ReLex Law Firm

20/05/2026

A recent final judgment delivered in a case represented by ReLex provides important clarification for employers, foreign employees, and practitioners dealing with immigration and employment law in Lithuania. The Kaunas Regional Court confirmed that the mere expiry of a permanent residence permit document cannot serve as lawful grounds for terminating the employment of a third-country national who holds EU long-term resident status. The judgment reinforces a fundamental principle of EU law: national legislation implementing EU directives must be interpreted in light of the directive itself and the case law of the CJEU.

Read more: https://bit.ly/4dIME6m

15/05/2026

In 2021, Lithuania declared a state-level emergency due to the massive influx of irregular migrants crossing the Belarusian border. Initially framed as a temporary and necessary response to an unprecedented migration crisis, the emergency regime remains in force nearly five years later. This raises an important legal and constitutional question: is the continued application of the emergency regime still based on necessity, or has it evolved into a broad instrument of administrative discretion? ReLex Law Firm lawyer Emilija Švobaitė takes a closer look in her second commentary for Teisė.Pro.

Read more: https://bit.ly/4fmcqPY

10/05/2026

In Trapitsyna and Isaeva v. Hungary, the European Court of Human Rights ruled on 17 March 2025 that Hungary violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights in connection with the expulsion of a Russian mother and daughter on undisclosed national security grounds. The judgment constitutes an important contribution to the Court’s evolving jurisprudence on the interaction between national security considerations, procedural fairness, and the protection of private and family life under the Convention.

Read more: https://bit.ly/3QZn6dj

09/05/2026

We are proud that the cases represented by ReLex feature prominently in the 2025 case law review of the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania, contributing significantly to the development of judicial practice in asylum, migration, and foreigners’ legal status matters.

Read more: https://bit.ly/49CqPno

17/04/2026

We are pleased to welcome Virginie Martins de Nobrega to Relex Law Firm.

Virginie is an international lawyer admitted to the Paris Bar, with extensive experience in international and European law, dispute resolution, and emerging technologies.

We are delighted to have her on board.

Read more: https://relex.lt/lawyers/virginie-martins-de-nobrega/

17/03/2026

Directive (EU) 2024/1203, the new environmental crime directive, aims to establish minimum rules across EU for defining environmental criminal offences and imposing penalties in order to protect the environment. Provision of Article 3.2(q) underlines that any conduct which causes the deterioration of a habitat within a protected site, or the disturbance of animal species listed in Annex II, point (a), to Directive 92/43/EEC within a protected site, within the meaning of Article 6(2) of that Directive, where such deterioration or disturbance is significant must be criminalized if such conduct causes (3.3.a) the destruction of, or widespread and substantial damage which is either irreversible or long-lasting to, an ecosystem of considerable size or environmental value or a habitat within a protected site. Member States must incorporate the Directive into national law by 21 May 2026.

Read more: https://bit.ly/4lz4onS

16/03/2026

One in ten foreigners entering the EU does so on a study permit. Immigration authorities are required to prevent irregular migration, but they can only reject study-related residence applications if there is specific evidence of potential abuse. This rule is set out in directly applicable Article 20(2)(f) of Directive 2016/801. A striking example is the recent ReLex case in which a Malagasy prodigy was denied entry for graduating at age 11.

Read more: https://bit.ly/4rDwKz5

16/01/2026

The threat to kill or seriously harm someone expressed in an online comment is sufficient evidence to suggest that such a threat could be carried out (see ECRI General Policy Recommendation No. 15 (GPR 15) or Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)16 of the Committee of Ministers of CoE on combating hate speech). On the other hand, the nature and form of such a threat deserve the attention of investigators and prosecutors, also because the sociological and social characteristics of the person making the threat are unknown. Identifying the person who made the threats would make it possible to assess the reality of that person's intentions and the motivation for their actions.

Read more: https://bit.ly/4sHItyf

https://www.currenttime.tv/a/aktivistka-sasha-kazantseva-obratilas-v-politsiyu-litvy-iz-za-ugroz-i-travli/33649867.html

В Вильнюсе писательницу и активистку ЛГБТ+ Сашу Казанцеву уже более полугода травят в социальных сетях и угрожают расправой администраторы российского гомофобно....

07/01/2026

Pending ECHR rulings on legality of pushbacks policy in Lithuania, Latvia and Poland at the border with Belarus, the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania affirmed in case No eA-820-552/2025 the right to seek international protection and confirmed the right to redress. The burden of proof shifted to the border authorities.

Read more: http://bit.ly/4jq6rcU

10/12/2025

It is International Human Rights Day once again. It matters to us. It matters to all of us. We are pleased to share that ReLex Senior Lawyer Emilija Švobaitė has been nominated for the award of Human Rights Defender of the Year at the National Human Rights Forum Awards.

On the occasion we warmly invite you to hear the voices and perspectives of human rights activists in Lithuania:

https://www.lrt.lt/mediateka/irasas/2000582045/zmogaus-teisiu-aktyvistai-nesiekiame-buti-nepatogus-siekiame-rezultatu?time_start=0