LAT did not accept the complaint about the LNOBT manager’s competition, the minister talks about the new standard | Culture

“The point has been made in this whole story, which will inevitably have some bitterness. On the other hand, we are apparently talking about a new standard to which we need to adapt,” the minister said to BNS this week.

In mid-July, the LAT refused to accept J. Sakalauskas’ cassation appeal because it did not meet the requirements of the law.

“In the selection panel’s assessment, the arguments of the cassation complaint do not support the fact that the courts that examined the case improperly interpreted and applied the legal norms specified in the complaint and that this could have influenced the adoption of an illegal decision,” states the LAT ruling.

J. Sakalauskas, the former manager of the theater who did not win the LNOBT general director competition, filed a cassation appeal to annul the decisions of the previous courts and transfer the case to the Vilnius District Court for retrial.

Both Vilnius City District and Vilnius District Courts previously rejected his complaints regarding the competition organized by the Ministry of Culture for the leadership of LNOBT.

J. Sakalauskas stated that the principles of equality, legitimate expectations, and transparency may have been violated during the organization of the LNOBT manager’s competition.

According to him, some members of the commission had a friendly and subordinate relationship with Laima Vilimiene, who was recognized as the winner of the competition.

Both courts recognized that these statements were unfounded and unproven.

According to the Minister of Culture, this judicial process helped to set a new standard for the selection of heads of cultural institutions.

“For the first time, we encountered the fact that when the heads of national institutions are selected, there is no automatic process, that it is possible to win a second term only through tendering and competition. This automatically means that you need to talk more about your vision, about the future. This is the basis. All other things are inferences, self-justifications, attempts to undermine state institutions, the Ministry of Culture and the like,” said S. Kairys to BNS.

“In my opinion, certain things are being put on the tracks, on the shelves, we have a new standard that we will have to live with and after a while we will understand that this is a strength. We will understand that when you fail to win a contest, you are not just winning, you are not losing,” he asserted.

According to S. Kairis, L. Vilimienė, who won the competition, will be able to start the work of LNOBT after the LAT decision.

According to the minister, it was agreed that she will start managing the theater from September 9.

Opera soloist J. Sakalauskas led LNOBT for five years. He also sought a second term in this position, but L. Vilimienė won the new leadership competition last February.

After the appointment of the head of LNOBT got stuck due to the courts, as well as a part of the theater team protesting against the return of L. Vilimienė, who had previously worked in the theater, last March the deputy general director, head of the Marketing Department, Audrius Kundrotas, was appointed to temporarily lead the institution.

At that time, L. Vilimienė won the competition for the manager of the Klaipėda State Musical Theater last July. She will have to step down from this role to become CEO of LNOBT.