President of the Constitutional Court Gintaras Goda stated that the main objective of the convention is to safeguard women against all forms of violence and to prevent domestic violence, as well as to prosecute perpetrators of violence. Moreover, the convention aims to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and to promote actual gender equality, whereas there is a direct link between guaranteeing gender equality and eliminating violence against women.
The court also concluded that the convention does not deny masculine and feminine genders nor does it presume the possibility to choose other than biological gender.
Parliament addressed the Constitutional Court in September 2023 asking to elucidate whether the Istanbul Convention complies with the provisions of the Constitution. Non-governmental organisations supported the decision to address the Constitutional Court over the issue.
The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, known as the Istanbul Convention, was adopted in 2011. Lithuania signed the document in June 2013 but has not ratified it since.
