Robert Spano, President of the European Court of Human Rights, to visit Vilnius University

President of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR ), Robert Spano, will visit Lithuania at the end of April. During his visit, President of the ECtHR will also come to Vilnius University (VU), where a roundtable discussion will be held on "The European Convention on Human Rights as a tool for legal education of the public in the context of the growing importance of the rule of law". The visit is organized by the Ministry of Justice in cooperation with the Constitutional Court and the Judicial Council.

The COVID-19 pandemic, the migrant crisis on the border with Belarus and the war in Ukraine – all these cataclysms have been accompanied by an increase in disinformation in the public sphere, a rise in populism, and a myriad of insinuations, speculating on and manipulating human rights protection issues.

In this context, at least in Lithuanian public discourse, comparisons with a police regime state have been made and doubts have been raised as to whether Lithuania can still be considered a state governed by the rule of law, and there have also been outbursts of public confrontation and hatred. In this respect, the Convention is a universal legal instrument that can at least provide guidance on the direction to take, if not concrete answers to the questions that arise.

The debate will therefore seek to clarify the possibilities and limits of human rights protection in the critical situations we live in. Where do we draw the line between free speech and hate speech? What is the content, meaning and future of the rule of law as one of the fundamental values underpinning the system of the ECJ and the European Convention on Human Rights today? To what extent is the Convention relevant at all – do the principles formulated by the ECtHR in interpreting it risk turning into "paper" law, especially in the face of real threats to national security? Finally, if we accept that a better understanding of human rights at the national level is a conditio sine qua non for the continued viability and effectiveness of the Convention system itself, how do we ensure that we not only declare, but also live up to the values and principles it protects?

The discussion will take place on 29 April from 2 p.m. to 3.45 p.m. at Aula Parva, the Small Hall, of Vilnius University (Universiteto g. 3, Vilnius).

The discussion will be attended by guests from the European Court of Human Rights: President Robert Spano, Judge from Lithuania, Egidijus Kūris, Deputy Registrar, Abel Campos, as well as Lithuanian legal experts: Danutė Jočienė, President of the Constitutional Court, Lyra Jakulevičienė, Dean of the Law School at Mykolas Romeris University and Tomas Davulis, Dean of the Faculty of Law at Vilnius University. The discussion will be moderated by Karolina Bubnytė-Širmenė, representative of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania at the European Court of Human Rights.

If you would like to participate, please fill in the registration form here. Registration for the event is open until 10 a.m. 27 April 2022

The discussion will be held in Lithuanian and English, with simultaneous interpretation in both languages. The event will be streamed live on the Facebook account of the Ministry of Justice and on Vilnius University's Youtube channel.