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The Chair of the Criminal Division of the Supreme Court of Lithuania, Gabrielė Juodkaitė-Granskienė, participated in the annual European Legal Professions Forum in Brussels. This year’s main theme was “The Independence of the Legal Professions.” The discussions examined the threats to the independence of the legal profession, various forms of pressure, the resources of the judicial system, and the actions that legal professionals from different fields can take.

Considerable attention at the forum was devoted to a fundamental and increasingly evident problem – violations of the principle of the separation of powers and the growing efforts of politicians to exert influence over the judicial system. This is manifested through attempts to alter judicial selection procedures, weaken the powers of institutions responsible for such selections, reduce funding allocated to courts, or otherwise limit the system’s autonomy. Political pressure also frequently manifests itself through media channels, shaping public opinion about the courts.

Speaking on the selection and appointment of judges, G. Juodkaitė-Granskienė emphasized that European standards clearly require a merit-based and transparent process. However, as also noted by the Council of Europe, political influence in this area remains one of the greatest threats to judicial independence. “Appointments to courts of the highest instance in some countries become the subject of public debate or political contest, while the judiciary is left aside. This has a negative impact not only on the transparency of the processes, but also on public perception of the courts,” she stressed.

The second topic addressed by the judge as having an impact on judicial independence was digitalization. G. Juodkaitė-Granskienė pointed out that in some countries courts are excluded from the development of digital systems that directly affect their work. This may create conditions for external institutions to gain access to judicial data. She also mentioned cases where court servers were transferred to other state institutions. The position of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary on this issue is clear – decisions on digitalization must fall within the competence of judicial councils, and where such competence does not exist, representatives of the judiciary must be involved from the very first stages.

Another highlighted area of concern was the use of the media as a tool for political pressure. According to G. Juodkaitė-Granskienė, hostile campaigns in social and traditional media targeting judges and courts are being used with increasing frequency. “These campaigns not only exert pressure in specific cases, but over time also damage the image of the entire judicial system, reduce public trust, and contribute to the erosion of the rule of law,” she stated, recalling that in recent months such activities have intensified in several ENCJ member and observer states.

In conclusion, the Chair of the Criminal Division emphasized the common European efforts to safeguard judicial independence: “We should always remember that judicial independence is not a privilege of judges – it is a guarantee of justice for every citizen.”

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