Lithuania

• The Constitution of 1992, the highest law
• The Civil Code (2000), the Criminal Code and other codes and statutes
• European Union law, which takes priority in its area
• Decisions of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court

• The Supreme Court for ordinary civil and criminal cases
• The Supreme Administrative Court for disputes with public bodies
• The Constitutional Court, which reviews laws

A master's degree in law, a traineeship with an advocate, and a qualification exam, followed by registration with the Lithuanian Bar.

• The 2000 Civil Code was influenced by the Dutch Civil Code, not only by German or French models.
• The Constitutional Court's rulings strongly shape Lithuanian law.
• Lithuania restored its independence in 1990, and its modern codes were written after that.

Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Germany, Netherlands

The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Lithuania as: Civil law. It names the systems in order of importance.

The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.

Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria.

• Constitutional Court of Lithuania

Sources last reviewed: October 2026.