Procedural Fairness and Satisfaction with Democracy: A Case of Lithuania

Procedural fairness is an important indicator of rule of law and democratic performance. Democracy is rather fragile when it is based on formal institutions. The focus of my paper is perceptions of procedural fairness and it impact on satisfaction with democracy in Lithuania. What groups of citizens in Lithuania may be distinguished in accordance with their evaluations of procedural fairness? What are the factors which determine differences between the groups with different evaluations of procedural fairness? What are the causes of different perceptions of procedural fairness and its consequences on satisfaction with democracy among different groups?

Based on the survey conducted in Lithuania in 2010 and 60 semi-structured interviews, the paper draws conclusions that three groups of citizens (moral, mixed and immoral) may be indentified in accordance to their evaluations of procedural fairness in public sector and they significantly differ by education, age, civic competences, interpersonal trust, satisfaction with life. From theories of procedural fairness, I argue that public perceptions of procedural fairness have significant effect on satisfaction with democracy and legitimacy of political system.