Kauno apylinkės teismas starts visitor screening with metal detectors

Kauno apylinkės teismas (Kaunas Regional Court) has begun enforcing visitor screening at its premises in Kaunas, the court announced on Wednesday.

From now on, visitors entering the courthouse will pass through a metal detector. The court has also prohibited bringing in items that could endanger the health, life, or property of individuals. Additional security measures include video surveillance, electronic protection, and rapid response protocols.

According to the court, these steps are intended to enhance the safety of visitors, trial participants, media representatives, court staff, and others present in the building.

Acting court chair Vaida Motiejūnienė stated that while the court remains open to the public, it must also ensure safety for those who enter. “The newly implemented security measures are not meant to complicate access to the court—instead, they help organise entry more efficiently and create a safe and calm environment for everyone inside,” she said.

The metal detector was installed over a year and a half ago but had not been used until now due to staff shortages and lack of funding, as previously noted by former court chair Arūnas Purvainis.

Discussions on court security intensified following incidents in January of last year, when a man threw a chair at a judge during a ruling, damaging a television, and then struck the judge with a fist. A similar incident occurred in May of this year at Kaunas District Court, where a defendant in a criminal case threw a stool at a judge and shattered a protective glass panel in the courtroom.

Under current regulations, police are responsible for maintaining order in courts, but officers are only required to be permanently stationed at the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court of Lithuania, the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania, and the Court of Appeal of Lithuania.