Challenges for the Implementation of the Institutional Autonomy of Universities in Lithuania

The idea of the institutional autonomy of universities emerged in the Middle Ages. As a preserved tradition, it has become an important principle of a democratic society on which university activities are based. The Magna Charta Universitatum – signed by many universities around the world – the European University Association, and the European Union have developed a new concept of institutional autonomy for universities based on the belief that institutional autonomy is the best precondition for the efficiency of universities and societal progress. The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania examined 11 cases related to issues of the autonomy of higher education institutions. In examining these cases, the Court formed a Constitutional Doctrine, providing an interpretation of paragraph 3 of Article 40 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, which deals with the granting of autonomy to higher education institutions. In several rulings, the Court has held that legal acts adopted by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania have unreasonably restricted the autonomy of higher education institutions and violated the Constitution. At the same time, the Court has repeatedly emphasized in its rulings that neither the autonomy of higher education institutions nor academic freedom are an end in themselves, and that the autonomy guaranteed to higher education institutions and the freedom of science and research are not absolute