The Court of Appeal ruled in the Freedom Hill case

In the opinion of the Court of Appeal, there is no basis to claim that the winning idea is inappropriate.

“(…) At this stage, when only the artistic value of the idea itself was evaluated and in the absence of any data in the case, which would make it possible to state unequivocally that the idea of ​​the monument proposed by A. Labašauskas clearly does not fulfill with building regulations and / or heritage protection requirements or violates Valuable Properties of Lukiškės Square, there is no reason to claim that the idea that won the tender is inappropriate, ”the court ruling states.

The panel of judges who heard the case also noted that if it became clear in the future that the idea of ​​”Freedom Hill” could not be implemented because it was against the law, the monument should not be built.

The results of the creative workshops of the Ministry of Culture and the Center for Contemporary Art held three years ago were questioned by the authors of the second Vytis Memorial: the architects Kęstutis Akelaitis, Gintaras Čaikauskas and Linas Naujokaitis, the artist Rimantas Dichavičius and the author of the sculpture Arūnas Sakalauskas.

The plaintiffs requested that the decision to declare the winner be declared illegal and that the creative workshops themselves continue.

In November last year, the Vilnius Regional Court also declared that this work by sculptor A.Labašauskas, who had won the competition, “met the requirements set by the creative workshops” and rejected the plaintiffs’ claims that the competition it was organized in a non-transparent way. The plaintiffs appealed against that decision to the Court of Appeal.

The Ministry of Culture agrees to allocate 0.5 million for the work. The money transfer was promised at the end of the courts, as well as after reconciling the project with financial aspects.

Discussions about the layout of Lukiškės square in Vilnius and commemorative accents have taken place since the restoration of independence, especially after the Vilnius municipality decided to install a temporary artificial beach in the square this summer.

In response to the decision of the capital city, the Seimas passed a special law on Lukiškės Square, which establishes that it is the main representative square of the country with the Vytis monument.

Under this law, the space must be administered seriously and with due respect for the combatants and insurgents, and its use must not be contrary to public order or good customs.

The decision of the Court of Appeal takes effect immediately, but can be appealed on cassation to the Supreme Court of Lithuania.