The present article analyses the issues of the legal definition of the European Union. It has been noticed a while ago that the EU has outgrown the “gown” of a typical international organisation and that it has acquired some features specific to a State-like entity. It is no coincidence that some authors accentuate that the EU is a specific, unconventional international organisation, some – that it is an entity, very similar to a State (an incomplete federation, a post-modern State), others, (...) not being satisfied with the traditional distinction between an international organisation and a State, are trying to develop the third category, calling the EU sui generis organisation or supranational organisation. The arguments concerning the EU model of integration continue even after the Treaty of Lisbon entered into force. Not being able to fit this legal phenomenon into the usual typological scheme we need to consider the development of a new theory enabling to define the new phenomenon. The definition of this kind of category meets several obstacles: it is a unique legal phenomenon, it is constantly changing and, furthermore, the hybrid nature of the Union induces to qualify the EU following either the criteria of international or of national constitutional law while elaborating the abovementioned synthetic category. (shrink)

Lietuvai atkūrus nepriklausomybę ir įstojus į Europos Sąjungą suaktyvėjo Lietuvos gyventojų judumas, kuris sudarė prielaidas naujoms veikloms, karjeros galimybėms ir šeiminio gyvenimo formoms. 1980–2000 m. gimusiųjų asmeninio gyvenimo planavimas vyko aplinkoje, kuri labai skyrėsi nuo jų tėvų asmeninį gyvenimą formavusios sovietmečio aplinkos. Dalyvavimas migraciniuose procesuose per tėvų, artimųjų arba asmenines patirtis formavo asmeninio gyvenimo lūkesčius ir elgseną, keliančius visuomenės nerimą dėl jaunų žmonių išvykimo iš Lietuvos ir šeiminių ryšių transformacijos mobilumo sąlygomis. Pasitelkiant Carol Smart (2007) asmeninio gyvenimo koncepcijoje pasiūlytas (...) teorines idėjas apie socialinės aplinkos, kasdienių praktikų ir asmeninių projektų sąryšį, straipsnyje analizuojama, kaip globali migracija formuoja 1980–2000 m. gimusių ir nepriklausomoje Lietuvoje augusių asmenų migracinius ketinimus, susisaistymo su Lietuva ir šeiminio gyvenimo vaizdinius. Remiantis dviejų Lietuvos gyventojų reprezentatyvių apklausų bei migracinės patirties turinčių asmenų kvotinės apklausos duomenimis, surinktais įgyvendinant Lietuvos mokslo tarybos (LMT) finansuotus mokslininkų grupių projektus, statistinės analizės rezultatais, autorės nagrinėja, kaip jaunimas kuria ateities planus, kokia dalis jų svarsto išvykti iš šalies, kaip migracinės praktikos koreguoja šeiminio gyvenimo įsivaizdavimą. Straipsnyje atskleidžiama, kaip nepriklausomybės laikotarpiu susiformavusi atvira visuomenė ir mobili socialinė aplinka sukūrė prielaidas lanksčiam susisaistymui su savo kilmės šalimi ir savitam jaunų žmonių supratimui apie šeiminį gyvenimą. (shrink)

The aim of this article is to address the regulatory framework as one of the key factors determining the success of creation of single market for renewable energy. No one could possibly argue that non-discriminative and consistent legal regulation plays a big role in the creation of a single market. Therefore, the question of legal capability to create the single market for renewable energy and the overall quality of present regulatory framework is at the centre of this article. Our objective (...) is to analyse whether the single market for energy produced from renewable sources can be created under current legal regulation of the European Union Therefore, the first part of the article analyses the competence of the European Union to regulate the renewable energy sector and division of legislative powers between the Member States and the European Union. The goal of the first part is to answer the question whether the European Union has the competence to regulate renewable energy market. The second part of the article analyses the legal framework of measures for the promotion of renewable energy production used in each Member State. The goal of the second part of this article is to answer the question – whether all renewable energy producers are in equal competitive position, notwithstanding different legal frameworks of the Member States. (shrink)

The article deals with the question how transnational corporations can bear direct responsibility for human rights abuses they commit by analysing the deficiencies of the current international legal background with respect to human rights and transnational corporations, and the solutions offered by national and regional legal tools. By establishing that current international law is incapable of reducing or compensating for governance gaps, the case law analysis shows that the litigation system under the Alien Tort Claims Act in the United States (...) and ATCA-like litigation possibility in the European Union present a feasible alternative to international law in the field of human rights protection when abuses are committed by transnational corporations. (shrink)

Approximately twenty years after it was necessary to fight for human rights, the time came when it was necessary to do it again. Or to begin at the very least to protect them very strongly and thoroughly in a preventive manner. Other methods and means will revert to time when human rights were formally anchored but their material establishment is not yet realized, or not at least to the extent expected corresponding to their real substance. The beginning of the 90’s (...) in Central and Eastern Europe was a success in that human rights began to be looked on as natural, forming the basis of democratic State respecting the rule of law. Today we are increasingly more often encountering the reality that human rights, on the contrary, to the same extent that they have been able to be established, they are losing in value. The biggest danger consists in the fact that limiting of human rights often is attended by silence, without wider public discussion or deliberations. The lack of qualified discussion during the limiting of human rights by way of laws and implementing regulations is however a systemic problem. Correction of its results can be often very complex and doing away with the causes a long term effort. It is dependent on the quality of representative democracy and of the civil society as well. This article is devoted to problem of implementation of evidence of data accompanying telecommunications traffic, the so-called data retention, and in its development from lack of legal regulation to roughly unconstitutional legal regulation and finally to hope for a reasonably constitutional solution. (shrink)

The system of the European Convention on Human Rights created in 1950 is still regarded as the most important and effective regional system for the protection of human rights in the whole world. However, the experience of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has clearly showed that the steady growth in the number of cases brought before the ECHR makes it increasingly difficult to keep the length of proceedings within the acceptable limits and to maintain the effectiveness of the (...) ECHR. This aspect is becoming extremely important due to the fact that the European Union (EU) will join the Convention system in the near future. The legal basis for the EU accession to the Convention system has been made possible after the entering into force of the EU Lisbon Treaty on 1 December 2009, and, from the Convention’s perspective, the new Protocol No. 14 to the Convention, which entered into force on 1 June 2010, and which, in Article 17 (amending Article 59 of the Convention), stipulates that the EU may accede to this Convention. (shrink)

Première publication et commentaire historique de l'inscription honorifique d'une base de statue découverte dans la ville antique d'Europos (Macédoine). L'auteur propose d'identifier le légat de Marc-Antoine honoré ici, M. Insteius L.f., connu jusqu'alors uniquement par des sources littéraires, avec l'officier anonyme du passage d'Appien (BC V 75, 320), qui dirigea l'expédition lancée par Antoine entre 39 et 38 av. J.-C. contre les Dardaniens. Cette expédition fut jugée utile pour reprendre le contrôle sur la province, contrôle qui avait vraisemblablement été (...) ébranlé après la bataille de Philippes ; elle est en rapport avec l'importance de la région pour la sécurité de la province de Macédoine et la stratégie d'Antoine dans la péninsule balkanique. (shrink)