Lithuania’s Supreme Court upholds corruption conviction of former judge

Lithuania’s Supreme Court has upheld a conviction against former Kaunas District Court judge Rimantas Grigas for soliciting and accepting bribes, rejecting his final appeal, the court announced on Tuesday.

According to the ruling, Grigas was found guilty of directly negotiating and accepting a €2,000 bribe—receiving an initial €1,000 payment—in exchange for issuing a favourable decision in an administrative offence case while serving as a judge. The court confirmed that prosecutors had lawfully gathered evidence, including through covert criminal intelligence operations, with no procedural violations identified.

The Supreme Court panel emphasised that judicial immunity does not shield judges from criminal liability for unlawful acts. It also ruled that legal protections for attorney-client confidentiality are not absolute and may be overridden in cases where a lawyer is suspected of criminal activity—citing relevant case law from the European Court of Human Rights.

While the court dismissed Grigas’s appeal, it overturned a separate part of the appellate ruling concerning his son, Tautvydas Grigas, a lawyer also convicted in the case. The Supreme Court found that the lower court’s reasoning on the son’s alleged role in soliciting the bribe was insufficient and ordered a retrial on that specific charge. The decision is final and not subject to further appeal.

The case stemmed from a broader investigation into judicial corruption, with Grigas initially convicted in lower courts before challenging the verdict on procedural and evidentiary grounds.