LCSS Institute of Law, having implemented the project "E-training on EU Family Property Regimes" (EU-FamPro), invites you to participate in free online learning courses on private international family law.

The training is aimed at legal professionals who want to improve their knowledge in the field of private international family law and learn more about the EU regulations on property regimes for international couples.

Registration for the course (open until 14 October 2025)

More about the EU-FamPro project.

The LCSS Institute of Law has published the 22nd edition of the "Legal E-Topics" on its portal. The online edition features commentaries by the researchers of the institute - Darius Pranka, Lina Beliūnienė, Ramunė Jakštienė and Skirmantas Bikelis on topical issues related to legislative changes and projects.

You are welcome to read (in Lithuanian only).

On 8 December 2023 Agne Limante, Chief Researcher at the Law Institute participates in the Rijeka Doctoral Conference RIDOC 2023 as a panelist discussing the presentations of the doctoral students. RIDOC Conference is intended for doctoral candidates who wish to present and test their preliminary research findings before academics and practising lawyers, as well as to discuss these findings with their peers at the international level.

The conference is organized by the Law Faculty of Rijeka University (Croatia) which is a long-standing partner of the Law Institute of the Lithuanian Center for Social Sciences. The conference program and access links to its session can be found here.

Associative photo by pexels (Jonas Kakaroto).

On 20th November, LCSS Institute of Law and the Lithuanian Prison Service agreed to carry out the project "Study of the Impact of Behavioural Correction Programmes". The Law Institute team of Dr. Rūta Vaičiūnienė and Goda Šleinotaitė will aim to investigate the impact of a psychoeducational anger management programme on the participants and their motivation to participate in the programme activities.

The study will include a theoretical and an empirical part, which will assess the qualification of the programme providers, the applicability of the behavioural correction programme, the motivation of the participants and the effectiveness of the programme, taking into account both the providers' and the participants' views.

More about the project . 

Associated photo unsplash (Sincerely Media).

The internationally renowned Routledge publishing house has published a collective monograph, coordinated by the Institute's researchers, which explores various aspects of gender-based violence: Limantė, A.; Tereškinas, A., Vaičiūnienė, R. (eds) “Gender-Based Violence and Law: Global Perspectives and Eastern European Practices”. Routledge, 2023, ISBN 9781032469348.

GBV is a general term used to refer to any form of violence directed at an individual based on their gender. Although it is true that men and boys do experience GBV, it is women who are disproportionately affected: GBV affects 1 in 3 women in their lifetime. Therefore, GBV is often used as a synonym for the term ‘violence against women’, which will also be visible in this book. GBV can occur in a variety of settings, including home, workplace, educational institutions, and public spaces. GBV might be practised by family members, intimate partners, colleagues and superiors at work and educational institutions, familiar people and complete strangers. It can happen both online and offline and take many forms, such as physical, psychological, sexual violence, and economic abuse.

In particular, the book presents the challenges faced in fighting GBV in European countries, with a specific case study of a country in North-Eastern Europe – Lithuania. The book intends to explain the cultural embedding of violence in Lithuania and Eastern and Central Europe, where GBV is a part of family and community culture. Besides Lithuania (the book’s main focus), several other jurisdictions in the region will be covered (e.g. Poland, Latvia, etc.). As post-Soviet countries, influenced by Soviet mentality, these countries struggle to overcome the ‘normalisation’ of domestic violence and guarantee gender equality. We argue that while economic and technological reforms came rapidly after the fall of the Soviet Union, the achievement of social change with respect to GBV appeared to be challenging. For instance, the political discussions on violence and the failure to ratify the Istanbul Convention by the Lithuanian Parliament points to the continuing public defence of patriarchal privilege and traditional gender order conducive to violence. Political discussions in Lithuania demonstrate that GBV is often justified and neutralised by explaining it merely as a result of alcohol abuse and other addictions. At the same time, more profound social and cultural reasons related to social inequalities, the gendered character of institutions, and gender in contemporary societies, are omitted. The book will expose the institutional bases and situational causes of GBV and violence prevention strategies with a focus on Lithuania and Eastern Europe, helping to understand the specific forms of GBV prevalent in the region and the motives and emotions behind it.

The publication brings together a wide range of theoretical and empirical research from Europe and, more specifically, Lithuania, where GBV is endemic. Moreover, the book discusses theoretical issues related to the concepts of hegemonic masculinity and emphasised femininity, as well as to concerns with the status of women in society and social changes related to women and men’s status in the family. We also comprehensively discuss the issues of GBV as the result of social inequalities between men and women causing the so-called gender struggle.

The book starts with Part I focusing on the theoretical, political and legal framework for responding to GBV. This part provides insights into the global issues of feminism, objectification and the sexualisation of women, masculinity and its links to GBV. It then discusses international and European legal frameworks by analysing GBV in international instruments and the case law of the ECtHR, as well as giving specific attention to the Istanbul Convention and relevant case law of Constitutional Courts of the region. Then, in Part II and Part III, the book moves to context-specific national approaches with a focus on Lithuania. In particular, Part II puts the spotlight on domestic violence, providing insights into assistance for intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors, interventions for IPV offenders, and broader domestic violence prevention strategies. Part III delves deeper into GBV in public spaces, revealing more nuanced GBV within unequal power relations, dominance, and intersecting inequalities.

The monograph contains the following chapters:

1. A Feminist Approach to Gender-Based Violence: The Role of Objectification and Sexualization of Women (Sandra Amankavičiūtė, Monika Žalnieriūtė)
2. Failed Hegemonic Masculinity, Negative Emotions and Gender-Based Violence: Theories and Elaborations (Artūras Tereškinas)
3. Gender-Based Violence in International Instruments and Case Law of the European Court of Human Rights (Agnė Limantė)
4. The Istanbul Convention in the Constitutional Jurisprudence of Central and Eastern European States (Dovilė Pūraitė – Andrikienė)
5. Approaches to Criminalisation of Domestic Violence in Central and Eastern European Countries (Jolanta Apolevič, Elżbieta Kuzborska-Pacha)
6. The Changing Paradigm in Help Provision for Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence: Specialised Complex Help v Generic Social Help Model (Zuzana Vasiliauskaitė, Lilija Henrika Vasiliauskė, Evelina Dirmotaitė)
7. Rethinking Work with Intimate Partner Perpetrators: New Prospects for the Successful Implementation of Batterer Intervention Programmes in Lithuania (Rūta Vaičiūnienė, Ilona Michailovič)
8. Economic Empowerment of Women as a Factor Contributing to Prevention of Domestic Violence (Jolanta Apolevič)
9. Gender-Based Violence against Women with Disabilities (Rokas Uscila, Dovilė Juodkaitė)
10. Sexual Harassment at Workplace in Lithuania: What does the Silence Say?(Kristina Ambrazevičiūtė)
11. What Makes Academia (Un)Safe: Experiences, Observations and Consequences of Gender-Based Violence in Different Stages of Individual Researchers’ Career (Vilana Pilinkaitė Sotirovič, Giedre Blažytė) (open access)
12. Gender-Based Violence Online: Cyberstalking Overview in Lithuania (Liubovė Jarutienė, Ilona Laurinaitytė, Ilona Michailovič).

We are happy that scientific publications by Lithuanian researchers are becoming more and more visible in the international arena!

On behalf of the authors
Agnė Limantė, Artūras Tereškinas, Rūta Vaičiūnienė

On 21 November, the Director of the Lithuanian Social Science Centre, Boguslavas Gruževskis, scientific secretory Sandra Krutulienė and the Head of the Institute of Law, Ingrida Mačernytė - Panomariovienė, met with the Dean of the Faculty of Law at Vilnius University, Haroldas Šinkūnas.

During the meeting, they discussed cooperation opportunities.

Dr Agnė Limante, a researcher at the LCSS Institute of Law, visited Moldova on 7-9 November and took part in various events and meetings related to the ETAAJS project.

The "Report on Court Monitoring Data Analysis" and its recommendations were presented and discussed at the Ministry of Justice on the 7th November 2023. A broad range of stakeholders participated in the roundtable, including the Minister of Justice, other representatives from the Ministry of Justice, the Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova, the Project Manager from the EU Delegation, lawyers, judges, NGOs, academics.

The "Report on Court Monitoring Data Analysis" and its recommendations were presented and discussed at the Moldovan State University on 8th November 2023. A number of academics from the University took part in the discussions, as well as some judges.

The "Report on Court Monitoring Data Analysis" and its recommendations were presented and discussed at the Supreme Council of Magistrates on 9th November 2023. Representatives of the Supreme Council of Magistrates took part in the event.

More information about the meeting at the Ministry of Justice and the project: https://www.cpva.lt/en/our-news/26/eu4moldova-most-awaited-projects-results-announced:932.

Photo by: CPVA

Dr. Agnė Limantė, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Law, participates in the event "Societal transformations, climate change and digitalisation – a new paradigm of Security Research?"organised by the European Commission.

Renginyje - moksliniai pranešimai ir diskusijos apie skaitmenizavimo, klimato kaitos ir visuomenės permainų kontekstą tiriant grėsmes ir saugumą. Taip pat viso renginio metu paruošta paroda, atliepianti konferencijos pagrindinę temą.

More information: https://www.securityresearchevent.eu/home.

18 October Agnė Limantė, Senior Research Fellow at the LSMC Institute of Law, took part in the international seminar „Protection of international families post-Brexit through the Conventions of the Hague Conference on Private International Law“. The event took place at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland and brought together a large group of experts and practitioners in the field.

Dr Agnė Limante, together with Prof. Mirela Župan, presented the practice of European countries in the application of the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, focusing on the grounds for non-refoulement, the requirement of a hearing of the child and the practice of the parties in cases involving the United Kingdom.

The event programme.

More information about the project.

On 2-3 November, LCSS Institute of Law researchers Rūta Vaičiūnienė and Simonas Nikartas visited the Centre for Prison Research at the University of Cambridge. Together with colleagues from the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania, the Lithuanian Prison Service and prison managers, the Institute's researchers participated in a workshop led by Professor Alison Liebling, one of the most renowned prison researchers and the creator of the Quality of Life in Prison Measurement (MQPL). The workshop focused on how to use the MQPL instrument and the challenges faced by countries, that are new to apply quality of life measurement. Initial results of the quality of life assessment in Lithuanian prisons were presented by Lithuanian representatives, while researchers from Latvia, Poland, Romania and the United States also shared their research results. The workshop participants also discussed further research on quality of life in prisons and joint projects.