Military conscription, the practice imposing a mandatory requirement to serve in the armed forces for a certain period, was reintroduced in Lithuania in 2015, requiring men aged 18-23 to complete a nine-month long military service. This dissertation seeks to understand the extent to which conscription in Lithuania infringes upon the human rights of Lithuanian citizens. In delimiting the scope of the issue, the dissertation focuses on the analysis of conscription regarding three specific human rights: the right to liberty, the right to work, and the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. In answering the question, the dissertation adopts a doctrinal approach through a case study. It does this by analysing Lithuanian legislation and case law to understand how conscription may be violating these human rights. The dissertation also applies the relevant international and regional human rights frameworks, including case law from the European Court of Human Rights to bring insight into how conscription, while currently viewed as legal, may actually violate important human rights. The dissertation has two contributions, one theoretical and one practical. First, it examines the compatibility of conscription with several specific human rights, framing the discussion in terms of its practical impact on the individual, in turn attempting to entrepreneur a new norm of viewing conscription as a human rights violation. Second, the contribution is practical as the findings may be used as a platform for advocacy by civil society given the significant impact conscription has on Lithuanian citizens.
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