Lithuania has violated the European Convention on Human Rights when it dismissed a request by Romuva for its neo-pagan faith to be recognised as an official religion.
According to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Lithuania violated the convention’s articles governing the freedom of thought, conscience and religion, non-discrimination and the right to a fair trial and an effective remedy.
“The Court found in particular that the state authorities had not provided a reasonable and objective justification for treating the applicant association differently from other religious associations that had been in a relevantly similar situation,” the court said in its judgment.
“Members of the Seimas had not remained neutral and impartial in exercising their regulatory powers,” it said.
Read more: Neo-pagans denied recognition, say parliament’s decision ‘violates human rights’
In 2019, the Seimas of Lithuania failed to grant Romuva state recognition after 40 lawmakers voted in favour, 31 were against and 15 abstained.
That decision taken by the parliament meant that Romuva would have to wait a decade before re-applying for state recognition.
If it had been recognised by the state, Romuva would have been given the right to a land tax credit, its priests would have been covered by the state social insurance, and marriages by such priests would have been recognised legally as having been registered at a civil registration office.
Some 1,200 people considered themselves members of the neo-pagan community, based on the 2001 census figures. The number of followers stood at 5,100 in 2015.
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