Lithuanian Supreme Court reopens second case by Eimutis Misiūnas against president

The Supreme Court of Lithuania has reopened a civil case brought by former interior minister Eimutis Misiūnas against President Gitanas Nausėda, state news agency BNS reported on Tuesday.

The court ruled in favour of Misiūnas’ request to restart proceedings in a dispute where he had demanded recognition that the president’s refusal to appoint him as a judge was unjustified. He had also sought compensation equal to the average judicial salary.

The decision follows a 2023 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Misiūnas’ favour, which found his right to access a court had been violated. Lithuania’s top court determined that only a fresh review of the admissibility of his claim could remedy the breach. The case will now return to the Vilnius Regional Court for reconsideration, with no further appeals possible.

National courts had previously dismissed Misiūnas’ lawsuit, citing procedural flaws and arguing some claims were non-justiciable. The ECtHR later awarded him €10,000 in non-pecuniary damages over the state’s failure to ensure a fair hearing.

This marks the second reopened case for Misiūnas against the president. On 16 March, the Supreme Court similarly ordered a retrial of his separate claim for damages and a court order compelling presidential action. That dispute also stemmed from Nausėda’s 2020 rejection of Misiūnas’ judicial candidacy, which the president justified by citing the former minister’s “political baggage.” Misiūnas had described the refusal as persecution over free speech.

Though Nausėda later agreed in 2022 to reinstate Misiūnas’ eligibility for judicial roles, he again declined to appoint him.