Media release of 12 March 2008
On 12 March, Speaker of the Seimas Viktoras Muntianas received President of the European Court of Human Rights Jean-Paul Costa in the White Hall of the Seimas.
Mr. Muntianas emphasised that Lithuania positively evaluated judgments of the Court and exerted all efforts to execute them. “We consider that judgments of the Court contribute to better application of the European Convention on Human Rights and explication of legally ambiguous situations,” said the Speaker of the Seimas. During the conversation, the guest reviewed complaints against Lithuania lodged with the European Court of Human Rights since 1990, and confirmed that only few of them were related to grave violations of human rights.
Unfortunately, the Court rejects rather many complaints since their argumentation is insufficient. According to the guest, Lithuanian society should be educated and informed about the activities of the European Court of Human Rights and the application procedure.
“People are under a delusion that Strasbourg may solve insoluble problems: guarantee health, happiness, even love. Regrettably, I don’t have a magic wand, although I would really wish to have it,” joked Jean-Paul Costa.
Secretariat of the Speaker of the Seimas
