Through Lithuania's integration into the global economy, there is an opportunity to promote positive economic, financial, cultural, intellectual development leading to the country's economic growth. On the other hand, the integration also encourages negative effects, including: increasing emigration, loss of investments that have been made in preparation of professionals, changes in local labour force, negative changes in the demographic structure, decreasing state revenues and increasing tax burden on the remaining population, and ultimately the country's loss of competitiveness because of the loss of skilled labour. The emigration issue is relevant in Lithuania, because of the large scale emigration that is a threat to social and economic stability. According to a variety of assessments, about 300 thousand inhabitants emigrated from Lithuania during the years of independence. This scale of Lithuanians' emigration has to be considered to be one of the most serious threats to the country's demographic development, economic growth and the preservation of cultural identity. Labour force emigration is influenced by many different types of factors. They can be grouped according to different criteria, depending on the research aim. Overall, among the causes of emigration, economic, political, ideological, racial, ethnic and other are often identified. Much attention is paid to the research into the emigration causes, because after finding the reasons that encourage people to migrate, concrete measures can be taken to regulate this process. [.]
The paper explores the epistemic fruitfulness of the contemporary theories of modern relations for historical research about the relations between premodern polities. The application of the neorealist theory in such research is blocked by its assumption that its subject is international system, consisting of sovereign national states. However, there were no such states (and nations) in medieval Europe and most other places in premodern times. The concept of international society of H. Bull is not applicable to premodern polities because of its assumption that Westphalian peace treaty of 1648 was the date of birth of the international law and international society as historical reality. A. Wendt's thesis that in the premodern times international politics was dominated by the Hobbesian culture of anarchy disregards historical evidence about the "Lockean" realities of the dynastic politics in the medieval Europe and other places. In the first part of the article, the corrections to remove these modernist and europocentric deformations are suggested. They include the replacement of the concepts of "international system" and "international society" by the broader notions of "interpolity system" and that of "interpolity society", and the distinction between "sovereign politikes system/society" and "suzerain (imperial) polity system/society", borrowed (with modifications) from M. Wight. Second part and third parts together constitute a case study about the changing roles and challenges of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) as the subject of interpolity relations in XIII–XV centuries. The second part is about the rise of GDL from the polity playing the role of the barrier (but not that of buffer) polity, separating Central European and Eastern European interpolity systems and belonging to both of them, to the regional empire and suzerain polity of the Eastern European interpolity system by the early XVth century. However, Lithuanian hegemony in Eastern Europe lasted only very few years. After 1430, the Eastern European interpolity system was about to transform itself from the suzerain polity system into a multipolar sovereign interpolity system of the type that consolidated in the Central and Western Europe after 1648 and survived for 300 years. However, the political leadership of GDL failed to meet the challenge to maintain an emerging multipolar balance of power in this system. According to the unconventional account of the so-called "feudal war" (1431–1453) in the Great Duchy of Moscow by Alexander Zimin, there was real possibility to establish at least two Russian states in the lands ruled by the Muscovite princes. Great Novgorod was viable polity too, bearing promise of the protobourgeois and protodemocratic Russia. Another viable polity was created in Kazan by Tatars who have changed to sedentary life of agriculturalists, and were about to become the power, filling out the geopolitical space that in older times was held by Volga Bulgaria. However, mainly due to the pursuit by Jagiellonian rulers of GDL and Poland of the dynastic politics in the Central Europe, at least three windows of opportunity to preserve this interpolity system from its annihilation by rising Moscow empire were not used. Last of them was the opportunity to re-establish the independence of Great Novgorod in 1480. These failures of the Lithuanian statesmanship sealed the fate of the Eastern European interpolity system: its disappearance in the Moscow empire. So the history of Eastern European interpolity politics in the XIII–XVIII centuries is another case proving the finding of the recent research by Stuart J. Kaufman, William C. Wohlforth, Richard Little, David Kangi, Charles Jones, Victoria Tin-Bor Hui, Arthur Eckstein, Daniel Deudney, Williams Brenner that a long-lasting balance of power in a interpolity system is rather an exception than rule, the rule being the displacement of the multipolar or bipolar balance of power interpolity systems by empires.
The paper explores the epistemic fruitfulness of the contemporary theories of modern relations for historical research about the relations between premodern polities. The application of the neorealist theory in such research is blocked by its assumption that its subject is international system, consisting of sovereign national states. However, there were no such states (and nations) in medieval Europe and most other places in premodern times. The concept of international society of H. Bull is not applicable to premodern polities because of its assumption that Westphalian peace treaty of 1648 was the date of birth of the international law and international society as historical reality. A. Wendt's thesis that in the premodern times international politics was dominated by the Hobbesian culture of anarchy disregards historical evidence about the "Lockean" realities of the dynastic politics in the medieval Europe and other places. In the first part of the article, the corrections to remove these modernist and europocentric deformations are suggested. They include the replacement of the concepts of "international system" and "international society" by the broader notions of "interpolity system" and that of "interpolity society", and the distinction between "sovereign politikes system/society" and "suzerain (imperial) polity system/society", borrowed (with modifications) from M. Wight. Second part and third parts together constitute a case study about the changing roles and challenges of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) as the subject of interpolity relations in XIII–XV centuries. The second part is about the rise of GDL from the polity playing the role of the barrier (but not that of buffer) polity, separating Central European and Eastern European interpolity systems and belonging to both of them, to the regional empire and suzerain polity of the Eastern European interpolity system by the early XVth century. However, Lithuanian hegemony in Eastern Europe lasted only very few years. After 1430, the Eastern European interpolity system was about to transform itself from the suzerain polity system into a multipolar sovereign interpolity system of the type that consolidated in the Central and Western Europe after 1648 and survived for 300 years. However, the political leadership of GDL failed to meet the challenge to maintain an emerging multipolar balance of power in this system. According to the unconventional account of the so-called "feudal war" (1431–1453) in the Great Duchy of Moscow by Alexander Zimin, there was real possibility to establish at least two Russian states in the lands ruled by the Muscovite princes. Great Novgorod was viable polity too, bearing promise of the protobourgeois and protodemocratic Russia. Another viable polity was created in Kazan by Tatars who have changed to sedentary life of agriculturalists, and were about to become the power, filling out the geopolitical space that in older times was held by Volga Bulgaria. However, mainly due to the pursuit by Jagiellonian rulers of GDL and Poland of the dynastic politics in the Central Europe, at least three windows of opportunity to preserve this interpolity system from its annihilation by rising Moscow empire were not used. Last of them was the opportunity to re-establish the independence of Great Novgorod in 1480. These failures of the Lithuanian statesmanship sealed the fate of the Eastern European interpolity system: its disappearance in the Moscow empire. So the history of Eastern European interpolity politics in the XIII–XVIII centuries is another case proving the finding of the recent research by Stuart J. Kaufman, William C. Wohlforth, Richard Little, David Kangi, Charles Jones, Victoria Tin-Bor Hui, Arthur Eckstein, Daniel Deudney, Williams Brenner that a long-lasting balance of power in a interpolity system is rather an exception than rule, the rule being the displacement of the multipolar or bipolar balance of power interpolity systems by empires.
The paper explores the epistemic fruitfulness of the contemporary theories of modern relations for historical research about the relations between premodern polities. The application of the neorealist theory in such research is blocked by its assumption that its subject is international system, consisting of sovereign national states. However, there were no such states (and nations) in medieval Europe and most other places in premodern times. The concept of international society of H. Bull is not applicable to premodern polities because of its assumption that Westphalian peace treaty of 1648 was the date of birth of the international law and international society as historical reality. A. Wendt's thesis that in the premodern times international politics was dominated by the Hobbesian culture of anarchy disregards historical evidence about the "Lockean" realities of the dynastic politics in the medieval Europe and other places. In the first part of the article, the corrections to remove these modernist and europocentric deformations are suggested. They include the replacement of the concepts of "international system" and "international society" by the broader notions of "interpolity system" and that of "interpolity society", and the distinction between "sovereign politikes system/society" and "suzerain (imperial) polity system/society", borrowed (with modifications) from M. Wight. Second part and third parts together constitute a case study about the changing roles and challenges of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) as the subject of interpolity relations in XIII–XV centuries. The second part is about the rise of GDL from the polity playing the role of the barrier (but not that of buffer) polity, separating Central European and Eastern European interpolity systems and belonging to both of them, to the regional empire and suzerain polity of the Eastern European interpolity system by the early XVth century. However, Lithuanian hegemony in Eastern Europe lasted only very few years. After 1430, the Eastern European interpolity system was about to transform itself from the suzerain polity system into a multipolar sovereign interpolity system of the type that consolidated in the Central and Western Europe after 1648 and survived for 300 years. However, the political leadership of GDL failed to meet the challenge to maintain an emerging multipolar balance of power in this system. According to the unconventional account of the so-called "feudal war" (1431–1453) in the Great Duchy of Moscow by Alexander Zimin, there was real possibility to establish at least two Russian states in the lands ruled by the Muscovite princes. Great Novgorod was viable polity too, bearing promise of the protobourgeois and protodemocratic Russia. Another viable polity was created in Kazan by Tatars who have changed to sedentary life of agriculturalists, and were about to become the power, filling out the geopolitical space that in older times was held by Volga Bulgaria. However, mainly due to the pursuit by Jagiellonian rulers of GDL and Poland of the dynastic politics in the Central Europe, at least three windows of opportunity to preserve this interpolity system from its annihilation by rising Moscow empire were not used. Last of them was the opportunity to re-establish the independence of Great Novgorod in 1480. These failures of the Lithuanian statesmanship sealed the fate of the Eastern European interpolity system: its disappearance in the Moscow empire. So the history of Eastern European interpolity politics in the XIII–XVIII centuries is another case proving the finding of the recent research by Stuart J. Kaufman, William C. Wohlforth, Richard Little, David Kangi, Charles Jones, Victoria Tin-Bor Hui, Arthur Eckstein, Daniel Deudney, Williams Brenner that a long-lasting balance of power in a interpolity system is rather an exception than rule, the rule being the displacement of the multipolar or bipolar balance of power interpolity systems by empires.
The paper explores the epistemic fruitfulness of the contemporary theories of modern relations for historical research about the relations between premodern polities. The application of the neorealist theory in such research is blocked by its assumption that its subject is international system, consisting of sovereign national states. However, there were no such states (and nations) in medieval Europe and most other places in premodern times. The concept of international society of H. Bull is not applicable to premodern polities because of its assumption that Westphalian peace treaty of 1648 was the date of birth of the international law and international society as historical reality. A. Wendt's thesis that in the premodern times international politics was dominated by the Hobbesian culture of anarchy disregards historical evidence about the "Lockean" realities of the dynastic politics in the medieval Europe and other places. In the first part of the article, the corrections to remove these modernist and europocentric deformations are suggested. They include the replacement of the concepts of "international system" and "international society" by the broader notions of "interpolity system" and that of "interpolity society", and the distinction between "sovereign politikes system/society" and "suzerain (imperial) polity system/society", borrowed (with modifications) from M. Wight. Second part and third parts together constitute a case study about the changing roles and challenges of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) as the subject of interpolity relations in XIII–XV centuries. The second part is about the rise of GDL from the polity playing the role of the barrier (but not that of buffer) polity, separating Central European and Eastern European interpolity systems and belonging to both of them, to the regional empire and suzerain polity of the Eastern European interpolity system by the early XVth century. However, Lithuanian hegemony in Eastern Europe lasted only very few years. After 1430, the Eastern European interpolity system was about to transform itself from the suzerain polity system into a multipolar sovereign interpolity system of the type that consolidated in the Central and Western Europe after 1648 and survived for 300 years. However, the political leadership of GDL failed to meet the challenge to maintain an emerging multipolar balance of power in this system. According to the unconventional account of the so-called "feudal war" (1431–1453) in the Great Duchy of Moscow by Alexander Zimin, there was real possibility to establish at least two Russian states in the lands ruled by the Muscovite princes. Great Novgorod was viable polity too, bearing promise of the protobourgeois and protodemocratic Russia. Another viable polity was created in Kazan by Tatars who have changed to sedentary life of agriculturalists, and were about to become the power, filling out the geopolitical space that in older times was held by Volga Bulgaria. However, mainly due to the pursuit by Jagiellonian rulers of GDL and Poland of the dynastic politics in the Central Europe, at least three windows of opportunity to preserve this interpolity system from its annihilation by rising Moscow empire were not used. Last of them was the opportunity to re-establish the independence of Great Novgorod in 1480. These failures of the Lithuanian statesmanship sealed the fate of the Eastern European interpolity system: its disappearance in the Moscow empire. So the history of Eastern European interpolity politics in the XIII–XVIII centuries is another case proving the finding of the recent research by Stuart J. Kaufman, William C. Wohlforth, Richard Little, David Kangi, Charles Jones, Victoria Tin-Bor Hui, Arthur Eckstein, Daniel Deudney, Williams Brenner that a long-lasting balance of power in a interpolity system is rather an exception than rule, the rule being the displacement of the multipolar or bipolar balance of power interpolity systems by empires.
LEGAL REGULATION OF MATERNITY AND PATERNITY SOCIAL INSURANCE ON THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LEVEL SUMMARY There have always been attempts to increase family social welfare. The recent years have seen a particular increase of attention in this sphere. Quite a number of legal acts have been passed in the said field in international and national law, family support policies have been implemented on the national level, and family support measures implemented in order to clearly define social security of parents involved in childcare. Family support policy is a complex construct of measures that countries should apply with particular purposefulness, with regard to the countries' situation, society development level, attitudes towards families and other factors. The main international legal acts in the sphere of family policy and social security are conventions of the International Labour Organisation, the European Social Charter, the European Social Security Code, and European Union directives. The aforementioned documents are aimed at assurance of equal opportunities principles, equal attitudes towards men and women, just matching of family and professional life, maternity-related security, paternity and maternity leaves and other security measures concerning family life. In Lithuania, efforts are made to develop a consistent family policy with regard to international legal acts and the country's current situation, but people cannot yet enjoy its efficient functioning. Although a legal basis has been developed on the national level, it is undergoing constant improving. Family social security in Lithuania embraces social insurance and social support. Social support is furthermore subdivided into social services and financial support. The social support currently existing in the country does not satisfy the needs and expectations of the majority of families living in Lithuania. Legal regulation of maternity-related social insurance is also problematic. Attempts to change the settled order result in the society's outrages, but having assessed certain negative aspects it has and the economic situation in the country, such attempts are justifiable. Other issues that child caring families have to face are compatibility of family and professional life, absence of flexible working schedules, and insufficient services that facilitate childcare. Presumably, consistent implementation of international and national-level legal acts and national-level development of a situation matching family support policies would reduce the number and extent of issues in the field discussed.
LEGAL REGULATION OF MATERNITY AND PATERNITY SOCIAL INSURANCE ON THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LEVEL SUMMARY There have always been attempts to increase family social welfare. The recent years have seen a particular increase of attention in this sphere. Quite a number of legal acts have been passed in the said field in international and national law, family support policies have been implemented on the national level, and family support measures implemented in order to clearly define social security of parents involved in childcare. Family support policy is a complex construct of measures that countries should apply with particular purposefulness, with regard to the countries' situation, society development level, attitudes towards families and other factors. The main international legal acts in the sphere of family policy and social security are conventions of the International Labour Organisation, the European Social Charter, the European Social Security Code, and European Union directives. The aforementioned documents are aimed at assurance of equal opportunities principles, equal attitudes towards men and women, just matching of family and professional life, maternity-related security, paternity and maternity leaves and other security measures concerning family life. In Lithuania, efforts are made to develop a consistent family policy with regard to international legal acts and the country's current situation, but people cannot yet enjoy its efficient functioning. Although a legal basis has been developed on the national level, it is undergoing constant improving. Family social security in Lithuania embraces social insurance and social support. Social support is furthermore subdivided into social services and financial support. The social support currently existing in the country does not satisfy the needs and expectations of the majority of families living in Lithuania. Legal regulation of maternity-related social insurance is also problematic. Attempts to change the settled order result in the society's outrages, but having assessed certain negative aspects it has and the economic situation in the country, such attempts are justifiable. Other issues that child caring families have to face are compatibility of family and professional life, absence of flexible working schedules, and insufficient services that facilitate childcare. Presumably, consistent implementation of international and national-level legal acts and national-level development of a situation matching family support policies would reduce the number and extent of issues in the field discussed.
The tendency after the end of the Cold war to downsize national armies on the one hand and persistent armed conflicts in unstable African, Near East and Balkan regions on the other created opening conditions for the revival and rapid evolvement of the private business structures that provide military and security services. Prevailing viewpoint that PMSCs and their personnel represent the new form of the mercenary is not correct from the IHL perspective and could lead to serious human rights abuses. Numerous cases and analysis of the scholar literature shows that inaccurate qualification of the PMSCs' employees' status results into deprivation of certain scope of protection from private contractors. Moreover, since there are no accountability and control mechanisms, a high risk for the abuses and impunity for violations of the IHL occurs. Present master thesis aims to analyze international legal status of the PMSCs and their personnel in the context of armed conflict. It also assesses conformity of the existing practice to the IHL norms. In order to conclude a comprehensive research, author provides historical perspective of the warfare privatization, surveys factors that contributed to the outsourcing of military functions, defines what is PMSC, what are their types and capacity of each type, highlights distinguishing features between mercenaries and private contractors and gives a review of the contemporary practice of their use in the armed conflicts. Hypothesis that legal status of the PMSCs and their personnel under IHL is insufficiently defined and that international community should take adequate steps to modify present conventions to reflect needs of the present was formulated on the ground of the initial literature review. The first part of the thesis provides characteristics of the mercenarism and other forms of the private violence, its historical evolution to the modern military services industry and the attitude of the international community towards it. Present situation and tendencies in the development of the phenomenon of the PMSCs, its' types, main features of each type and differences between the scope of their capacities are addressed in the second section. It is also introducing the factual situation of the involvement of the private soldiers in contemporary armed conflicts and threats and potentialities they suggest. The third part is dedicated to analyze and qualify PMSCs personnel status under IHL. It also surveys international legal basis regarding mercenaries and gives an evaluation of the dividing line between these two forms of participation in warfare. Moreover, it puts forward proposals up to which extent such participation is legal under the humanitarian laws. Finally, the third part scrutinizes legal status of the PMSCs as corporate entities and states obligations and responsibilities in this regard. On the basis of the research concluded in the final part conclusions are drawn. It is inferred that the hypothesis proved out only partially. In contrast to the initial assumption and prevailing position in the legal literature, legal status of the individual PMSCs employees is sufficiently defined. Depending on the functions that they are contracted to perform and level of incorporation they are falling under one of the two exhaustive categories: they are either civilians or combatants. On the other hand, legal status of the PMSCs as corporate entities is not addressed under IHL at all. It is regulated through the domestic laws.
The tendency after the end of the Cold war to downsize national armies on the one hand and persistent armed conflicts in unstable African, Near East and Balkan regions on the other created opening conditions for the revival and rapid evolvement of the private business structures that provide military and security services. Prevailing viewpoint that PMSCs and their personnel represent the new form of the mercenary is not correct from the IHL perspective and could lead to serious human rights abuses. Numerous cases and analysis of the scholar literature shows that inaccurate qualification of the PMSCs' employees' status results into deprivation of certain scope of protection from private contractors. Moreover, since there are no accountability and control mechanisms, a high risk for the abuses and impunity for violations of the IHL occurs. Present master thesis aims to analyze international legal status of the PMSCs and their personnel in the context of armed conflict. It also assesses conformity of the existing practice to the IHL norms. In order to conclude a comprehensive research, author provides historical perspective of the warfare privatization, surveys factors that contributed to the outsourcing of military functions, defines what is PMSC, what are their types and capacity of each type, highlights distinguishing features between mercenaries and private contractors and gives a review of the contemporary practice of their use in the armed conflicts. Hypothesis that legal status of the PMSCs and their personnel under IHL is insufficiently defined and that international community should take adequate steps to modify present conventions to reflect needs of the present was formulated on the ground of the initial literature review. The first part of the thesis provides characteristics of the mercenarism and other forms of the private violence, its historical evolution to the modern military services industry and the attitude of the international community towards it. Present situation and tendencies in the development of the phenomenon of the PMSCs, its' types, main features of each type and differences between the scope of their capacities are addressed in the second section. It is also introducing the factual situation of the involvement of the private soldiers in contemporary armed conflicts and threats and potentialities they suggest. The third part is dedicated to analyze and qualify PMSCs personnel status under IHL. It also surveys international legal basis regarding mercenaries and gives an evaluation of the dividing line between these two forms of participation in warfare. Moreover, it puts forward proposals up to which extent such participation is legal under the humanitarian laws. Finally, the third part scrutinizes legal status of the PMSCs as corporate entities and states obligations and responsibilities in this regard. On the basis of the research concluded in the final part conclusions are drawn. It is inferred that the hypothesis proved out only partially. In contrast to the initial assumption and prevailing position in the legal literature, legal status of the individual PMSCs employees is sufficiently defined. Depending on the functions that they are contracted to perform and level of incorporation they are falling under one of the two exhaustive categories: they are either civilians or combatants. On the other hand, legal status of the PMSCs as corporate entities is not addressed under IHL at all. It is regulated through the domestic laws.
The author of this thesis raised question if the insolvency of a State is the legitimate basis for suspension or repudiation on international financial obligations. Since there is no uniform way to deal with the issue, the attention is given to different practices and guidelines of court's reasoning. In order to answer the legal question, prove or neglect the hypothesis and fulfill goals descriptive, analytical and comparative methods are used. The paper consists of four major parts and proceeds in the following order. Part one provides general understanding of State as subject of international law, gives basic legal characteristics of Sovereign debt, introduces the legal definition of insolvent State and explores responsibility of the State in case of unilateral suspension or repudiation on external public debt. The second part explores the existing judicial regulation, defines the absence of international law containing a uniform or a codified insolvency law of states and outlines the main principles applicable to the dispute resolution between insolvent Sovereign State and its creditors. This section also analyzes the frequent practice of solvency crises resolutions and sifts through main judicial problems. It is concluded that current Sovereign crisis resolution violates the main fundamental principle of the rule of law: that one must not be judge in one's own cause. Author emphasizes that diversity among creditors creates uncertainty among all participants as to how the restructuring process will unfold and causes litigation problems. Absence of the order of priorities in creditor claims empowers insolvent Sovereign to choose the order of repayment among its creditors based not on justice but rather on its political imperatives or financing needs. Part three is dedicated to the analysis of circumstances precluding wrongfulness in case of unilaterally breaking the debt contract by refusing to pay or suspension of payments due to states inability to pay caused by state of insolvency. It is concluded in the paper that a Sovereign State has a right to repudiate or restructure if treaty provides such a possibility, or when debt contract was illegitimate, or creditor gave its consent to non-fulfillment of obligation. Finally author draws the conclusion that insolvency can be legitimate basis to repudiate or suspend fulfillment of State obligation, but only under limited circumstances - when the fulfillment of financial obligation infringes the basic needs of the people of insolvent debtor state and violates their human rights. The last part represents proposals for Sovereign crises resolution. Author analyses the benefits as well as limitations the foremost suggestions for Sovereign insolvency regulation, and makes the comparison of them.
The author of this thesis raised question if the insolvency of a State is the legitimate basis for suspension or repudiation on international financial obligations. Since there is no uniform way to deal with the issue, the attention is given to different practices and guidelines of court's reasoning. In order to answer the legal question, prove or neglect the hypothesis and fulfill goals descriptive, analytical and comparative methods are used. The paper consists of four major parts and proceeds in the following order. Part one provides general understanding of State as subject of international law, gives basic legal characteristics of Sovereign debt, introduces the legal definition of insolvent State and explores responsibility of the State in case of unilateral suspension or repudiation on external public debt. The second part explores the existing judicial regulation, defines the absence of international law containing a uniform or a codified insolvency law of states and outlines the main principles applicable to the dispute resolution between insolvent Sovereign State and its creditors. This section also analyzes the frequent practice of solvency crises resolutions and sifts through main judicial problems. It is concluded that current Sovereign crisis resolution violates the main fundamental principle of the rule of law: that one must not be judge in one's own cause. Author emphasizes that diversity among creditors creates uncertainty among all participants as to how the restructuring process will unfold and causes litigation problems. Absence of the order of priorities in creditor claims empowers insolvent Sovereign to choose the order of repayment among its creditors based not on justice but rather on its political imperatives or financing needs. Part three is dedicated to the analysis of circumstances precluding wrongfulness in case of unilaterally breaking the debt contract by refusing to pay or suspension of payments due to states inability to pay caused by state of insolvency. It is concluded in the paper that a Sovereign State has a right to repudiate or restructure if treaty provides such a possibility, or when debt contract was illegitimate, or creditor gave its consent to non-fulfillment of obligation. Finally author draws the conclusion that insolvency can be legitimate basis to repudiate or suspend fulfillment of State obligation, but only under limited circumstances - when the fulfillment of financial obligation infringes the basic needs of the people of insolvent debtor state and violates their human rights. The last part represents proposals for Sovereign crises resolution. Author analyses the benefits as well as limitations the foremost suggestions for Sovereign insolvency regulation, and makes the comparison of them.
The author of this thesis raised question if the insolvency of a State is the legitimate basis for suspension or repudiation on international financial obligations. Since there is no uniform way to deal with the issue, the attention is given to different practices and guidelines of court's reasoning. In order to answer the legal question, prove or neglect the hypothesis and fulfill goals descriptive, analytical and comparative methods are used. The paper consists of four major parts and proceeds in the following order. Part one provides general understanding of State as subject of international law, gives basic legal characteristics of Sovereign debt, introduces the legal definition of insolvent State and explores responsibility of the State in case of unilateral suspension or repudiation on external public debt. The second part explores the existing judicial regulation, defines the absence of international law containing a uniform or a codified insolvency law of states and outlines the main principles applicable to the dispute resolution between insolvent Sovereign State and its creditors. This section also analyzes the frequent practice of solvency crises resolutions and sifts through main judicial problems. It is concluded that current Sovereign crisis resolution violates the main fundamental principle of the rule of law: that one must not be judge in one's own cause. Author emphasizes that diversity among creditors creates uncertainty among all participants as to how the restructuring process will unfold and causes litigation problems. Absence of the order of priorities in creditor claims empowers insolvent Sovereign to choose the order of repayment among its creditors based not on justice but rather on its political imperatives or financing needs. Part three is dedicated to the analysis of circumstances precluding wrongfulness in case of unilaterally breaking the debt contract by refusing to pay or suspension of payments due to states inability to pay caused by state of insolvency. It is concluded in the paper that a Sovereign State has a right to repudiate or restructure if treaty provides such a possibility, or when debt contract was illegitimate, or creditor gave its consent to non-fulfillment of obligation. Finally author draws the conclusion that insolvency can be legitimate basis to repudiate or suspend fulfillment of State obligation, but only under limited circumstances - when the fulfillment of financial obligation infringes the basic needs of the people of insolvent debtor state and violates their human rights. The last part represents proposals for Sovereign crises resolution. Author analyses the benefits as well as limitations the foremost suggestions for Sovereign insolvency regulation, and makes the comparison of them.
The feature of modern world is superfluity of information therefore, it is necessary to generalize it. There are presented reports that initiated the most of discussions. The subjects do not encompass plenty of educational problems analyzed in the conference. The representatives of scientific committee stressing the increased level of conference participants, new paradigmatic thinking, problematic and critical level of reports emphasized the following problems: relevance of integration of Lithuanian higher education into general environment of the European Union and the analysis of the situation; the spread of theoretical and empirical researches of the quality of university and non-university teacher training; the problems of creating a quality system in higher education; experience of teacher training reform in Latvia, Ukraine, Croatia, Russia, the USA; the relevance of adults training; the world experience of study quality evaluation, emphasizing similarities and differences of various countries; the objective to get acquainted with various models of modern teacher training, analyzing the organization of studies, communication with students, qualification of lecturers, development and management of studies, the system of quality guarantee, achievement and evaluation of goals. Exceptional attention was paid to preschool and pre-primary education problems and possibilities to solve them. The context of European documents regulating the system of higher education (Bologna process, Lisbon Strategy, Salamanka Convention, etc.) and in the context of analysis of the Lithuanian strategic guidelines of the change of higher education, the possibilities of Lithuanian study guarantee, shifting to knowledge based economy and creative society were discussed.
The feature of modern world is superfluity of information therefore, it is necessary to generalize it. There are presented reports that initiated the most of discussions. The subjects do not encompass plenty of educational problems analyzed in the conference. The representatives of scientific committee stressing the increased level of conference participants, new paradigmatic thinking, problematic and critical level of reports emphasized the following problems: relevance of integration of Lithuanian higher education into general environment of the European Union and the analysis of the situation; the spread of theoretical and empirical researches of the quality of university and non-university teacher training; the problems of creating a quality system in higher education; experience of teacher training reform in Latvia, Ukraine, Croatia, Russia, the USA; the relevance of adults training; the world experience of study quality evaluation, emphasizing similarities and differences of various countries; the objective to get acquainted with various models of modern teacher training, analyzing the organization of studies, communication with students, qualification of lecturers, development and management of studies, the system of quality guarantee, achievement and evaluation of goals. Exceptional attention was paid to preschool and pre-primary education problems and possibilities to solve them. The context of European documents regulating the system of higher education (Bologna process, Lisbon Strategy, Salamanka Convention, etc.) and in the context of analysis of the Lithuanian strategic guidelines of the change of higher education, the possibilities of Lithuanian study guarantee, shifting to knowledge based economy and creative society were discussed.
The paper seeks to identify the main characteristics of act of terror, by analyzing both international laws, and legislation in different countries, including the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania. The paper raises the hypothesis that act of terror as a criminal activity is not sufficiently regulated at both international and at national level, emphasizing that act of terror as criminal activity lacks of unified definition. The paper analyzes the phenomenon of terrorism starting with the historical development of the review of the concepts embodied in the international and national legislation. Searches for the relationship between the concepts of act of terror and terrorism. Overviews the existing international legal instruments to fight terrorism. The paper also focuses on different sets of national legislation on the fight against terrorism and soughts for some regulatory similarities; it also analyzes the concept of act of terror enshrined in the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania.
