LIETUVOS NEPRIKLAUSOMŲ KONTROLĖS INSTITUCIJŲ KONSTITUCINIS STATUSAS IR JŲ, KAIP DEMOKRATIJOS RAMSČIO, VAIDMUO

Abstract

The structure of democratic legal institutions is inseparable from independent oversight institutions, which do not belong neither to the legislative, the executive, nor to the judicial branches, known as ombudsman institutions. Based on the presentation delivered by Gintaras Goda in the international scientific-practical conference on the occasion of the Day of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania in 2025, the article summarises the official constitutional doctrine developed by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania in its constitutional justice cases examined in previous and recent years and while interpreting the constitutional status of Lithuania’s independent oversight institutions and their special role. Article 73 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, which defines these institutions, and the related constitutional regulation are also analysed in the article on the basis of relevant documents adopted by the European Commission “Democracy through Law”, which acts as an advisory body to the Council of Europe on constitutional issues, in particular the Principles on the Protection and Promotion of the Ombudsman Institution, which are treated as European standards for the activities of the Ombudsman. In addition, the insights presented are illustrated by several relevant examples from the practice of other countries, including their constitutional jurisprudence, as well as scientific works by Lithuanian authors on the status and role of the afore-mentioned institutions. Specifically, the authors of this article focus on such institutions as the Parliamentary Ombudspersons’ Office of the Republic of Lithuania, the Intelligence Ombudspersons’ Office of the Republic of Lithuania and the Office of the Ombudsperson for Academic Ethics and Procedures. 
The summarized practice of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania gradually reveals a firm constitutional basis and a complex role of these independent and autonomous oversight institutions in Lithuania. These institutions, together with the Lithuanian courts, help to ensure the effectiveness of the rule of law, including the protection of human rights and freedoms, as well as other fundamental principles of democratic states. It is concluded that new constitutional justice cases initiated in the Constitutional Court could inspire further interpretation of the constitutional provisions relating to the constitutional status of these independent oversight institutions and their coherent system, as this interpretation is influenced by developing international and European Union law and the judicial practice interpreting them, as well as the documents of the Venice Commission establishing relevant standards.