Acting PM Ruginienė challenges VTEK ruling on work trips in court
Friday 26th June 2026 on 14:00 in
Lithuania
Acting Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė has filed a legal challenge against a decision by Lithuania’s Chief Official Ethics Commission (VTEK) that found she had grossly violated the law by including family members in official delegations to Italy and the Vatican, LRT reports.
“I confirm that the complaint has been submitted to the court,” Ruginienė’s advisor Ignas Dobrovolskas told ELTA. The complaint, reviewed by ELTA, was lodged with the Regional Administrative Court.
In the filing, Ruginienė asks the court to annul VTEK’s 9 June ruling, which concluded she had breached the Law on the Coordination of Public and Private Interests. The complaint argues the decision was “unfounded, unlawful, and inconsistent with the principles of good public administration” and must be overturned.
Ruginienė contends VTEK ignored a decades-long practice in forming government delegations and covering their expenses, followed by both herself and state institutions. The commission, she claims, failed to consider arguments showing her actions complied with legal regulations, national and international diplomatic protocol, and Lithuania’s 30-year tradition of organising the prime minister’s delegations.
The complaint stresses that the prime minister signs orders on delegation composition for work visits, as required by law. It adds that including the prime minister or their family members in an official delegation does not inherently imply a conflict of interest or personal benefit, as the sole purpose is to properly represent Lithuania in line with international protocol.
Ruginienė asserts she lawfully included family members in the delegations and that their expenses were to be covered by the Government Chancellery and relevant institutions. The complaint warns that VTEK’s ruling sets a precedent that undermines the prime minister’s ability to represent the country and risks branding past prime ministers as violators of ethics laws.
According to the complaint, upholding VTEK’s decision would compromise the prime minister’s capacity to lead the government and fulfil constitutional functions, while also diminishing the government’s ability to perform its duties.