UN JUDICIAL POSITIONS: LITHUANIAN, U.S. CANDIDATES

C O N F I D E N T I A L VILNIUS 000120 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR IO/MPR:BHACKETT, L/UNA:DJOHNSON USUN FOR MR:BRASHKOW E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/27/2019 TAGS: AORC APER KUNR UNGA PREL LH SUBJECT: UN JUDICIAL POSITIONS: LITHUANIAN, U.S. CANDIDATES RECEIVE PRAISE REF: A. SECSTATE 16118 ¶B. SECSTATE 16254 Classified By: DCM Damian R. Leader for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) We delivered Reftel B information to Rita Kazragiene, head of the MFA's United Nations and Global Policy Division on February 23. She told us February 25 that the GOL would support the U.S. candidate for the UN Appeals Tribunal (UNAT) if the USG would commit to supporting Lithuania's candidate. After we told her the United States did not make such quid pro quo deals, she said her government could not say which candidates it would vote for but had a positive reaction to the U.S. candidate, Judge Mark Painter. Kazragiene also said the GOL strongly supports the Lithuanian candidate, Virgilijus Valancius, and believes him to be highly qualified to serve on the UNAT. She did not offer GOL views on any of the other candidates. ¶2. (U) Research (Reftel A) into Valancius has unearthed no negative information. After serving several years as a prosecutor, Valancius spent three years as a trial-court judge in Vilnius, hearing civil, criminal, administrative and labor cases. He then served seven years as a judge and chairman of the civil division of the Court of Appeals of Lithuania, hearing civil, labor and administrative cases. He has been a judge at the Supreme Administrative Court since 2002, and recently finished a six-year term as chairman of that court. He was President of the European Association of Judges in 2006-2008, has been Vice President of the International Association of Judges since 2006, and sits on the Board of Trustees of the European Law Academy, an appointment that expires in 2011. He is a professor in the Civil Process department of the Mykolas Romeris University. ¶3. (U) A leading and respected Lithuanian lawyer told us he had discussed Valancius with other lawyers after we sought his opinion. He said Valancius is highly thought of by judges and lawyers, has never been suspected of corruption and is well-regarded for his scholarly work. He added that Valancius, as head of Lithuania's Supreme Administative Court, encouraged judges to take a more expansive view of the law and to respect judicial precedent as well as the written law. Such an approach, while unusual for Europe, is appropriate here because Lithuania is still making the transition from a Soviet to a democratic European legal system, the lawyer said. He said Valancius was regarded as an expert on EU law, particularly on procedural issues. CLOUD