Civil and criminal penalties in Lithuania
KAUNAS COLLEGE
THE FACULTY OF ECONOMICS AND LAW
LAW DEPARTMENT
PROJECT WORK
CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PENALTIES IN Lithuania
KAUNAS 2003
CONTENT
Introduction 3
1. CRIME 4
2. CRIMINAL PENALTIES 4
2.1 Recommendations and suggestions how to solve the problem 5
2.2 Court – place were judge impose the penalties 7
2.3 Lithuania crime 8
3. MEANS OF PENAL AND CIVIL INFLUENCE WHILE CONTROLLING THE CRIME 10
3.1 Imprisonment penalty putting into practice in Lithuania in 1991-1994
11
4. DEATH PPENAL IN LITHUANIA 13
4.1 EVOLUTION OF THE DEATH PENALTY IN LITHUANIA 13
4.2 LITHUANIAN POPULATION ABOUT THE DEATH PENALTY 14
4.3 THE SENTENCE TO DEATH 16
4.4 CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN LITHUANIA 16
5. CRIMINAL LAW 17
5.1 ELEMENTS OF PROOF 18
5.2 DEFENSES 19
6. CRIMINAL LIABILITY PROVIDED FOR MINORS IN THE DRAFT PENAL CODE OF THE
REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA 20
6.1 FROM THE CRIMINAL CODE 21
7. THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE PRESIDENT 22
OF OUR STATE OON THE DEATH PENALTY 22
7.1 ON DEATH PENALTY IN THE REPUBLIC DF LITHUANIA 23
CONCLUSIONS 24
REFERENCES 25
Introduction
The Aim of project – to analyze tendencies and causes of crime in
Lithuania; to investigate the effectiveness of ciminalistics and penal and
civil effect measures on criminality in Lithuania.
The Main goal: crime, criminal justice activities, penal and civil
effect measures for crime control in Lithuania.
The Main Tasks of the project – to prepare the concept of the
analysis of criminal tendencies and causes and to prepare the proposals for
the improvement of the Lithuanian penal policy; to investigate an effective
crime control system of rational punishments and civil legal effect
measures; to analyze the practice of the application of the criminal code
and criminalities in crime investigation in Lithuania and to prepare the
concept of crime investigation in Lithuania and, on the basis of this
concept, to prepare concrete proposals for the effectuation of crime
investigation in the Republic.
1. CRIME
Crimes against foreigners, while usually non-violent, are bbecoming
more common. Pick pocketing and theft are problems, so personal belongings
should be well protected at all times. Car thefts, carjacking, and theft
from cars are increasingly commonplace. Drivers should be wary of persons
indicating they should pull over or that something is wrong with their car.
Often, a second car or person is following, and when the driver of the
targeted car gets out seeing if there is a problem, the person who has been
following will either steal the driver’s belongings from the vehicle oor get
in and drive off with the car. Drivers should never get out of the car to
check for damage without first turning off the ignition and taking the
keys. Valuables also should not be left in plain sight in parked vehicles,
as there have been increasing reports of car windows smashed and items
stolen. Burglary of foreigners’ homes is also prevalent; home alarm systems
should be used whenever possible. American citizens should avoid walking
alone or in small groups after dark. There have been cases of American
citizens being drugged in bars and then taken elsewhere to be robbed. In
any public area, one should always be alert to being surrounded by two or
more people at once. Racially motivated verbal, and sometimes physical,
harassment of American citizens of non-Caucasian ethnicity has been
reported in major cities. Incidents of racially motivated attacks against
foreigners have been reported in Klaipėda in particular.
2. CRIMINAL PENALTIES
While in a foreign country, a U.S. citizen is subject to that
country’s laws and regulations, which sometimes differ significantly from
those in the United States and may not afford the protections available to
the individual under U.S. law. Penalties for breaking the law in Lithuania
can be more severe than in the United States for similar offenses. Persons
violating Lithuanian laws, eeven unknowingly, may be expelled, arrested, or
imprisoned. Penalties for possession, use, or trafficking in illegal drugs
in Lithuania are strict and convicted offenders can expect jail sentences
and heavy fines.
2.1 Recommendations and suggestions how to solve the problem
Taking into consideration long lasting complicated crime
situation, the conclusions of its statistic analysis and prognoses, it is
suggested to concentrate joint efforts of researchers and practical persons
to solve these urgent problems of crime control and prevention:
1. The priority should be given to the control and prevention of these
forms and types of crimes: crimes against persons life, health,
inviolability of person and property; organized, economic and other
crimes connected with corruption; control of socially dissipated
persons inclined to crime, the creation of their resocialization
system; early prevention of under-aged and juvenile violence of law
(as the potential reserve and resource for the increase of general
crime rate); prevention of crime relapse.
In order to solve the mentioned problems special programs
should be created, and already prepared special programs are to be put
into life.
2. It is very important to create a complex national program for crime
control and prevention. It should cover the system of legal,
organizational, political, scientific, informational, analytical and
other means:
• The strategy – creation of preventive system, complex elimination of
crime causes and conditions (especially juvenile delinquency), their
neutralization.
• It is necessary to improve the detection of crimes of organized
criminal groups and the facts of corruption, to ensure the
inevitability of responsibility.
• Creating and developing the law system it is necessary to take into
consideration not only penal laws, but first of all the development of
legal regulation (elimination of gaps and collisions) in the economic,
commercial, financial, management, educational, cultural, family,
protection of children’s rights, social care and other spheres of
social activities and life.
• Solving the problem of the creation of structural system it is
suggested not only to strengthen the law enforcement institutions
(structures of „force“), but preventive structures as well (such as
revision, audit, control, etc.).
• It is necessary to create and strengthen informational analytical and
scientific methodical preventive system (accumulation of social,
economic, legal, political and other information, systematizing and
analyzing of it; detection of shadow economy and other criminal
phenomena, their prognosis, organization of special research,
preparation of methodic aids, specialists teaching and training).
• Crime prevention, especially organized one, and control system is
effective if
it foresees not only national but regional (Baltic and
other countries) and international means of cooperation.
• In order to create the system and put it into life, its sufficient
financing and material technical maintenance is obligatory.
3. Our country is integrating into the political, economic and legal
structures of Europe, therefore, it is urgent to prepare scientific
theoretical preconditions for the creation of crime control and
prevention national system. Creating and implementing the system it is
necessary to take iinto consideration the prognoses and perspectives of
the legal system of Lithuania, social, economic and political
development, as well as crime situation.
• It is necessary to continue and make more active fundamental and
applied, urgent for Lithuania, research into the problems of crime
prevention and criminal justice.
• In order to make criminal research more effective it is expedient to
carry out complex research programs with participation of lawyers.
• criminologists of research and educational institutions, sociologists,
economists, demographers, pphilosophers, educators, etc. from different
countries; to develop regional and international cooperation in
preparing and carrying out such programs.
• It is necessary to ensure substantial financing (forming and
fulfilling the state budget) of special criminological research
programmes, preparation of scientific methodic aids and their
publications.
Carrying out the research the statistic records of persons, who
did crimes according to the law and social demographic features in 1990-
1995 were accumulated and methodized.
The interaction between the criminal’s personality and
environmental factors, which are expressed in the statistic data is
analyzed (1988-1995). Methodized data characterizing the „statistic“
inhabitant of Lithuania and crime and criminal personality were prepared
for the deeper analysis according to the mathematics methods. The initial
concept of the criminological data bank was looked through adapting it to
the bank requirements. There was detailed:
• victim logical data;
• data on presented applications;
• data on actions brought;
• data on cases where a person was accused;
• data on cases brought into the court, on ccases where the judgment for
the accused was implemented and etc.
2.2 Court – place were judge impose the penalties
Under the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania of
1992 the following court system is established: the Supreme Court, the
Court of Appeal, district courts, and county courts. There are 54 district
courts in Lithuania. District courts that are located within the territory
of its activities, are the first instance for civil and criminal cases.
Cases brought before a district court are heard by a ssingle district court
judge.
County courts (there are 5 county courts) are the first instance
for civil and criminal cases which fall under its jurisdiction in
accordance with law. County courts are also the instance of appeal for the
decisions of district courts. The Court of Appeal of Lithuania is an
appellate instance for cases, which have been heard by county courts as the
courts of first instance. The Supreme Court of Lithuania is the only
cassation instance for criminal and civil cases. From 1 May 1999
Administrative Tribunals started their activities. Tribunals consider
complaints against administrative misdemeanours. The system of county
administrative tribunals and the Higher Administrative Tribunal is
established under the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania.
County administrative tribunals are the first instance for cases. The
Higher Administrative Tribunal is an appellate instance for cases, which
have been investigated by county administrative tribunals. The Higher
Administrative Tribunal also investigates appeal cases of district courts
concerning administering of administrative penalties. The Higher
Administrative Tribunal is the only and the final instance for cases
concerning administrative acts, which have been accepted by the subjects of
central state administration. The functioning of the court system is
regulated by the Law on Courts.
Criminal Justice System- Law
Lithuania is a parliamentary democracy. The people directly elect
the president. The judiciary is separate ffrom the other branches. No person
may be arbitrarily arrested or detained. Police may detain suspects for up
to 48 hours based on reliable evidence and with approval by an investigator
or prosecutor. A district judge may prolong that period of detainment from
6 to 18 months. The accused has the right to counsel. Bail is available.
Criminal Justice System- Practices
Though, the accused has the right to counsel, there is a shortage
of trained advocates. The detention periods have been criticized as being
excessive. This has been blamed on the slow trial system. The government is
trying to remedy this by finding additional qualified judges. Bail is not
widely used. Prison conditions are overcrowded and dangerous. The
government is attempting to remedy the situation with assistance from other
nations, but this has been a slow process.
2.3 Lithuania crime
View this page with sources or definitions listed for each
statistic.
|Acquitted: |599 (2000) [35th of 49] |per capita: |
| | |0.17 per 1000 |
|Burglaries: |9,203 (2000) [36th of 54] |per capita: |
| | |2.56 per 1000 |
|Car thefts: |5,185 (2000) [32nd of 55] |per capita: |
| | |1.44 per 1000 |
|Convicted: |20,680 (2000) [36th of 56] | |
|Death penalty – |1998 [6th of 63] | |
|abolition date: | | |
|Death penalty &– last|1995 [1st of 46] | |
|executed: | | |
|Embezzlements: |703 (2000) [28th of 44] |per capita: |
| | |0.2 per 1000 |
|Frauds: |1533 (2000) [39th of 61] |per capita: |
| | |0.43 per 1000 |
|Illicit drugs: |transshipment point for | |
| |opiates and other illicit | |
| |drugs from Southwest Asia, | |
| |Latin America, and Western | |
| |Europe to Western Europe and | |
| |Scandinavia; limited | |
| |production of methamphetamine | |
| |and ecstasy; susceptible to | |
| |money laundering | |
|Jails: |14 (2000) [48th of 62] |per capita: |
| | |0 per 1000 |
|Judges and |631 (2000) [24th of 45] |per capita: |
|Magistrates: | |0.18 per 1000 |
|Manslaughters: |38 (2000) [27th of 43] |per capita: |
| | |0.01 per 1000 |
|Murders: |370 (2000) [29th of 62] |0.1 per 1000 |
|Murders with |83 (2000) [18th of 32] |per capita: |
|firearms: | |0.02 per 1000 |
|Police: |12,731 (2000) [32nd of 48] |per capita: |
| | |3.54 per 1000 |
|Prisoners: |9,516 (2000) [37th of 61] |per capita: |
| | |2.64 per 1000 |
|Rapes: |183 (2000) [46th of 65] |per capita: |
| | |0.05 per 1000 |
|Robberies: |4,374 (2000) [30th of 64] |per capita: |
| | |1.21 per 1000
|
|Sentence Length: |25 (2000) [19th of 34] | |
|Total crimes: |82,370 (2000) [38th of 60] |per capita: |
| | |22.87 per 1000 |
Lithuania is a signatory to the Council of Europe Criminal
Convention on Corruption. In September 2000, the Lithuanian Parliament
adopted a new Criminal Code, which establishes criminal liability for
trading in influence and extends the concept of civil servants to those
belonging to international public organizations and foreign states.
However, the new Criminal Code will not enter into force until the draft
Code of Criminal Procedure, the draft Code of Execution of Punishment, and
the draft Code of Administrative offenses are adopted by Parliament,
possibly in 2003.
3. MEANS OF PENAL AND CIVIL INFLUENCE WHILE
CONTROLLING THE CRIME
Several themes of research are carried out in this type.
1. Reform of the crime penalties being a constituent part of the reform
of the law system. While implementing it:
o the implementation of probation penalty work in the court practice in
Lithuania in the period oof 1990-1995 was analysed. The decision was
made that this kind of penalty looses its urgency and should not be
presented to the new Penal Code of the Lithuanian Republic. Having
analysed the public work essence and the way they aare implemented in
the laws of other states, a new type of penalties is suggested – that
is – public work. The first draft of public work is formulated to the
new Penal Code of the Lithuanian Republic.
o the laws of other countries on depriving the rights to do certain
activities or to occupy certain places was analysed. The comparative
investigation of laws was done.
o the practice of abolishment of penalty in Lithuania, the statistics
according to different types of abolishment was analysed; restrictions
and obligations which are applied in the courts of Lithuanian Republic
for the people being abolished from the penalty were defined, the
comparative analysis of the tendencies of the other countries’ laws on
the aabolishment of penalties was done (mainly the laws of Denmark,
Poland, Germany, Sweden).
The new draft of the article of the Penal Code law on the
abolition from the penalty was prepared.
o continuing the research of 1994, the tendencies of forfeiture of
assets was developed. The suggestion to supplement the existing
article 35 of the Penal Code was made.
o the documents from the European Council, concerning the questions on
inflicting the punishment has been analysed further on. The
comparative analysis of the tendencies of the inflicting the penalty
in the laws of the other states (England, Germany, Italy, Sweden,
Denmark, Finland) was made, the practice of the inflicting the
penalties in the courts of Lithuania was analysed, the criteria and
principles of the formulation of sanctions of the law which would be
the basis of the sanctions construction in the new Penal Code were
prepared.
o methods, giving the possibility to determine the extenuating and
aggravating circumstances of the responsibility and the influence of
the other data which characterise the committer of a crime in the
laws, were created to choose and inflict the concrete penalty.
o the analysis of the empirical, standard material and special
literature on the theme „Compensation of the harm done by a crime.
Civil Aspect“ is done. The draft of the law on the harm compensation
done by a crime to victims is being prepared.
While doing the research on „Scientific methodical preconditions
for the creation of balanced system of penal and administrative influence
means“, developing the methods of research, it is defined more exactly how
to compare sanctions provided by the Penal Code, data of the courts
practice and results of the questionnaires of the experts, doing balanced
sanctions system. The schemes of the numbers of the sanctions of the Penal
Code were designed for the comparison of the data of the courts practice
and of the results of the questionnaires of the experts:
3.1 Imprisonment penalty putting into practice in Lithuania in 1991-1994
Paragraph (parts of them) of the Penal Code according which the
imprisonment penalty was not put into practice in 1991-1994;
The frames of the quantity of the imprisonment sanctions suggested
by the experts for the most important specific crimes.
Defining more exactly the conception of the balanced sanction
system the main factors (value – the object of attempt, the circumstances
of doing the deed, the degree of guilty), which condition the heaviness of
a crime was analyzed and the evaluation criteria of the factors were
formed.
The method of putting value criterion into practice was detailed.
The suggestion was made to classify the crimes associated with the same
value, firstly, by the circumstances by which a deed was done and its
degree of completeness. These circumstances predetermine the heaviness of a
crime from the point of view of that value as these circumstances define
the value’s violation scale, character and other aspects of a deed. Taking
into account this criterion, crimes associated by one and the same value
are suggested to classify into 3 groups according to their heaviness.
Dependence to one group defines relative heaviness of the crime from the
point of view of value.
Developing the methods of comparative analysis of penal and
administrative codes norms, the analysis of several competing articles of
the penal and administrative laws was made (crimes and administrative
violations against property, managing order and finance).
Having analyzed the sanctions of the existing penal law from the
point of view of value criterion, it is ascertained that the average of the
specified crimes sanctions do not reflect the real meaning of the values
protected by the Penal Law. In addition, imprisonment penalty for different
types of crimes in the frame of specific crimes are not balanced, because
the system of values of the specific crimes is confused and discordant.
Three drafts of the Penal Code’s articles, according to values system
suggested by the working group were prepared and the preliminary
generalization of them was made. Classification of the circumstances which
make the influence to the defining of sanctions have begun and is continued
further on.
Having analyzed, evaluated and worked up the results of the
experts’ questionnaire, the conclusion should be made that:
• as a matter of fact, experts attach great importance to all elements
of traditional composition
of a crime (object, objective part, subject
and subjective part);
• in the opinion of experts premeditated crimes are evaluated 2.5 times
heavier than imprudent crimes;
• experts think that a part of articles of the present Penal Code must
be decriminalized;
• in some positions the opinion of experts is not very reliable,
therefore it is expedient to do an additional questionnaire.
4. DEATH PENAL IN LITHUANIA
On its way towards the European Union the Republic of Lithuania is
facing the challenge to harmonize legislation with the across-Europe
acknowledged standards and international conventions. Under a pressure of
painful transformational processes Lithuania carries out economic reforms,
strengthens free market foundations, establishes democratic and civic
society, which is in itself far from being easy, since in many instances
people’s mentality has to be changed and new yardstick for both evil and
good is to be found.
Nowadays quite a number of European politicians carefully follow
these changes in Lithuania, including changes in legal, law and order and
law enforcement system. MMany of them visit our country and take with them
back impressions contrary to the beforehand established opinion.
One can often hear a question whether Lithuania has already
liquidated the last relics oh the authoritarian system, and whether death
penalty is abolished. This question which is now broadly discussed in
Lithuania and the society is not always likely to find a general answer to
the solution of this problem.
This packager of documents is the official opinion of the state of
Lithuania. Herein you will find results of the opinion poll of our people
on this very issue. Being aware of a difficult struggle of the post
communist states face to face with the wave of criminality, the readers
will able to understand better the problems of The Republic of Lithuania
and the policy it pursues.
4.1 EVOLUTION OF THE DEATH PENALTY IN LITHUANIA
The outlook upon the death penalty in Lithuania during different
historical periods. The author states, that according to the outlook upon
the death penalty or its execution, several different periods might be
distinguished. The first one is the period time when Lithuania was not yet
a centralized state, and the customary law norms were applied. The second
period is the time when centralized state of Lithuania was being formed and
written codes of law came into force. This period lasted till the adoption
of the First Statute of the Great Duchess of Lithuania in 1529. The third
period covers the years of the First Statute validity and lasts till the
middle of XIX century. Tsar Russian punishment laws started the fourth
period. The years of independent Lithuania between the two world wars would
be the fifth period. The sixth period covers of soviet occupation.
Renovation of the independence of Lithuania started the seventh period.
Looking through the evolution of the death penalty in Lithuania,
the following conclusion might be drawn: every time period, except years of
soviet occupation, the ways of solving the death penalty question were
getting more and more progressive. Bearing in mind the facts, investigated
in the article, as well as the death penalty position in the present
legislation, we can state the abolishment of the death penalty in Lithuania
would be logical and natural event.
4.2 LITHUANIAN POPULATION ABOUT THE DEATH PENALTY
Lithuanian-British public opinion and market research company
“Baltic Surveys Ltd.”, the member of Gallup Worldwide and Gallup
International Association and ESOMAR, in its regular national studies has
asked Lithuanian population about its opinion on death penalty several
times since 1991.
Do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?
Would you say, you agree strongly, agree somewhat, disagree somewhat or
disagree strongly that.
“Baltic Surveys Ltd.”, April – May, 1993.
.some crimes should be punishable by death.
This survey results show, that Lithuanian population is consistent
in its opinion and still strongly supports tthe necessity for death penalty:
There are a lot of discussions nowadays about the death penalty.
In your opinion, should be some crimes be punishable by death in Lithuania,
or the death penalty should not be used in Lithuania?
“Baltic Surveys Ltd.” 1996.
4.3 THE SENTENCE TO DEATH
The statistic chronicles of 1924 – 1926, 1927 – 1928, 1929 – 1930,
1931, 1932, 1933 hold no data on the number of the persons sentenced to
death.
7 persons were sentenced to death in 1935 (5 – for the betrayal of
the country, 1 – for resistance against public authorities, 1 – for
murder).
21 convict – sentenced to death in 1936.
5 convicts – sentenced to death in 1937.
3 persons sentenced to death in 1938 (1 – for betrayal of the
country, 2 – for the resistance against public authorities).
Death penalty imposed for 1 convict in 1991,
in 1992 for 1,
in 1993 for 2,
in 1994 for 2,
in 1995 for 1 convict.
In 1991 – 1996 totally 7 convicts were sentenced to death, and the
death penalty was changed into imprisonment for life for 29 persons.
Until 1991 no data on the fulfilment of death penalty or sentence
to death is available.
4.4 CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IIN LITHUANIA
1. Laws of the historic Lithuania (XIII – XIX c)
Application of the capital punishment in Lithuania was introduced
by regulations set up in Kazimieras’ Code of 1468 which was in power until
1529. It inflicted death penalty by hanging for huge thefts.
Detailed regulations on capital punishment were laid down in 1529
Statute of Lithuania, as well as in 1566 and 1588 Statutes. The latter was
in force up to 1840 after Russia occupied Lithuania in 1795.
Within the whole range of various punishments the death penalty
made up 10 %. It was usually applied for the rebellion against the state or
the head of state, for war crimes, use of weapon in a sovereign’s palace,
for the assaults on dominions of the nobility, in the circumstances of
murder of the nobility, rape, extensive burglary and robbery, counterfeit
of money. The most usual case was by hanging of the accused, less common
cases were by shooting, beheading and tearing into pieces, by burning. Data
on the number of death penalties and how many of them were carried out
within this time period is not available.
2. Republic of Lithuania (1918.II.16 – 1940.IV.15)
After Lithuania re-established its independence in 1918, the
capital punishment set in the Criminal Statute of 1903 was
substituted on
16 January 1919 for the imprisonment with hard labour, it was renewed on 5
March 1919 according to the special security regulations of the state for
the crimes in those parts of the country where the state of belligerence
was announced (after the intervention of the neighbouring states and the
start of the struggle for independence). The capital punishment was carried
out for rebellion, instigation against the state, espionage and damage of
transportation facilities, robbery, murder and some of the war crimes. In
May 1920, the eexecution of the capital punishment was suspended, and it was
abolished on 12 June. However, after the foreign states advanced their
intervention, death penalty was reintroduced on 18 July of the same year.
From 17 August 1922 it was carried out only in the army involved in
military actions and in the Lithuanian railway area, while from 2 July 1926
it was applied on the territory which was then in the state of belligerence
and within one kilometre from the demarcation border. After the state of
belligerence wwas announced on 21 December 1926 the capital punishment was
carried out throughout the whole territory of Lithuania. This penalty
remained in force after the Soviet Union occupied Lithuania on 14 June
1940.
5. CRIMINAL LAW
Crime is categorised as a part of public law. The law is
regulating the relations between citizens and the state. Crimes can be
thought of as acts, which the state considers being wrong and which can be
punished by state. There are some acts, which are crimes in one country but
not in another.
A visitor to a foreign country can be sure that stealing,
physically attacking someone or damaging their property will be unlawful.
But the way of dealing with people suspected of crime may be different from
his own country.
5.1 ELEMENTS OF PROOF
In many legal systems it is an important principle that a person
cannot be considered guilty of a crime until the state proves he committed
it. The suspect himself need not prove anything, although he will of course
help himself if hhe can show evidence of his innocence. The state must prove
his guilt according to high standards, and for each crime there are precise
elements, which must be proven. In codified systems, these elements are
usually recorded in statutes. In common law systems, the elements of some
crimes are detailed in statutes; others, known as “common law crimes”, are
still described mostly in case law. Even where there is a precise statute,
the case law interpreting the statute may be very important since the
circumstances of each ccrime may be very different.
There are usually two important elements to a crime:
1. The criminal act itself;
2. The criminal state of mind of the person when he committed the
act.
In Anglo – American law these are known by the Latin terms of (1.)
Actus Reus and (2.) Mens Rea. The differences between these can be
explained by using the crime of murder.
Malice aforethought refers to the mens rea of the crime and is a
way of saying that the murderer intended to commit a crime. Of course, the
court can never know exactly what was in the head of the killer at the time
of killing, so it has the difficult task of deciding what his intentions
must have been.
There is a different definition of mens rea for each crime.
Sometimes the defendant must have intended to do a particular thing. In
murder, however, it is interesting that the defendant need not have
intended to kill, but just to wound someone seriously. He need not even
have had a direct intention; in some cases, a defendant has been found
guilty if he killed someone because of recklessness – not caring about the
dangers. Several recent cases have considered the problem of whether
recklessness means acting even though yyou know there is a high risk of
danger or acting without thinking about risks which a reasonable person
ought to consider. In other crimes, it is enough to have been negligent or
careless without any clear intention or even recklessness.
The rest of the murder definition refers to the actus reus. The
prosecution must show that the suspect did in fact cause the death of
someone.
There are some kinds of killing, which the state considers lawful
– for example, when a soldier kills an enemy soldier in a time of war. A
time limit is specified in order to avoid the difficulties of proving a
connection between an act and a death that takes place much later. This may
be especially relevant in the case of victim who has been kept alive for
many month on a hospital life support machine.
In deciding if the defendant’s act caused death, the court must be
sure that the act was a substantial cause of the result.
In general, if the prosecution fails to prove either actus or
mens, the court must decide there was no crime and the case is over.
However, there are a small number of crimes for which no mens rea need be
proved.
5.2 DEFENSES
If actus and mens have bbeen proved, a defendant may still avoid
guilt if he can show he has a defence – a reason the court should excuse
his act. Different systems of law recognise different and usually limited
sets of defences.
For example, duress may be used as a defence against the charge of
murder as a secondary party (helping the murderer), but is not available if
the defendant is charged as the principal murderer.
Another defence is that of insanity. In most countries a person
cannot be found guilty of crime if in a doctor’s opinion he cannot have
been responsible for his actions because of mental illness. But this
defence requires careful proof. If it is proven the defendant will not be
sent to a prison, but instead to mental hospital.
It might be argued that a person is not responsible for his
actions if he is intoxicated – drunk or under the influence of drugs. In
fact, an intoxicated person may not even know what he is doing and thus
lacks mens rea. However, in many countries, there is a general principle
that people who knowingly get themselves intoxicated must be held
responsible for their acts. Consequently, intoxication is not a defence.
Nearly every system of law recognises the defence of self –
defence. For example,
in English law, a defendant can avoid guilt for
injuring someone if he can convince the court that the force he used was
reasonable to protect himself in the circumstances. In some other
countries, shooting an unarmed burglar would be recognised as self –
defence, but in order it might be considered unreasonable force.
The concept of defence should not be confused with that of
mitigation – reasons your punishment should not be harsh. If a person has a
defence, the court finds him not guilty. IIt is only after being found
guilty that a defendant may try to mitigate his crimes by explaining the
specific circumstances at the time of the crime.
Although most criminal laws in the world refer to acts of violence
or theft, there are laws regulating almost every kinds of human behaviour.
For example:
❖ what we do with our land;
❖ what we say and write;
❖ how we run our businesses;
❖ what we wear.
Sometimes governments “create new crimes” by identifying aa form of
behaviour and passing a new law to deal with it. In most industrialised
countries exiting theft laws were not adequate to deal with computer crimes
where complex kinds of information are stolen, altered or used to deceive
other, and, thus, new llaws have been passed.
6. CRIMINAL LIABILITY PROVIDED FOR MINORS IN THE
DRAFT PENAL CODE OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
This paragraph analyses issues of regulation of criminal
liability of minors. Its main concern is the establishment of the age limit
at which a person is criminally liable and until which lighter penal norms
should be imposed. It is also concerned with the improvement of the system
of punitive and educational measures.
In essence, the article is in favor of the draft Penal Code
submitted by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania to the
Government of the Republic of Lithuanian in July 1998. The Draft suggests
that in the future the Penal Code should establish only exceptional
criminal liability of minors, and that the peculiarities of the liability
be set forth in a separate chapter of the Penal Code Peculiarities of the
Criminal Liability of Minors. This new chapter of the Penal Code would
provide for a special system of punitive and educational measures as well
as rules of their imposition, grounds and conditions for the exemption from
criminal liability and penalties, which would be in line with the
instruments of international law.
discusses the following educational measures: (1) warning; (2)
repairing material damage; (3) non-paid works; (4) placing the minor under
the uupbringing and guardianship of his/her patents or other persons; (5)
restricting the behaviour of the minor; (6) placing the minor in a special
educational-disciplinary institution.
Depending on the legal evaluation of the act done by the minor,
educational measures may have the following legal value:
• a part of a penalty, when they are imposed together with the penalty
not involving imprisonment;
• an alternative to criminal punishment, when the minor commits a
misdemeanor or a petty offence;
• Educational or correctional measure, when the minor is exempt from
criminal liability.
In the opinion of the author, in reforming the system of punitive
and educational measures applied to minors, first of all the legislator has
to seek that all the measures of administering justice provided for in the
penal laws should be based not only on the „revenge“ for the act done but
also on help and support for the minor, the principles of sympathy and
education.
6.1 FROM THE CRIMINAL CODE
Murder under aggravating circumstances
Murder:
1) of one’s mother or father;
2) of two or more persons;
3) of a pregnant woman;
4) under circumstances dangerous for many people;
5) in a particularly cruel way;
6) while committing other serious crime;
7) with a view to cconceal another serious crime;
8) subject to selfish motives;
9) subject to hooligan motives;
10) subject to murder of the person on public or civil duty;
11) if the crime was committed by a particularly dangerous recidivist.
Death penalty is the key and exceptional punishment. Death penalty
may be inflicted for a murder under aggravating circumstances.
Article no. 24 Death penalty
Death penalty is the key and exceptional punishment. Death penalty
may be inflicted for a murder under aggravating circumstances.
Death penalty is executed by shooting.
Death penalty may not be imposed and if it is imposed, it may not
be executed for
1) Women and
2) Persons, who at the moment of the committing the crime,
were under 18.
If the court inflicts death penalty to thr convict, it may change
capital punishment into imprisonment for life also subject to the right for
mercy.
Convicts, for whom death penalty was changed into imprisonment for
life, shall be imprisoned.
7. THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE PRESIDENT
OF OUR STATE ON THE DEATH PENALTY
In the process of integration into the European Union Lithuania
will have to harmonize its laws with the laws of the European Community.
That’s the reason why the approach towards death penalty should be changed
as well.
Until 1991 death penalty was applied in 30 cases, from January
1991 this punishment was imposed only for one crime – for murder under
aggravating circumstances. Death penalty is not allowed to be imposed
neither for women not for children. In the process of criminal trials and
in case the convict appeals, sentence to death may be changed into the
imprisonment far life.
Today in Lithuania the number of heinous crimes is rather high,
therefore it is difficult to change the society’s point of view and ban the
punishment (75% of Lithuanians hold a positive attitude towards to practice
death penalty). Basic decisions regarding this issue must be taken
gradually, may be, at first, it would be reasonable to announce the
Memorandum of Death Penalty. At present the Criminal Code of the Republic
of Lithuania is being drafted and, as I know, there will be an offer to ban
death penalty.
7.1 ON DEATH PENALTY IN THE REPUBLIC DF LITHUANIA
The Criminal Code of Republic of Lithuania establishes only for
which death may be imposed – murder under aggravating circumstances (CC,
Article 105). It should be noted that from 3 December 1991 according to the
CC even 31 crime for which death penalty might have been imposed. Article
24 of the CC does not
allow imposing death penalty neither on woman nor on
the persons who prior to committing the crime were under the age of 18.
Capital penalty applied for the convict who is irresponsible after the
verdict has been announced.
It should be noted that the court announcing death sentence tom
convict may after it into imprisonment for life. The Instances of the Court
of Appeal and Cassation have the analogous right. Moreover, by right of
mercy The President of the republic of Lithuania may change the capital
punishment iinto the imprisonment.
No doubt the Government of the Republic oh Lithuania comprehend s
the concern of the international community regarding death penalty in
Lithuania (during 1992 – 1996 for January 1 seven capital punishment were
executed), however it takes into account a rather unfavorable criminal
situation- the number of murders increased from 143 in 1991 to 523 in 1994,
and the society’s point of view which at the moment is clearly for the
capital punishment (80% for death penalty).
On the second hand the Government ssupports the draft of the law on
the suspension of execution of death penalty of the Minister of Justice
prepared under the instructions or the President of Lithuania. If under the
instructions pf the President the draft of the law is passed in tthe Seimas,
then the execution of death penalty would be suspended until the adoption
of the new Criminal Code. T5he final; regarding death penalty should be
passed by the Seimas by adopting the new Criminal Code.
CONCLUSIONS
Civil and criminal penalties in Lithuania are very similar to
other countries penalties system, except death penalty, because Lithuania
has joined to the convention. These countries are against applying the
death penalty.
There are many penalties in Lithuania which can stop criminals
from making new offences.
Crime is categorized as a part of public law. The law is
regulating the relations between citizens and the state. Crimes can be
thought of as acts, which the state considers being wrong and which can be
punished by state. There are some acts, which are crimes iin one country but
not in another.
A visitor to a foreign country can be sure that stealing,
physically attacking someone or damaging their property will be unlawful.
But the way of dealing with people suspected of crime may be different from
his own country.
Penalties for breaking the law in Lithuania can be more severe
than in the United States for similar offenses. Persons violating
Lithuanian laws, even unknowingly, may be expelled, arrested, or
imprisoned. Penalties for possession, use, or trafficking in illegal drugs
in Lithuania are sstrict and convicted offenders can expect jail sentences
and heavy fines.
Lithuania’s government can stop criminals by imposing more and
more harsh penalties.
REFERENCES
1. The Lithuania policy on death penalty.- Vilnius, 1996,
March.-78p.
2. The Encyclopedia britanica Volume 21.- London , 1926, 625p.
3. English Dictionary for Speakers of Lithuanian.- Vilnius,
2000
4. O.Armalyte, L Pazusis. English – Lithuanian Law Dictionary.-
Vilnius, 1998.
5. P. Darbyshire “Eddey on the English Legal System”.- London,
1998 p. 102-106.
6. F. Russell and Ch. Locke “English Law and Language” –
London, 2000 p. 11-15.
7. R. Powell. Law today.- England. 1996, p.45-51.
8. INTERNET INFORMATION:
www.teismai.lt
www.google.lt
www.teisininkas.lt
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