41 Rights: From Hot Water to Do Not Surrender

If you want to understand Užupis in five minutes, read its Constitution. It is the only document that simultaneously guarantees the right to a tiled roof and the right to understand nothing, defends a cat's dignity and ends with an almost military command not to surrender. The whole philosophy of the Republic fits inside it: respect for human freedom, gentle irony and the belief that rights without duties are also a right.

Created by Romas Lileikis and Tomas Čepaitis.

1. Everyone has the right to live by the River Vilnelė, and the River Vilnelė has the right to flow by everyone.
2. Everyone has the right to hot water, heating in winter and a tiled roof.
3. Everyone has the right to die, but this is not an obligation.
4. Everyone has the right to make mistakes.
5. Everyone has the right to be unique.
6. Everyone has the right to love.
7. Everyone has the right not to be loved, but not necessarily.
8. Everyone has the right to be insignificant and unknown.
9. Everyone has the right to be idle or to do nothing.
10. Everyone has the right to love and care for a cat.
11. Everyone has the right to look after a dog until one of them dies.
12. A dog has the right to be a dog.
13. A cat is not obliged to love its owner, but must help in a difficult moment.
14. Everyone has the right sometimes not to know whether they have duties.
15. Everyone has the right to doubt, but this is not an obligation.
16. Everyone has the right to be happy.
17. Everyone has the right to be unhappy.
18. Everyone has the right to be silent.
19. Everyone has the right to believe.
20. No one has the right to violence.
21. Everyone has the right to understand their own insignificance and greatness.
22. No one has the right to encroach upon eternity.
23. Everyone has the right to understand.
24. Everyone has the right to understand nothing.
25. Everyone has the right to be of various nationalities.
26. Everyone has the right to celebrate or not celebrate their birthday.
27. Everyone must remember their name.
28. Everyone may share what they have.
29. No one may share what they do not have.
30. Everyone has the right to have brothers, sisters and parents.
31. Everyone may be free.
32. Everyone is responsible for their freedom.
33. Everyone has the right to cry.
34. Everyone has the right to be misunderstood.
35. No one has the right to make another person guilty.
36. Everyone has the right to be personal.
37. Everyone has the right to have no rights.
38. Everyone has the right not to be afraid.
39. Do not defeat.
40. Do not defend.
41. Do not surrender.

Proclaimed on April 1, 2001; the plaque was unveiled on July 5, 2003.

As the Republic and the relationships among its citizens grew quickly, there was a need to write down the principles of coexistence simply, clearly and in terms of values. The Constitution is believed to have been born in 2001 during active sessions at the parliament's seat - the Užupis cafe. Most articles were written by President Romas Lileikis, while Foreign Minister Tomas Čepaitis added several points about domestic animals. Užupis owes them a constitution that defends a dog's right to be a dog.

In 2003, the public institution "Užupis Angel Club" announced a competition for the best architectural concept to commemorate the Constitution. It was won by Eglė Varankaitė, then an architecture student at Vilnius Academy of Arts and a resident of Užupis, who proposed using the wall on Paupio Street leading toward the president's residence.

On July 5, 2003, in a modest but sincere ceremony, the first two Constitution plaques - in Lithuanian and English - were unveiled on the Paupio Street wall, along with the sign of Užupis, an open palm. Thus began the epic of the Constitution Wall, which has drawn wide international attention.

The wall as a place to visit is described in Constitution Wall →.

The Constitution of the Republic of Užupis is perhaps the most translated text originally written in Lithuanian. In plaque form it is engraved in more than thirty languages, and more than fifty translations exist - from Latin, blessed by Pope Francis in 2018, to Tibetan, Samogitian and Armenian. Under some interstate agreements, the Constitution is even recognised as a legal document.

The copyright to the Constitution belongs to the Užupis community, which registered trademark No. 72497 with the Lithuanian State Patent Bureau. Commercial use of the text must be coordinated with the community - but this does not restrict the application of its provisions in citizens' daily lives.

Further work: create a short entry for every article with commentary, quotations and photographs from the wall; add a gallery of plaques in different languages with unveiling dates.