Court to rule on Misiūnas case against president Nausėda in August

Vilnius Regional Court will announce its decision in late August in a civil case brought by former interior minister Eimutis Misiūnas against President Gitanas Nausėda, BNS reports.

Misiūnas is seeking a ruling that the president’s refusal to appoint him as a judge was unjustified. He has also asked the court to order Nausėda to make the appointment and pay compensation for lost earnings.

A court spokesperson, Lina Nemeikaitė, told BNS the ruling is expected on August 21. The case was reopened following a favourable October 2025 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) for Misiūnas.

Lithuanian courts had previously dismissed Misiūnas’ claims, stating some were non-justiciable while others had formal deficiencies that were not corrected within the set deadline. The ECtHR found a violation and awarded Misiūnas €10,000 in non-pecuniary damages.

Misiūnas filed his complaint with the Strasbourg court after Nausėda rejected his 2020 request for a judicial appointment. Two years later, the president agreed to reinstate him as a judge but again did not appoint him, citing “political distance” as the reason.

Misiūnas, who served as interior minister and deputy defence minister from 2016 to 2020, has described the president’s actions as persecution over freedom of expression.