On 17 April, the Constitutional Court ruled that the Civil Code’s definition of domestic partnership—limited to unions between a man and a woman—is unconstitutional. It found the provision conflicts with the constitutional principles of the protection of dignity, the protection of private life, and equality and non-discrimination. The Court also noted that the lack of legislation recognizing civil partnerships for unmarried cohabiting couples created legal uncertainty and eroded public trust in the state. The Court ruled that Parliament must adopt legislation regulating the procedure for the registration of civil partnerships but did not set a deadline. A civil union bill which would provide certain legal protections to same-sex couples (including inheritance rights and shared property), passed two readings in parliament in 2023 but was not put to a final vote due to a lack of support. The case was initiated by the former centre-right government. 

Sources: ConstitutionNet, Baltic Times, LRT, Constitutional Court, WIPO 

On 10 April, the Constitutional Court ruled that restricting access to assisted reproduction services to people in a marriage or registered partnership contradicts the Constitution. The ruling pertains to publicly funded services, as well as private clinics. The Court found no objective justification for the Law on Assisted Reproduction’s difference in treatment of people facing infertility according to marital status, deeming it discriminatory under Article 29 of the Constitution, as it limits rights based on family situations. It further found the legislature failed to comply with the requirement to ensure universal access to healthcare (Article 53). The Court emphasised that reproductive health services should be based on medical need, not personal circumstances. The ruling will enter into force on 10 April 2026, giving the legislature time to pass legislation ensuring access to assisted reproduction services to single women and unmarried couples. 

Sources: Constitutional Court, LRT, Ministry of Health

On 1 January, a new Law on National Minorities entered into force, 15 years after the previous law on national minorities expired in 2010. Parliament approved the new law in November 2024 with 67 votes in favour and four abstentions. Lithuania is home to around 432,000 members of national minorities according to a 2021 census, including Poles, Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Jews, Tatars and Roma, among others. The law guarantees national minorities can use their languages without restriction in private and public life, including to receive education and to disseminate information via mass media in their languages. The law also provides for the right to form political organizations and establishes the Council of National Minorities to represent the interests of national minorities in cultural, social and economic issues.  

Sources: LRT (1), LRT (2), Department of National Minorities (1), Department of National Minorities (2), Council of Europe, Seimas 

On 12 December, Parliament voted to officially recognize Romuva, a pagan religious association. The status of a state-recognized religious association gives the right for Romuva ministers to perform religious marriages with the same effect as civil marriages, the right to broadcast its religious services, the right to provide religious education in schools, as well as an exemption from the payment of land tax. Similar legislation had failed to pass Parliament on several occasions, most recently in 2023. In 2021, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found the Parliament’s previous refusal to recognize the association violated Romuva rights, and concluded that the MPs who voted against state recognition had failed to remain neutral and impartial in the exercise of their powers. There are around 3,917 Lithuanians identifying as Romuva according to the 2021 national census.

Sources: Seimas, LRT, ECHR (1), ECHR (2), Romuva, International Journal for Religious Freedom

On 20 December, the Constitutional Court annulled a provision of the Law on the Protection of Minors (adopted in 2009) limiting the spread of public information “expressing contempt for family values” that was used to restrict content about same-sex relationships. The Court found the provision violated parts of the Constitution relating to freedom of expression (Article 25) and the right to family life (Article 38). The ruling found the provision narrowed the concept of the family, citing the duty of the state to ensure children’s development is based on the “values of equality, pluralism, and tolerance.” The Justice Ministry asked the Constitutional Court to review the law following a 2023 ruling of the European Court of Human Rights, which found a violation of author Neringa Macatė’s right to freedom of expression, after the distribution of her children’s books depicting same-sex couples was restricted under the law.

Sources: JURIST, LRT, ECHR, Constitutional Court, LGL

On 6 December, a Vilnius District Court ruling that recognized Jūratė Juškaitė as the mother of a child born to her partner came into effect. The decision, reached on 6 November, makes it possible for Juškaitė to request Vilnius municipality’s civil registry to list her as the child’s mother in official documents, and marks the first time a same-sex partner has secured the legal status of parenthood. Legal parenthood entails the right to parental leave, inheritance rights for the child, as well as the right to act as the child’s legal representative, which for example enables Juškaitė to seek medical care for her child without the need for special authorization. Lithuania does not legally recognize same-sex partnerships, and draft legislation recognizing same-sex partnerships has struggled to gain sufficient support in Parliament.

Sources: LRT, Baltic Times, 15min, TV3

On 11 November, the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania signed a coalition agreement including the Nemunas Dawn party, which placed third in the October parliamentary elections. In April, the Constitutional Court found the Nemunas Dawn party’s leader, Remigijus Žemaitaitis, violated the Constitution over antisemitic public statements. He resigned from Parliament in April rather than face an impeachment vote and is currently being investigated for inciting hatred against Jewish people. Thousands of people demonstrated in Vilnius, calling for zero tolerance to antisemitism. In parallel, 30 civil society organisations signed an open letter calling for Nemunas Dawn to be left out of the new coalition, initiated by the European Movement and the Lithuanian Center for Human Rights.  

Sources: International IDEA, LRT (1), LRT (2), Reuters, JURIST, Constitutional Court