At its Human Rights meeting held from 10 to 12 June, the Committee ended its supervision of the execution of Macate v. Lithuania, concerning a year-long suspension (between 2014 and 2015) of the distribution of a children’s book, followed by the resumption of its distribution with warning labels stating that its contents could be harmful to children under the age of 14, based on the Minors Protection Act. The book was a collection of six fairy tales written by the applicant, two of which depicted marriage between persons of the same sex. The Court found that the measures imposed had intended to limit children’s access to information depicting same-sex relationships and had not pursued any aims that could be accepted as legitimate (violation of Article 10 of the Convention).
The Committee noted that in December 2024, the Lithuanian Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional the impugned legal provision, recalling that under the Constitution the concept of family is neutral in terms of gender. It thus ruled that a legal regulation imposing limitations on the freedom to receive and impart information, including a legal regulation limiting information about the diversity of family models and relationships, hinders the development of minor children as mature and well-rounded personalities. Moreover, it is incompatible with the constitutional duty of the state to ensure the harmonious and comprehensive development of the child, based on respect for human rights and dignity, as well as on the values of equality, pluralism, and tolerance, which are inherent in a democratic society.
