“The Constitution Cup” Was Awarded During the Constitution Days at VU Faculty of Law

This week Vilnius University (VU) Faculty of Law commemorates the Constitution Days (Kodi’2020) at the initiative of the VU Student Representation of the Faculty of Law (VU SA TF). During the celebration, Assoc Prof Dr Vaidotas A. Vaičaitis gave a lecture remotely on the history of the development of the Constitution, and in a conference was held to discuss the legal issue of recognition of same-sex families and the significance of the city in the context of the Constitution. In addition, “The Constitution Cup“ award was presented.

“The Constitution Cup“ is an award given by the VU SA TF exclusively for courage in defending one’s own and others’ rights. It is a traditional award, first presented in 2005, although it has not been given to anyone in a couple of years. This year, the Cup was awarded for a person who submitted the first individual constitutional complaint satisfied by the Court. In September, the Constitutional Court ruled that compulsory membership of the Chamber of Architects for non-professional architects violates the Constitution.

The individual indicated that his rights had been violated by the decisions of the Chamber and their Architects’ Professional Certification Commission, which revoked the validity of his architect’s qualification certificate due to the unpaid membership fee of this Chamber. The Constitutional Court ruled that Paragraph 1 of Article 4 of the Law on the Chamber of Architects, insofar as it establishes compulsory membership in the Chamber of Architects of the Republic of Lithuania of certified architects not engaged in the activities of a certified architect, contradicts Paragraph 2 of Article 35 of the Constitution (“No one shall be forced to belong to a group, political party or association”), the constitutional principle of the rule of law.

Constitution Days is a celebration organized by the lawyers in VU every year. One of the main goals of the celebration is to introduce the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania to the public as the main law of the country, to draw attention to the growing problems of its application. The project promotes civic activism and respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms. The patron of the project is the former President of the Republic of Lithuania H. E. Valdas Adamkus.