VILNIUS, 25 July 2025 — In a landmark legal development, Lithuania—long seen as one of the EU’s more socially conservative nations—has seen a district court legally recognize a same-sex couple as constituting a family. This historic ruling from the Vilnius City District Court came as a direct result of a new legal pathway created by the country’s highest court, marking a major step toward legal equality in a country where lawmakers have repeatedly stalled on legislation for same-sex unions.
The case was brought forward by the LGBTQ+ rights NGO Tolerant Youth Association (TJA) in cooperation with lawyer Aivaras Žilvinskas. The district court’s decision formally recognized the couple’s cohabitation as a partnership, giving them a civil status record. This signals that Lithuanian courts are willing to take the lead where lawmakers have stalled, nudging the Baltic state closer to the European LGBTQ+ mainstream.
This breakthrough follows a watershed ruling by Lithuania’s Constitutional Court on April 17, 2025. The Court declared that the Civil Code’s restriction of partnerships to opposite-sex couples was unconstitutional and that Parliament’s 24-year failure to act on partnership rights was “unreasonably long.” The ruling did not automatically legalize same-sex partnerships but created a legal avenue for citizens to seek recognition through the courts, as reported by LGL.lt, Lithuania’s leading LGBTQ+ rights organization.
A Fight Born from Frustration and Necessity
For TJA chair Artūras Rudomanskis, the legal victory was born out of necessity. “This legal process is just part of a bigger picture,” he said in a statement. “It began and continued for several years out of despair – when some Lithuanian citizens are treated as unequal in the eyes of their state. Our politicians delayed taking responsibility for too long, so we had to go to court.” Rudomanskis’s organization has a long history of activism, consistently advocating for LGBTQ+ rights and pushing back against societal discrimination.
Lawyer Aivaras Žilvinskas, who represented the couple, called the ruling proof that citizens can defend their rights even when politicians refuse to act. “This victory is a sign of hope for all couples waiting to be recognised,” he stated. His work, supported by TJA, has focused on strategic litigation to establish legal precedents for same-sex couples, including recognition of foreign marriages and partnerships. This approach has gained traction with funding from programs like the EU’s Justice Programme.
The strategic litigation model used in this case demonstrates how grassroots organizations and legal experts can use the judicial system to advance human rights when political action stalls, a theme that resonates across various EU Politics contexts, particularly where government and judicial branches are at odds over social policy.
A Turning Point for a Conservative Nation?
While Lithuania is a member of the European Union, it has been slow to adopt LGBTQ-friendly legislation compared to its Western counterparts. This is highlighted by the ILGA-Europe Rainbow Map for 2025, which ranks Lithuania 36th out of 49 countries with a score of just 24%, as reported by LGL.lt. The nation has long been an outlier, as one of the last Baltic states without a legal framework for same-sex unions.
The Constitutional Court’s ruling on April 17 was consistent with prior legal precedents. A 2011 ruling had already established that the family does not derive exclusively from marriage. The decision was also shaped by international pressure, particularly the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the Macatė v. Lithuania case, which found in January 2023 that a law restricting children’s access to books depicting same-sex relationships violated freedom of expression, as confirmed by Ellex Legal. This pattern of legal pressure has brought Lithuania closer to broader EU legal norms. The EU Court of Justice (CJEU), in the landmark 2018 Coman & Hamilton case, also ruled that the term “spouse” is gender-neutral for free movement rights, compelling member states to recognize same-sex marriages from other EU countries. This external legal pressure has been a powerful force for change.
The government has yet to respond formally to the latest court ruling, and conservative resistance remains strong. In August 2024, Social Democratic MP Gintautas Paluckas claimed there was “no need to irritate society by bringing partnership legislation to Parliament.” His comments, reported by LGL.lt, highlight the continued political struggle.
This decision signals a critical shift, where courts are taking the lead to enforce constitutional principles and human rights, nudging the Baltic state closer to the European LGBTQ+ mainstream. The precedent set by this case opens the door for other same-sex couples to pursue similar legal recognition through the courts, an option that was not available before the Constitutional Court’s ruling. This development is part of a broader European trend toward legalizing same-sex relationships, a topic of extensive debate that touches on national identity and social cohesion. This issue is particularly relevant to broader discussions on social change and challenges to traditional norms, which are often covered in our Society & Culture section. The legal battles over same-sex unions also have economic implications, particularly concerning joint property rights and inheritance, which fall under the scope of the EU Economy.