According to R. Joskaudienė, parents’ concern is understandable, but legally two things need to be distinguished: a person’s private life in their home and intentional behavior directed at other people. The lawyer emphasized that the mere circumstance of a neighbor being naked in their apartment and visible through the window is not enough to establish a legal violation.
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Home – a private space, but is everything allowed there?
Article 22 of the Constitution protects private life, and Article 24 – the inviolability of the home. At the same time, Article 28 of the Constitution obliges a person, in exercising their rights, not to restrict the rights and freedoms of others.
“So neither the argument ‘I am in my home, so I can do absolutely anything,’ nor the argument ‘I find it unpleasant to see this, so the neighbor must be punished’ is sufficient on its own.
Legal assessment cannot be limited to the question of whether curtains are hanging on the window. Specific behavior must be evaluated,” said R. Joskaudienė.
She urged to compare two illustrative examples not taken from specific cases.
“A person goes to the bedroom after a shower or changes clothes, and a neighbor living opposite sees them. Another person, on the contrary, deliberately draws the attention of others and shows them indecent gestures by the window. Although in both cases the person may be naked, in the second case there are additional circumstances that must be assessed when deciding on a possible violation,” the lawyer said.
When can liability arise?
Article 481 of the Code of Administrative Offenses provides for liability for a minor public order violation. It lists, among other things, obscene gestures in public places, offensive harassment of people, and other intentional acts aimed at violating public order and people’s peace. A fine of 30–140 EUR is provided, and for a repeated offense – a fine of 140–240 EUR. According to R. Joskaudienė, this is not a “fine for curtains not being drawn”: it is necessary to establish the violation signs provided by law.
A stricter assessment under Article 284 of the Criminal Code is possible only if all the signs of a criminal public order offense are established, including a public place, behavior defined by law, and disturbance of public peace or order. According to the lawyer, mere visibility through the apartment window is not enough to establish these signs.
What if children see a naked person?
Child protection is important, but merely seeing nudity does not allow the conclusion that a child is being molested, emphasized R. Joskaudienė.
According to her, the reaction should be completely different to circumstances that allow suspicion that an adult consciously seeks to attract children’s attention and demonstrate sexual acts to them. In such a case, as the lawyer advised, one should contact the police to assess possible signs of a criminal offense, rather than limit oneself to a dispute about curtains. Article 153 of the Criminal Code provides for liability for molesting a person under sixteen years of age. However, according to R. Joskaudienė, this article cannot be automatically applied to every case where a child sees a naked neighbor through the window.
She emphasized that in the reader’s description there is no data about sexual acts, conscious seeking of children’s attention, or other behavior directed at them, so such circumstances cannot simply be assumed.
What does court practice say on this issue?
The European Court of Human Rights in its decision of October 28, 2014, in the case of Gough v. the United Kingdom, application no. 49327/11, examined the situation of a person who appeared constantly naked in public places. The Court did not recognize that the measures applied to him in the specific circumstances of the case violated the freedom of expression protected by Article 10 of the Convention. Important factors in the assessment were the location of the events, repeated behavior, and the duty to consider other members of society.
“An important limit of this case’s application: it was about constant nudity in public places, not about a person accidentally seen in their apartment. Therefore, this decision cannot justify the general statement that every naked person at home must be punished if seen by neighbors. This practice helps to understand the principle of balancing rights but does not replace the duty to assess specific circumstances and the requirements of Lithuanian laws,” said R. Joskaudienė.
“I will film and upload it to the neighbors’ group.” Why is this a bad idea?
Just because you can see a person, according to R. Joskaudienė, does not mean you can freely collect and publicize images of their intimate life.
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Article 2.22 of the Civil Code protects the right to one’s image, and Article 2.23 – private life, including protection against unlawful surveillance and disclosure of private life information. Violations of these rights may require cessation of the violation and compensation for damages. The mere statement “I wanted to warn the neighbors” does not justify the publication of intimate images.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) Grand Chamber in its decision of February 7, 2012, in Von Hannover v. Germany (No. 2), paragraph 96, emphasized that the right to image protection includes a person’s ability to control its use and to refuse its publication. According to the lawyer, this is an important reminder for social network users.
“Providing information to the police and publicly shaming a person are different things. Even when collecting material to substantiate a possible violation, the legality of filming must be assessed separately. Evidence collection is not an unlimited license to observe a neighbor’s private life,” she emphasized.
What should parents do?
When there are no signs that the behavior is intentionally directed at others, R. Joskaudienė would suggest starting with a discreet notification – without accusations and threats:
“You may not notice, but in the evenings, when the light is on, your room is clearly visible from the apartments opposite. Intimate images are also seen by children. We would ask you to ensure greater privacy as much as possible.”
According to her, this is a suggested neighborly solution, not a statement that the neighbor already has a legal obligation to draw the curtains.
“When intentional indecent or sexual behavior directed at children is suspected, contact the police. A non-urgent report can be submitted via ‘ePolicija’. In the report, I would suggest precisely describing the date, time, place, what exactly you saw, and what circumstances raise suspicion of intentional behavior. Describe the actions, not assign a diagnosis or criminal label to the person,” advised the lawyer.
When there is a real threat to the safety of a child or another person and urgent help is needed, call 112. This number, as the lawyer reminded, is intended for emergency assistance, not just to express disapproval of a neighbor’s lifestyle.
The lawyer’s response to the reader: “Based on the circumstances you described alone, there is no basis to say that the neighbors have already committed a legal violation. The essential question is not only what you see but also what the person specifically does, under what circumstances, and whether their behavior corresponds to the violation signs provided by law.
Curtains can help avoid uncomfortable situations. However, living in a neighborhood requires another thing – respect in both directions: for other people’s privacy and their safety.
Legal information checked on September 11, 2026. The daily examples provided are illustrative; the assessment of a specific case depends on the established facts.”
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