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 

Lithuania held legislative elections for the 141-seat Seimas, with the first round on 13 October and a run-off on 27 October. The Social Democratic Party (LSDP) won 52 seats (19.3 per cent of the vote share), surpassing the incumbent Homeland Union-Christian Democrats of Lithuania (TS-LKD), which secured 28 seats (18.0 per cent of the vote). The Nemunas Dawn party came in third with 20 seats (15.0 per cent of the vote). Voter turnout was 52.18 per cent in the first round and 41.41 per cent in the run-off, up from 47.80 per cent (first round) and 39.24 per cent (run-off) in the 2020 elections. Women’s representation in the new legislature fell from 29.3 per cent to 27.7 per cent. 

Sources: IFES, IPU, VRK, LRT (1), LRT (2), International IDEA, Made in Vilnius, Politico