Latest developments in 2019

• Author: Sabatauskait?, Birut?
• Pages: 126-129

126

12 LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN 2019

12.1 Legislative amendments

Legal amendments to the Law on Equal Treatment came into force on 1 July 2019,

broadening its aim to include the monitoring of compliance with the UN CRPD361 (Article 1

LET) and the competence of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson – including the

monitoring of the CRPD (Article 17(4)).

For the purpose of mon itoring the CRPD, the Commission of People with Disabilities was

established alongside the Office of th e Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson (Article s 1 and

15-1). The Commission of People with Disabilities is supposed to comprise five members,

four of them representi ng associations of people with disabilities and one being a

representative of the Off ice of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson. Article 15-1

elaborates on the appointment procedure for the Commission, it s working principles, and

its role in monitoring compliance with the CRPD and rights. The Commission also sets

duties for other legal persons, organisations and institutions to analyse its

recommendations and respond regarding the results. It was a pparent from the

Ombudsperson’s annual report that no funding was granted in 2019 to carry out the work

of the Commission. However, this funding was granted for 2020 under the law allocating

the budget.

The draft Law on Equal Treatment, which introduces a number of changes, was

registered in the Parliament in 2019, and the procedure for its consideration has begun,

however it has not yet b een voted on. The law would broaden the list of discrimination

grounds, expand the competen ce of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson, introduce a

longer list of decisions that the Ombudsperson may take after analysing a complaint

regarding discrimination-based violations, add an exception of discrimination and allow

the Ombudsperson to address the administrative courts, as well as calling upon the

Parliament to address the Constitutional Court.362

12.2 Case law

A few cases were brought to the court in 2019, some of which questi oned decisions taken

by the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson. Cases with some significance for the

interpretation of the principle of equal treatment are mention ed below.

Name of the court: Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania

Date of decision: 11 January 2019

Name of the parties: The Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania, Th e Parliament of

the Republic of Lithuania

Reference number: KT3-N1/2019

Link: https://www.lrkt.lt/en/court-acts/search/170/ta1915/content

Brief summary: The Constitutional Court was referred a case by the Administrative

Court, in which a same-sex couple was seeking a residence permit for a third-country

national, who was the spouse of an EU citizen. The Administrative Court referred th e case

to the Constitutional Court regardi ng the compliance of the Law on the Legal Status of

Aliens. In its 2019 conclusion, the Constitutional Cou rt repeated its previous conclusion s

that the Constitution is an integral enactment that cannot be interpreted literally. The

Court also stated that, even though sexual orientation and gender identity are not

361 Law amending the Law on Equal Treatment, No. IX-1826, Articles 1, 16 and 17 , and introducing Article 15-1

(Lietuvos Respublikos lygi galimybi statymo Nr. IX-1826 1, 16 ir 17 straipsni pakeitimo ir statymo

papildymo 15-1 straipsniu statymas), 11 December 2018, available in Lithuanian at: https://ww w.e-

tar.lt/portal/lt/legalAct/b52da81002c211e9a5eaf2cd290f1944.

362 Draft Law on Equal Opportunities, No. IX-1826 (Lygi galimybi statymo Nr. IX-1826 pakeitimo statymo

projektas (nauja redakcij a)), 30 May 2019, No. XIIIP-3512, available in Lithuanian at: https://e-

seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAP/96f31c f082b411e98a8298567570d639?jfwid=rmpk3gwww.