The Research Council of Lithuania, under its funding instrument “Applied Research Projects”, has awarded funding to the project “Assessment of the Application and Execution of the Arrest Penalty in the Lithuanian Legal System” (ARBA), implemented by the Law Institute of the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences (hereinafter – LCSS LI). The project will be carried out by the LCSS LI research team during the period 2 March 2026 to 28 February 2027.

Given that the arrest penalty has been applied and enforced in Lithuania for several decades, there is a need to conduct research from both legal and criminological perspectives, particularly as it has not been systematically examined and its enforcement practice has lacked consistency.

The aim and objectives of the research are to assess the practice of the application and enforcement of the arrest penalty, to determine the categories of persons to whom the arrest penalty is typically applied in Lithuania, to analyse the social impact of the arrest penalty on detainees. All of this will be carried out with a view to determining the appropriateness of the arrest penalty and possible alternatives within the Lithuanian legal system.

In order to collect data on the socio-demographic characteristics of sentenced persons, the conditions of enforcement of the penalty, and subjective assessments of the impact of the arrest penalty on the social environment and family ties, the project team will conduct a questionnaire survey of persons serving the arrest penalty. Semi-structured interviews with prison staff will be used to collect data on their perspectives on issues related to the enforcement of the arrest penalty, while expert interviews with district court judges and prosecutors will help to assess the appropriateness of the application of the arrest penalty and the prospects for improving its legal regulation.

Having analysed the application and enforcement of the arrest penalty, the project researchers will formulate and present research-based recommendations and proposals for improving the application and/or legal regulation of the arrest penalty.

The research team of the project consists of: Dr. Rokas Uscila (project leader), Dr. Skirmantas Bikelis, Dr. Darius Pranka, Ignas Kromerovas, Brigita Kavaliauskaitė and Akvilė Tamulytė.

The project is funded by the Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT), Contract No. S-REP-26-6.

More information about the project here.