Titulinis

“The Journal of the University of Latvia. Law” has published an article by Dr Dovilė Pūraitė-Andrikienė, a researcher at the Law Institute of the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences, titled “Impeachment Proceedings in Lithuania: Model, Problems of Implementation, and Possibilities of Improvement”.

The case law of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter – the Constitutional Court, the Court) concerning impeachment cases is exceptionally extensive. Nevertheless, according to the researcher, the problems related to the implementation of the Court’s recent conclusions in impeachment cases raise questions about the optimality of the legal regulation of the impeachment proceedings.

A significant part of the problems associated with the implementation of the Constitutional Court’s conclusions in impeachment cases arises from the fact that two institutions are involved in the impeachment proceedings in Lithuania: the Constitutional Court decides whether a person’s actions contradict (or do not contradict) the Constitution and whether these actions have violated the Constitution grossly, and the Seimas takes the final decision on whether to remove a person from office for actions that contradict the Constitution. In her article, the author discusses the need, preconditions, and possibilities for improving the legal regulation of the impeachment proceedings in Lithuania. Legislative amendments should be considered that might not completely solve the problems discussed, but would at least partially mitigate them.

The open-access article is available in English here.

The journal “Access to Justice in Eastern Europe” has published an article by Dr Dovilė Pūraitė-Andrikienė, a researcher at the Law Institute of the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences, titled “Legal Capacity and Electoral Rights in Lithuania: The Issue of Compatibility between the Constitution and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.”

In her publication, the author draws attention to a persistent problem in Lithuania: persons with disabilities who have been declared legally incapacitated by a court cannot exercise their political rights–namely, the right to vote and to stand for election. In 2010, Lithuania ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (hereinafter – the Convention), whose Article 29 clearly states that all persons with disabilities have the right not only to vote but also to be elected. However, the implementation of this provision has been challenged by constitutional restrictions: the Lithuanian Constitution explicitly prohibits persons declared legally incapacitated from exercising electoral rights. Thus, it is evident that in order for Lithuania to meet international human rights standards and ensure equality for all persons, adjustments to the legal capacity requirement are necessary. According to Dr D. Pūraitė-Andrikienė, legislative reforms alone are insufficient to resolve this issue–constitutional amendments would be required.

The experience of other EU Member States that have successfully reformed their legal systems to align them with the Convention could serve as further encouragement for Lithuania to initiate discussions on amending the Constitution with regard to the legal capacity requirement.

The open-access article is available in English here.

Dr Kristina Ambrazevičiūtė, Researcher at the Law Institute of the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences, participated in the international conference “National Legal Systems and the EU Law: Reality and Future Challenges in a Comparative Perspective”, held at the University of Latvia on November 6–7.

In the session “Legal Issues of Equality and Gender,” the researcher delivered a presentation introducing the findings of the ongoing project “(Not)prolonging the working life of older women: legal environment, guarantees and intentions” (VAM), implemented at the Law Institute. The presentation focused on research results related to the situation of older women in the labour market.

Summarizing the responses of the Lithuanian and Latvian legal systems to the challenges faced by this group, Dr Ambrazevičiūtė highlighted the main features of these systems: in Lithuania, legal norms combine flexibility with stability – enabling older women to balance work and care, while the Latvian model focuses on job stability and protection, providing less flexibility but stronger employment security.

However, although both systems prohibit discrimination, neither addresses the combined effects of age, gender and care responsibilities. The researcher emphasized that while the Lithuanian and Latvian legal systems aim to ensure the continuity of older women’s employment, they still fail to resolve the key issue: formally guaranteed equality does not always translate into real opportunities. Until legal guarantees are accompanied by cultural and organizational changes, older women’s ability to remain in the labour market will remain more declarative than assured.

We are delighted that the Research Council of Lithuania, under its funded measure “Need-driven Research Projects”, has granted financial support to the project implemented by the Law Institute of the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences – “Strengthening social relations in prisons: interplay and synergy between prisoners’ needs, effective measures and their implementation” (NARYS). The research team will carry out the project during the period from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026.

Scientific research has shown that maintaining social ties is an important factor that helps shape inmates’ behaviour and skills within correctional facilities and facilitates their reintegration into society. Therefore, the aim of the project’s researchers is to analyse and assess the practical implementation of measures for strengthening and restoring social ties in Lithuanian prisons. Based on the research findings, the project team will formulate recommendations proposing a model to ensure the quality and further development of these measures.

The research team of the project consists of: Dr Rūta Vaičiūnienė (project leader), PhD student Goda Dainauskaitė, Agata Katkonienė, and Aušra Maskaliovienė.

The project is funded by the Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT), Contract No. S-REP-25-7.

More information about the project here.

A new article by researchers from the Law Institute of the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences, titled “Hope of Release? Life Imprisonment in Lithuania,” has been published in the Baltic Journal of Law & Politics. In this article Dr Catherine Appleton, Dr Simonas Nikartas, and Goda Šleinotaitė examine the significant legislative amendments introduced in Lithuania in 2019, which allowed individuals serving life sentences to request a commutation to a fixed term of imprisonment ranging from five to 10 years, provided they had served a minimum of 20 years and met specific criteria assessed by the courts.

Having analysed 45 court decisions on commutation requests and eight research interviews with individuals serving life sentences, the researchers aim in their article to answer the question of whether the new commutation procedure offers a realistic hope of release. Although the legislation established the possibility for life-sentenced prisoners to seek commutation and to preserve hope of eventual release, the study revealed that in Lithuania such prisoners face numerous obstacles – harsh conditions and limited opportunities for meaningful engagement – which hinder their rehabilitation and preparation for release, making the prospect of release effectively unattainable for some.

The authors conclude that further reforms are necessary in order to genuinely achieve the goals of prisoner rehabilitation and the realization of human rights. This should include, for example, revising commutation criteria to prioritise rehabilitation progress over past offences, adapting the criteria for persons who have already served 20 years or more who were not required to meet the criteria at the beginning of their sentence, enhancing prison regimes and conditions to support meaningful rehabilitation from the outset of the sentence, and expanding opportunities for employment, education, and maintaining social ties and contact with the outside world.

This article represents an initial effort to explore the impact of the significant changes to Lithuania’s life sentence system.

The open-access article is available in English here.

On September 25, 2025, Dr. Raimonda Bublienė, a researcher at the Law Institute of the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences, participated in the 4th International Conference on Discrimination, organized by the Centre for the Experimental-Philosophical Study of Discrimination (CEPDISC) at Aarhus University. The conference took place in the city of Horsens, Kingdom of Denmark.

In the session “Discrimination in Politics and Employment,” Dr. Bublienė delivered a presentation titled “Multiple Intersectional Discrimination Impact on Labour Income.” Currently, at the Law Institute, she is implementing a postdoctoral fellowship project funded by the Research Council of Lithuania, entitled “Multiple Discrimination and Labour Income: A Comparative Analysis of Legal Regulations in European Countries” (MEDALIC).

In her presentation, the researcher emphasized that multiple intersectional discrimination, where an individual is simultaneously discriminated against on the grounds of gender and one or more other characteristics—such as culture, ethnicity, religion, age, or migrant status—is a frequent and widespread phenomenon. This form of discrimination has been mostly studied by American scholars, yet, according to Dr. Bublienė, social and economic inequality remains a pressing issue in the European context as well. The European Commission’s 2015 report indicates that working women perform about three-quarters of household chores and two-thirds of childcare work.

In her talk, Dr. Bublienė presented examples of cases concerning women’s multiple discrimination that have been examined by the Court of Justice of the European Union, and she introduced an important instrument of EU gender equality policy – Directive (EU) 2023/970, which enshrines the principle of “equal pay for equal work or work of equal value.”

The researcher stressed that recognizing, studying, and legally regulating manifestations of multiple intersectional discrimination could effectively reduce the gender pay gap. Moreover, the problem could be addressed through transparent pay systems and compensation for damages suffered in the field of pay due to multiple intersectional discrimination.

The MEDALIC project is funded by the Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT), contract No. S-PD-24-155.

All conference presentations can be found here.

On September 25, 2025, Aistė Leščinskaitė, a junior researcher at the Law Institute of the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences, participated in one of the largest international conferences dedicated to discussing various forms of discrimination. The event, held in Horsens, Denmark, was organized for the fourth time by the Centre for the Experimental-Philosophical Study of Discrimination (CEPDISC) at Aarhus University.

In the session “Discrimination and Legal Issues,” A. Leščinskaitė presented a paper titled “The Extension of Older Women’s Employment: Legal Framework, Guarantees, and Intentions.”

During her presentation, she introduced the research topics explored within the ongoing project “(Not)prolonging the working life of older women: legal environment, guarantees and intentions” (VAM), focusing on the prolongation of older women’s employment. Leščinskaitė emphasized that as societies age, countries need policies that promote active participation of older individuals in the labor market. So far, older women face legal and practical challenges that hinder the continuation of their employment. These difficulties are mostly driven by age discrimination, gender inequality, and the lack of effective legal protection measures to safeguard their workplace rights. Older employees—particularly women—often experience psychological violence in the workplace, which negatively affects their well-being and employment sustainability. However, many older women do not report these problems due to distrust in employers’ willingness to act, as well as fear of retaliation, including job loss or deterioration of working conditions. Although the Labour Code of Lithuania obliges employers to ensure a safe and healthy work environment, and international legal standards—such as EU directives and International Labour Organization conventions—provide a framework for the protection of older workers, there often remains a gap between legal provisions and their practical implementation.

Projektą VAM finansuoja Lietuvos mokslo taryba (LMTLT), sutarties Nr. S-MIP-24-29.

All conference presentations can be found here.

On 15 October, Dr Agnė Limantė, Chief Researcher at the Law Institute of the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences, participated in a meeting of the Human Rights Committee of the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania (Seimas), where she delivered a presentation entitled “Parental Child Abduction Cases in the Practice of Lithuanian Courts.” Dr Limantė was invited to this meeting, which focused on assessing the best interests of the child and ensuring appropriate assistance in cases of cross-border child abduction, for a reason: the researcher has conducted several studies in the field of private international family law and published academic works on child abduction.

In her presentation, Dr Limantė provided statistics on the number of children who are allegedly abducted to or from Lithuania each year, discussed the international legal instruments governing such situations, and elaborated on the grounds for non-return of a child that Lithuanian courts typically rely upon when adjudicating these cases.

According to Dr Limantė, most cases heard by Lithuanian courts concern children where at least one parent is Lithuanian and had at some point moved abroad to live and work. After the relationship between the parents breaks down, one of them often returns to Lithuania with the child without the other parent’s consent. The left-behind parent then has the right to apply to the court for the child’s return to his/her habitual residence. These situations are governed by two international legal instruments – the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and the Brussels IIb Regulation.

The main principle under the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is the prompt return of a wrongfully removed or retained child to their State of habitual residence. Under the Convention, the child should first be returned to the country of habitual residence, where the competent court will decide with which parent the child should reside. Thus, as Dr Limantė explained, a return proceeding can be seen as an ‘interim procedure’ – it concerns only the child’s return and not the determination of custody rights.

However, Article 13 of the Convention also provides grounds for refusing the child’s return, for example, when it is established that the other parent consented to the child’s removal, or when returning the child would expose him or her to physical or psychological harm, or otherwise place the child in an intolerable situation. An important principle duly followed by Lithuanian courts in such proceedings is the child’s right to be heard and to have his or her opinion taken into account.

Dr. Ingrida Kerušauskaitė, a senior research fellow at the Law Institute of the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences, participated in the Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime, which took place on 31st of August – 7th of September at Jesus College, University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

The Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime is hosted by Jesus College within the University of Cambridge, with the support of many governmental and academic institutions around the world. Over more than forty years, the Symposium has established itself as a leading forum for the discussion and analysis of issues related to economically motivated crime and misconduct and its prevention and control. In recent years, the symposium has attracted around 2,000 participants including public officials, multilateral and non-governmental organisation staff, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, legislators, financial intermediaries and their advisers, compliance and technology personnel, legal and accounting practitioners and academics, from over 100 countries. This year, the Symposium focused on cross-border crime.

Dr Kerušauskaitė played various roles in the Symposium. On Tuesday the 2nd of September, she spoke on the alternative programme on the ‘International networks for the study of economic crime (INSEC)’, discussing the challenges and benefits of commissioned research projects. Dr Kerušauskaitė raised issues relating to publication requirements and confidentiality, political influence and conflicting academic and project timelines. She also highlighted the benefits of commissioned research being more likely to influence policymaking, and benefits relating to access to key stakeholders and data.

Dr Kerušauskaitė curated the alternative programme on Wednesday the 3rd of September, on ‘Strategic corruption, illicit finance and foreign interference’. Dr Kerušauskaitė delivered opening remarks for the alternative programme, introducing the complex and increasingly relevant themes to a diverse audience of speakers and participants from around the globe, including prosecutors, law enforcement representatives, government officials, journalists, academics, non-government organisation representatives, as well as private sector banking, legal and investment professionals. Dr Kerušauskaitė’s remarks drew from her recently published article ‘Practical Challenges Mitigating Strategic Corruption’, co-authored with Professor Caryn Peiffer, as well as her on-going research agenda on strategic corruption.

On Saturday the 6th of September, as part of session 21 of the Symposium’s programme focusing on ‘New approaches to fighting cross-border crime’, Dr Kerušauskaitė discussed her work on moving beyond the overly simplistic discussions of political will in the context of corruption. Dr Kerušauskaitė presented her Octopus framework to deconstruct the drivers and blockers of effective action against corruption.

On Sunday the 7th of September, together with Ruta Nimkar, she co-convened a think tank session on ‘Following the money in irregular migration’. Symposium think tank sessions discuss underexplored issues relating to financial crime and jointly plan research pathways and avenues on emerging topics. The discussions served to identify future research avenues and potential collaboration opportunities among the think tank session’s participants.

Finally, Dr Kerušauskaitė was honoured to deliver the vote of thanks at the Symposium formal dinner on Wednesday the 3rd of September.

The Symposium is a truly unique avenue that provides opportunities for both formal and in-depth informal engagement among leading counter-financial crime experts globally. Diverse expertise shared and networks established and strengthened at such fora provide crucial resources for international collaboration and future research.