Creating national human rights institution in Lithuania : theoretical and practical lessons

Abstract

In 2011 Lithuanian government decided to reform the Seimas Ombudsmen’s Office by expanding its mandate in the field of human rights. In this paper I aim to overview the ongoing reform and to discuss main driving forces and obstacles for its enforcement. I apply an interdisciplinary approach combining legal and political science research methods. The findings suggest that the proposed reform raises serious doubts about its full compliance to Paris Principles. It also leaves unresolved issues of overlapping mandates, financial resources and thus has a risk to fail in establishing an effective national human rights institution.