REVIEW #18: The Constitutional Court in Lithuania Talks the Talk, and Now the Parliament Must Walk the Walk: Family Protection Means Balance
Under Article 38 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, the family is the basis of society and the State, and family, motherhood, fatherhood, and childhood shall be under the protection and care of the State. Even though the Constitution provides that families are the basis of society and what the concept of marriage is, there are still disagreements between legal scholars, lawyers, and politicians as to what ‘family’ actually means. The state’s obligation to protect families under the Constitution entails not only providing a regulatory framework for creating a family, but also the ability of the family members to make their own decisions in deciding what is best for them and their families.