The Constitutional Aspects of the Annulment of the Code of Ethics of Public Information by the Decision of an Administrative Court

This article analyzes the constitutional aspects of administrative justice related to the case when the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania, in examining an individual administrative dispute, resolved the issue of the legality of the Code of Ethics of Public Information adopted at the meeting of journalists’ representatives. This article also raises problems related to the contradiction of the concept of administrative doctrine regarding a normative administrative act and the inconsistency of the examination of normative administrative acts in administrative courts with the constitutional doctrine. In the author’s opinion, such administrative justice on an ad hoc basis raises reasonable doubts about its compliance with the constitutional doctrine formed by the Constitutional Court, and contradicts the previous practice of administrative justice regarding the concept of a normative administrative act and the legal assessment of the code of ethics in public information. The annulment of a legal act in administrative justice without following the normative procedure of litigation established by the Law on Administrative Proceedings should be assessed as an extraordinary example of administrative justice, which potentially violates the right to a fair trial, as well as undermining trust in administrative courts