Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T19:06:13.918Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Debate about Soviet Genocide in Lithuania in the Case Law of The European Court of Human Rights

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 November 2020

Dovilė Sagatienė Open the ORCID record for Dovilė Sagatienė [Opens in a new window]
Dovilė Sagatienė*
Affiliation:
Associate Professor, European Humanities University, Vilnius, Lithuania
*
*Corresponding author. Email: dovile.sagatiene@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Since 1990 Lithuania has been claiming that what happened there during Soviet occupation is genocide, as per the 1948 Genocide Convention, which embodies universal justice for suppressed nations and other groups. Due to Soviet actions in Lithuania throughout the periods of 1940-1941 and 1944-1990, the country lost almost one fifth of its population. The application of Lithuanian national legal regulations regarding this issue has been recently discussed in the framework of another postwar international legal instrument – the European Convention of Human Rights (1950). The goal of this article is to examine the main debates, which were revealed by the European Court of Human Rights in the cases of Vasiliauskas v. Lithuania (2015) and Drėlingas v. Lithuania (2019), regarding the killings of Lithuanian partisans, including the recognition of the significance of partisans for the Lithuanian nation, the foreseeability of genocide “in part,” as well as the punishment for complicity in killing Lithuanian partisans.

Keywords

Soviet genocideLithuanian partisansEuropean Court of Human RightsEuropean Convention of Human RightsConvention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
Type
Article
Information
Nationalities Papers , Volume 49 , Issue 4: Special Issue on 1918 and the Ambiguities of “Old-New Europe” , July 2021 , pp. 776 - 791
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Association for the Study of Nationalities

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References

Hirad, Abtahi and Webb, Philippa. 2008. The Genocide Convention. The Travaux Preparatores. 2 vols. Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.Google Scholar
Ambos, Kai. 2009. “What does ‘intent to destroy’ in genocide mean?” International Review of the Red Cross 91 (876): 833–859.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anusauskas, Arvydas. 1996. Lietuviu tautos sovietinis naikinimas 1940-1958 metais [Soviet extermination of the Lithuanian nation in 1940–1958]. Vilnius: Mintis.Google Scholar
Annus, Epp. 2012. “The Problem of Soviet Colonialism in the Baltics.” Journal of Baltic Studies 43 (1): 21–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baade, Hans. 1961. “The Eichmann Trial: Some Legal Aspects.” Duke Law Journal (3): 400–420.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruun, Lori L. 1993. “Beyond the 1948 Convention - Emerging Principles of Genocide in Customary International Law.” Maryland Journal of International Law 17 (193): 193–226.Google Scholar
Cassese, Antonio. 2008. International Criminal Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Dawson, Grant and Boynton, Rachel. 2008. “Reconciling Complicity in Genocide and Aiding and Abetting Genocide in the Jurisprudence of the United Nations Ad Hoc Tribunals.” Harvard Human Rights Journal 21 (241): 241–280.Google Scholar
Daumantas, Juozas. 1988. Fighters for Freedom. Lithuanian Partisans versus the USSR (1944–1947). Toronto: The Lithuanian Canadian Committee for Human Rights.Google Scholar
Dyukov, Alexander. 2012. Nakanune Holokosta. Front litovskih aktivistov i sovetskie repressii v Litve, 1940–1941. Sbornik dokumentov. Fond sodejstvija aktual’nym istoricheskim issledovanijam [On the Eve of the Holocaust. Front of Lithuanian activists and Soviet repression in Lithuania, 1940–1941. Collection of documents. Foundation for the Promotion of Contemporary Historical Research. Moscow: Historical Memory.Google Scholar
Irvin-Erickson, Douglas. 2017. Raphaël Lemkin and the Concept of Genocide. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Irvin-Erickson, Douglas. 2013. “Genocide, the ‘family of mind’ and the romantic signature of Raphael Lemkin.” Journal of Genocide Research 15 (3): 273–296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gaskaite, Nijole. 1996. Lietuvos kovu ir kanciu istorija. Lietuvos partizanu kovos ir ju slopinimas MVD-MGB dokumentuose 1944-1953 metais [The history of Lithuanian battles and martyrs. Lithuanian Guerrilla Fighting and Suppression in MVD-MGB Documents 1944–1953]. Kaunas: Lithuanian Union of Political Prisoners and Deportees.Google Scholar
Greenfield, Daniel M. 2008. “The Crime of Complicity in Genocide: How the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and Yugoslavia Got It Wrong, and Why It Matters.” Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 98 (3): 921–952.Google Scholar
Greenawalt, Alexander K. 1999. “Rethinking Genocidal Intent: The Case for a Knowledge-Based Interpretation.” Columbia Law Review 99 (8): 2259–2294.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heller, Kevin Jon and Simpson, Gerry, eds. 2013. The Hidden Histories of War Crimes Trials. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kuodyte, Dalia. 2004. The Unknown War: Armed Anti Soviet Resistance in Lithuania in 1944-1953. Vilnius: Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania.Google Scholar
Lebed, Andrei. 1958. “Genocide as a Means of Creating a Unified Socialist Nation.” In Genocide in the USSR, edited by Institute for the study of USSR, 3–5. New York: The Scarecrow Press.Google Scholar
Liivoja, Rain. 2013. “Competing Histories: Soviet War Crimes in the Baltic States.” In The Hidden Histories of War Crimes Trials, edited by Heller, Kevin Jon and Simpson, Gerry, 248–266. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Lemkin, Raphael. 1947. “Genocide as a Crime under International Law.” The American Journal of International Law 41 (1): 145–151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Malksoo, Lauri. 2001. “Soviet Genocide? Communist Mass Deportations in the Baltic States and International Law.” Leiden Journal of International Law: 757–787.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mertelsmann, Olaf, Raih-Tamm, Aigi. 2009. “Soviet mass violence in Estonia revisited.” Journal of Genocide Research 11 (2–3): 307–322.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petersen, Roger. 2001. Resistance and Rebellion. Lessons from Eastern Europe. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pettai, Eva Clarita. 2017. “Prosecuting Soviet genocide: comparing the politics of criminal justice in the Baltic states.” European politics and society 18 (1): 52–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Priemel, Kim Christian. 2013. “Consigning Justice to History: Transitional Trials after the Second Worldwar.” The Historical Journal 56 (2): 553–581.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ramanauskas, Adolfas. 2018. Many Sons have Fallen in the Partisan Ranks. Vilnius: Genocide and Resistance Research Center of Lithuania.Google Scholar
Reich, Robert. 1991. “What Is a Nation?” Political Science Quarterly 106 (2): 193–209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sainati, Tatiana. 2012. “Toward a Comparative Approach to the Crime of Genocide.” Duke Law Journal 62 (1): 161–202.Google Scholar
Sangkul, Kim. 2016. A Collective Theory of Genocidal Intent. New York: Asser Press-Springer.Google Scholar
Schabas, William. 2000. Genocide in International Law: The Crime of Crimes. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Schabas, William. 2010. “Retroactive Application of the Genocide Convention.” University of St. Thomas Journal of Law and Public Policy 4 (2): 36–59.Google Scholar
Starkauskas, Juozas.1998. Cekistine kariuomene Lietuvoje 1944–1953 metais [Cekist army in Lithuania 1944–1953]. Vilnius: Lithuanian Center for Genocide and Resistance.Google Scholar
Strods, Heinrihs. 2005. “Sovietization of Latvia 1944–1991.” In The Hidden and Forbidden History of Latvia under Soviet and Nazi Occupations 1940-1991, edited by Caune, Andris, 209–228. Riga: Institute of the History of Latvia.Google Scholar
Tininis, Vytautas. 2003. Sovietu Sajungos politiniu strukturu, vietiniu ju padaliniu bei kolaborantu vaidmuo vykdant nusikaltimus 1944–1953 [The crimes of the communist regime in Lithuania in 1944–1953]. Vilnius: International Commission for the Evaluation of the Crimes of the Nazi and Soviet Occupation Regimes in Lithuania.Google Scholar
Vaitiekunas, Vytautas. 1951. “Genocido nusikaltimas.” [Crime of Genocide] Aidai 8 (42).Google Scholar
Vinogradov, Alexey and Pleaser, Albert. 2010. Unlocked Memories: Young Russians under German Rule. Maryland: University Press of America.Google Scholar
Weiss-Wendt, Anton. 2019. “When the End Justifies the Means: Raphaël Lemkin and the Shaping of a Popular Discourse on Genocide.” Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal 13 (1): 173–188.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weiss-Wendt, Anton. 2005. “Hostage of Politics: Raphael Lemkin on “Soviet Genocide.’” Journal of Genocide Research 7 (4): 551–559.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weiss-Wendt, Anton. 2018. A Rhetorical Crime: Genocide in the Geopolitical Discourse of the Cold War. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wittmann, Rebecca. 2005. Beyond Justice: the Auschwitz Trial. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whelan, Joseph G. 1958. The Soviet Empire: Prison House of Nations and Races . A Study in Genocide, Discrimination, and Abuse of Power. Washington D.C.: United States Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
Schaack, Van, Beth, . 1997. “The Crime of Political Genocide: Repairing the Genocide Convention’s Blind Spot.” The Yale Law Journal 106 (7): 2259–2291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Sliedregt, Elies. 2009. “Complicity to Commit Genocide.” In The UN Genocide Convention: A Commentary, edited by Gaeta, Paola, 162–193. Geneva: Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights.Google Scholar
Žilinskas, Justinas. 2016. “Vasiliauskas vs. Lithuania: Battle lost in the war to come?” International Comparative Jurisprudence (2): 67–71.Google Scholar
Lithuanian Special Archive (LSA), Vilnius, the archival fond: no. 1771, no. K–1.Google Scholar
CR. v. United Kingdom , ECtHR, November 22, 1995, no. 20190/92; S.W. v. United Kingdom, ECtHR, November 22, 1995, no. 20166/92.Google Scholar
Drėlingas v. Lithuania , ECtHR Judgment, March 12, 2019, no. 28859/16.Google Scholar
Kononov v. Latvia , ECtHR former third division, July 24, 2008, no. 36376/04.Google Scholar
Kokkinakis v. Greece , ECtHR, May 25, 1993, no. 14307/88.Google Scholar
The Prosecutor v. Dusko Tadić , ICTY, Trail Chamber Judgment, May 7, 1997, no. IT-94-1-T.Google Scholar
Vasiliauskas v. Lithuania , ECtHR Grand Chamber Judgment, October 20, 2015, no. 35343/05.Google Scholar
Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucinio Teismo 2014 m. kovo 18 d. Nr. KT11-N4/2014 nutarimas “Dėl Lietuvos Respublikos Baudžiamojo Kodekso kai kurių nuostatų, susijusių su baudžiamąja atsakomybe už genocidą, atitikties Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucijai” [Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania March 18, 2014 Judgment no. KT11-N4/2014 “On the Conformity of Certain Provisions of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania with Criminal Liability for Genocide to the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania”].Google Scholar
Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucinio Teismo 2010 m. lapkričio 10 d. nutarimas Nr. 09/2008 “Dėl Lietuvos Respublikos įstatymo ‘Dėl SSRS okupacijos žalos atlyginimo’, Lietuvos Respublikos asmenų, represuotų už pasipriešinimą okupaciniams režimams, teisių atkūrimo įstatymo, Lietuvos Respublikos įstatymo ‘Dėl atsakomybės už lietuvos gyventojų genocidą’ atitikties Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucijai” [Judgment of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania of 2010 November 10 no. 09/2008 “On the compliance of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania ‘On the Compensation for the Damage of the Occupation of the USSR’, the ‘Law on the Restoration of the Rights of Persons Repressed against the Occupation Regimes’”].Google Scholar
Lietuvos Respublikos Baudžiamojo kodekso papildymo 621, 71 straipsniais ir 81, 24, 25, 26, 35, 49, 541, 89 straipsnių pakeitimo ir papildymo istatymas [Law Amending Articles 62 (1), 71 and Articles 81, 24, 25, 26, 35, 49, 541, 89 of the Criminal Code]. State Gazette, 1998, No. VIII–708.Google Scholar
Lietuvos Respublikos baudžiamasis kodeksas [Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania]. State Gazette, 2000, No. 89–2741.Google Scholar
Įstatymas dėl atsakomybės už Lietuvos gyventojų genocidą [Law “On Responsibility for Genocide of Inhabitants of Lithuania”], State Gazette, 1992, No. I–2477.Google Scholar
Lithuanian Special Archive (LSA), Vilnius, the archival fond: no. 1771, no. K–1.Google Scholar
CR. v. United Kingdom , ECtHR, November 22, 1995, no. 20190/92; S.W. v. United Kingdom, ECtHR, November 22, 1995, no. 20166/92.Google Scholar
Drėlingas v. Lithuania , ECtHR Judgment, March 12, 2019, no. 28859/16.Google Scholar
Kononov v. Latvia , ECtHR former third division, July 24, 2008, no. 36376/04.Google Scholar
Kokkinakis v. Greece , ECtHR, May 25, 1993, no. 14307/88.Google Scholar
The Prosecutor v. Dusko Tadić , ICTY, Trail Chamber Judgment, May 7, 1997, no. IT-94-1-T.Google Scholar
Vasiliauskas v. Lithuania , ECtHR Grand Chamber Judgment, October 20, 2015, no. 35343/05.Google Scholar
Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucinio Teismo 2014 m. kovo 18 d. Nr. KT11-N4/2014 nutarimas “Dėl Lietuvos Respublikos Baudžiamojo Kodekso kai kurių nuostatų, susijusių su baudžiamąja atsakomybe už genocidą, atitikties Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucijai” [Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania March 18, 2014 Judgment no. KT11-N4/2014 “On the Conformity of Certain Provisions of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania with Criminal Liability for Genocide to the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania”].Google Scholar
Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucinio Teismo 2010 m. lapkričio 10 d. nutarimas Nr. 09/2008 “Dėl Lietuvos Respublikos įstatymo ‘Dėl SSRS okupacijos žalos atlyginimo’, Lietuvos Respublikos asmenų, represuotų už pasipriešinimą okupaciniams režimams, teisių atkūrimo įstatymo, Lietuvos Respublikos įstatymo ‘Dėl atsakomybės už lietuvos gyventojų genocidą’ atitikties Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucijai” [Judgment of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania of 2010 November 10 no. 09/2008 “On the compliance of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania ‘On the Compensation for the Damage of the Occupation of the USSR’, the ‘Law on the Restoration of the Rights of Persons Repressed against the Occupation Regimes’”].Google Scholar
Lietuvos Respublikos Baudžiamojo kodekso papildymo 621, 71 straipsniais ir 81, 24, 25, 26, 35, 49, 541, 89 straipsnių pakeitimo ir papildymo istatymas [Law Amending Articles 62 (1), 71 and Articles 81, 24, 25, 26, 35, 49, 541, 89 of the Criminal Code]. State Gazette, 1998, No. VIII–708.Google Scholar
Lietuvos Respublikos baudžiamasis kodeksas [Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania]. State Gazette, 2000, No. 89–2741.Google Scholar
Įstatymas dėl atsakomybės už Lietuvos gyventojų genocidą [Law “On Responsibility for Genocide of Inhabitants of Lithuania”], State Gazette, 1992, No. I–2477.Google Scholar