The European Convention on Human Rights and the Lithuanian Constitutional Court: the echr’s Formal Status, Impact and Interaction Between the Court and the ECtHR

Abstract

The article explores the attitude of the Lithuanian Constitutional Court to the European Convention on Human Rights, revealing its evolution from the establishment of the Court in 1993 until today. It is assumed that the most significant impact of the Convention was perceived in earlier constitutional jurisprudence, while its increased quality and quantity brought changes in the Court’s attitude to the Convention, also influencing its relationship with the European Court of Human Rights. The author undertakes the following tasks: 1) to define the formal legal status of the Convention within the Lithuanian legal system; 2) to reveal the impact of the Convention on Lithuanian constitutional jurisprudence and to identify related changes; 3) to discuss the relationship between the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights as it has evolved and 4) to find out whether there is room for domestic development of the rights guaranteed under the Convention and how this manifests.