Statement of Lithuania on the independence of judiciary and January 13 case
21 June 2022, 50th session of the Human Rights Council Item 3: Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers
Thank you, Mr. Vice-President.
Lithuania aligns itself with the EU statement. We appreciate the work of the Special Rapporteur and thank him for the report.
Free and independent exercise of the legal profession is one of the main pre-requisites of the well-functioning rule of law system.
The global increase in practices that undermine, limit, restrict, and hinder the practice of law, as noted in your report, is particularly alarming.
In this context, I would like to draw your attention to continuous open pressure by the Russian Federation on the Lithuanian justice officials, who – while exercising their constitutional duty - were involved in investigating the military attack by the Soviet Union in Lithuania’s capital on 13 January 1991 that caused 14 civilian deaths and left more than 800 people injured. In addition to the launch of multiple criminal proceedings, Russia covertly brought criminal charges against several Lithuanian judges and threatened to take measures to put the accused on an international wanted list.
We continue to consider these acts as an open assault on the independence and impartiality of Lithuania’s judicial system, to which Lithuania has full sovereign right. They cannot be tolerated and require immediate attention of the international community.
Mr. Special Rapporteur, how can we ensure that the international system is fit to effectively counter politically motivated persecutions of those exercising the legal profession?
I thank you.
