 52. 
79   Information received from the Ministry of Justice in the follow-up to the country visit to Lithuania. 
80   2023 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, p. 2. The 2022 Rule of 
Law Report had also recommended to Lithuania to ‘[c]ontinue the reform of the legal aid system, including 
by  ensuring  adequate  conditions  for  the  participation  of  legal  aid  providers,  taking  into  account  European 
standards on legal aid’ (2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, 
p.  2).  In  2023,  the  Commission  concluded  that  ‘some  progress’  had  been  made  on  the  recommendation 
addressed in the 2022 Rule of Law Report. 

81   Information received from the Bar Association in the context of the country visit to Lithuania. 
82   Defense of suspected or accused minors, representation minors – victims of certain crimes, representation of 
victims  of  crimes  in  specific  cases  (such  as  cases  involving  human  trafficking,  domestic  violence,  hate 
crimes, crimes against sexual self-determination and integrity), and representation persons who are requested 
to  be  declared  as  legally  incapable  or  in  cases  regarding  compulsory  hospitalisation  and  treatment  (Input 
from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 5). The Bar Association reports a high degree of interest 
in the trainings among lawyers (Information received from the Bar Association in the context of the country 
visit to Lithuania). 

83   Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 5. 
84   Contribution  from  the  Council  of  Bars  and  Law  Societies  of  Europe  (CCBE)  for  the  2024  Rule  of  Law 

Report, p. 85. 

85   2023 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, p. 9. 
86   From EUR 20 per hour, rate established in 2022 (Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 

5). 

87   Contribution  from  the  Council  of  Bars  and  Law  Societies  of  Europe  (CCBE)  for  the  2024  Rule  of  Law 
Report,  p.  85.  Lawyers  warn that  even  with  the  25%  increase  in  2024,  considering  the  inflation  rates,  the 
current remuneration remains below the rate of 2021 (Information received from the Bar Association in the 
context of the country visit to Lithuania). 

10 

 
 
Lawyers  also  call  for  the  reform  to  be  taken  further,  in  particular  in  order  to  make  the 
administrative aspect of the system less cumbersome, and suggest the system to be directly 
administered by the Bar Association, rather than by a State service88. However, the possibility 
to delegate the administration of the legal aid system to the Bar Association was discussed by 
the  State-guaranteed  Legal  Aid  Coordination  Council  (an  advisory  body  composed  of 
relevant  stakeholders)  and  was  rejected.  The  Government  has  announced  new  measures  in 
2024, aimed at reducing the administrative burden on lawyers and managing the caseload  89. 
Therefore, there has been some further progress on the recommendation made in the previous 
years. 

The use of digital tools in the justice system is widespread and continues to be fostered. 
Electronic  communication  tools  are  widely  available,  both  for  courts90  and  the  prosecution 
service91. Digital solutions allow to initiate and follow proceedings in civil, commercial and 
administrative92 cases, but remains more limited in criminal cases, where, for instance, it is 
still  not  possible  for  defendants  to  communicate  confidentially  with  their  lawyers  during 
remote hearings93. Online access to published judgments is ensured in all instances, for civil, 
commercial and administrative cases94, and a new project aims to establish consistency in the 
application  of  EU  law  by  integrating  the  European  Case  Law  Identifier  (ECLI)  into  the 
Lithuanian Courts information  system95. The National  Courts Administration is  working  on 
introducing speech recognition software in courts, which will provide automated processing 
and transcription of audio recordings of court proceedings96. 

Efficiency 

The  justice  system  continues  to  perform  efficiently,  in  particular  in  civil  and 
commercial cases. According to data in the 2024 EU Justice Scoreboard, the disposition time 
in  first  instance  civil,  commercial  and  administrative  cases  remains  low,  despite  a  slight 
increase  in  202297.  The  disposition  time  in  civil  and  commercial  cases,  as  well  as  in 
administrative cases in first instance was the lowest in the EU in 202298, while in civil and 
commercial cases at third instance an increase was registered99. The number of pending non-
criminal  first  instance  cases  remained  stable  and  comparatively  low  at  1.2  per  100 
inhabitants100. While the rate of resolving cases is stable, in 2022 courts received more cases 
than those resolved101. To further improve the efficiency of the justice system,  amendments 

88   Contribution  from  the  Council  of  Bars  and  Law  Societies  of  Europe  (CCBE)  for  the  2024  Rule  of  Law 

Report, p. 85. 

89   Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 5. 
90   Figure 45, 2024 EU Justice Scoreboard. 
91   Figure 46, 2024 EU Justice Scoreboard. 
92   Figure 47, 2024 EU Justice Scoreboard. 
93   Figure 48, 2024 EU Justice Scoreboard. 
94   Figure 49, 2024 EU Justice Scoreboard. 
95   Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 25. 
96   Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 25. 
97   Figure 5, 2024 EU Justice Scoreboard. 
98   Figures 6 and 8, 2024 EU Justice Scoreboard.  
99   From 403 days in 2021, to 451 days in 2022. Figure 7, 2024 EU Justice Scoreboard. 
100  Figure 13, 2024 EU Justice Scoreboard. 
101  Figures 10 and 11, 2024 EU Justice Scoreboard. 

11 

 
 
to  the  Law  on  Mediation  were  adopted  in  June  2024.  These  changes  are  expected  to 
positively impact the overall length of court proceedings102. 

II. 

ANTI-CORRUPTION FRAMEWORK  

The Ministry of Justice and the Special Investigation Service are the main bodies in charge of 
the coordination of anti-corruption preventive measures at national level. The Chief Official 
Ethics Commission supervises the ethics standards in public administration. Furthermore, the 
Special  Investigation  Service  is  tasked  with  preparing  and  implementing  certain  anti-
corruption preventive measures. The task to fight against corruption is shared among several 
authorities.  The  Special  Investigation  Service  has  competences  to  detect  and  investigate 
corruption-related  criminal  offences and conduct  pre-trial  investigations and is  in  charge of 
investigating  the  most  serious  corruption  crimes103.  The  Prosecution  Service  organises  and 
coordinates  pre-trial  investigations  and  may  also  decide  to  conduct  the  entire or  part  of  the 
pre-trial investigation by itself. 

The perception among experts and business executives is that the level of corruption in 
the  public  sector  is  relatively  low.  In  the  2023  Corruption  Perceptions  Index  by 
Transparency  International,  Lithuania  scores  61/100  and  ranks  12th  in  the  European  Union 
and 34th globally104. This perception has been relatively stable over the past five years105. The 
2024  Special  Eurobarometer  on  Corruption  shows  that  83%  of  respondents  consider 
corruption  widespread  in  their  country  (EU  average  68%)  and  24%  of  respondents  feel 
personally  affected  by  corruption  in  their  daily  lives  (EU  average  27%)106.  As  regards 
businesses, 62% of companies consider that corruption is widespread (EU average 65%) and 
28%  consider  that  corruption  is  a  problem  when  doing  business  (EU  average  36%)107. 
Furthermore, 38% of respondents find that there are enough successful prosecutions to deter 
people  from  corrupt  practices  (EU  average  32%)108,  while  39%  of  companies  believe  that 
people  and  businesses  caught  for  bribing  a  senior  official  are  appropriately  punished  (EU 
average 31%)109. 

102  Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, pp. 27-28. 
103  Other  investigation  authorities  are  the  police,  the  State  Border  Guard  Service,  the  Financial  Crime 
Investigation  Service  and  Custom  but  their  competence  is  limited  to  offences  committed  by  one  of  their 
officials. 

104  Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index 2023 (2024). The level of perceived corruption is 
categorised  as  follows:  low  (the  perception  among  experts  and  business  executives  of  public  sector 
corruption scores above 79); relatively low (scores between 79-60), relatively high (scores between 59-50), 
high (scores below 50). 

105  In 2019 the score was 60, while in 2023, the score is 61. The score significantly increases/decreases when it 
changes  more  than  five  points;  improves/deteriorates  (changes  between  4-5  points);  is  relatively  stable 
(changes from 1-3 points) in the last five years. 

106  Special Eurobarometer 548 on Citizens’ attitudes towards corruption in the EU (2024). The Eurobarometer 
data  on  citizens’  corruption  perception  and  experience  is  updated  every  year.  The  previous  data  set  is  the 
Special Eurobarometer 534 (2023). 

107  Flash Eurobarometer 543 on Businesses’ attitudes towards corruption in the EU (2024). The Eurobarometer 
data on businesses’ attitudes towards corruption as is updated every year. The previous data set is the Flash 
Eurobarometer 524 (2023). 

108  Special Eurobarometer 548 on Citizens’ attitudes towards corruption in the EU (2024).  
109  Flash Eurobarometer 543 on Businesses’ attitudes towards corruption in the EU (2024).  

12 

 
 
The  first  implementation  plan  2023-2025  for  the  National  Anti-Corruption  Agenda 
2022-2033  is  well  on  track.  As  mentioned  in  the  2023  Rule  of  Law  Report  110,  the  2023-
2025 Plan for the Implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Agenda for 2022-2033111 
was  approved  in  May  2023  and  it  is  now  being  implemented.  The  responsibility  for 
developing and supervising the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Agenda lies 
with 
the  Special  Investigation  Service.  The 
implementation  is  decentralised,  namely  the  Plan  is  implemented  by  various  public  sector 
institutions, depending  on sectors and their competence. A working group composed of the 
representatives of the institutions responsible for the implementation of the Plan as well as of 
observers  from  civil  society  organisations112  was  set  up  to  coordinate  this  process  and  to 
promptly detect any potential implementation problems113. 

in  cooperation  with 

the  Government 

The  investigations  and  prosecutions  in  relation  to  corruption  offences  are  carried  out 
efficiently.  The  number  of  reports  concerning  possible  acts  of  corruption  reported  by 
individuals to the Special Investigation Service was over 30% higher in 2023 than in 2022114. 
During  the  first  six  months  of  2023,  concerning  corruption  offences,  47  persons  were 
convicted and seven persons were acquitted by the final court decision, seven high level and 
complex  cases  were  investigated115.  The  EPPO  investigated  six  corruption  cases  in  2023, 
which accounts for 6% of the total number of EPPO cases in Lithuania116. In the end of 2023, 
the  Special  Investigation  Service  investigated  693  offences  (compared  to  816  in  2022)  and 
120 cases were under the pre-trial investigation (compared to 126 in 2022) while 172 judicial 
decisions were taken (compared to 103 in 2022) with 47 acquittals out of 172 (compared to 
29 acquittals out of 103 cases in 2022)117. In 2023, investigations into 277 criminal offences 
were  initiated  by  Special  Investigation  Service  (compared  to  453  in  2022)118.  Between 
January and November 2023, 269 corruption-related criminal offences were registered by the 
Prosecutor  General’s  Office  (compared  to  453  in  2022)119,  which  represents  a  significant 
decrease. In parallel, the number of acquittals for corruption offences has been increasing for 
the  last  few  years120  (27.33%  in  2023)121.  In  terms  of  adjudication  of  corruption  offences, 
convictions  were  issued  also  in  high-level  corruption  cases122.  In  2023,  the  Special 

110  2023 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, p. 12. 
111  Resolution No. XIV-1178 of 28 June 2022.  
112  Namely  Transparency  International,  initiative  ‘Clear  Wave’,  Lithuanian  Artists'  Association,  charity  and 
support fund ‘Information and Support Center of Non- Governmental Organisations’. Information received 
from the Special Investigation Service in the context of the country visit in Lithuania. 

113  Order of the Minister of Justice No 1R-327 of 16 October 2023.  
114 Special Investigation Service, ‘In 2023, the STT received a 30% increase in reports of possible corruption 

from individuals’, 29 January 2024. 

115  Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 44. 
116  EPPO, Annual Report 2023, p. 41. 
117  Special Investigation Service, 2023 Activity Report, pp. 12-13, 17. 
118  Special Investigation Service, 2023 Activity Report, p. 12. 
119  Those concerned passive bribery, trading in influence, active bribery, abuse of office. Input from Lithuania 

for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 44. 

120  3.83% in 2018; 4.78% in 2019; 5.88% in 2020; 11.38% in 2021; 19% in 2022; 18.5% between January and 

September 2023. Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 44. 

121  Website  of  the  President  of  the  Republic  of  Lithuania, The  President  met  with  the  Director  of  the  Special 
Investigation Service, 23 February 2024. In comparison to 3.83% in 2018; 4.78% in 2019; 5.88% in 2020; 
11.38%  in  2021;  19%  in  2022;  18.5%  in  2023  (January  –  September).  Input  from  Lithuania  for  the  2024 
Rule of Law Report, p. 44. 

122  In November 2023, the Court of Appeals reconsidered the ruling of political corruption case involving MG 
Group  and  the  former  MPs  for  bribery  and  influence  peddling.  LRT,  ‘Lithuania’s  MG  Grupė  pays  €1.1m 

13 

 
 
 
Investigation  Service  completed  the  project  ‘Strengthening  multidisciplinary  and  regional 
approach  in  fighting  corruption  and  fraud  affecting  EU  financial  interests  in  the  Baltic 
region’123  and  launched  a  new  project  on  ‘Strengthening  capacities  of  the  Special 
Investigation Service to investigate digital evidence’124. 

There  continue  to  be  concerns  over  shortcomings  regarding  the  handling  of  foreign 
bribery cases and the authorities are considering the appropriate follow-up. The OECD 
report  on  Lithuania’s  implementation  and  enforcement  of  the  Convention  on  Combating 
Bribery of Foreign Public Officials125 reports on positive elements such as the legislative and 
policy  frameworks  for  fighting  foreign  bribery  as  well  as  the  digitalisation  of  bank 
information  search  for  investigations126.  However,  it  issued  49  recommendations  regarding 
the  investigation  and  prosecution  of  the  foreign  bribery  cases127.  The  recommendations 
concern  the  need  to  promptly  and  proactively  investigate  foreign  bribery  allegations128, 
amend the corporate liability law to eliminate the consideration of shareholder culpability129, 
rationalise the process to remedy retaliation against whistleblowers130 and routinely seek for 
confiscation against bribers. The authorities are currently considering the appropriate follow 
up  to  the  recommendations131.  While  there  has  not  yet  been  any  conviction  for  foreign 

fine in political corruption case’, 24 November 2023. LRT, ‘Former liberal leader and business tycoon given 
prison  sentences  in  Lithuania’s  MG  Baltic  corruption  case’,  22  November  2023.The  Supreme  Court 
confirmed  the  conviction  in  the  political  party  ‘Order  and  Justice’  Conviction  in  the  Kaunas  City 
municipality case for bribery  – November 2023. Information received from the  Prosecution Service  in the 
context of the country visit in Lithuania.  

123  The  project  aims  to  improve  prevention,  detection,  investigation  and  cooperation  abilities  of  law 
enforcement and other related authorities involved in the protection of the Union’s financial interests in the 
Baltic  region.  Special  Investigation  Service,  ‘Cooperation  of  the  Baltic  countries  in  the  fight  against 
corruption and fraud is being strengthened’, 5 February 2021. OLAF, ‘Lithuania: Multidisciplinary approach 
and  regional  cooperation  in  tackling  corruption  and  fraud  risks  affecting  EU  financial  interests  under  the 
Hercule III Programme (HERCULE-2020-TC-AG) 2023. 

124  The  project  aims  to  keep  up-to-date  and  improve  detection  and  investigation  abilities  of  the  Special 
Investigation Service involved in the protection of the Union’s financial interests in Lithuania by obtaining 
the  license  of  IT  forensic  tool  ‘Graykey’  which  is  used  as  the  one  of  the  key  components  of  Special 
Investigation Service IT forensic toolset. Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 30. 

125  OECD (2023), Phase 3 evaluation of Lithuania. 
126  An electronic system of requesting and obtaining judicial authorisation to lift bank secrecy has accelerated 
the  execution  of  mutual  legal  assistance  requests.  The  systems  of  the  Prosecutor  General’s  Office  and 
Ministry  of  Justice  for  registering  mutual  legal  assistance  requests  have  been  improved,  though  their 
statistical capabilities need to be strengthened. The establishment of a central register of beneficial owners is 
welcomed,  as  is  a  requirement  that  the  certain  corporate  annual  reports  provide  information  on  fighting 
foreign bribery. OECD (2023), Phase 3 evaluation of Lithuania, pp. 7, 23. 

127  OECD (2023), Phase 3 evaluation of Lithuania, pp. 58-62. 
128  Authorities  have  also  overlooked  some  allegations  of  this  crime  reported  in  the  foreign  media,  and  not 

proactively investigated others. OECD (2023), Phase 3 evaluation of Lithuania, pp. 7, 18, 20. 

129  Lithuanian  courts  consider  whether  a  shareholder  is  culpable  before  holding  a  company  liable  for  foreign 
bribery. Such an approach is incompatible with the realities of the modern corporation where management 
and  ownership  are  often  separated  by design.  Companies’  anti-corruption  compliance programmes  are  not 
explicitly recognised as a mitigating factor at sentencing. Nor can companies be required to implement such 
programmes as a part of a sentence. OECD (2023), Phase 3 evaluation of Lithuania, pp. 11-12. 

130  The OECD considers that, despite awareness raising efforts, individuals remain reluctant to report corruption 
and  rates  of  whistleblowing  are  poor,  largely  because  of  a  lack  of  reporting  culture.  Multiple  avenues  of 
redress  are  available  to  whistleblowers  who  suffer  retribution,  each  offering  remedies  of  varying 
effectiveness. OECD (2023), Phase 3 evaluation of Lithuania, p. 51. 

131  Information received from the Special Investigation Service in the context of the country visit to Lithuania. 

14 

 
 
bribery  in  Lithuania,  the  Special  Investigation  Service  reported  to  have  conducted  six  pre-
trial investigations in 2023 of which five started in 2023132. 

The  revised  law  on  prevention  of  corruption  is  being  efficiently  implemented.  As 
mentioned in the 2023 Rule of Law Report133, following the entry into force of the new rules 
included in the Law on prevention of corruption134 of January 2022, the authorities focused 
on their implementation. In 2023, the Special Investigation Service received 75 reports from 
employees working in the public sector, who are obliged135 to report suspicions of corruption 
to  law  enforcement  agencies136.  In  2023,  the  Special  Investigation  Service  e-learning 
platform  was  further  developed  and  became  a  regularly  used  anti-corruption  awareness 
raising  tool  for  various  public  and  private  sector  organisations137.  In  parallel,  training 
activities  were  organised138.  The  Special  Investigation  Service  also  updated  the  Guidelines 
for  Creating  an  Anti-Corruption  Environment  for  Business139,  whose  main  goals  are  to 
improve awareness of the damage caused by corruption, to support corporations develop anti-
corruption  tools,  and  to  increase  business  transparency  and  accountability.  Events  for  the 
public sector regarding the measures provided for in the Law on prevention of corruption are 
regularly carried out140. Based on the outcome of the evaluation of the Law on Prevention of 
Corruption,  which  is  currently  being  carried  out  by  the  Ministry  of  Justice,  measures  to 
improve the corruption prevention system are expected to be considered141. 

The  implementation  of  the  law  on  the  adjustment  of  public  and  private  interests 
remains efficient, while further adjustments are under way to improve the declaration 
process. As regards the implementation of the current rules provided for in the Law on the 

132  Special Investigation Service, 2023 Activity Report, p. 14. 
133  2023 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, p. 12. 
134  Law No. XIV-471, of 29 June 2021, Amending Law No. IX-904 on the Prevention of Corruption. 
135  According to Art. 9 of the Law on the Prevention of Corruption. 
136 Special Investigation Service, ‘In 2023, the STT received a 30% increase in reports of possible corruption 

from individuals’, 29 January 2024. 

137  Currently the Special Investigation Service e-learning platform offers 17 topics, 5 of which were introduced 

in 2023, namely national anti-corruption system, corruption prevention for the public, supervision of 
economic entities, educational institutions and probability of corruption. Currently, the training topics were 
categorised into general topics, specific target areas and topics for corruption prevention and other 
specialists. Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 34. 

138  The Special Investigation Service  provided 92 trainings to 7.835 public officials. Input from Lithuania for 
the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 34. In 2023, more than 43.000 certificates of accomplishment were issued 
to  28.000  users  of  the  platform  (out  of  80.000  certificates  in  total  since  the  platform  was  launched),  and 
Integrity Academy  organised  13  events  for  exchanging  best  practices  on  anti-corruption,  with  over  5.000 
participants. Furthermore, 24 entities and teachers received anticorruption expertise from the mentors of the 
Integrity  Academy. 
official  website, 
Special 
https://skaidrumoakademija.lt/apie/. 

Integrity  Academy, 

Investigation 

Service, 

139  These  guidelines  concern  measures  such  as:  company’s  anti-corruption  policy;  identifying,  assessing  and 
managing  the  corruption  risks  a  company  faces  in  its  business  environment;  determining  employees’ 
tolerance  of  corruption  and  unethical  behaviour;  codes  of  ethics  and  conduct;  policy  to  avoid  conflicts  of 
interest;  raising  employees’  anti-corruption  awareness;  assessing  the  integrity  and  loyalty  of  recruited 
employees; gifts and representation policy; charitable donations and sponsorships policy; lobbying activities 
policy; internal whistleblowing channels and protection of whistleblowers etc. Input from Lithuania for the 
2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 35. 

140  E.g.,  in  2023  there  were  events  for  internal  auditors,  events  about  measures  such  as  anti-corruption 
assessment  of  legal  acts  or  drafts  thereof,  determination  of  the  probability  of  manifestation  of  corruption, 
corruption prevention planning documents; events regarding whistleblower protection institute and Law on 
the Adjustment of Public and Private Interests. Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 43. 

141  Written input from Lithuania to the 2024 Rule of Law Report. 

15 

 
 
adjustment of public and private interests (LAPPI)142, investigations of possible misconduct 
are  opened  upon  request,  or  ex  officio  following  media  reports143.  Although  the  electronic 
tool PINREG144 facilitates the declaration process145, it does not replace the manual check of 
the  submitted  declarations146.  COEC147  is  planning  to  propose  further  amendments  to  the 
functioning  of  PINREG  to  clarify  the  mandatory  data  that  needs  to  be  provided148.  In  July 
2023, the President of the Republic vetoed proposed amendments149 to LAPPI that sought to 
remove the Chief Official Ethics Commission from analysing potential conflicts of interest of 
mayors and members of municipal councils150. In 2023, the COEC received the usual number of 
reports (around 250) while it investigated and passed 24 decisions (compared to 55 in 2022) on the 
violations of the provisions of LAPPI151. In 2023, the COEC developed a distance learning course on 
the  declaration  of  private  interests  intended  for  all  declarants  in  order  to  provide  advice  on  the 
application of the provisions of LAPPI to institutions and bodies conducting investigations152. 

The number of submitted lobbying declarations increases annually. Since 2021, when the 
Law  on  Lobbying  Activities  was  amended,  the  number  of  registered  lobbyists  has  nearly 
tripled — from 122 lobbyists in December 2020 to 330 lobbyists in August 2023153. In 2023, 

142  The Law on the Adjustment of Public and Private Interests, No. VIII-371 of 7 July 1997. 
143  In 2023 COEC received over 300 notifications of possible breaches of LAPPI. As a result, 50 investigations 

were carried out. Information received from COEC in the context of the country visit in Lithuania. 

144  The PINREG is intended not only for declaring persons, but also for the public, whose members can easily 
search for relevant declarations of private  interests, as well as for the management of the institution or its 
authorised representatives, who can create in the PINREG the structure of the institution, the list of declaring 
employees,  easily  analyse  the  data  of  their  declarations  of  private  interests,  and  ensure  control  (COEC 
Annual Activity Report 2021, p. 16). 

145  Information  received  from  COEC,  Special  Investigation  Service  and  Transparency  International  in  the 

context of the country visit in Lithuania. 

146  In April  2023,  Deputy  Finance  Minister  Gediminas  Norkūnas  was  found  to  have  been wrongly  filling  his 
private interest declaration. The Chief Official Ethics Commission ruled that G. Norkūnas had a conflict of 
interest over owning a stake in a state-controlled energy company Ignitis Grupė. The ruling stated that the 
deputy minister placed himself in a conflict when making decisions on the state-controlled energy group’s 
activities and that he failed to declare his interests properly. As a result, he stepped down. Given the duty to 
firstly self-assess before declaring one's interest, the Vilnius Regional Court has identified a risk of improper 
declaration and stressed that judges have to better understand how to declare their private interest and when. 
Baltics News, ‘Norkūnas did not avoid a conflict of interest regarding decisions in “Ignitis Group”’, 12 April 
2023. 

147  Chief  Official  Ethics  Commission  (COEC)  is  a  body  tasked  with  assisting  persons  in  declaring  their 
interests,  monitoring  the  process  of  declaring  one's  interests  and  carrying  investigations  about  possible 
misdoings.  

148  Information received from COEC in the context of the country visit in Lithuania. 
149  The vetoed amendments to the Law of the Adjustment of Public and Private Interests, Law Nr. XIV-2089 of 

22 June 2023. 

150  The draft Law, dropped as a result of the veto, suggested that such conflicts should first be examined by the 
ethics  commission  of  the  local  government  rather  than  the  central  one.  According  to  the  President,  the 
proposal  contradicts  the  currently  established  control  mechanism  of  politicians’  behaviour  and  does  not 
create trustworthy democratic governance, as foreseen by the Code of Conduct of Politicians. The website of 
the  President  of  Lithuania,  ‘Presidential  veto:  The  High  Commission  on  Official  Ethics  must  defend  the 
constitutional principle of the service of government bodies to the people’, 5 July 2023. 

151  In 2023, the majority of violations due to a conflict of private and public interests was found in the case of 
participation  in  or  attempts  to  influence  the  deliberations  and  adoption  of  decisions  concerning  private 
interests of the declarant or a person close to the declarant (12). Seven of the cases involved state politicians 
(two  mayors  of  municipalities  and  five  members  of  municipal  councils). The  violations  of  this  nature  are 
among the most frequent in the practice of the COEC. COEC Annual Activity Report 2023, p. 7. 

152  COEC Annual Activity Report 2023, p. 7. 
153  SKAIDRIS – the platform for lobbying transparency, Chief Official Ethics Commission.  

16 

 
 
the  COEC  received  21  reports  and  investigated  6  cases  on  the  violation  of  the  lobbying 
rules154.  Over  the  past  two  and  a  half  years,  lobbyists  have  declared  2.5  times  more 
declarations  (1963)  than  politicians  and  civil  servants  (792)155.  The  majority  of  declared 
lobbying  activities  are  related  to  the  Law  on  Pharmacy  and  legislation  related  to  trade  in 
marketplaces, lotteries, electronic communications, and the regulation on tobacco products156.  

The current rules on political party financing are being implemented. The rules in place 
regarding  political  party  financing  are  generally  considered  to  be  sufficient  and  well 
implemented157.  In  2023,  the  Special  Investigation  Service  launched  eleven  pre-trial 
investigations  in  connection  with  the  expenses  scandal  involving  local  politicians  and 
municipalities158.  A  series  of  events  took  place  aimed  at  newly  elected  members  of  the 
Municipal  Councils,  Ethics  Commissions,  and  newly  elected  mayors  to  create  an  anti-
corruption environment in the municipality159. 

The  whistleblowing  framework  is  functioning  well  and  the  authorities  aim  at  further 
strengthening the current rules. The protection of whistleblowers, their rights and possible 
legal remedies are laid down in the Law on the Protection of Whistleblowers160. Transparency 
International  called  on  public  and  private  sector  institutions  to  effectively  safeguard  the 
confidentiality of whistleblowers and encourage them to report wrongdoing161. Based on the 
evaluation of the implementation of the Whistleblowers Protection Law for the period 2019 
to  2023,  the  Prosecutor  General’s  Office  recommended  amendments  to  consider  increasing 
the  level  of  fines  for  breaches  of  confidentiality  and  other  violations  of  the  whistleblowers 
protection legislation. Also, it was recommended to consider the possibility of amending laws 
regulating  court  proceedings  and  ensuring  that  cases  of  retaliation  against  the  reporting 
person  be  resolved  urgently.  The  healthcare  sector  remains  a  priority  in  terms  of 

154  In  2023,  60  persons,  including  41  legal  persons,  were  included  in  the  list  of  lobbyists,  bringing  the  total 
number of lobbyists to 348. Overall, 635 declarations were submitted on SKAIDRIS. COEC Annual Activity 
Report 2023, p. 9. 

155  Analysis of lobbying activity data conducted by Transparency International Lithuania. This review provides 
data  on  lobbying  activities,  based  on  Transparency  International  Lithuania  inquiries  to  the  Chief  Official 
Ethics  Commission.  Transparency  International,  ‘Shining  a  light  on  lobbying  in  Lithuania  data,  risks  and 
regulations,  2023.  Transparency  International,  ‘Lobbyists  report  lobbying  activities  more  frequently  than 
politicians and civil servants’, 21 November 2023. 

156  Transparency International, ‘Lobbyists report lobbying activities more frequently than politicians and civil 

servants’, 21 November 2023. 

157  Information received from Transparency International in the context of the country visit to Lithuania. 
158  LRT, ‘Officers to start questioning suspects following politicians' expenses scandal’, 1 August 2023. 
159  In order to ensure greater transparency of procedures and to foster the anti-corruption environment the series 
of events ‘The importance of creating a corruption-resistant environment in self-government’ was organised. 
Special Investigation Service, ‘A series of STT events: creating a corruption-resistant environment in self-
government’, 16 June 2023. Special Investigation Service, ‘The cycle  of STT events continues: creating a 
corruption-resistant environment in self-government’, 25 September 2023.  
160  Law on the protection of whistleblowers No XIII-804 of 28 November 2017. 
161  Transparency International, ‘The protection of whistleblowers receives insufficient attention’, 28 September 
2023. The Prosecutor General's Office and the Ministry of Justice aim at further strengthening the protection 
of whistleblowers and encouraging the reporting of corruption in Lithuania, which is expected to be carried 
out  through  an  assessment  of  the  practical  application  of  the 
legislative  framework,  providing 
methodological  assistance  to  public  and  private  sector  entities  and  encouraging  individuals  to  report 
corruption cases with the use of social media presentations and events. The measure is to be implemented by 
2025. Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 36. 

17 

 
 
whistleblowing,  despite  a  decrease  in  numbers  of  reports162.  According  to  the  data  of  the 
Special  Investigation  Service  for  2023,  the  Prosecutor  General  Office  granted  a  status  of 
whistleblowers to five persons, who provided information to the Special Investigation Service 
about alleged acts of corruption (in comparison to nine persons in 2022), while information 
and advice about the application of the rules in place was provided through the hotline by the 
Prosecutor General’s Office to 259 persons (in comparison to 286 persons in 2022)163. Out of 
the  76  reports  received  (in  comparison  with  53  reports  in  2022),  seven  reports  were  not 
forwarded  for  investigation  as  the  provided  information  had  already  been  examined164.  In 
2023,  the  Prosecutor  General's  Office  recognised  41  persons  as  whistleblowers  (in 
comparison to 31 persons in 2022). In parallel, training165 and awareness raising166 activities 
were carried out.  

Efforts  continue  to  address  the  high-risk  areas  for  corruption,  including  public 
procurement.  The  Flash  Eurobarometer  on  Businesses’  attitudes  towards  corruption  in  the 
EU  shows  that  34%  of  companies  in  MS  (EU  average  27%)  think  that  corruption  has 
prevented them from winning a public tender or a public procurement contract in practice in 
the  last  three  years167.  Public  procurement,  healthcare,  local  government,  environmental 
protection,  territorial  planning  and  construction  supervision  remain  high-risk  areas  for 
corruption in Lithuania168. Specific measures in this regard are being carried out, according to 
objectives  under  both  the  implementation  plan  2023-2025  of  the  National Anti-Corruption 

162  Information received from the Prosecutor General’s Office in the context of the country visit in Lithuania. 
Two training sessions were conducted in 2023, catering to personnel from hospital and consultation settings, 
with  a  total  attendance  exceeding  350  individuals.  In  July  2023,  the  Minister  of  Health  issued  an  order 
approving the action plan for preventing corruption within the healthcare system for the years 2023-2025. 
The  core  component  of  this  plan  involves  fostering  an  understanding  of  whistleblower  protection 
mechanisms  among  employees,  with 
towards 
whistleblowers.  This  entails  organising  various  educational  events,  including  trainings,  seminars, 
discussions,  and  other  initiatives  to  disseminate  best  practices  and  cultivate  a  supportive  environment  for 
whistleblowers. Furthermore, the General Prosecutor's Office plans to conduct an analysis in 2024 of how 
internal channels are implemented in healthcare institutions and compile a list of employees responsible for 
the operation of internal channels. Information received from the Prosecutor General’s Office in the context 
of the country visit to Lithuania.  

the  objective  of  reshaping 

institutional  attitudes 

163  Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 36.  
164  Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 37. In 2023, 5 per cent of all received reports (4 
out of 76), were related to public procurement. Information received from the Prosecutor General’s Office in 
the context of the country visit to Lithuania.  

165  Specialised training sessions were organised for institutions, professionals and internal channels involved in 
the  whistleblowing  process.  These  sessions  aimed  to  enhance  their  understanding  of  the  procedures  and 
responsibilities associated with reporting and addressing corruption and other issues. Input from Lithuania 
for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 37. 

166  As  part  of  the  awareness  program  at  the  end  of  September  2023,  a  website  for  whistleblowers 
www.pranesktiesa.lt  has  been  launched.  The  page  provides  explanations  about  the  protection  granted  to 
whistleblowers  and  reporting channels,  includes  all  relevant  legal  acts,  forms  for  reporting  violations,  and 
contact  information  for  whistleblower  consultation  lines.  Additionally,  real-life  examples,  cases  of 
whistleblower protection, encouragement,  and assistance measures are available. The website also features 
current news related to the whistleblower institute and an events calendar. Input from Lithuania for the 2024 
Rule of Law Report, p. 33. 

167  Flash Eurobarometer 543 on Businesses’ attitudes towards corruption in the EU (2024). This is 7 percentage 

points above the EU average. 

168  Lithuanian  Corruption  Map  2022/2023;  Information  received  from  the  Special  Investigation  Service  and 

Prosecutor General’s Office in the context of the country visit in Lithuania. 

18 

 
 
Agenda169, and the Recovery and Resilience Plan170. While numerous  activities are well on 
track,  the  launch  of  the  new  e-procurement  system  ‘SAULE’171,  which  was  anticipated  to 
start  operating  in  2023,  is  expected  to  be  delayed  for  a  few  years172.  In  2023,  the  Public 
Procurement Office implemented the project ‘Increasing the number of suppliers into public 
procurements’ focusing on training for suppliers strengthening their competences173. In 2023, 
anti-corruption intelligence inspections on public procurement procedures were carried out by 
individual municipalities174. In parallel, the Special Investigation Service carried out similar 
inspections  in  the  areas  of  state  supervision  of  construction  and  territorial  planning, 
distribution  of  support  from  European  Structural  Funds,  National  Defence,  Social  Security 
and  Labour,  Communications,  Energy  in  order  to  identify  and  assess  possible  conflicts  of 
interests and corruption risks175. The healthcare system is the only sector showing high levels 
of both corruption perception and experience176.  

III.  MEDIA PLURALISM AND MEDIA FREEDOM 

In Lithuania, the legal framework concerning media pluralism and media freedom is based on 
constitutional safeguards and sectorial legislation. The Constitution prohibits censorship and 
monopolisation  of  the  media  and  guarantees  the  right  to  freedom  of  expression  and 
information. The Law on the Provision of Information to the Public is the main media law. 
Access  to  information  held  by  public  authorities  is  regulated  by  the  Law  on  the  Right  to 
Obtain  Information and Data Reuse. The institutional  framework consists of the Lithuanian 
Radio  and Television Commission  (LRTK), the Office of the  Inspector of Journalist  Ethics 
and the Public Information Ethics Association177. 

169  The Plan for implementation of National Anti-Corruption Agenda in the period of 2023-2025 (Order No 324 
of 3 May 2023) foresees an analysis of the practice of application of the institute of unreliable suppliers and 
factors potentially reducing the effectiveness of the application of this institute. The Plan also foresees nine 
measures  in  the  field  of  health  protection,  seven  measures  to  reduce  risk  of  corruption  in  environmental 
protection,  four  measures  to  reduce  risk  of  corruption  in  territorial  planning  and  construction  supervision. 
Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, pp. 39-41.  

170  The  objective  of  measure  F.3.1  (Improving  centralised  public  procurement)  is  to  make  the  public 
procurement system in Lithuania more efficient and increase participation in public procurement tenders by 
centralising public procurement via the Central Purchasing Organisation. This measure foresees two actions: 
i) to expand the catalogues of items that can be purchased via the Central Purchasing Organisation and ii) to 
adopt a plan for centralisation of public procurement of health institutions and agencies. The measure has a 
final  expected  date  of  implementation  in  Q4  2025.  Annex  to  the  Council  Implementing  Decision  of  27 
October 2023 amending Implementing Decision of 20 July 2021 on the approval of the assessment of the 
recovery and resilience plan for Lithuania, p. 138. 

171  Objectives for the new e-procurement system remain the same: it should have technical features allowing for 
easier accumulation, handling and analysis of public procurement data throughout the procurement process 
(‘once-only’  principle,  automated  solutions  for  data  gathering,  publication  of  the  data  according  to  the 
obligations  set  in  Public  Procurement  Law,  integrations  with  state  registers  (including  integration  with 
PINREG), open data format for user friendliness and easier data analysis, etc.). Input from Lithuania for the 
2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 42.  

172  Information received from the Public Procurement Office in the context of the country visit in Lithuania. 
173  Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 42. 
174  Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 39. 
175  Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 40. 
176  Lithuanian Map of Corruption 2022/2023, Special Investigation Service. 
177  Lithuania ranks 13th in the 2024 Reporters without Borders World Press Freedom Index compared to 7th in 

the previous year. 

19 

 
 
The regulator for audiovisual media services continues to be sufficiently funded, also in 
the  light  of  its  new  competences.  As  of  1  July  2023,  the  LRTK  is  responsible  for  the 
enforcement of copyright law178 and the calculation of the annual fee due by media service 
providers  (which  forms  the  second  pillar  of  the  LRTK’s  funding)179.  In  light  of  these  new 
competences, the funding  and the staff resources of the LRTK are assessed as sufficient180. 
The  LRTK  continued  to  implement  the  prohibition  of  the  retransmission  or  internet 
distribution  of  TV  and  radio  channels  and  programmes  that  can  be  linked  to  Russia  or 
Belarus, except when authorised by the LRTK 181. In 2022, it had already issued fines for two 
media  service  providers  for  the  retransmission  of  prohibited  programmes  and  blocked  130 
websites that provided services without having them notified to the LRTK182. In addition, in 
2023, the LRTK started to issue orders against internet access providers to block IP addresses 
of  websites  that  distributed  prohibited  programmes,  with  the  result  of  almost  300  being 
blocked183.  The  Media  Pluralism  Monitor  (MPM  2024)  reports  a  continuously  low  risk  for 
the independence and effectiveness of the media authority184. 

The broadened composition of the media self-regulatory body has been predominantly 
met with positive reactions. The 2023 amendment185 to include representatives of the public 
service  media  provider  (LRT)  in  the  media  self-regulatory  body,  namely  the  Public 
Information  Ethics  Commission,  has  been  widely  welcomed186.  As  regards  the  inclusion  of 
members  of  the  Media  Council  that  have  been  nominated  by  universities  offering  a 
programme of journalism studies187, the Ethics Commission and the LRT have welcomed it, 
while the Lithuanian Journalists’ Union expressed some reservations188. 

Transparency of media ownership is further promoted by linking it to access to the new 
Media Support Fund which announced the first recipients in April 2024. As reported in 
2023,  a  public  information  system,  called  ‘VIRSIS’,  provides  data  on  media  owners  and 
amounts of funds obtained from public bodies189. Public authorities are under an obligation to 

178 This activity is financed by the blank tape levy. 
179  Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 43; Information received from the LRTK in the 

context of the country visit to Lithuania. 

180  Information received from the LRTK in the context of the country visit to Lithuania. 
181  See  for  the  adoption  of  this  prohibition  2023  Rule  of  Law  Report,  Country  Chapter  on  the  rule  of  law 

situation in Lithuania, p. 17. The authorisation is subject to the discretion of the LRTK. 

182  Information received from the LRTK in the context of the country visit to Lithuania. See also LRTK, 2022 
Annual  Report,  pp.  3-4,  and  2023  Rule  of  Law  Report,  Country  Chapter  on  the  rule  of  law  situation  in 
Lithuania, p. 17. 

183  Information received from the LRTK in the context of the country visit to Lithuania. 
184  2024 Media Pluralism Monitor, country report for Lithuania, p. 12. 
185  2023 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, p. 18. 
186  Information received from the Public Information Ethics Commission, the Lithuanian Journalists’ Union and 
the  public  service  media  provider  LRT  in  the  context  of  the  country visit  to  Lithuania;  Contribution  from 
Liberties Europe for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 15. 

187  The  Media  Council  is  an  advisory  body  of  the  Lithuanian  Ministry  of  Culture.  As  regards  the  potential 

nominees, information received from LRT in the context of the country visit to Lithuania. 

188  Information  received  from  the  Public  Information  Ethics  Commission  and  the  LRT  (see  also  contribution 
from Liberties Europe for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 15) and from the Lithuanian Journalists’ Union in 
the  context of the country visit to Lithuania. The latter based its reservations on the consideration that the 
new members of the Media Council would not be as familiar with the relevant topics as the other members. 

189  2023 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, p. 18. 

20 

 
 
submit data twice a year in VIRSIS on the public funds to media service providers190. They 
are  also  obliged  to  publish  information  about  state  advertising  on  their  websites191.  Some 
limitations  exist  however,  as  the  current  legal  regime  does  not  address  the  ownership  via 
proxies,  which  has  become  an  issue  at  least  in  one  Lithuanian  region192.  According  to  the 
MPM 2024, media ownership transparency is at low risk193. While news media concentration 
is very high, Lithuanian law does not provide for specific rules on market concentration in the 
media sector194. The new Media Support Fund195 which was established in September 2023 
and  announced  the  first  recipients  of  funding  in  April  2024196  got  a  budget  of  EUR 6.5 
million,  amounting  to  almost  double  than  originally  planned,  following  interventions  from 
the  sector197,  but  there  was  concern  that  the  fund  would  come  too  late  for  some  outlets198. 
Access  to  funding  is  conditional  on  meeting  the  obligation  to  provide  ownership  data  to 
VIRSIS199.  

The  public  service  broadcaster  continues  to  operate  independently.  The  election  of  the 
new Director-General of the public service media provider LRT underwent delays and took 
place half a year later than expected, in October 2023, after the first two attempts resulted in a 
split vote200. The procedures which led to those delays have been amended by a law adopted 
in June 2024 and will enter into force in September 2024, aiming at the prevention of such a 
situation201.  While  Lithuanian  law  already  prohibits  members  of  Parliament  or  the 
Government  to  serve  on  the  supervising  council  of  LRT,  the  new  law  extends  this 

190  Input  from  Lithuania  for  the  2024  Rule  of  Law  Report,  p.  43;  information  received  from  the  Ministry  of 

Culture in the context of the country visit to Lithuania. 

191  Written contribution from the Lithuanian Government in the context of the country visit to Lithuania. 
192  In this region there are two local newspapers which are de facto controlled by the same person without this 
having  to  be  reported  to  VIRSIS;  input  from  Lithuania  for  the  2024  Rule  of  Law  Report,  pp.  44-45. 
Stakeholders  raised  concerns regarding  the  issue  of  local  newspapers  being  controlled  by  local  politicians 
(even  if  this  might  be  transparent  to  the  public),  including  the  case  of  two  regions  in  Lithuania  where 
politicians  controlled  the  media  (information  received  from  the  Lithuanian  Journalists’  Union  and  the 
Freedom House in the context of the country visit to Lithuania). 
193  2024 Media Pluralism Monitor, country report for Lithuania, p. 14. 
194  2024 Media Pluralism Monitor, country report for Lithuania, p. 14. 
195  See already 2023 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, p. 18. 
196  Media  Support  Fund  (2024),  Funding  for  cultural  periodical  press  and  regional  media  activities  is 

announced. 

197  Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 44. 
198  Information received from the Lithuanian Journalists’ Union in the context of the country visit to Lithuania, 
that  referred  to  a  high-quality  magazine  that  declared  bankruptcy  in  the  beginning  of  February.  See  also 
Delfi, ‘Cultural media left without funding’, 24 January 2024. 

199  Information received from the Ministry of Culture in the context of the country visit to Lithuania. 
200  Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 43. 2023 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on 

the rule of law situation in Lithuania, p. 19. 

201  Law no. XIV-2695 of 6 June 2024. The law provides for the Chair of the LRT Council having a casting vote 
in  case  of  a  vote  that  is  split  among  the  Council’s  12 members;  currently,  however,  the Council’s  rules  of 
procedure provide for elections by secret ballot, meaning that the vote of the Chair cannot be identified and 
rendering impossible the law’s solution. The new law provides for an election by open ballot. 

21 

 
 
prohibition,  among  others,  to  members  of  local  councils202.  According  to  the  MPM  2024, 
‘independence of public service media’ is at very low risk203. 

The  situation  regarding  access  to  documents  is  better  with  the  guidelines  for  public 
authorities  although  their  implementation  by  public  authorities  at  all  levels  of 
government  can  still  be  improved.  The  guidelines  for  the  reconciliation  of  personal  data 
protection requirements and freedom of expression and information published by the Office 
of  the  Inspector  of  Journalist  Ethics  in  February  2023204  have  been  welcomed  by 
journalists205. Stakeholders report that the guidelines are not yet implemented in practice by 
authorities at all levels of government, and not all journalists are aware of them206; the Office 
of  the  Inspector  of  Journalist  Ethics  plans  to  further  promote  them207.  According  to 
stakeholders,  public  authorities  at  lower  levels  of  government  tend  to  show  reluctance  to 
provide  information,  citing  data  protection  reasons208.  The  appeals  procedure  has  been 
criticised as being rather complex and lengthy209. In June 2024 the Government proposed to 
permit journalists access to a register of members of political organisations (that is scheduled 
to be operational as of July 2025) which would allow them to gain knowledge about current 
and  historical  data  concerning  these  members  and  to  thus  contribute  to  the  fight  on 
corruption; the proposal will be submitted to Parliament210. 

The Government has adopted an action plan for the safety of journalists and continues 
to strengthen their protection against abusive lawsuits. Since the publication of the 2023 
Rule of Law Report, two new alerts have been published regarding Lithuania on the Council 
of Europe’s Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists and on 
the  Mapping  Media  Freedom  platform;  one  is  about  the  use  of  spyware  against  exiled 
in  Lithuania,  committed  by  unknown 
Russian  and  Belarusian 

journalists 

living 

202  The  new  law  further  excludes  Members  of  the  European  Parliament,  of  the  Public  Information  Ethics 
Commission  and  the  Inspector  of  Journalist  Ethics  from  serving  on  the  Supervisory  Council  of  the  LRT; 
written contribution from the Lithuanian Government in the context of the country visit to Lithuania. 

203  2024 Media Pluralism Monitor, country report for Lithuania, p. 17. According to the European Parliament’s 
Flash Eurobarometer: News & Media Survey 2023, p. 44, 54% of the population of Lithuania trust public 
TV and radio stations (incl. online), which is above the EU average of 48%. 

204  2023 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, p. 19. 
205  Information  received  from  the  Lithuanian  Journalists’  Union,  the  LRT  and  the  Office  of  the  Inspector  of 

Journalist Ethics in the context of the country visit to Lithuania. 

206  Information received from the Office of the Inspector of Journalist Ethics and from LRT in the context of the 
country visit to Lithuania. LRT attributes the lack of knowledge of journalists to allegedly missing efforts of 
the Office of Inspector of Journalist Ethics to distribute the guidelines among journalists. 

207  Information received from the Office of the Inspector of Journalist Ethics in the context of the country visit 

to Lithuania. 

208  Information received in the context of the country visit to Lithuania: according to the Office of the Inspector 
of Journalist Ethics public authorities would not be ‘keen’ to provide information and would use the GDPR 
as  a  ‘tool’  in  that  context.  Freedom  House  also  said  the  culture  to  talk  to  journalists  could  be  better.  The 
Ministry  of  Culture  has  acknowledged  this  situation.  According  to  the  Lithuanian  Journalists’  Union  the 
issue is limited to public authorities at lower levels of government. 

209  The  study  ‘Disputes  over Access’  (2023)  by  Balticada  Investigations  Studies,  which  looks  at  the  situation 
regarding  access  to  documents  in  the  three  Baltic  states,  concludes  that  in  Lithuania,  ‘the  combination  of 
multiple  normative  privileges  and  a  multifaceted  [freedom  of  information]  appeal  mechanism  results  in  a 
complex  web  of  norms  that  journalists  find  hard  to  understand’,  p.  9.  The  Office  of  the  Inspector  of 
Journalist  Ethics  does  not  consider  the  mechanism  to  be  complex,  but  to  consume  time  and  resources, 
information received in the context of the country visit to Lithuania. 

210  LRT  (2024),  Government  for  the  right  of  journalists  to  receive  free  of  charge  the  data  of  members  of 

political organisations. 

22 

 
 
perpetrators211.  In  September  2023  the  Ministry  of  Culture  adopted  an  action  plan  for  the 
protection,  safety  and  empowerment  of  journalists  that  envisages  various  actions  to  be 
implemented by different public authorities until 2025, such as training for law enforcement 
authorities  and  journalists,  informing  journalists  on  draft  legislation  and  providing 
unemployment  insurance  coverage  to  self-employed  journalists212.  So  far,  the  actions  have 
been implemented as planned, with stakeholders describing the situation regarding the safety 
of  journalists  (and  notably  the  cooperation  between  journalists  and  the  law  enforcement 
authorities)  to  be  good213.  LRT  would  like  the  Government  to  provide  guidance  on  how  to 
ensure the operation of LRT and the safety of its staff in the event of a war or other major 
crisis214. Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation (SLAPPs) have been described  as a 
minor occurrence in the country, although the identification of a lawsuit to be a SLAPP has 
been reported to be a relevant issue due to lack of knowledge about these types of lawsuits215. 
Following the legislative amendments introduced in 2022216, a further legislative amendment 
entered into force on 1 January 2024 which makes it possible for SLAPP targets to receive 
state-guaranteed legal  aid in  SLAPP cases without  the assessment of the defendant’s assets 
and income217.  

IV.  OTHER INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES RELATED TO CHECKS AND BALANCES 

Lithuania  is  a  representative  democratic  republic  with  a  directly  elected  President  and  a 
unicameral  Parliament  (Seimas).  The  Constitutional  Court  is  in  charge  of  constitutional 
review of laws and other legislation enacted by Parliament and of acts of the President and 
the  Government  (ex  post  control).  The  Parliament,  the  President,  the  Government,  and  a 
group of at least 50 000 citizens of the Republic of Lithuania with the right to vote have the 
right  of  legislative  initiative,  and  a  group  of  at  least  300 000  citizens  of  the  Republic  of 
Lithuania with the right to vote have the right of initiative to change the Constitution and call 
a referendum218. Citizens and foreigners permanently residing in Lithuania, aged 16 and over, 
also  have  the  right  to  petition  the  state  or  municipal  authorities  for  the  adoption  of  a 
normative legal act of public interest219. The Parliamentary Ombudspersons are the National 
Human  Rights  Institution  and  are  tasked  with  protecting  and  promoting  human  rights  and 
fundamental freedoms. The Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson is the equality 
body. 

211  Council  of  Europe,  Platform to  promote  the protection of journalism  and  safety  of  journalists,  Latvia  (the 
alert  has  been  published  in  the  country profile  of  Latvia  only  due  to  other  affected  journalists  that  live  in 
Latvia;  the  country  profile  of  Lithuania  does  not  include  any  new  alert);  European  Centre  for  Press  and 
Media Freedom, Mapping Media Freedom, Lithuania country profile. The other alert (on both platforms) is 
about an amendment introduced in Parliament which, according to LRT, would threaten the funding model 
of the public broadcaster if adopted. 

212  Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 45. 
213  Information received from the Ministry of Culture and the Lithuanian Journalists’ Union in the context of the 

country visit to Lithuania. 

214  Information received from the LRT in the context of the country visit to Lithuania. 
215  Information received from the Office of the Inspector of Journalist Ethics in the context of the country visit 

to Lithuania. 

216  See 2023 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, p. 20.  
217  Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, pp. 45-46.  
218  The  Constitutional  Law  on  Citizens'  Legislative  Initiative  of  the  Republic  of  Lithuania,  drafted  by  the 

Ministry of Justice, should enter into force on 1 September 2024. 

219  The Constitutional Law on Petitions of the Republic of Lithuania, drafted by the Ministry of Justice, entered 

into force on 1 July 2023. 

23 

 
 
The  Ministry  of  Justice  has  developed  new  rules  to  improve  the  quality  of  legislation. 
The  Legislative  Methodological  Recommendations220  and  Recommendations 
for 
Codification221  mentioned  in  the  2023  Rule  of  Law  Report222,  were  published  on  16 
November  2023,  after  consultation  with  other  ministries  and  with  the  Government 
chancellery.  The  Recommendations  aim  to  ensure  the  quality  and  sustainability  of 
legislation223, as well as to determine the general systematic codification of legal acts, while 
increasing their comprehensibility and accessibility224. In addition, the rules for coordination 
in the development of normative legal acts by ministers, Government institutions, and other 
subjects of public administration subordinate and accountable to the Government the aim of 
which  is  to  ensure  uniform  legislative  and  public  consultation  rules  were  developed  by  the 
Ministry of Justice and adopted by the Government on 3 May 2024225.  

The Judicial Council is preparing a proposal to amend the Constitution in order to be 
granted  the  right  of  constitutional  appeal  regarding  legislation  affecting  the  judiciary. 
The  document  ‘Vision  of  the  development  of  Lithuanian  courts  for  the  years  2023-2033’, 
adopted by the Judicial Council in 2022226, includes the proposal for the establishment of the 
right  of  the  Judicial  Council  to  appeal  to  the  Constitutional  Court  of  the  Republic  of 
Lithuania by amending Article 106 of the Constitution227. Such an amendment would provide 
the  Judicial  Council  with  the  right  to  apply  to  the  Constitutional  Court  in  cases  where  it  is 
considered that the independence of the judiciary is threatened228. A draft concept note of the 
Judicial Council’s right to constitutional appeal has been prepared229, and will be submitted to 
the Judicial Council’s Plenum for approval, after which the National Courts Administration 
will draft the proposed constitutional amendment230. The Judicial Council plans to obtain the 
amendment adopted by 2028231. 

The Constitutional Court was called to clarify the principle of separation of powers. In a 
ruling  of  26  April  2023232,  the  Constitutional  Court  clarified  the  separation  between  the 
legislative  and  executive  powers.  This  concerned  the  possibility  to  regulate  through 
implementing  regulation  cases  which,  according  to  the  Constitution,  must  be  regulated 
through  laws233.  In  this  case,  it  was  considered  that  Parliament  disregarded  the  prohibition, 

220  Ministry of Justice, ‘Legislative methodological recommendations’. 
221  Ministry of Justice, ‘Recommendations for Codification’. 
222  2023 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, p. 20. 
223  In Lithuania, 27% of the surveyed companies perceive the frequent changes in legislation or concerns about 
quality  of  law-making process  as  a  reason  for  the  lack  of  confidence  in  investment  protection.  Figure  56, 
2024 EU Justice Scoreboard.  

224  Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, pp. 50-51. 
225  Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, pp. 50-51. 
226  Available at: https://www.teismai.lt/data/public/uploads/2023/02/eng-taisytas-1.pdf. 
227  Which enshrines the right to constitutional appeal of the President of the Republic, Parliament, Government 

and individuals. 

228  Input  from  Lithuania  for  the  2024  Rule  of  Law  Report,  p.  13;  Contribution  from  European  Network  of 

Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ) for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, pp. 11-12. 

229  Contribution  from  European  Network  of  Councils  for  the  Judiciary  (ENCJ)  for  the  2024  Rule  of  Law 

Report, pp. 11-12. 

230  Information  received  from  the  Judicial  Council  and  National  Courts Administration  in  the  context  of  the 

country visit to Lithuania. 

231  Input  from  Lithuania  for  the  2024  Rule  of  Law  Report,  p.  13;  Contribution  from  European  Network  of 

Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ) for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, pp. 11-12. 

232  Constitutional Court, judgment of 26 April 2023, No. KT40-N4/2023, case No. 7/2022. 
233  Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 50. 

24 

 
 
arising from the constitutional principle of the rule of law, of entrusting the Government with 
the implementation of a competence entrusted to Parliament by the Constitution. The ruling 
was  swiftly  implemented  by  Parliament,  which  revised  and  amended  the  contested  legal 
regulation234.  

On  1  January  2024,  Lithuania  had  22  leading  judgments  of  the  European  Court  of 
Human Rights pending implementation, an increase of three compared to the previous 
year235. At that time, Lithuania’s rate of leading judgments from the past 10 years that remain 
pending was at 34% (compared to 31% in 2023), the average time that the judgments have 
been pending  implementation was almost  3 year  and 8 months (compared to  3 years and  4 
months  in  2023)236.  The  oldest  leading  judgment,  pending  implementation  for  16  years, 
concerns  the  lack  of  legislation  governing  the  conditions  and  procedures  relating  to  gender 
reassignment237.  As  regards  the  respect  of  payment  deadlines,  on  31  December  2023  there 
were no cases in total awaiting confirmation of payments (in 2022 compensations were also 
paid  within  the  deadline)238.  On  1  July  2024,  the  number  of  leading  judgments  pending 
implementation had remained 22239. Following the European Court of Human Rights decision 
in Macatė v Lithuania240, the Ministry of Justice prepared a draft law aiming at executing the 
judgment241, which was however rejected by Parliament in November 2023. Following that, 
the Government submitted an application to the Constitutional Court242, which was admitted 
on 22 February 2024243.  

234  Education Law No. I-1489 – Amendment of articles 28, 37, 42, 43, 44, 66 and 67, of 26 September 2023. 
235  The adoption of necessary execution measures for a judgment by the European Court of Human Rights is 
supervised by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. It is the Committee’s practice to group 
cases against a State requiring similar execution measures, particularly general measures, and examine them 
jointly. The first case in the group is designated as the leading case as regards the supervision of the general 
measures and repetitive cases within the group can be closed when it is assessed that all possible individual 
measures needed to provide redress to the applicant have been taken. 

236  All figures are calculated by the European Implementation Network and  are based on the number of cases 
that  are  considered  pending  at  the  annual  cut-off  date  of  1  January  2024.  See  the  Contribution  from  the 
European Implementation Network for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, pp. 5-6. 

237  Judgment of the European Court of Human Rights of 11 September 2007, L. v. Lithuania, 27527/03, pending 

implementation since 2008. 

238  In  2022,  in  one  specific  case,  additional  corrections  to  the  payment  of  compensation  were  made  after  the 
deadline.  Council of Europe (2024), Supervision of the  execution of judgments decisions of the  European 
Court of Human Rights – 17th Annual Report of the Committee of Ministers – 2023, p. 137.  

239  Data according to the online database of the Council of Europe (HUDOC). 
240  European  Court  of  Human  Rights,  judgment  of  23  January  2023,  Macatė  v  Lithuania,  case  no.  61435/19. 
The Court found the State measures imposed on the applicant’s children’s book containing storylines about 
same-sex marriage (temporary suspension of the distribution of the book and further marking with a warning 
label stating that its contents could be harmful to children under the age of 14) in application of Art. 4 of the 
Law on the Protection of Minors against Negative Effects of Public Information to be in violation of Article 
10 ECHR. 

241  Updated  Action  Plan  (09/11/2023)  –  Communication  from  Lithuania  concerning  the  case  of  Macatė  v. 

Lithuania (Application No. 61435/19). 

242  The  Government  asks  whether  Paragraph  16  of  Part  2  of  Art.  4  of  the  Law  on  the  Protection  of  Minors 
against  Negative  Effects  of  Public  Information  is  in  line  with  Parts  1  and  2  of  Art.  25  (freedom  of 
expression), Art. 29 (principle of equality), Parts 1 and 2 of Art. 38 (protection of the family), and part 3 of 
Art. 138 (International treaties ratified by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania shall be a constituent part 
of  the  legal  system  of  the  Republic  of  Lithuania)  of  the  Constitution,  as  well  as  with  the  constitutional 
principle of the rule of law.  

243  Information  received  from  the  Constitutional  Court  in  the  context  of  the  country  visit  to  Lithuania.  The 
Government considers nevertheless, even if the amendments to the Minors Protection Act were not adopted, 

25 

 
 
 
There  has  been  significant  progress  in  providing  adequate  human  and  financial 
resources  for  the  Parliamentary  Ombudspersons.  The  2023  Rule  of  Law  Report 
recommended  to  Lithuania  to  ‘[p]rovide  adequate  human  and  financial  resources  for  the 
functioning of the Office of the Parliamentary Ombudspersons, taking into account European 
standards on resources for Ombudsinstitutions and the UN Paris Principles’244. In 2023, in the 
context of the discussions of the 2024 state budget, additional EUR 64 000 were allocated to 
finance two vacant posts in the Human Rights Division245 for the year 2024. In addition, in 
the  context  of  the  reform  of  the  civil  service246,  the  remuneration  of  the  Parliamentary 
Ombudspersons  was  increased247.  The  Office  of  the  Parliamentary  Ombudspersons  is 
accredited with ‘A’ status by the UN Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions 
(GANHRI)248,  and  the  Office  reports  that  the  increase  in  the  allocated  resources  will  be 
instrumental  to  ensure  the  reaccreditation249.  While  this  has  been  considered  a  positive 
development,  the  Office  continues  to  raise  concerns  regarding  its  adequacy  to  fulfil  its 
extensive  mandate250,  in  particular  in  the  light  of  the  possible  attribution  of  new  tasks 
currently  under  discussion.  Moreover,  the  Office  reported  that  the  reform  which  abrogated 
some  of  its  prerogatives  in  the  recruitment  process,  could  impact  the  capacity  of  newly 
recruited  staff  to  exercise  functions  requiring  legal  analysis251.  Overall,  there  has  been 
significant progress on the recommendation made in the previous years. 

that, based on the current practice, there is no possibility for the contested provision which is still in place to 
be applied in violation of Article 10 ECHR (Information received from the Lithuanian Government in the 
context of the country visit to Lithuania. See also Updated Action Plan (09/11/2023) – Communication from 
Lithuania concerning the case of Macate v. Lithuania (Application No. 61435/19). 

244  2023 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, p. 2. The 2022 Rule of 
Law  Report had also recommended to Lithuania to  ‘[p]rovide adequate human and financial  resources for 
the functioning of the Office of the Parliamentary Ombudspersons, taking into account European standards 
on  resources  for  Ombudsinstitutions  and  the  UN  Paris  Principles’  (2022  Rule  of  Law  Report,  Country 
Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, p. 2. In 2023 the Commission concluded that ‘no progress’ 
had been made on the recommendation addressed in the 2022 Rule of Law Report. 

245  Law on the Approval of Financial Indicators of the State Budget and Municipal Budgets of the Republic of 
Lithuania for 2024. See also contribution from the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions 
(ENNHRI) for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, pp. 346-347. 

246  Law  amending  the  Law  on  Remuneration  of  State  Politicians  and  State  Officials  No  VIII-1904  (TAR,  25 

May 2023, No. 11591), adopted on 25 May 2023.  

247  Information received from the Office of the Parliamentary Ombudpersons in the context of the country visit 
to Lithuania; Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 61. See also contribution from the 
European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI) for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 
346. 

248  Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) 

(2017), Accreditation Report – March 2017.  

249  Information received from the Office of the Parliamentary Ombudpersons in the context of the country visit 
to Lithuania. The periodic accreditation of the Lithuanian NHRI was considered by the SCA between March 
and  May  2024  (see  also  contribution  from  the  European  Network  of  National  Human  Rights  Institutions 
(ENNHRI) for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 50).  

250  Which includes the investigation of complaints from individuals against the activities (inaction) of officials 
of state and municipal authorities,  national prevention of torture and national human rights institution. The 
Human  Rights  Division  of  the  Office  counts  with  five  staff  members  who,  however,  do  not  practice 
exclusively in specific areas of expertise (Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 62). 
251  In  line  with  the  new  rules  applicable,  the  Office  of  the  Ombudsperson  no  longer  has  the  prerogative  to 
determine the academic requirements for the fulfilment of vacancies. Information received from the Office 
of the Parliamentary Ombudpersons in the context of the country visit to Lithuania. 

26 

 
 
Stakeholders  have  reported  concerns  regarding  the  effective  participation  of  civil 
society in decision-making processes.  The civic space continues to  be considered open252. 
Civil society organisations (CSOs) continue to be actively involved in decision-making and 
implementation regarding the support to refugees from Ukraine and in crisis management, as 
also reported in the 2023 Rule of Law Report253, and working groups are being created in this 
context254. While the National NGO council continues to operate under the Prime Minister’s 
office,  in  addition  to  municipal  NGO  councils255,  stakeholders  reported  some  challenges 
regarding  their  participation  in  decision  making256,  and  raised  concerns  that  public 
participation is broadly seen as pro-forma257. According to CSOs258, ‘SKAIDRIS’, the lobby 
register,  remains  key  to  participate  fully  in  the  decision-making  process259.  Concerns  have 
also  been  raised  regarding  the  fact  that  NGOs’  right  to  access  to  information  is  narrowly 
defined, requiring direct interest, which limits their capacity to meaningfully participate in the 
decision-making process and exercise their role as watchdogs260, thus impacting their work in 
concrete  areas261.  The  National  NGO  fund  continues  to  finance  programmes  to  support 
capacity  building262,  although  stakeholders  continue  to  raise  concerns  about  the  limited 
availability of funds, which have remained unchanged for several years263. 

252  Rating by CIVICUS; ratings are on a five-category scale defined as: open, narrowed, obstructed, repressed 

and closed. 

253  2023 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Lithuania, p. 23. 
254  Information received from the NGO Coalition in the context of the country visit to Lithuania. 
255  Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 60. 
256  Information received from the NGO Coalition in the context of the country visit to Lithuania. 
257  Information  received  from  the  Human  Rights  Monitoring  Institute  in  the  context  of  the  country  visit  to 

Lithuania. 

258  Parliament of Lithuania, Public discussion at the Parliament of Lithuania, official recording, Atviras Seimas 

- ‘Discussion “Transparency of politics: how to ensure open decision-making”?’, 21 November 2023.  

259  Only 11% of the population, 10% of company managers and 20% of civil servants think that the decision-
making  in  Lithuania  is  an  open  process.  Civil  servants  and  company  managers  consider  that  the 
pharmaceutical, healthcare and energy sectors are the most influential. The most frequently mentioned forms 
of influence remain the same as in 2021: informal meetings and proposals, use of acquaintances, support for 
political  campaigns  or  parties,  and  the  promise  of  financial  rewards  for  a  favourable  decision.  Special 
Investigation Service, ‘Lithuanian Map of Corruption, 2022/2023’.  

260  Information received from the NGO Coalition and Human Rights Monitoring Institute in the context of the 
country visit to Lithuania. See also contribution from Liberties Europe for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, pp. 
15-16. 

261  Contribution from Human Rights Monitoring Institute for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 22. 
262  Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report, p. 66. 
263  Information received from the NGO Coalition in the context of the country visit to Lithuania. 

27 

 
 
Annex I: List of sources in alphabetical order* 

* The list of contributions received in the context of the consultation for the 2024 Rule of Law report 
can 
https://commission.europa.eu/publications/2024-rule-law-report-targeted-
stakeholder-consultation_en. 

found 

be 

at 

Balticada Investigations Studies (2023), Disputes over Access – A Study on Journalists’ Practices and 
the  Baltics,  https://disputesoveraccess.eu/wp-
Freedom 
content/uploads/2024/02/Disputes_over_Access_2023.pdf. 

Information  Policies 

of 

in 

Baltics  News  (2023),  ‘VTEK:  Norkūnas  did  not  avoid  a  conflict  of  interest  regarding  decisions  in 
“Ignitis Group”’, VTEK: Norkūnas did not avoid a conflict of interest regarding decisions in "Ignitis 
Group" – Baltics News.  

Centre  for  Media  Pluralism  and  Media  Freedom  (2024),  European  University  Institute,  Media 
Pluralism Monitor 2024, Country report for Lithuania. 

Chief Official Ethics Commission (COEC) website: Who We Are - Chief Official Ethics Commission 
(vtek.lt). 

Civicus, Monitor tracking civic space – Lithuania, https://monitor.civicus.org/country/lithuania/. 

COEC (2021), Annual Activity Report 2021. 

COEC (2023), Annual Activity Report 2023. 

Constitutional Court, judgment of 26 April 2023, No. KT40-N4/2023, case No. 7/2022. 

Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (2024), Contribution from the Council of Bars and Law 
Societies of Europe (CCBE) for the 2024 Rule of Law Report. 

Council  of  Europe:  Committee  of  Ministers  (2000),  Recommendation  No.  R(2000)21  of  the 
Committee  of  Ministers  of  the  Council  of  Europe  on  the  freedom  of  exercise  of  the  profession  of 
lawyer.  

Council  of  Europe:  Committee  of  Ministers  (2010),  Recommendation  CM/Rec(2010)12  of  the 
Committee of Ministers to member states on judges: independence, efficiency and responsibilities. 

Council  of  Europe:  Committee  of  Ministers  (2023),  Supervision  of  the  execution  of  judgments 
decisions  of  the  European  Court  of  Human  Rights  –  17th  Annual  Report  of  the  Committee  of 
Ministers – 2023, p. 137.  

Council  of  Europe:  Consultative  Council  of  European  Prosecutors  (2023),  Opinion  of  the  CCPE 
Bureau following a letter of the Prosecutor General of Lithuania concerning legislative developments 
resulting in a disproportionately large gap in the remuneration of prosecutors and judges. 

Council  of  Europe:  Venice  Commission  (2010),  Report  on  European  standards  as  regards  the 
Independence of the Judicial System, Part II: The Prosecution Service (CDL-AD(2010)040). 

Council  of  Europe,  Platform  to  promote  the  protection  of  journalism  and  safety  of  journalists  – 
Lithuania, https://fom.coe.int/en/pays/detail/11709544. 

Council of the European Union (2023), Annex to the Council Implementing Decision of 27 October 
2023  amending  Implementing  Decision  of  20  July  2021  on  the  approval  of  the  assessment  of  the 
recovery and resilience plan for Lithuania. 

Court  of  Justice  of the  European  Union,  judgment  of  27  February  2018,  Case C-64/16,  Associação 
Sindical dos Juízes Portugueses, ECLI:EU:C:2018:117. 

Court of Justice of the European Union, judgment of 20 April 2021, Repubblika v Il-Prim Ministru, 
C-896/19, ECLI:EU:C:2021:311, para. 57. 

Delfi  (2024),  ‘The  Media  Support  Fund  reacted  to  the  passions  for  cultural  media  left  without 
guilty’, 
funding: 

counterproductive 

it  would 

foolish 

look 

and 

the 

for 

be 

to 

28 

 
https://www.delfi.lt/m360/naujausi-straipsniai/i-aistras-del-be-finansavimo-likusios-kulturines-
ziniasklaidos-sureagavo-mediju-remimo-fondas-ieskoti-kaltu-butu-neproduktyvu-ir-kvaila-95698073. 

Diena (2024),  ‘Presidency:  the  number  of  acquittals in  cases  investigated  by the  STT  is  difficult  to 
explain’, The Presidency: The number of acquittals in the cases investigated by the STT is difficult to 
explain | Diena.lt. 

EPPO (2024), Annual Report 2023. 

European Association of judges (2024), ‘European association of judges statement on the purported 
prosecution of Lithuanian judges by Russian authorities’. 

European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, Mapping Media Freedom, Lithuania country profile, 
https://www.mappingmediafreedom.org/. 

European Commission (2019), Flash Eurobarometer 482. 

European Commission (2022), 2022 EU Justice Scoreboard.  

European Commission (2022), 2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation 
in Lithuania.  

European Commission (2023), 2022 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation 
in Lithuania. 

European Commission (2023), Special Eurobarometer on Corruption. 

European Commission (2023), Flash Eurobarometer 507 on Businesses’ attitudes towards corruption 
in the EU. 

European Commission (2024), EU Justice Scoreboard. 

European Commission (2024), Letter from the Vice-President Jourová to the Judicial Council, of 25 
January 2024. 

European Court of Human Rights, judgment of 11 September 2007, L. v. Lithuania, 27527/03.  

European  Court  of  Human  Rights,  judgment  of  23  January  2023,  Macatė  v  Lithuania,  case  no. 
61435/19. 

European Implementation Network (2024), Contribution from the European Implementation Network 
for the 2024 Rule of Law Report. 

European Network of Councils for the Judiciary (2024), Contribution from the European Network of 
Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ) for the 2024 Rule of Law Report. 

European  Parliament  (2019),  Resolution  of  28  November  2019  on  recent  actions  by  the  Russian 
Federation  against  Lithuanian  judges,  prosecutors  and  investigators  involved  in  investigating  the 
tragic events of 13 January 1991 in Vilnius’ (2019/2938(RSP)). 

European Parliament (2023), Flash Eurobarometer, News & Media Survey 2023. 

Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), Sub-Committee on Accreditation 
(SCA) (2017), Accreditation Report – March 2017. 

Human Rights Monitoring Institute (2024), Contribution from Human Rights Monitoring Institute for 
the 2024 Rule of Law Report. 

Integrity 
https://skaidrumoakademija.lt/apie/. 

Academy, 

Special 

Investigation 

Service, 

official 

website, 

Judicial Council (2023), Letter from the Judicial Council to the European Commission, of 29 August 
2023. 

Law  on  Political  campaign  finance  and  finance  control,  No.  IX-2428,  2004,  https://www.e-
tar.lt/portal/lt/legalAct/TAR.CF812DA6E814/asr.  

29 

 
Law  on 
seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/267de1c2a9b911eb98ccba226c8a14d7?jfwid=-mmidcquki.  

the  protection  of  whistleblowers  XIII-804  of  28  November  2017,  https://e-

Law  on 
seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/TAIS.41669/asr. 

the  Adjustment  of  Public  and  Private 

Interests,  No.  VIII-371,  https://e-

Law No. XIV-471, of 29 June 2021, Amending Law No. IX-904 on the Prevention of Corruption. 

Liberties Europe (2024), Contribution from Liberties Europe for the 2024 Rule of Law Report. 

Lithuanian Government (2022), Resolution No. XIV-1178, of 28 June 2022. 

Lithuanian Government (2023), Updated Action Plan (09/11/2023) – Communication from Lithuania 
concerning the case of Macatė v. Lithuania (Application No. 61435/19). 

Lithuanian Government (2024), Input from Lithuania for the 2024 Rule of Law Report. 

Lithuanian  Map 
https://www.stt.lt/data/public/uploads/2023/06/d2_tyrimo_pristatymas_lietuvos_korupcijos_zemelapi
s_2022_2023.pdf. 

Investigation 

2022/2023, 

Corruption 

Special 

Service, 

of 

Lrytas (2024), ‘Head of the Judicial Council S. Rudėnaitė on the procedure for appointing judges: the 
president cannot put his hand in the bag and pull out the 90th candidate’, Teisėjų tarybos vadovė S. 
Rudėnaitė  apie  teisėjų  skyrimo  tvarką:  prezidentas  negali  įkišti  ranką  į  maišą  ir  ištraukti  90-ą 
kandidatą (lrytas.lt). 

LRT  (2018),  The  CEC  will  decide  whether  there  were  political  advertisements  in  the  Summer  of 
Naisiai,  https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/lietuvoje/2/219586/vrk-spres-ar-naisiu-vasaroje-buvo-politines-
reklamos. 

LRT  (2023),  Lithuania’s  MG  Grupė  pays  €1.1m  fine  in  political  corruption  case,  Lithuania’s  MG 
Grupė pays €1.1m fine in political corruption case - LRT. 

LRT  (2023),  Former  liberal  leader  and  business  tycoon  given  prison  sentences  in  Lithuania’s  MG 
Baltic  corruption  case,  ‘Former  liberal  leader  and  business  tycoon  given  prison  sentences  in 
Lithuania’s MG Baltic corruption case – LRT’.  

LRT (2023), Officers to start questioning suspects following politicians’ expenses scandal, Officers to 
start questioning suspects following politicians' expenses scandal - LRT. 

LRT (2024), Government for the right of journalists to receive free of charge the data of members of 
political 
https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/lietuvoje/2/2295386/vyriausybe-uz-teise-
zurnalistams-nemokamai-gauti-politiniu-organizaciju-nariu-duomenis. 

organisations, 

LRTK 
https://www.rtk.lt/uploads/documents/files/Annual%20reports/Annual%20Report%202022.pdf. 

Annual 

(2023), 

2022 

Report, 

Media  Support  Fund  (2024),  Funding  for  cultural  periodical  press  and  regional  media  activities  is 
announced, 
https://medijufondas.lrv.lt/lt/naujienos/skelbiamas-kulturos-periodines-spaudos-ir-
regionines-ziniasklaidos-veiklos-finansavimas/. 

OECD (2023), Phase 3 evaluation of Lithuania. 

Minister of Justice (2023), Order of the Minister of Justice No 1R-327 of 16 October 2023.  

Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs  (2020),  ‘Lithuania‘s  Permanent  Representative  asks  UN  Special 
Rapporteur  to  react  to  Russia's  illegal  actions  against  Lithuanian  judges  in  January  13  case’,  21 
December 2020. 

of 

Ministry 
recommendations’, 
https://tm.lrv.lt/uploads/tm/documents/files/dokumentai/Teis%C4%97k%C5%ABra/Teis%C4%97k%
C5%ABros%20metodin%C4%97s%20rekomendacijos%202023%2009.pdf. 

methodological 

‘Legislative 

Justice, 

30 

 
of 

Justice, 

Ministry 
https://tm.lrv.lt/uploads/tm/documents/files/dokumentai/Teis%C4%97k%C5%ABra/Rekomendacijos
%20d%C4%97l%20galiojan%C4%8Di%C5%B3%20normini%C5%B3%20teis%C4%97s%20akt%C
5%B3%20kodifikavimo%20ir%20po%C4%AFstatymini%C5%B3%20teis%C4%97s%20akt%C5%B
3%20konsolidavimo%202023%2009.pdf. 

‘Recommendations 

Codification’, 

for 

Parliament of Lithuania (2023), Public discussion at the Parliament of Lithuania, official recording, 
Atviras Seimas, 21 November 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zMY8hVF81Y.  

President  of the  Republic of  Lithuania (2023),  Presidential  veto:  The  High  Commission  on  Official 
Ethics  must  defend  the  constitutional  principle  of  the  service  of  government  bodies  to  the  people, 
https://www.lrp.lt/lt/prezidento-veto-vyriausioji-tarnybines-etikos-komisija-turi-ginti-konstitucini-
valdzios-istaigu-tarnavimo-zmonems-principa/40764. 

President  of  the  Republic  of  Lithuania  (2024),  The  President  met  with  the  Director  of  the  Special 
Investigation 
https://lrp.lt/lt/prezidentas-susitiko-su-specialiuju-tyrimu-tarnybos-
direktoriumi/42342. 

Service, 

Reporters Without Borders (2023), 2023 World Press Freedom Index. 

SKAIDRIS  –  the  platform  for  lobbying  transparency,  Chief  Official  Ethics  Commission,  official 
website, https://skaidris.vtek.lt/public/. 

Special  Investigation  Service  (2021),  Cooperation  of  the  Baltic  countries  in  the  fight  against 
corruption  and  fraud  is  being  strengthened,  https://www.stt.lt/en/news/7481/_2021-2/cooperation-of-
the-baltic-countries-in-the-fight-against-corruption-and-fraud-is-being-strengthened:3055.  

Special Investigation Service (2021), Multidisciplinary approach and regional cooperation in tackling 
corruption  and  fraud  risk  affecting  EU  affecting  EU  financial  interests  under  the  Hercule  III 
Programme, https://stt.lt/data/public/uploads/2023/05/olaf_workshop-8.pdf. 

Special  Investigation  Service  (2023),  Guidelines  for  creating  an  anti-corruption  environment  for 
business, https://stt.lt/data/public/uploads/2023/04/guidelines-for-business.pdf. 

Special Investigation Service (2023), 2023 Activity Report. 

Special  Investigation  Service  (2023),  The  cycle  of  STT  events  continues:  corruption-resistant 
self-government,  https://www.stt.lt/naujienos/7464/tesiamas-stt-renginiu-ciklas-
environment 
korupcijai-atsparios-aplinkos-kurimas-savivaldoje:3656.  

in 

Special Investigation Service (2024), 2023 Activity Report. 

Special Investigation Service (2024), ‘In 2023, the STT received a 30% increase in reports of possible 
corruption  from  individuals’,  In  2023,  the  STT  received  a  30%  increase  in  reports  of  possible 
corruption from individuals | STT. 

Special  Investigation  Service  (2024),  ‘New  allegations  against  four  more  municipal  councillors  of 
misappropriation  of  municipal  funds’,  New  allegations  against  four  more  municipal  councillors  of 
misappropriation of municipal funds | STT. 

Transparency International Lithuania (2020), ‘Let's agree on what we consider political advertising on 
social  media’,  https://www.transparency.lt/sutarkime-ka-socialiniuose-tinkluose-laikome-politine-
reklama/. 

Transparency  International  (2023),  ‘Shining  a  light  on  lobbying  in  Lithuania  data,  risks,  and 
regulations’, IW3_Country-Report_TI-Lithuania_final.pdf (transparency.lt). 

Transparency  International  (2023),  The  protection  of  whistleblowers  receives  insufficient  attention, 
The protection of whistleblowers receives insufficient attention - Transparency International Lietuvos 
skyrius. 

31 

 
Transparency  International  (2023),  Lobbyists  report  lobbying  activities  more  frequently  than 
politicians and civil servants, Lobbyists report lobbying activities more frequently than politicians and 
civil servants - Transparency International Lietuvos skyrius. 

Transparency International (2024), 2023 Corruption Perception Index.  

32 

 
Annex II: Country visit to Lithuania 

The Commission services held virtual meetings in January and February 2024 with: 

•  Bar Association  
•  COEC  
•  Confederation of Lithuanian Industrialists  
•  Constitutional Court  
•  Freedom House 
•  Human Rights Monitoring Institute 
•  Judicial Council  
•  Lithuanian Journalists Union  
•  Lithuanian Radio and Television  
•  Media Authority – Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania  
•  Ministry of Culture  
•  Ministry of Foreign Affairs  
•  Ministry of Justice  
•  National Courts Administration  
•  National NGO Coalition  
•  Office of the Inspector of Journalist Ethics  
•  Office of the Prosecutor General  
•  Office of the Seimas Ombudspersons  
•  Public Information Ethics Association  
•  Public Procurement Service  
•  Special Investigation Service  
•  Supreme Court  
•  Transparency International Lithuania 

* The Commission also met the following organisations in a number of horizontal meetings:  

•  Amnesty International EU 
•  Centre for Democracy and Technology Europe  
•  Centre for European Volunteering 
•  Civil Liberties Union for Europe 
•  Civil Rights Defenders 
•  Civil Society Europe 
•  Culture Action Europe 
•  Democracy Reporting International 
•  European Centre for Non-Profit Law 
•  European Civic Forum 
•  European Federation of Journalists  
•  European Partnership for Democracy 
•  European Youth Forum 
•  Free Press Unlimited 
• 
• 

International Federation for Human Rights 
International Planned Parenthood Federation 

33 

 
 
International Press Institute  
Irish Council for Civil Liberties 

• 
• 
•  JEF Europe 
•  Open Society Foundations 
•  Philanthropy Europe Association 
•  PICUM 
•  Reporters Without Borders 
•  SOLIDAR 
•  Transparency International EU 

34