Human rights universalism and particularism in the jurisprudence of Lithuanian courts

• International network of doctoral studies in law: knygos tekstas

ENAbstract. The paper deals with how the phenomena of imminent tension between universalist and particularistic standards reflects in the jurisprudence of Lithuanian courts of last resort, acting within a pluralistic legal context meaning that human rights come into national legal system from various interrelated legal layers, and that the most influential legal instrument in this regard is the European Convention on Human Rights. The paper deals with two questions – in Part I it reveals the impact of universal standards of HR protection (both positive and negative) on the jurisprudence of Lithuanian courts, while in Part II it discusses possible manifestations of certain particularistic trends in this regard. Referring to numerous examples of the case law of national, supranational and international judicial bodies it is argued –that due to highly pro-universalistic attitude of the Lithuanian courts of last resort their harmonious coexistence is a prevalent state of affairs leading to continuous convergence of universal, regional and national HR standards, though, this notwithstanding, still some space rest for particularistic human rights standards remains. It is also argued that during an endless process of human rights particularisation and universalization Lithuanian courts participate on equal footing in transnational community of courts by coupling together in universal and particularistic standards for HR protection, not only adjusting and supplementing national legal system in this regard but also participating in creation and further development of the universal HR standards. Key words: human rights, particularism, universalism, national courts. [From the publication]