Latest developments in 2019

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

126

12LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN 2019

12.1Legislative amendments

Legal amendments to the Law on EqualTreatment cameintoforce on 1 July2019,

broadening its aimto include the monitoring of compliance withthe UNCRPD361(Article 1

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

monitoringof the CRPD (Article 17(4)).

For thepurpose of monitoring theCRPD, the Commission of PeoplewithDisabilitieswas

established alongsidethe Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson (Articles 1 and

15-1). The Commission of Peoplewith Disabilities is supposed to comprise fivemembers,

fourof them representing associations of people with disabilitiesand one being a

representativeof the Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson. Article 15-1

elaborates on the appointment procedureforthe Commission, its working principles, and

its rolein monitoringcompliance with theCRPD and rights. The Commission alsosets

duties forother legal persons,organisations and institutions toanalyse its

recommendationsand respond regarding the results. Itwas apparentfromthe

Ombudsperson’s annual reportthat no funding was granted in 2019 to carry outthe work

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

thebudget.

The draft Law on EqualTreatment, which introducesa number of changes, was

registeredin the Parliamentin 2019, and the procedure forits consideration has begun,

however it has not yet been voted on.Thelaw would broaden thelist of discrimination

grounds, expand thecompetence of the EqualOpportunities Ombudsperson, introduce a

longerlistof decisions that the Ombudsperson maytake after analysinga complaint

regarding discrimination-basedviolations, add an exceptionofdiscrimination and allow

the Ombudspersonto address theadministrativecourts, as well as calling uponthe

Parliament to address the Constitutional Court.362

12.2Case law

A few cases were brought to the court in 2019, some of which questioneddecisions taken

bythe EqualOpportunities Ombudsperson.Cases withsome significance for the

interpretation of the principle of equal treatment are mentioned below.

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

Date of decision: 11January 2019

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

the Republic ofLithuania

Reference number: KT3-N1/2019

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

Brief summary: TheConstitutional Court was referred a case by the Administrative

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

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

to theConstitutional Court regarding thecompliance ofthe Law on the Legal Status of

Aliens. In its 2019 conclusion, theConstitutional Courtrepeated its previous conclusions

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

Courtalso stated that, eventhough sexual orientation and gender identityare not

361Lawamending theLaw on Equal Treatment, No. IX-1826, Articles 1, 16 and 17, and introducing Article 15-1

(Lietuvos Respublikos lygi galimybi statymo Nr. IX-18261, 16 ir17 straipsni pakeitimo ir statymo

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

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

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

projektas (nauja redakcija)), 30May2019, No. XIIIP-3512, available in Lithuanian at: https://e-

seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAP/96f31cf082b411e98a8298567570d639?jfwid=rmpk3gwww.