European Court of Human Rights delegation visits the Seimas Ombudspersons’ Office

On the occasion of the Constitution Day of the Republic of Lithuania, for the first time in the history of the Seimas Ombudspersons’ Office, a delegation from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) visited Lithuania: the Vice-President of the ECtHR Arnfinn Bårdsen, ECtHR Judges Mykola Gnatovskyy, Artūrs Kučs, Gediminas Sagatys, and the Chancellor of the Court’s Section II Hasan Bakırcı. The guests met with the head of the Seimas Ombudspersons’ Office, Erika Leonaitė, Seimas Ombudsperson, Jolita Miliuvienė, Seimas Ombudsperson, and Fausta Viktorija Osičnaitė, Senior Advisor of the Human Rights Division.

“We are extremely grateful for the opportunity to host you at our institution. This is a historic moment from the very beginning of the institution’s establishment, when a delegation from the European Court of Human Rights came to visit us. Your visit is not only an honour for our institution, but also a proof that our work in the field of human rights is important and necessary both nationally and internationally. We welcome the opportunity to share our mutual experience in pursuit of our common goal of strengthening human rights,” said Erika Leonaitė, Head of the Seimas Ombudspersons’ Office, as she welcomed the guests.

During the meeting, the guests were introduced to the competence of the Seimas Ombudspersons’ Office, discussed the role of national human rights institutions in protecting human rights and ensuring the protection of the values enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), and the role of these institutions in the work of the Court.

The delegation of the ECtHR stressed that the activities and decisions of the Ombudspersons’ institutions, close cooperation with the state and municipal authorities to which the recommendations of the Ombudspersons’ are addressed, and the implementation of these recommendations could help to avoid cases before the ECtHR, thus ensuring adequate protection of human rights and freedoms in our country.

During the meeting, the latest jurisprudence of the ECtHR was discussed in areas directly related to the activities of the Seimas Ombudspersons’ Office as a National Human Rights Institution, and the binding nature of ECtHR judgments was discussed. During the meeting, the judges noted that, although the operative part of the ECtHR judgments is linked only to the party (e.g. a state) involved in the case, the interpretation of the Convention and, in particular, the general principles formulated by the ECtHR are binding on all states that have ratified the ECHR. In other words, a state cannot ignore the judgments of the ECtHR, the case law that has developed, and wait for an identical national case to reach the ECtHR in order to have a judgment against itself. As a precautionary measure, States should take steps to ensure that their national laws and practices comply with the standards of the Convention.