Transcript:

Madam Minister of Justice, Dear Ewelina,

Deputy-Minister of Foreign Affairs,

Madam President of the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania,

Rector,

Excellencies,

Dear friends - ladies and gentlemen,

On behalf of the Council of Europe, I am happy to contribute to this conference organised under the auspices of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

I am very sorry for not being able to be with you in person, owing to other commitments.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In the turbulent times we are living in, we must defend and promote privacy and media freedom, freedom of expression and public participation. They are at the core of the Council of Europe work - and of the freedoms we enjoy in our societies today.

The role of administrative courts in safeguarding human rights and rule of law standards in this context is key. This role goes hand in hand with the interaction between the members of judiciary and the media, and interplay with privacy concerns.

In turn, this interaction is essential to strengthen the public trust in the courts and in public institutions generally.

That is why the initiative of the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania to host this conference is timely and important.

I would therefore like to thank Madam President of the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania for this valuable initiative.

The Council of Europe has been actively engaged in raising standards in and compliance with privacy and media freedom areas for many years.

Just to mention here – as an illustration – the modernised Convention 108+ or the CEPEJ Guide on communication with the media and the public for courts and prosecution authorities. Ot, again, the CEPEJ opinion on freedom of expression of judges. I encourage you to bear them in mind in your deliberations.

With this, I wish you all a productive and fruitful meeting, and thank you again for inviting the Council of Europe to this event.

Thank you for your attention.