Strengthening Respect for Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms Under the Doctrine of the Protection of Legitimate Expectations

Abstract

This article reveals the path of consolidating the doctrine of the protection of legitimate expectations in the Lithuanian legal system and summarizes the latest trends of national case law in connection with the protection of legitimate expectations, including in the context of trends in European law. The subject of the article, which consists of the analysis of case law in the fields of protection of the right to property and the implementation of freedom of economic activity, contributes to a wider discussion about the processes of Europeanisation of administrative law. After analysing the development cycles of the doctrine of the protection of legitimate expectations, it is concluded that the doctrine of the protection of legitimate expectations reliably contributes to the development of modern administrative law in Lithuania and is one of its most important pillars aimed at consolidating the protection of subjective rights. As evident from the jurisprudence of the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania, which forms administrative case law, the application of the doctrine in question essentially notifies of the transition from traditional forms of review of public administration actions, such as compliance with procedural requirements, to the obligation, deriving from the principle of good governance, to take administrative decisions that would not be fundamentally unfair.