From Communist Regime to Liberal Democracy: The Evolution of the Legal System in Lithuania
Abstract
The article analyses the mechanism of the establishment and maintenance of liberal democracy in Lithuania. This is a political and legal process where politicians have to obey the requirements of constitutionalism consciously. The research considers the periodization of the evolution of the legal system in the Republic of Lithuania: from this approach three periods of the development of the relationship between constitutional law and politics are distinguished: (1) the period of priority of politics over constitutional law; (2) the period of the priority of constitutional law over politics and (3) the period of the maintenance of constitutional law as the methodological basis of political-legal thinking in the political life of the state, the period of the maintenance of constitutional law as the methodological basis of political-legal thinking in the political life of the state (since 2004), period coincides with the entry of the Republic of Lithuania to the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The legislation that does not meet the requirements of constitutionalism can be reported not only to the Constitutional Court, but also to the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice. This period reflects the tendency that the state’s politicians seek to obey the values and norms of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania deliberately. It was concluded that the principle of legal continuity is observed regarding the institutional formation of the legal system of Lithuania.References
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[2] Bamowe, J.Т., King, G.J., and Bemiker, E. 1992. Personal values and economic transition in the Baltics states. Journal of Baltic Studies, 23(2): 179-190.
[3] Basora, A. 2013. Can the post-communist democracies survive a continuation of the Euro-crisis? Orbis, 57(2): 217-231.
[4] Bielasiak, J., and Hulsey, J.W. 2013. Party system determinants of electoral reform in post-communist states. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 46(1): 1-12.
[5] Bunce, V. 2008. The tasks of democratic transition and transferability. Orbis, 52(1): 25-40.
[6] Clark, T.D., and Pranevičiūte, J. 2008. Perspectives on communist successor parties: the case of Lithuania. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 41(4): 443-464.
[7] Crowther, W.E., and Matonyte, I. 2007. Parliamentary elites as a democratic thermometer: Estonia, Lithuania and Moldova compared. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 40(3): 281-299.
[8] Fidrmuc, J. 2003. Economic reform, democracy and growth during post-communist transition. European Journal of Political Economy, 19(3): 583-604.
[9] Gaidys, V. 1998. Attitudes towards the economic system in the Baltic States: past, present, future. Cultural Encounters in East Central Europe: 61-73.
[10] Galbreath, D., Lašas, A., and Lamoreaux, J.W. 2008. Continuity and Change in the Baltic Sea Region. Amsterdam - New York: Rodopi,
[11] Grennes, T. 1997. The economic transition in the Baltic countries. Journal of Baltic Studies, 28(1): 9-24.
[12] Hayek, F.A. 1999. Laisvosios Visuomenės Politinė Tvarka (T3), Teisė, Istatymų Leidyba ir Laisvė. Vilnius: Eugrimas/ALK.
[13] Held, D. 2006. Models of Democracy. 3rd ed. Redwood City: CA Stanford University Press,
[14] Hidcn, J., and Salmon, P. 1994. The Baltic Nations and Europe. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania in the Twentieth Century. London-New York.
[15] Ishiyama, J.T. 1993. Founding elections and the development of transitional parties: the cases of Estonia and Latvia, 1990–1992. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 26(3): 277-299.
[16] Johnston, H. 1992. Religion and nationalist subcultures in the Baltics. Journal of Baltic Studies, 23(2): 133-148.
[17] Jurkynas, M. 2009. The parliamentary election in Lithuania, October 2008. Electoral Studies, 28(2): 329-333.
[18] Jurkynas, M. 2012. The parliamentary election in Lithuania, October 2012. Electoral Studies, 34: 334-338.
[19] Jurkynas, M. 2014. The parliamentary election in Lithuania, October 2012. Electoral Studies, 34: 334-338.
[20] Krickus, R. 1993. Lithuania: nationalism in the modem era. In: Nations and Politics in the Soviet successor states. Ed. by Bremmer, l. and Tares, R. Cambridge,
[21] Kūris, E. 1993. Teisinė valstybė, teisinių sistemų įvairovė ir Vakarų teisės tradicija. In: Glendon, M.A., Gordon, M.W., Osakwe, C. Vakarų Teisės Tradicijos. Vilnius: Pradai,
[22] Lehti, M. 2007. Protégé or go-between? The role of the Baltic States after 9/11 in EU-US Relations. Journal of Baltic Studies, 38(2): 127-151.
[23] Lewis-Beck, M.S, and Bélanger, E. 2012. Election forecasting in neglected democracies: an introduction. International Journal of Forecasting, 28(4): 767-768.
[24] Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucinio Teismo įstatymas. 1993. Official Gazette, No. 6-120.
[25] Lietuvos Teisinės Institucijos. Ed by Kūris, E. Vilnius: VĮ Registrų centras, 2011.
[26] Lieven, A. 1993. The Baltic Revolution: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Path to Independence. New Haven; London: Yale univ. press,
[27] Lühiste, K. 2006. Explaining trust in political institutions: some illustrations from the Baltic States. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 39(4): 475-496.
[28] Mikulskiene, B., and Pitrenaite-Zileniene, B. 2013. Management of participation practice: reconstruction of Lithuania's formal policy networks by means of social network analysis. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 79: 127-140.
[29] Nefas, S., Valickas, A., and Pilkauskaite-Valickiene, R. 2015. Capacity building of parliamentarians: problems and perspectives in Lithuania. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 191: 402-406.
[30] Podgaiskyte, V. 2014. Waste management sector value changes in Lithuania along the last decade. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 110: 512-519.
[31] Schambeckas, H. 2009. Apie demokratijos sąvoką, idėją, istoriją ir raidą Europoje. In: Teisė ir Demokratija. Demokratija Lietuvoje: tarp Vakarų ir Rytų (1990-2007). Ed. By A. Vaišvila. Vilnius: Mykolo Romerio universitetas,
[32] Sekliuckienė, J. 2014. Changes of emerging Central and Eastern European countries business conditions: case of Lithuania. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 156: 350-354.
[33] Semenova, E., Edinger, M., and Best, H. 2013. Parliamentary Elites in Central and Eastern Europe: Recruitment and Representation. London, New York: Routledge,
[34] Senn, A.E. 1997. Lithuania: rights and responsibilities of independence. In: New States, New Politics. Building the Post-Soviet Nations. Cambridge,
[35] Sinkevičius, V. 2010. Kovo 11-oji: nepriklausomybės atkūrimo teisinė konstrukcija. Jurisprudencija, 3(121): 55-71.
[36] Šlapkauskas, V. 2006. Teisinės sistemos disfunkcija - silpnos socialinės politikos požymis. Socialinis Darbas 5(1): 21-29.
[37] Smith, D.J. 2013. The Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. New York
[38] Smith-Siversten, H. 1997. Towards parties of elites - or popularism? Revue Baltique, 8: 19-37.
[39] Steen, A. 1996. Consolidation and competence: research on the politics of recruiting political elites in the Baltic States. Journal of Baltic Studies, 27(2): 143-156.
[40] Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania Act on the Re-establishment of the State of Lithuania (1990). http://lrkt.lt/en/legal-information/lithuanias-independence-acts/act-of-11-march/366 (accessed 05/08/2016).
[41] Vardys, V.S. 1991. Sajudis: national revolution in Lithuania. In: Toward Independence. The Baltic Popular Movements. Ed. by Jan A. Trapans. Westview Press,
[42] Vebra, R. 1994. Political rebirth in Lithuania 1990-1991: events and problems. Journal of Baltic Studies, 25(2): 183-188.
[43] Zielonka, J., and Pravda, A. 2001. Democratic Consolidation in Eastern Europe. Oxford studies in democratization. Oxford University Press.
[44] Žilys, J. 2008. Česlovas Juršėnas: parlamentaras demokratinėje visuomenėje. In: Parlamentas ir valstybinės valdžios institucijų sąranga. Liber Amicorum Česlovui Juršėnui. Ed. By G. MesonisVilnius: Mykolo Romerio universitetas.
Published
2016-12-12
How to Cite
DEMENKO, Olga Ivanivna et al.
From Communist Regime to Liberal Democracy: The Evolution of the Legal System in Lithuania.
Journal of Advanced Research in Law and Economics, [S.l.], v. 7, n. 5, p. 1014–1025, dec. 2016.
ISSN 2068-696X.
Available at: <https://journals.aserspublishing.eu/jarle/article/view/522>. Date accessed: 03 may 2024.
Section
Articles
Keywords
legal system; codification; reception; Constitutional Law; Parliament
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