The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal on the grounds that the Migration Department failed to prove L.K. had acquired citizenship of the Russian Federation. Referring to the lower court’s citation of the ECN, the judges wrote: “ While Lithuania has not acceded to the ECN, and thus questions of citizenship belong to the realm of national law, … the common principles on nationality enshrined in this Council of Europe Convention are important to Lithuania, as an EU Member State, even if it is not a State party to the ECN.” Under Lithuanian law, Article 12 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania establishes that citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania shall be acquired by birth and other grounds established by law. Lithuania strongly disfavors dual nationality, and its Constitution provides that, with the exception of individual cases provided for by law, no one may be a citizen of both the Republic of Lithuania and another State at the same time. The current procedure for the acquisition and loss of citizenship was established by the 2010 Law on Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania (Law on Citizenship). As a general rule, acquisition of citizenship in Lithuania is based on descent (jus sanguinis), although there are several provisions based on place of birth (jus soli) in the Law on Citizenship. As explained in the first chapter, the Law on Citizenship is based on the principle of continuity of the Lithuanian State, which was independent between 1918 and 1940, and accordingly, of the continuity of citizenship.308 Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania is equal irrespective of the ground on which it has been acquired.309 When the provisions of the Law on Citizenship are inconsistent with an international treaty that Lithuania has ratified, the provisions of the international treaty prevail.310 4.3 Acquisition and loss of nationality under the national legal framework and compatibility with international standards There are six modes of acquisition of Lithuanian citizenship. It can be (i) acquired at birth; (ii) granted under the simplified procedure; (iii) acquired through naturalization; (iv) granted by way of exception; and (v) it can also be acquired on the grounds established by international treaties entered into by Lithuania (5).311 In addition, persons who were citizens of the Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940 and their descendants have an indefinite right to have their citizenship reinstated. Acquisition of citizenship at birth is partly governed by the principle of jus sanguinis. A child acquires Lithuanian citizenship at birth if at least one parent is a citizen of Lithuania, regardless of whether the child was born on Lithuanian territory or abroad.312 The law is gender-neutral with respect to a parent’s ability to transmit Lithuanian citizenship. Children born out of wedlock have the same rights to acquire citizenship at birth as children born in wedlock. If one or both of the parents were citizens of Lithuania and where a parent who was a citizen of Lithuania died before the child was born, the child would still acquire Lithuanian citizenship.313 308 Article 3(1) of the Law on Citizenship. 309 Ibid Article 3(3). 310 Ibid Article 4. 311 Ibid Article 13. 312 Ibid Article 14(1). 313 Ibid, Article 14(2). U N H C R S TO C K H O L M , M AY 2 0 1 6 71