International Engagement

The Supreme Court of Lithuania, as the highest court of the national judicial system, has a special responsibility both to ensure the coherence of domestic legal system and its consistency with supranational law, and to contribute to the creation of European law based on common values, i. e. to be active in strengthening the dialogue between judges, which encourages a coordinated response to the common challenges of European judges.

The Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (Human Rights Convention) ratified by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania on 27 of April 1995 has become one of the most important sources of law for the Lithuanian courts, including the Supreme Court, in ensuring individual rights and freedoms. After the entry into force of the 16th Protocol of the Human Rights Convention on 01 August 2018 (Lithuania ratified this protocol by the law on 11 June 2015), the Supreme Court can apply to the European Court of Human Rights with a request to provide an advisory opinion.

After Lithuania became a member of the European Union on 01 May 2004, the Supreme Court became one of the courts of the European Union with the duty to ensure the effective application of European Union law and compliance with the highest standards of protection of human rights. According to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, if the question of the interpretation and validity of European Union law arises in a cassation case, the Supreme Court has the duty to refer to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a preliminary ruling.

The Supreme Court joined the Superior Courts Network (SCN) initiated by the European Court of Human Rights in 2016. SCN aims to ensure mutual exchange of case law and information related to the application of the Human Rights Convention.

The Supreme Court participates in the Judicial Network of the European Union (JNEU) from 2018. JNEU was launched in the same year by the Court of Justice of the European Union and is intended to facilitate judicial and legal cooperation between member states.

Since the establishment of the Network of Presidents of the Supreme Judicial Courts of the European Union in 2004, the President of the Supreme Court of Lithuania has been a member of this Network. The Network unites the supreme courts of 35 countries, promoting working discussions and exchange of ideas, organizing annual colloquiums to discuss scientific practical analyses (studies) of current issues prepared by members of the Network, becoming a forum where European institutions are given the opportunity to request the opinion of the supreme courts. The Network, with the support of the European Commission, has created a Common Case Law Portal (a publicly accessible search on the Network’s website allows to search for case law in national case law databases).

The historical, cultural and geographical commonality led to extremely close cooperation with the Supreme Courts of the Baltic, Central, and Northern European states, whose legal systems have many unifying common features, while the differences encourage analysis and search for the best solutions by improving their models.

The Supreme Court of Lithuania participates in the Central and Eastern European Law Initiative (CEELI) since 2011. It is dedicated to issues of common interest of the supreme courts of the region, related to the development of the principles of the rule of law and the administration of courts.

The annual conference of the Supreme Courts of the Baltic States – Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia – held since 1993, has become a reliable working meeting allowing to discuss the most relevant issues of the activities of these courts and to further nurture the deep historical and cultural ties of the Baltic States.

In a valuable, beneficial forum of courts of neighbouring countries with similar legal systems and societies – the meeting of the presidents of the supreme general competence and administrative courts of the Nordic countries (Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway, and Sweden) and the Baltic states (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia) ad hoc – regional discussions as well as exchange of knowledge and experience about respective courts, and development of national legal systems are encouraged.

The Supreme Court strives for the greatest possible cooperation with the academic and education institutional partners in Lithuania and abroad. In this way, the Court broadens its horizons, clarifies and fosters common interests.

Continuous cooperation with the European Academy of Law (ERA), a regular training and discussion forum aimed at introducing of innovations of EU legal regulation is fostered. Judges of the Supreme Court are not only regular participants of continuing training courses – they also have significant teaching experience on this debate platform.

The experience of the Supreme Court expands through its participation in the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN), the main platform for European judicial training and knowledge exchange. Together with the Network, Supreme Court judges foster a common European legal and judicial culture by participating in programs of EU, civil, criminal, and commercial law, as well as linguistics and social science programs, training exchanges, and by spreading their experience.

The Supreme Court is a member of the European Law Institute (ELI) since 2010, an independent, democratic organization with more than 1,600 individual and more than 140 institutional participants. ELI was established to initiate, conduct, and facilitate research, recommendations and practical guidance in the field of European legal development, with the aim of strengthening European legal integration.

The Supreme Court participates in international and EU projects:

Implemented the project “Supreme Courts as a guarantor of the effectiveness of judicial systems in the European Union”, funded by the European Union, together with the Supreme Courts of Latvia, Spain, Hungary, the Universities of Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Antwerp (Belgium) from 2016 to 2017.

Carried out the European Union Twinning project “Enhancing the System of Prevention and Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing in the Republic of Moldova” together with the Financial Crimes Investigation Service and the General Prosecutor’s Office from 2018 to 2022.

Conducted a multidimensional study in the international project “Portrait of a Judge”, funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway through the European Economic Area and the Norwegian Subsidy Fund for Regional Cooperation, together with Mykolas Romeris University and others from 2020 to 2024.

Together with the Special Investigation Service of the Republic of Lithuania, the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Lithuania, the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Lithuania, the Financial Crimes Investigation Service, the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau, the State Tax Inspectorate participated in the implementation of the European Union Twinning Program project “Support to the Reform of the Criminal Asset Recovery and Management System in Azerbaijan”, in which special attention was paid to the issues of return of assets, acquired through corrupt means, to the state from 2022 to 2024.

The President of the Supreme Court and the Judges also represent the Court in the international arena by participating in working groups, exchange programs, conferences, and other similar events.