The 25th annual international criminology conference “EUROCRIM 2025” proved to be an excellent platform for academic collaboration and exchange of ideas – researchers from the Law Institute of the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences (LSMC) actively participated in the event.

This year, the conference took place in Athens on September 3–6, where the Institute's team – Dr Rūta Vaičiūnienė, Dr Monika Žalnieriūtė, and Dr Skirmantas Bikelis – presented the results of their ongoing research and strengthened opportunities for cooperation with international partners.

In her presentation “Predictive AI in Criminal Justice: Beyond Poor Algorithmic”, Dr Monika Žalnieriūtė discussed how predictive artificial intelligence tools can lead to biased institutional decisions, including those within the criminal justice system. She emphasized that automated decisions based on biased data also contribute to increased social stigma, often affecting marginalized social groups. This means that instead of reducing inequality, AI often reinforces it. According to Dr Žalnieriūtė, the inclusion of socio-economic characteristics in the decision-making process of predictive systems results in an even more selective criminal justice system, systematically targeting certain societal groups and limiting their social, economic, and political opportunities.

Dr Rūta Vaičiūnienė participated in a discussion on the development of criminology in the Baltic States over the past 25 years, where she and her colleagues from Estonia and Poland discussed the strengthening of academic communities, the expansion of research centers, and the main research directions in the region. At the end of the discussion, particular attention was given to the issue of the identity of Baltic criminology and its future perspectives. Following the discussion, researchers explored opportunities for joint publications and ideas for collaborative project proposals. Dr Vaičiūnienė also took part in various activities of the European Society of Criminology’s Prison Research Network, including thematic sessions and meetings organized by the group.

Meanwhile, Dr Skirmantas Bikelis participated in the session “Recent Legislative and Policy Developments on Non-conviction-based Confiscation in Europe”, where he presented his research titled “Confiscation of Illicit Flows: Two Far-Reaching Models from Baltic States”. In it, he analyzed recent confiscation practices in Lithuania and Latvia targeting assets laundered through illicit financial flows. In Lithuania, confiscation of such assets through the civil law concept of ownerless property is highly effective, and so far, no major objections have been raised against this innovation. In Latvia, confiscation of suspected laundered assets is applied even after the suspension of criminal proceedings for money laundering. Although this innovation is also considered highly effective and was upheld by the Latvian Constitutional Court in a recent 2025 ruling, it nonetheless raises concerns regarding compliance with the principles of fair trial and proportionality.