Individual Constitutional Complaints in Lithuania: An Effective Remedy to be Exhausted Before Applying to the European Court of Human Rights?

Although the significance of an individual constitutional complaint mechanism is mostly associated with the national constitutional protection of human rights, it is a no less significant remedy in the context of the international human rights protection system. Individual constitutional complaints can be considered an effective domestic legal remedy to be exhausted before applying to the European Court of Human Rights (the ECtHR). However, the answer to the question of whether proceedings in a constitutional justice institution fall within the scope of such domestic remedies is very complex and may vary from case to case. Whether it will be required to exhaust an individual constitutional complaint procedure before filing a complaint with the ECtHR will largely depend on the legal system of the state and the scope of the powers of the constitutional justice institution.

This article aims to assess whether the individual constitutional complaint mechanism operating in Lithuania could be recognised an effective remedy to be exhausted before applying to the ECtHR.