Elements of procedural justice in jurisprudence of Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania

Procedural justice establishes very important requirements for method and form of performance of justice. Justice mustbe carried out strictly in accordance with the procedural rules and requirements in order toreachits goals. Historically, as well as in legal doctrine and court practice, procedural justice has to fulfil a number of requirements. The key elements of procedural justiceis impartiality, objectivity, independence of the court, proper motivation and clarity of the courts’ decision, guarantee of legal protection, guarantee of court instances, respect for previously formed precedents of the court, proportionality of the decision, the rule of law. The analysis of these elements leads to the conclusion that procedural justice is closely related to the material (of substantial) justice, i.e. the very essence of justice. Procedural justice is crucial to ensure that the substantive justice is reached by using fair and appropriate means. But even if all the conditions of the procedural justice are met, only the procedural justice does not lead to a lawful and right decisionin its material sense, and procedural justice must alwaysbe balanced with the material (of substantial) justice and vice versa