Defamation as a criminal offence in the context of the protection of freedom of expression
ENBy means of the requirements of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, the recommendations and criticism of the international human rights organisations, the paper analyses legal regulation on defamation in the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania. It argues that the criminalisation of defamation has not yet been fully valid and legitimate when considering the international commitments, namely those related to the protection of freedom of expression and the nature and purpose of criminal law, as well as the principle of criminal liability, as the last resort (ultima ratio). This paper does not only aim to emphasise that it is necessary to decriminalize partially the defamation in the Republic of Lithuania but also attempts to encourage further discussions on this issue.
