Lithuanian law is a part of the legal system of Lithuania. It belongs to the civil law legal system, as opposed to the

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipres ...

legal system. The legal system of Lithuania is based on epitomes of the French and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

systems. The Lithuanian legal system is grounded on the principles laid out in the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and safeguarded by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania.

History

The origins of Lithuanian law trace back to the first written source, the

Casimir Code The Casimir's Code ( lt, Kazimiero teisynas, pl, Statut Kazimierza) was a legal code adopted in 1468 by Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland Casimir IV Jagiellon with an approval of the Lithuanian Council of Lords. It was the first attempt t ...

( lt, Kazimiero teisynas), published in 1468 by the Grand Duke of Lithuania

Casimir Jagiellon Casimir IV (in full Casimir IV Andrew Jagiellon; pl, Kazimierz IV Andrzej Jagiellończyk ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447, until his death. He was one of the ...

with the

Lithuanian Council of Lords The Lithuanian Council of Lords ( be, Паны-Рада, lt, Ponų taryba) was the main permanent institution of central government in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania active in its capital city of Vilnius. It had originated from the advisory Council ...

. It is considered to be the first

codified law In law, codification is the process of collecting and restating the law of a jurisdiction in certain areas, usually by subject, forming a legal code, i.e. a codex (book) of law. Codification is one of the defining features of civil law jurisdi ...

of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit ...

Statutes of Lithuania The Statutes of Lithuania, originally known as the Statutes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, were a 16th-century codification of all the legislation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and its successor, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Stat ...

, published three times (in 1529, 1566 and 1588) were the most influent

legal code A code of law, also called a law code or legal code, is a systematic collection of statutes. It is a type of legislation that purports to exhaustively cover a complete system of laws or a particular area of law as it existed at the time the cod ...

s of Lithuania. The third variant of the Statute was in force in the territory of Lithuania until 1840 when it got replaced by the Russian laws. However, under the rule of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, there were three separate civil law systems in force in Lithuania: in Suvalkija the Napoleonic Code was still applied, whereas the

German law The law of Germany (german: das Recht Deutschlands), that being the modern German legal system (german: Deutsches Rechtssystem), is a system of civil law which is founded on the principles laid out by the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of G ...

was in force in

Klaipėda Region The Klaipėda Region ( lt, Klaipėdos kraštas) or Memel Territory (german: Memelland or ''Memelgebiet'') was defined by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles in 1920 and refers to the northernmost part of the German province of East Prussia, when as ...

. The legal system of independent Lithuania between the World Wars was influenced by the fact that three separate systems of civil law governed various parts of the country, while the autonomous Klaipėda Region had its own legal instruments. The notable difference from the rest of the state was the possibility of a secular

civil marriage A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular. History Every country maintaining a pop ...

in the 1930s and 1940s. The drafting of Lithuanian legal codes went on for decades and was not completed until

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. During the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

occupation the adapted law of the USSR was in force in Lithuania. After regaining of independence in 1990, the largely modified Soviet legal codes were in force for about a decade. The modern Constitution of Lithuania was adopted on 25 October 1992. In 2001 the Civil Code of Lithuania was passed in

Seimas The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas), or simply the Seimas (), is the unicameral parliament of Lithuania. The Seimas constitutes the legislative branch of government in Lithuania, enacting laws and amendme ...

. It was succeeded by the

Criminal Code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...

and Criminal Procedure Code in 2003. The approach to the criminal law is

inquisitorial An inquisitorial system is a legal system in which the court, or a part of the court, is actively involved in investigating the facts of the case. This is distinct from an adversarial system, in which the role of the court is primarily that of an ...

, as opposed to adversarial; it is generally characterised by an insistence on formality and rationalisation, as opposed to practicality and informality.

Civil and commercial law

The civil law and commercial law is codified in a single legal act - the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuaniabr>
( lt, Lietuvos Respublikos civilinis kodeksas) which is in force since 1 July 2001. It is influenced by the civil codes of Quebec and the Netherlands. The commercial law in Lithuania is of an increasingly excellent drafting quality and the market in Lithuanian legal services is now increasingly competitive.

Legal science

Legal professionals are prepared and the law is researched in departments of three universities of Lithuania: * ''Law Faculty of

Vilnius University Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...

'', the oldest, established in 1641 -

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

; * ''Law Faculty of

Mykolas Romeris University Mykolas Romeris University ( lt, Mykolo Romerio universitetas) is an international university located with campuses in Vilnius and Kaunas, Lithuania. MRU cooperates closely with over 350 universities, public and private institutions, takes pa ...

'' -

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

, LL.M.,

; * ''Law School of

Vytautas Magnus University Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) ( lt, Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas (VDU)) is a public university in Kaunas, Lithuania. The university was founded in 1922 during the interwar period as an alternate national university. Initially it was known ...

'' - LL.M.

Lawyers

International judges

Egidijus Bieliūnas Egidijus is a Lithuanian masculine given name. It is a cognate of the English language name Giles. List of people named Egidijus * Egidijus Balčiūnas (born 1975), Lithuanian sprint canoer * Egidijus Bičkauskas (born 1955), Lithuanian politic ...

- a Member of the

European Commission on Human Rights The European Commission of Human Rights was a special body of the Council of Europe. From 1954 to the entry into force of Protocol 11 to the European Convention on Human Rights, individuals did not have direct access to the European Court of Hu ...

; * Danutė Jočienė - the first female judge from Lithuania at the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that ...

and a

Docent The title of docent is conferred by some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks at or below the full professor rank, similar to a British readership, a French " ''maître de con ...

at Vilnius University; *

Pranas Kūris Pranas Kūris (born 20 August 1938 in Šeduva, Radviliškis district) is a Lithuanian lawyer. He is the first representative of Lithuania in the European Court of Justice and European Court of Human Rights. Pranas Kūris has graduated the La ...

- a Judge at the European Court of Justice; * Mykolas Romeris - a progenitor of the Lithuanian

Constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in fe ...

school, judge at the Hague Tribunal; * Vilenas Vadapalas - a Judge at the

Court of First Instance A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accorda ...

Prominent Lawyers in Lithuania

* Vytautas Greičius - Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Lithuania * Kęstutis Lapinskas - Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania * Valentinas Mikelėnas - a former Justice at the Supreme Court of Lithuania and a most prominent Lithuanian civil law scholar to date * Vytautas Milius - Chairman of the Court of Appeal of Lithuania *

Stanisław Narutowicz Stanisław Narutowicz ( lt, Stanislovas Narutavičius ) (2 September 1862, Brewiki, Kovno Governorate – 31 December 1932, Kaunas, Lithuania) was a lawyer and politician, one of the twenty signatories of the Act of Independence of Lithuania and ...

- a signatory of the

Act of Independence of Lithuania The Act of Independence of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Nepriklausomybės Aktas) or the Act of February 16, also the Lithuanian Resolution on Independence ( lt, Lietuvos Nepriklausomybės Nutarimas), The signed document is actually titled simply '' ...

Artūras Paulauskas Artūras Paulauskas (born 23 August 1953 in Vilnius) is a Lithuanian politician. He was the Speaker of Seimas, the parliament of Lithuania, from 2000 to 2006, and he served as List of Presidents of Lithuania, Acting President of Lithuania from 6 ...

- a former Chairman of the Parliament of Lithuania *

Mykolas Sleževičius Mykolas Sleževičius (21 February 1882 – 11 November 1939) was a Lithuanian lawyer, political and cultural figure, and journalist. One of the most influential figures in inter-war Lithuania, he served as the prime minister of Lithuania on th ...

- a former

Prime Minister of Lithuania The prime minister of Lithuania ( lt, Ministras Pirmininkas; "Minister-Chairman") is the head of the government of Lithuania. The prime minister is Lithuania's head of government and is appointed by the president with the assent of the Lithuani ...

Jokūbas Šernas Jokūbas Šernas (14 June 1888 – 31 July 1926) was a Lithuanian attorney, journalist, teacher and banker, one of the twenty signatories to the Act of Independence of Lithuania. Born in Biržai, he studied law at the University of St. Petersb ...

- a signatory to the

* Antanas Tumėnas - a former

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

and Prime Minister of Lithuania * Virgilijus Valančius - Chairman of the Supreme Administrative Court of the Republic of Lithuania

External links

The official database of legal acts of Lithuania
- in the website of Seimas {{DEFAULTSORT:Law Of Lithuania