Suchergebnisse

Lithuanian historical sources mentioned the divers for the first time in the 1990s. With intention to assist emerging national formations of the Department of National Defense of Lithuania, , Valerijus Krisikaitis reported to the local national defense department in Klaipeda in September of 1990. He was a certificated diver and karate instructor and expressed his desire to work in the national defense service. Also, he had displayed an unorthodox approach by offering to organize and train a squad, which would be prepared for combat self-defense and combat diving. These skills could be applied to protection of Klaipėda Seaport again possible attacks organized and executed by foreign hostile military forces. This was the beginning of the formation of combat divers' units in Lithuanian military. Currently, this combat capacity has increased significantly. Due to "Restricted" and "Secret" classification marks, the exact figures cannot be disclosed, but open sources indicate that there are two separate units, The Underwater Action Team, which is part of the Naval Forces and the Combat Divers Service, which is subordinated to the Special Operations Forces. These units have separate boat crews, maintenance and supply teams, individual explosive ordnance disposal experts, combat divers, rescue teams and much more. The structure of research in the master 's thesis consists of a summary in English, an introduction and three chapters. Also, it includes conclusions, list of literature and sources, recommendations and appendices. The first chapter analyzes the key aspects of formation and origins of the Lithuanian Army Combat Swimmer Squad in 1990-1992, the incorporation of combat swimmers into the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the squad contingent formation instructions, divers and possibilities of starting / financing / supplying the technical base. The second chapter is concentrated on the activities of the Lithuanian Combat Swimmers Squadron in 1993-2004. Separate chapters discuss the change of the Lithuanian Armed Forces 'leadership in terms of combat swimmers' platoon and the planning of the platoon employment, the genesis of the Lithuanian Armed Forces 'combat swimmers' platoon competence building system and its transformation. Also, evolution of the technical base of the Lithuanian Army combat swimmers' platoon: financing and supply. The third chapter examines the image of Lithuanian military divers in media in 1991–2004. The main aspects and narratives that need to be paid attention to: the Lithuanian society (media) in relation to Lithuanian combat swimmers are analyzed. It is examined why Lithuanian combat swimmers benefited from media attention. The goal of the research. The main goal of the research is the information analysis of the Lithuanian combat divers' activities during formation of the independent and modern Lithuanian military structure. This analysis includes available sources from the Lithuanian military and public media related with the topic. The methods of the research. The main research was performed applying combined study using both qualitative and quantitative methods of research. The main tools utilized in the research were the questionnaire and in-depth interviews. Statistic data processing and the content analysis methods had been applied in order to process the data collected. The target audience of the qualitative research were 7 individuals who had completed military service in the combat divers' unit in the past. The research was conducted according to the ethical standards. The results of the scientific research. The analysis of the data revealed that Lithuanian combat divers have been perfectly prepared to act as soldiers, both physically and psychologically, during the timeframe of this research embracing periods of 1990s to 2004. Their activities were limited only due to the financial constraints and lack of the reliable diving equipment and infrastructure. The importance of the combat divers in the Lithuanian Armed Forces has been significant since the beginning of their activities and was slowly increasing during the time period of the research. This was mostly attributed to their skills and abilities to perform demolition tasks underwater and this field of activities was equally high skilled in comparison to modern and highly equipped foreign military forces and their divers. The age and education of the potential candidates to the Lithuanian combat divers' unit also had a great significance. Because training and preparation process of the candidates could take years, only young soldiers from the professional military service units have been accepted to be trained as highly professional combat divers. According to the interviewees, the significance of the Lithuanian combat divers was definitely high in the Lithuanian military because a small unit of underwater subversive divers could cause a greater damage than an infantry battalion. Conclusions and recommendations. 1. The origins of formation of the Lithuanian combat divers' squad in 1990s. Back at that time, the leader and main instructor of the combat divers' unit Valerijus Krisikaitis had started to recruit the team and train the diver candidates. There was a clear vision at that time that independent Lithuanian Armed Forces would meet the demand of the highly trained combat divers. The problem of the incorporation of the unit into the structure of Lithuanian Military Forces has been addressed gradually. In the beginning the combat divers under the name of the diving club "Nautilius" were incorporated into the local SKAT department in Klaipėda. In 1992, after the establishment of the "Iron Wolf" brigade and the paratrooper regiment in Klaipėda, the combat divers became subordinated to the regiment commander. Due to insufficient funding during the period from 1990s to 1992, there were active efforts in order to find necessary funding from both private supporters and the government. 2. The position of the senior leadership of the Lithuanian Armed Forces towards the issues of the Lithuanian combat divers had improved since 1993. It was the beginning of the actual support and assistance. Orders had been issued to establish a squad of combat divers. The support has been growing ever since due to the fact that the necessity of this unit had been proved and there were no uncertainties about the quality of training. Overall formation of the Lithuanian Armed Forces and incorporation of the combat divers took more than a few years. Time was necessary for training of the candidates able to perform combat tasks, special operations, reconnaissance and demining tasks both underwater and on the surface. During the period of 12 years since 1992, the training system was implemented from the scratch. The heart of the diving training became the squad of combat divers in Klaipėda, led by Valerijus Krisikaitis. The Lithuanian Armed Forces during the period from 1993 to 2004 had become capable of training the combat divers and explosive ordnance disposal experts in their own local training centers. These locally trained combat divers have been internationally acknowledged as perfectly prepared to perform combat tasks and being able to train other soldiers to perform diving tasks. A positive change in Lithuanian legislative and executive powers' opinion towards the Lithuanian combat divers led to increase of both, reliance and funding. The undisputed importance of the only diving unit able to perform underwater countermining was the main reason that caused such a trust. Back in the period from 1993 to 2004, the territory of the Republic of Lithuania had been covered by unexploded ordnance items left after World War II and still causing threats to the local inhabitants. 3. After the restoration of the independence, Lithuanian media has been used effectively in order to create a positive public opinion about the activities of the combat divers. The soldiers who have been doing their service in the unit have been portrayed as brave and professional specialists doing underwater countermining and other secret military tasks. The main aspects and the common narrative in the media and the public eye were the combat training of the divers, also training in the public sectors, assistance to the rescue services and their contribution to the society. The content of the media publications has changed. In the beginning, the main topic was the issues of the combat divers' service, mostly the financial scarcity. Invitations to join the diving club "Nautilius" and information about private and commissioned diving tasks performed by the unit had been published. Since 1997, the media had changed earlier used kind of publications into information about the international military trainings attended by the Lithuanian combat divers and their autonomous training. The invitations for the civilians to join the combat divers' service disappeared from the media and were replaced by the publications about well-trained divers and their professionally carried out underwater tasks that demonstrate the competence equal to the modern foreign military divers.

Lithuanian historical sources mentioned the divers for the first time in the 1990s. With intention to assist emerging national formations of the Department of National Defense of Lithuania, , Valerijus Krisikaitis reported to the local national defense department in Klaipeda in September of 1990. He was a certificated diver and karate instructor and expressed his desire to work in the national defense service. Also, he had displayed an unorthodox approach by offering to organize and train a squad, which would be prepared for combat self-defense and combat diving. These skills could be applied to protection of Klaipėda Seaport again possible attacks organized and executed by foreign hostile military forces. This was the beginning of the formation of combat divers' units in Lithuanian military. Currently, this combat capacity has increased significantly. Due to "Restricted" and "Secret" classification marks, the exact figures cannot be disclosed, but open sources indicate that there are two separate units, The Underwater Action Team, which is part of the Naval Forces and the Combat Divers Service, which is subordinated to the Special Operations Forces. These units have separate boat crews, maintenance and supply teams, individual explosive ordnance disposal experts, combat divers, rescue teams and much more. The structure of research in the master 's thesis consists of a summary in English, an introduction and three chapters. Also, it includes conclusions, list of literature and sources, recommendations and appendices. The first chapter analyzes the key aspects of formation and origins of the Lithuanian Army Combat Swimmer Squad in 1990-1992, the incorporation of combat swimmers into the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the squad contingent formation instructions, divers and possibilities of starting / financing / supplying the technical base. The second chapter is concentrated on the activities of the Lithuanian Combat Swimmers Squadron in 1993-2004. Separate chapters discuss the change of the Lithuanian Armed Forces 'leadership in terms of combat swimmers' platoon and the planning of the platoon employment, the genesis of the Lithuanian Armed Forces 'combat swimmers' platoon competence building system and its transformation. Also, evolution of the technical base of the Lithuanian Army combat swimmers' platoon: financing and supply. The third chapter examines the image of Lithuanian military divers in media in 1991–2004. The main aspects and narratives that need to be paid attention to: the Lithuanian society (media) in relation to Lithuanian combat swimmers are analyzed. It is examined why Lithuanian combat swimmers benefited from media attention. The goal of the research. The main goal of the research is the information analysis of the Lithuanian combat divers' activities during formation of the independent and modern Lithuanian military structure. This analysis includes available sources from the Lithuanian military and public media related with the topic. The methods of the research. The main research was performed applying combined study using both qualitative and quantitative methods of research. The main tools utilized in the research were the questionnaire and in-depth interviews. Statistic data processing and the content analysis methods had been applied in order to process the data collected. The target audience of the qualitative research were 7 individuals who had completed military service in the combat divers' unit in the past. The research was conducted according to the ethical standards. The results of the scientific research. The analysis of the data revealed that Lithuanian combat divers have been perfectly prepared to act as soldiers, both physically and psychologically, during the timeframe of this research embracing periods of 1990s to 2004. Their activities were limited only due to the financial constraints and lack of the reliable diving equipment and infrastructure. The importance of the combat divers in the Lithuanian Armed Forces has been significant since the beginning of their activities and was slowly increasing during the time period of the research. This was mostly attributed to their skills and abilities to perform demolition tasks underwater and this field of activities was equally high skilled in comparison to modern and highly equipped foreign military forces and their divers. The age and education of the potential candidates to the Lithuanian combat divers' unit also had a great significance. Because training and preparation process of the candidates could take years, only young soldiers from the professional military service units have been accepted to be trained as highly professional combat divers. According to the interviewees, the significance of the Lithuanian combat divers was definitely high in the Lithuanian military because a small unit of underwater subversive divers could cause a greater damage than an infantry battalion. Conclusions and recommendations. 1. The origins of formation of the Lithuanian combat divers' squad in 1990s. Back at that time, the leader and main instructor of the combat divers' unit Valerijus Krisikaitis had started to recruit the team and train the diver candidates. There was a clear vision at that time that independent Lithuanian Armed Forces would meet the demand of the highly trained combat divers. The problem of the incorporation of the unit into the structure of Lithuanian Military Forces has been addressed gradually. In the beginning the combat divers under the name of the diving club "Nautilius" were incorporated into the local SKAT department in Klaipėda. In 1992, after the establishment of the "Iron Wolf" brigade and the paratrooper regiment in Klaipėda, the combat divers became subordinated to the regiment commander. Due to insufficient funding during the period from 1990s to 1992, there were active efforts in order to find necessary funding from both private supporters and the government. 2. The position of the senior leadership of the Lithuanian Armed Forces towards the issues of the Lithuanian combat divers had improved since 1993. It was the beginning of the actual support and assistance. Orders had been issued to establish a squad of combat divers. The support has been growing ever since due to the fact that the necessity of this unit had been proved and there were no uncertainties about the quality of training. Overall formation of the Lithuanian Armed Forces and incorporation of the combat divers took more than a few years. Time was necessary for training of the candidates able to perform combat tasks, special operations, reconnaissance and demining tasks both underwater and on the surface. During the period of 12 years since 1992, the training system was implemented from the scratch. The heart of the diving training became the squad of combat divers in Klaipėda, led by Valerijus Krisikaitis. The Lithuanian Armed Forces during the period from 1993 to 2004 had become capable of training the combat divers and explosive ordnance disposal experts in their own local training centers. These locally trained combat divers have been internationally acknowledged as perfectly prepared to perform combat tasks and being able to train other soldiers to perform diving tasks. A positive change in Lithuanian legislative and executive powers' opinion towards the Lithuanian combat divers led to increase of both, reliance and funding. The undisputed importance of the only diving unit able to perform underwater countermining was the main reason that caused such a trust. Back in the period from 1993 to 2004, the territory of the Republic of Lithuania had been covered by unexploded ordnance items left after World War II and still causing threats to the local inhabitants. 3. After the restoration of the independence, Lithuanian media has been used effectively in order to create a positive public opinion about the activities of the combat divers. The soldiers who have been doing their service in the unit have been portrayed as brave and professional specialists doing underwater countermining and other secret military tasks. The main aspects and the common narrative in the media and the public eye were the combat training of the divers, also training in the public sectors, assistance to the rescue services and their contribution to the society. The content of the media publications has changed. In the beginning, the main topic was the issues of the combat divers' service, mostly the financial scarcity. Invitations to join the diving club "Nautilius" and information about private and commissioned diving tasks performed by the unit had been published. Since 1997, the media had changed earlier used kind of publications into information about the international military trainings attended by the Lithuanian combat divers and their autonomous training. The invitations for the civilians to join the combat divers' service disappeared from the media and were replaced by the publications about well-trained divers and their professionally carried out underwater tasks that demonstrate the competence equal to the modern foreign military divers.

Lithuanian historical sources mentioned the divers for the first time in the 1990s. With intention to assist emerging national formations of the Department of National Defense of Lithuania, , Valerijus Krisikaitis reported to the local national defense department in Klaipeda in September of 1990. He was a certificated diver and karate instructor and expressed his desire to work in the national defense service. Also, he had displayed an unorthodox approach by offering to organize and train a squad, which would be prepared for combat self-defense and combat diving. These skills could be applied to protection of Klaipėda Seaport again possible attacks organized and executed by foreign hostile military forces. This was the beginning of the formation of combat divers' units in Lithuanian military. Currently, this combat capacity has increased significantly. Due to "Restricted" and "Secret" classification marks, the exact figures cannot be disclosed, but open sources indicate that there are two separate units, The Underwater Action Team, which is part of the Naval Forces and the Combat Divers Service, which is subordinated to the Special Operations Forces. These units have separate boat crews, maintenance and supply teams, individual explosive ordnance disposal experts, combat divers, rescue teams and much more. The structure of research in the master 's thesis consists of a summary in English, an introduction and three chapters. Also, it includes conclusions, list of literature and sources, recommendations and appendices. The first chapter analyzes the key aspects of formation and origins of the Lithuanian Army Combat Swimmer Squad in 1990-1992, the incorporation of combat swimmers into the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the squad contingent formation instructions, divers and possibilities of starting / financing / supplying the technical base. The second chapter is concentrated on the activities of the Lithuanian Combat Swimmers Squadron in 1993-2004. Separate chapters discuss the change of the Lithuanian Armed Forces 'leadership in terms of combat swimmers' platoon and the planning of the platoon employment, the genesis of the Lithuanian Armed Forces 'combat swimmers' platoon competence building system and its transformation. Also, evolution of the technical base of the Lithuanian Army combat swimmers' platoon: financing and supply. The third chapter examines the image of Lithuanian military divers in media in 1991–2004. The main aspects and narratives that need to be paid attention to: the Lithuanian society (media) in relation to Lithuanian combat swimmers are analyzed. It is examined why Lithuanian combat swimmers benefited from media attention. The goal of the research. The main goal of the research is the information analysis of the Lithuanian combat divers' activities during formation of the independent and modern Lithuanian military structure. This analysis includes available sources from the Lithuanian military and public media related with the topic. The methods of the research. The main research was performed applying combined study using both qualitative and quantitative methods of research. The main tools utilized in the research were the questionnaire and in-depth interviews. Statistic data processing and the content analysis methods had been applied in order to process the data collected. The target audience of the qualitative research were 7 individuals who had completed military service in the combat divers' unit in the past. The research was conducted according to the ethical standards. The results of the scientific research. The analysis of the data revealed that Lithuanian combat divers have been perfectly prepared to act as soldiers, both physically and psychologically, during the timeframe of this research embracing periods of 1990s to 2004. Their activities were limited only due to the financial constraints and lack of the reliable diving equipment and infrastructure. The importance of the combat divers in the Lithuanian Armed Forces has been significant since the beginning of their activities and was slowly increasing during the time period of the research. This was mostly attributed to their skills and abilities to perform demolition tasks underwater and this field of activities was equally high skilled in comparison to modern and highly equipped foreign military forces and their divers. The age and education of the potential candidates to the Lithuanian combat divers' unit also had a great significance. Because training and preparation process of the candidates could take years, only young soldiers from the professional military service units have been accepted to be trained as highly professional combat divers. According to the interviewees, the significance of the Lithuanian combat divers was definitely high in the Lithuanian military because a small unit of underwater subversive divers could cause a greater damage than an infantry battalion. Conclusions and recommendations. 1. The origins of formation of the Lithuanian combat divers' squad in 1990s. Back at that time, the leader and main instructor of the combat divers' unit Valerijus Krisikaitis had started to recruit the team and train the diver candidates. There was a clear vision at that time that independent Lithuanian Armed Forces would meet the demand of the highly trained combat divers. The problem of the incorporation of the unit into the structure of Lithuanian Military Forces has been addressed gradually. In the beginning the combat divers under the name of the diving club "Nautilius" were incorporated into the local SKAT department in Klaipėda. In 1992, after the establishment of the "Iron Wolf" brigade and the paratrooper regiment in Klaipėda, the combat divers became subordinated to the regiment commander. Due to insufficient funding during the period from 1990s to 1992, there were active efforts in order to find necessary funding from both private supporters and the government. 2. The position of the senior leadership of the Lithuanian Armed Forces towards the issues of the Lithuanian combat divers had improved since 1993. It was the beginning of the actual support and assistance. Orders had been issued to establish a squad of combat divers. The support has been growing ever since due to the fact that the necessity of this unit had been proved and there were no uncertainties about the quality of training. Overall formation of the Lithuanian Armed Forces and incorporation of the combat divers took more than a few years. Time was necessary for training of the candidates able to perform combat tasks, special operations, reconnaissance and demining tasks both underwater and on the surface. During the period of 12 years since 1992, the training system was implemented from the scratch. The heart of the diving training became the squad of combat divers in Klaipėda, led by Valerijus Krisikaitis. The Lithuanian Armed Forces during the period from 1993 to 2004 had become capable of training the combat divers and explosive ordnance disposal experts in their own local training centers. These locally trained combat divers have been internationally acknowledged as perfectly prepared to perform combat tasks and being able to train other soldiers to perform diving tasks. A positive change in Lithuanian legislative and executive powers' opinion towards the Lithuanian combat divers led to increase of both, reliance and funding. The undisputed importance of the only diving unit able to perform underwater countermining was the main reason that caused such a trust. Back in the period from 1993 to 2004, the territory of the Republic of Lithuania had been covered by unexploded ordnance items left after World War II and still causing threats to the local inhabitants. 3. After the restoration of the independence, Lithuanian media has been used effectively in order to create a positive public opinion about the activities of the combat divers. The soldiers who have been doing their service in the unit have been portrayed as brave and professional specialists doing underwater countermining and other secret military tasks. The main aspects and the common narrative in the media and the public eye were the combat training of the divers, also training in the public sectors, assistance to the rescue services and their contribution to the society. The content of the media publications has changed. In the beginning, the main topic was the issues of the combat divers' service, mostly the financial scarcity. Invitations to join the diving club "Nautilius" and information about private and commissioned diving tasks performed by the unit had been published. Since 1997, the media had changed earlier used kind of publications into information about the international military trainings attended by the Lithuanian combat divers and their autonomous training. The invitations for the civilians to join the combat divers' service disappeared from the media and were replaced by the publications about well-trained divers and their professionally carried out underwater tasks that demonstrate the competence equal to the modern foreign military divers.

Lithuanian historical sources mentioned the divers for the first time in the 1990s. With intention to assist emerging national formations of the Department of National Defense of Lithuania, , Valerijus Krisikaitis reported to the local national defense department in Klaipeda in September of 1990. He was a certificated diver and karate instructor and expressed his desire to work in the national defense service. Also, he had displayed an unorthodox approach by offering to organize and train a squad, which would be prepared for combat self-defense and combat diving. These skills could be applied to protection of Klaipėda Seaport again possible attacks organized and executed by foreign hostile military forces. This was the beginning of the formation of combat divers' units in Lithuanian military. Currently, this combat capacity has increased significantly. Due to "Restricted" and "Secret" classification marks, the exact figures cannot be disclosed, but open sources indicate that there are two separate units, The Underwater Action Team, which is part of the Naval Forces and the Combat Divers Service, which is subordinated to the Special Operations Forces. These units have separate boat crews, maintenance and supply teams, individual explosive ordnance disposal experts, combat divers, rescue teams and much more. The structure of research in the master 's thesis consists of a summary in English, an introduction and three chapters. Also, it includes conclusions, list of literature and sources, recommendations and appendices. The first chapter analyzes the key aspects of formation and origins of the Lithuanian Army Combat Swimmer Squad in 1990-1992, the incorporation of combat swimmers into the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the squad contingent formation instructions, divers and possibilities of starting / financing / supplying the technical base. The second chapter is concentrated on the activities of the Lithuanian Combat Swimmers Squadron in 1993-2004. Separate chapters discuss the change of the Lithuanian Armed Forces 'leadership in terms of combat swimmers' platoon and the planning of the platoon employment, the genesis of the Lithuanian Armed Forces 'combat swimmers' platoon competence building system and its transformation. Also, evolution of the technical base of the Lithuanian Army combat swimmers' platoon: financing and supply. The third chapter examines the image of Lithuanian military divers in media in 1991–2004. The main aspects and narratives that need to be paid attention to: the Lithuanian society (media) in relation to Lithuanian combat swimmers are analyzed. It is examined why Lithuanian combat swimmers benefited from media attention. The goal of the research. The main goal of the research is the information analysis of the Lithuanian combat divers' activities during formation of the independent and modern Lithuanian military structure. This analysis includes available sources from the Lithuanian military and public media related with the topic. The methods of the research. The main research was performed applying combined study using both qualitative and quantitative methods of research. The main tools utilized in the research were the questionnaire and in-depth interviews. Statistic data processing and the content analysis methods had been applied in order to process the data collected. The target audience of the qualitative research were 7 individuals who had completed military service in the combat divers' unit in the past. The research was conducted according to the ethical standards. The results of the scientific research. The analysis of the data revealed that Lithuanian combat divers have been perfectly prepared to act as soldiers, both physically and psychologically, during the timeframe of this research embracing periods of 1990s to 2004. Their activities were limited only due to the financial constraints and lack of the reliable diving equipment and infrastructure. The importance of the combat divers in the Lithuanian Armed Forces has been significant since the beginning of their activities and was slowly increasing during the time period of the research. This was mostly attributed to their skills and abilities to perform demolition tasks underwater and this field of activities was equally high skilled in comparison to modern and highly equipped foreign military forces and their divers. The age and education of the potential candidates to the Lithuanian combat divers' unit also had a great significance. Because training and preparation process of the candidates could take years, only young soldiers from the professional military service units have been accepted to be trained as highly professional combat divers. According to the interviewees, the significance of the Lithuanian combat divers was definitely high in the Lithuanian military because a small unit of underwater subversive divers could cause a greater damage than an infantry battalion. Conclusions and recommendations. 1. The origins of formation of the Lithuanian combat divers' squad in 1990s. Back at that time, the leader and main instructor of the combat divers' unit Valerijus Krisikaitis had started to recruit the team and train the diver candidates. There was a clear vision at that time that independent Lithuanian Armed Forces would meet the demand of the highly trained combat divers. The problem of the incorporation of the unit into the structure of Lithuanian Military Forces has been addressed gradually. In the beginning the combat divers under the name of the diving club "Nautilius" were incorporated into the local SKAT department in Klaipėda. In 1992, after the establishment of the "Iron Wolf" brigade and the paratrooper regiment in Klaipėda, the combat divers became subordinated to the regiment commander. Due to insufficient funding during the period from 1990s to 1992, there were active efforts in order to find necessary funding from both private supporters and the government. 2. The position of the senior leadership of the Lithuanian Armed Forces towards the issues of the Lithuanian combat divers had improved since 1993. It was the beginning of the actual support and assistance. Orders had been issued to establish a squad of combat divers. The support has been growing ever since due to the fact that the necessity of this unit had been proved and there were no uncertainties about the quality of training. Overall formation of the Lithuanian Armed Forces and incorporation of the combat divers took more than a few years. Time was necessary for training of the candidates able to perform combat tasks, special operations, reconnaissance and demining tasks both underwater and on the surface. During the period of 12 years since 1992, the training system was implemented from the scratch. The heart of the diving training became the squad of combat divers in Klaipėda, led by Valerijus Krisikaitis. The Lithuanian Armed Forces during the period from 1993 to 2004 had become capable of training the combat divers and explosive ordnance disposal experts in their own local training centers. These locally trained combat divers have been internationally acknowledged as perfectly prepared to perform combat tasks and being able to train other soldiers to perform diving tasks. A positive change in Lithuanian legislative and executive powers' opinion towards the Lithuanian combat divers led to increase of both, reliance and funding. The undisputed importance of the only diving unit able to perform underwater countermining was the main reason that caused such a trust. Back in the period from 1993 to 2004, the territory of the Republic of Lithuania had been covered by unexploded ordnance items left after World War II and still causing threats to the local inhabitants. 3. After the restoration of the independence, Lithuanian media has been used effectively in order to create a positive public opinion about the activities of the combat divers. The soldiers who have been doing their service in the unit have been portrayed as brave and professional specialists doing underwater countermining and other secret military tasks. The main aspects and the common narrative in the media and the public eye were the combat training of the divers, also training in the public sectors, assistance to the rescue services and their contribution to the society. The content of the media publications has changed. In the beginning, the main topic was the issues of the combat divers' service, mostly the financial scarcity. Invitations to join the diving club "Nautilius" and information about private and commissioned diving tasks performed by the unit had been published. Since 1997, the media had changed earlier used kind of publications into information about the international military trainings attended by the Lithuanian combat divers and their autonomous training. The invitations for the civilians to join the combat divers' service disappeared from the media and were replaced by the publications about well-trained divers and their professionally carried out underwater tasks that demonstrate the competence equal to the modern foreign military divers.

Replicirajući na tekst Riječ Uredništva u Šumarskome listu br. 3-4/2016., predsjednik Uprave Hrvatskih šuma d.o.o. mr. sc. Ivan Pavelić u svojoj poruci poslanoj elektroničkom poštom na adresu predsjednika i tajnika HŠD-a zaključuje, da "kao Uprava društva, ne želimo podržavati "naklapanja" i "razračunavanja" podvedena pod znanost, a time nećemo financijski potpomagati izlazak tog vašeg takozvanog znanstvenog časopisa".Mi nećemo na ovaj tekst dati paušalno mišljenje, kao što je to učinio odnosni gospodin, umjesto da je argumentirano odgovorio na postavljena pitanja u našem tekstu i otklonio sve sumnje ako one ne stoje. Ponajprije odgovor na pitanje o znanstvenom statusu časopisa. Na temelju mišljenja tada nadležnog Ministarstva informiranja RH br. 523-91-2 od 6. 3. 1991.g., a potom Ministarstva znanosti i tehnologije od 2000 g., Šumarski list se označava znanstvenim časopisom. Za reći što je, a što nije znanstveno, posebice u biotehnološkoj znanosti, koja je ovdje u pitanju, trebaju i neke reference koje gosp. Pavelić nema, kao što nema ni stručnih referenci za rukovođenje tako zahtjevnom gospodarskom granom kojoj nije samo cilj proizvodnja drvne mase, što on svojim rukovođenjem potvrđuje. Osim toga znanstveni status časopisa potkrijepljen je citiranjem članaka u relevantnim međunarodnim znanstvenim časopisima, a posljednjih godina i sa značajnim Impact faktorom, koji potvrđuje visoku kvalitetu časopisa. No, Šumarski list nije samo znanstveno, on je Znanstveno-stručno i staleško glasilo Hrvatskoga šumarskoga društva, kako stoji u podnaslovu, što znači da svi tekstovi imaju isključivo znanstveno-stručnu i stalešku podlogu, a ne političku. Postavljena pitanja u odnosnome tekstu nije "izmislilo" Uredništvo časopisa, nego je samo uobličilo mišljenja struke putem Upravnog odbora HŠD-a koji je ujedno i Uređivački savjet, a kojega između ostaloga čine predsjednici 19 ogranaka, ne postavljeni od središnjice, nego izabrani od svojega članstva (oko ukupno 3000 članova), te delegiranih predstavnika Šumarskoga fakulteta, Akademije šumarskih znanosti, Hrvatskog šumarskog instituta, HKIŠDT i resornog ministarstva. Prema tome, kompetencije ovdje nisu upitne, posebice kada navedenima pridodamo i članove Uredničkoga odbora koji su specijalisti iz pojedinih znanstveno-stručnih područja. No, gosp. Pavelić i ne treba odgovoriti na postavljena pitanja, jer je on predstavnik državnog "kocesionara" kojemu je povjereno upravljanje i gospodarenje nacionalnim bogatstvom, a kojega treba kontrolirati resorno ministarstvo tijekom cijeloga mandata. Da li je ono to činilo ili čini, i da li su odgovorni u resornom ministarstvu i Vladi RH svjesni što je sve "žrtvovano" da bi se ostvarila hvaljena "papirnata" dobit (profit) i naravno, polučili menadžerski bonusi, to je upitno? Glede spomenutih menadžerskih bonusa o kojima je bilo dosta riječi u medijima svih vrsta, interesantno je napomenuti kako se raspravljalo samo o tome, da li su u podjeli te nazovi dobiti trebali adekvatno sudjelovati i svi zaposlenici Hrvatskih šuma d.o.o. Niti jedne riječi o tome koje su štete nešumarskim gospodarenjem učinjene na šumi i šumskom staništu. Nitko, pa ni šumarski inženjeri iz rukovodstva sindikata, nisu tražili odgovore na pitanja koja smo postavili u Riječi Uredništva u Šumarskome listu br. 3-4/2016., a koja su "razljutila" arogantnog predsjednika Uprave Hrvatskih šuma d.o.o.Glede financijskog potpomaganja časopisa, moramo odgovoriti da to nije financijsko potpomaganje, nego pretplata na časopis, pa dotični gospodin svojom odlukom zaključuje da šumarskim stručnjacima nije potrebno cijelo-životno obrazovanje, te otkazuje pretplatu kao prvi rukovoditelj koji je to učinio nakon 140 godina tiskanja časopisa, upravo u godini kada obilježavamo ovu značajnu obljetnicu.Osim toga, analiza postavljenih pitanja nije tema za "komunikaciju na placu ili možda razgovor uz kavicu" kako navodi gosp. Pavelić, nego upravo za ozbiljnu raspravu na najvišoj znanstveno-stručnoj pa i političkoj razini, jer ovdje je riječ o nacionalnom bogatstvu neprocjenjive vrijednosti. Uredništvo ; Reacting to the Editorial published in the Forestry Journal No 3-4/2016, Ivan Pavelić, MSc, President of the Management Board of Croatian Forests Ltd, sent an e-mail to the President and Secretary of the Croatian Forestry Association, in which he stressed that "the Management Board does not wish to get involved in "idle prattle" and "score-settling" under the pretence of science. In other words, we will not continue to financially support your so-called scientific journal".We will not follow suit of the gentleman in question and give our opinion on this email, unlike the gentleman in question, who failed to use arguments to answer the questions raised in our text and remove all doubts if they are groundless. We would first like to clarify the scientific status of the journal. According to the decree of the Croatian Ministry of Information No. 523-91-2 of 3rd March 1991 and the decree of the Ministry of Science and Technology of 2000, the Forestry Journal is denoted as a scientific journal. To say what is and what is not scientific, particularly in the biotechnological sciences, requires some references, which Mr Pavelić, judging from his manner of management, does not possess. Neither does he possess professional references for managing such a demanding economic branch, whose primary goal should not be the production of wood mass only. The scientific status of the journal is confirmed by articles cited from relevant international scientific journals, and more recently, by the important Impact Factor, which further exemplifies the high quality of the journal. The Forestry Journal is not only a scientific magazine; it is a scientific-specialist and professional journal of the Croatian Forestry Association, as stated in its sub headline. This means that all the texts are based on exclusively scientific-specialist and professional foundations rather than on political ones. The questions raised in the subject text were not "concocted" by the Journal's Editorial Board. The Editorial Board only formulated the opinion of the profession via the CFA Management Board, which is also the Journal's Editorial Council. The Editorial Council is comprised of presidents of 19 branches (who were not appointed by the Headquarters but were elected from a membership of about 3,000 members in all), and of representatives of the Faculty of Forestry, Academy of Forestry Sciences, the Croatian Forest Research Institute, HKIŠDT (Croatian Chamber of Forestry and Wood Technology Engineers) and the competent Ministry. The above confirms the unquestionable status of competences. Moreover, the list can further be widened by members of the Editorial Board who are specialists in different scientific-specialist fields. Mr Pavelić does not have to answer all the questions raised in the journal because he is a representative of the state "concessionaire", who has been entrusted with the administration and management of the national treasure and who should be supervised by the competent Ministry throughout his term of office. Whether the competent Ministry has done so or is doing so, and whether those responsible in the Ministry and the Government of the Republic of Croatia are aware of what has been "sacrificed" in order to achieve the glorified profit "on paper" and probably obtain managers' bonuses remains doubtful. As for the bonuses, a topic on which much has been written in different media, it is interesting to point out that the discussions focused only on whether the distribution of so-called profit should have involved all those employed in the company Croatian Forests Ltd. Not one word was said about the enormous damage inflicted on the forests and forestland by inadequate forest management. No one, not even forestry engineers, union members, sought answers to the questions raised in the Editorial of Forestry Journal 3-4/2016, which so incensed the arrogant President of the Management Board of Croatian Forests LtdRegarding the financial support to the journal, we should just point out that this is not financial support but subscription to the journal. By declaring his decision, the gentleman in question concludes that forestry experts do not need life-ling learning and cancels the subscription, thus becoming the first manager to do so after 140 years of the publication of the Journal, precisely in the year in which we celebrate this important anniversary.To sum up, the questions raised in the journal are not the topic of "street chit-chat or coffee shop small talk", as Mr Pavelić says. On the contrary, it is the topic that requires serious and qualified discussions at the highest scientific-specialist and political level. After all, what is at stake here is national treasure of immeasurable value. Editorial Bord

General characteristics and relevance of the topic. In 1995's issue of the scientific journal Public Administration Review Robert D. Behn (1995) referring to the analogy of the science of physics formulated three major questions which, in his opinion, scholars of public management should be concerned about in the 21st century. One of them was the measurement question: how public managers can measure the achievements of their agencies in ways that help to increase those achievements? After a decade the emergence of multitude of books and articles in scientific journals, changes in public sector organizations caused by implementation of models of performance measurement, performance management and quality management, governmental initiatives to implement performance measurement programmes just confirm the Behn insight on the importance of performance measurement in public organizations. For many years performance measurement as one of the major tools in the package of the New Public Management reforms has remained a significant 'management fashion' (Abrahamson, 1996) and scholars as well as practicians of traditionally more developed countries of the English speaking world and the Continental Western Europe are well aware of it. The fashion gradually comes to the post-communist Central European countries which recently joined the European Union or are in the way of doing so and which learn from the experience of more 'advanced" countries in different areas of public administration. Lithuanian public sector organizations, including municipalities, also take part in the experience transferring process and, although up to now performance measurement practices are poorly institutionalised or do not exist at all, it is likely that in the nearest future significant changes will take place in this area. Therefore, there is a great need for scientific research on public sector performance measurement of applicable nature that could provide guidelines for development of performance measurement systems, evaluate developmental opportunities and threats, and suggest prospective models. Research problem –performance measurement practices in public sector organizations and municipalities are not sufficiently analysed in the Central and Eastern European scientific literature on public administration though this topic is broadly examined by scholars of the Western countries (especially Anglo-Saxon). The topic of public sector performance measurement in Lithuania up to now has not been analysed in scientific dissertations. Goal of the dissertation is to examine the state and developmental perspectives of performance measurement in Lithuanian municipalities by applying results of scientific researches on performance measurement that were carried out in the municipalities of other countries. Tasks of the dissertation: 1. To carry out a historical overview of performance measurement practices in the municipalities of different countries and the analysis of scientific researches on the topic; 2. To develop performance measurement models that could become practically applied tools in improving performance measurement systems in Lithuanian municipalities; 3. To analyse the organisation of performance measurement systems in Lithuanian municipalities and the conditions to improve them; 4. To examine the dependence of performance measurement practices on different political, social, structural and cultural factors. Novelty of the dissertation is conditioned by its goal and tasks because municipal performance measurement practices is a new phenomenon almost never researched before in Lithuania. The researches of this dissertation are based on the methodology of action research which may appear non-traditional and innovative to the Lithuanian academic community dominated by positivistic tradition. The Local Governance Balanced Scorecard and the Municipal Performance Measurement Model developed in this dissertation are innovative models designed on the basis of the Balanced Scorecard, formulated by Kaplan and Norton in 1992 (1996, 2004), and the Common Assessment Framework which has been broadly implemented in public sector organizations as the means for evaluating quality management systems since 2000. The dissertation suggests an advanced concept of strategic management and performance measurement in the context of local governance, according to which all stakeholders should take part in processes of strategic management and performance measurement, and strategic development plans should include all goals and tasks, implementation of which needs initiative from stakeholders. Such approach to strategic management and performance measurement proceeds from the modern understanding of governance as a phenomenon opposed to government which has entrenched itself in the academic community of public administration in the last decade. The Local Governance Balanced Scorecard could be a tool to realize this approach. The Municipal Performance Measurement Model gives an opportunity to evaluate performance measurement practices that exist in municipalities. Self-evaluation of management systems according to the Municipal Performance Measurement Model can be the first step in realizing changes related to implementation of performance measurement systems in municipalities. Practical implications of the dissertation. Performance measurement systems are not developed in Lithuanian municipalities, managers and employees of municipalities lacks knowledge and skills to successfully organize performance measurement systems. Municipalities do not or almost do not apply strategic management and quality management models. Therefore, the material on performance measurement models and the experience of municipalities of different countries collected and summarised in this dissertation and the developed models of performance measurement may empower Lithuanian members of municipal councils, mayors, heads of municipality administration and employees to implement needed changes and provide with the necessary knowledge. Sources and methods of the dissertation. The dissertation is grounded on the action research methodology which is based on the pragmatic theory of knowledge. It is being argued that the pragmatic theory of knowledge following the epistemological approach, developed in the works of W.James (1995), J.Dewey (1981), J.Habermas (2004), R.Rorty (1979, 1982), differs from positivistic and interpretative theories of knowledge because under this epistemological paradigm the goals of scientific research and transformation of social reality are closely interrelated. After evaluating the action research approaches of K.Lewin, Ch.Argyris (Argyris ir kt., 1985), P.Checkland (Checkland, 1999; Checkland, Poulter, 2006) (Reason, Bradbury, 2001), a modified concept of action research, providing justification to the tasks of the dissertation and methods of their implementation, is formulated. It is argued that scientific research is the process of learning under which assumptions about social phenomena, their changes and the effectiveness of the methods of acquiring knowledge about social phenomena as well as the influence to the changes of social phenomena are formulated and tested, assumptions that are not approved by empirical facts are rejected, more accurate assumptions are postulated, etc. In other words, in the process of scientific research one learns by 'trial and error", by raising ideas and implementing them, making mistakes and avoiding their recurrence. Knowledge acquisition process in social sciences is also equated to the process of innovation creation and management, because namely discoveries and novelties - new theories, models and methods – that directly or indirectly cause positive changes in human lives, have great value in scientific cognition. Therefore, by developing this concept of scientific cognition it is possible to refer to the insights provided by the discipline of innovation management. In aiming to implement the tasks of the dissertation those research and data collection methods are used: modelling, expert survey, content analysis, e-mail survey. OVERVIEW OF THE DISSERTATION STRUCTURE The constituent parts of the dissertation are the following: introduction, theoretical and research parts, and conclusions. The first part 'The Theoretical Analysis of Performance Measurement in Municipalities' analyses the process of performance measurement and its opportunities in improving local government, evaluates the international experience in municipal performance measurement and examines the results of scientific researches on performance measurement. This part consists of four chapters. The first chapter 'The Concept and Context of Performance Measurement in Municipalities' formulates the descriptions of the major concepts and discusses the problems of term usage, analyses the peculiarities of performance measurement in municipalities, evaluates factors and motives that determine performance measurement practices in municipalities, overviews performance measurement practices and researches in Lithuania. In the section 1.1 it is stated that the meaning of the concepts 'performance measurement', 'productivity measurement', 'performance evaluation', 'performance observation' is similar and the definition of the chosen concept 'performance measurement' is presented. Other concepts fundamental for this work and terms denoting them are discussed. Aiming to simplify the understanding of the terms used in the dissertation the glossary of major terms indicating English terms and their equivalents in Lithuanian is made. The section 1.2 raises a question, how performance measurement practices in municipalities are similar and specific as compared to other public and private sector organisations. An assumption that the differences of performance measurement practices in different organisations are conditioned by organizational si

General characteristics and relevance of the topic. In 1995's issue of the scientific journal Public Administration Review Robert D. Behn (1995) referring to the analogy of the science of physics formulated three major questions which, in his opinion, scholars of public management should be concerned about in the 21st century. One of them was the measurement question: how public managers can measure the achievements of their agencies in ways that help to increase those achievements? After a decade the emergence of multitude of books and articles in scientific journals, changes in public sector organizations caused by implementation of models of performance measurement, performance management and quality management, governmental initiatives to implement performance measurement programmes just confirm the Behn insight on the importance of performance measurement in public organizations. For many years performance measurement as one of the major tools in the package of the New Public Management reforms has remained a significant 'management fashion' (Abrahamson, 1996) and scholars as well as practicians of traditionally more developed countries of the English speaking world and the Continental Western Europe are well aware of it. The fashion gradually comes to the post-communist Central European countries which recently joined the European Union or are in the way of doing so and which learn from the experience of more 'advanced" countries in different areas of public administration. Lithuanian public sector organizations, including municipalities, also take part in the experience transferring process and, although up to now performance measurement practices are poorly institutionalised or do not exist at all, it is likely that in the nearest future significant changes will take place in this area. Therefore, there is a great need for scientific research on public sector performance measurement of applicable nature that could provide guidelines for development of performance measurement systems, evaluate developmental opportunities and threats, and suggest prospective models. Research problem –performance measurement practices in public sector organizations and municipalities are not sufficiently analysed in the Central and Eastern European scientific literature on public administration though this topic is broadly examined by scholars of the Western countries (especially Anglo-Saxon). The topic of public sector performance measurement in Lithuania up to now has not been analysed in scientific dissertations. Goal of the dissertation is to examine the state and developmental perspectives of performance measurement in Lithuanian municipalities by applying results of scientific researches on performance measurement that were carried out in the municipalities of other countries. Tasks of the dissertation: 1. To carry out a historical overview of performance measurement practices in the municipalities of different countries and the analysis of scientific researches on the topic; 2. To develop performance measurement models that could become practically applied tools in improving performance measurement systems in Lithuanian municipalities; 3. To analyse the organisation of performance measurement systems in Lithuanian municipalities and the conditions to improve them; 4. To examine the dependence of performance measurement practices on different political, social, structural and cultural factors. Novelty of the dissertation is conditioned by its goal and tasks because municipal performance measurement practices is a new phenomenon almost never researched before in Lithuania. The researches of this dissertation are based on the methodology of action research which may appear non-traditional and innovative to the Lithuanian academic community dominated by positivistic tradition. The Local Governance Balanced Scorecard and the Municipal Performance Measurement Model developed in this dissertation are innovative models designed on the basis of the Balanced Scorecard, formulated by Kaplan and Norton in 1992 (1996, 2004), and the Common Assessment Framework which has been broadly implemented in public sector organizations as the means for evaluating quality management systems since 2000. The dissertation suggests an advanced concept of strategic management and performance measurement in the context of local governance, according to which all stakeholders should take part in processes of strategic management and performance measurement, and strategic development plans should include all goals and tasks, implementation of which needs initiative from stakeholders. Such approach to strategic management and performance measurement proceeds from the modern understanding of governance as a phenomenon opposed to government which has entrenched itself in the academic community of public administration in the last decade. The Local Governance Balanced Scorecard could be a tool to realize this approach. The Municipal Performance Measurement Model gives an opportunity to evaluate performance measurement practices that exist in municipalities. Self-evaluation of management systems according to the Municipal Performance Measurement Model can be the first step in realizing changes related to implementation of performance measurement systems in municipalities. Practical implications of the dissertation. Performance measurement systems are not developed in Lithuanian municipalities, managers and employees of municipalities lacks knowledge and skills to successfully organize performance measurement systems. Municipalities do not or almost do not apply strategic management and quality management models. Therefore, the material on performance measurement models and the experience of municipalities of different countries collected and summarised in this dissertation and the developed models of performance measurement may empower Lithuanian members of municipal councils, mayors, heads of municipality administration and employees to implement needed changes and provide with the necessary knowledge. Sources and methods of the dissertation. The dissertation is grounded on the action research methodology which is based on the pragmatic theory of knowledge. It is being argued that the pragmatic theory of knowledge following the epistemological approach, developed in the works of W.James (1995), J.Dewey (1981), J.Habermas (2004), R.Rorty (1979, 1982), differs from positivistic and interpretative theories of knowledge because under this epistemological paradigm the goals of scientific research and transformation of social reality are closely interrelated. After evaluating the action research approaches of K.Lewin, Ch.Argyris (Argyris ir kt., 1985), P.Checkland (Checkland, 1999; Checkland, Poulter, 2006) (Reason, Bradbury, 2001), a modified concept of action research, providing justification to the tasks of the dissertation and methods of their implementation, is formulated. It is argued that scientific research is the process of learning under which assumptions about social phenomena, their changes and the effectiveness of the methods of acquiring knowledge about social phenomena as well as the influence to the changes of social phenomena are formulated and tested, assumptions that are not approved by empirical facts are rejected, more accurate assumptions are postulated, etc. In other words, in the process of scientific research one learns by 'trial and error", by raising ideas and implementing them, making mistakes and avoiding their recurrence. Knowledge acquisition process in social sciences is also equated to the process of innovation creation and management, because namely discoveries and novelties - new theories, models and methods – that directly or indirectly cause positive changes in human lives, have great value in scientific cognition. Therefore, by developing this concept of scientific cognition it is possible to refer to the insights provided by the discipline of innovation management. In aiming to implement the tasks of the dissertation those research and data collection methods are used: modelling, expert survey, content analysis, e-mail survey. OVERVIEW OF THE DISSERTATION STRUCTURE The constituent parts of the dissertation are the following: introduction, theoretical and research parts, and conclusions. The first part 'The Theoretical Analysis of Performance Measurement in Municipalities' analyses the process of performance measurement and its opportunities in improving local government, evaluates the international experience in municipal performance measurement and examines the results of scientific researches on performance measurement. This part consists of four chapters. The first chapter 'The Concept and Context of Performance Measurement in Municipalities' formulates the descriptions of the major concepts and discusses the problems of term usage, analyses the peculiarities of performance measurement in municipalities, evaluates factors and motives that determine performance measurement practices in municipalities, overviews performance measurement practices and researches in Lithuania. In the section 1.1 it is stated that the meaning of the concepts 'performance measurement', 'productivity measurement', 'performance evaluation', 'performance observation' is similar and the definition of the chosen concept 'performance measurement' is presented. Other concepts fundamental for this work and terms denoting them are discussed. Aiming to simplify the understanding of the terms used in the dissertation the glossary of major terms indicating English terms and their equivalents in Lithuanian is made. The section 1.2 raises a question, how performance measurement practices in municipalities are similar and specific as compared to other public and private sector organisations. An assumption that the differences of performance measurement practices in different organisations are conditioned by organizational si

In the present work the author reviews the two scientific monographs and twenty scientific articles in which the history of the Lithuanian legal system is investigated. The author aspires to elucidate how did the main subsystems of the Lithuanian legal system – legislation, jurisdiction and jurisprudence – appeared and developed up to the end of the 20th century in the context of evolution of the Western legal tradition. The basic methods of research used in the works are historical, comparative and teleological. The main theses of the reviewed scientific monographs and articles are these: The law of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) was created by the Government on the basis of the national Lithuanian law and some elements of the custom Slav law. Substitution of the custom Slav law for the Lithuanian public and private law took place in those provinces in the 14th-16th centuries. The custom Slav law hampered forming of the system of law of the GDL. It was created finally in the middle of the 16th century. The law of the GDL was a medieval estate law. Estate is a legal phenomenon and law determines signs and features of any estate. Main sign of any estate is rights leaved to him by law and protected by state. Estate system, that is an organization of society into classes rigidly divided for political purposes and defined primarily by law, is based on a legal inequality of estates. Any estate is a stable order closed to outsiders. In order to belong to estate any person must correspond to certain conditions determined by law. At the same time any person can belong to a few different social groups but only to one estate. The estate system of the GDL was formed finally in the middle of the 16th century. It was defined by the Second Statute of Lithuania and consisted of four estates: nobility, clergy, peasantry and townspeople. The nobility and the clergy were privileged. They governed the state and exploited bondsmen. In the towns which obtained the Magdeburg Law the townsmen were free, but haven't political rights and privileges. The author believes that all persons were subjects of medieval law of Lithuania, but their legal capacity was not equal. This inequality was determined by law. Volume of legal capacity of these persons depended upon their age, sex, citizenship, religion and estate. It could be changed in accordance with law. Under certain conditions loss of legal capacity also was able. Collective subjects of law were the GDL itself (not its government bodies or officials), the people of Lithuania as a political unit (not estates or ethnographic nations), political confederations of noblemen (if they were sanctioned by the Grand Duke), self-governing territorial units (counties, towns, etc.), guilds organized by craftsmen and merchants and self-governing religions communities. The author believes that a land-ownership in the GDL was divided. Two persons held the same land. One of them was an immediate owner, the second was a superior owner of the land. An immediate owner's right to dispose the land was limited by a superior owner's rights to this land. In the 14th-first half of the 16th century an ancestral land was the main form of land-ownership in the GDL. At first an ancestral land was owned without obligation of vassalage. Since the beginning of the 16th century an owner of an ancestral land was obliged to military service from his land. Since the 14th century a benefice was the second form of feudal land-ownership in the GDL. Gradually a benefice turned into a feud. In 1566 the Second Statute of Lithuania gave the equal rights to all owners of ancestral lands and feuds. They got the freedom to dispose all their lands, but were obliged to military service from their real estate. In the middle of the 16th century the domain of the Grand Duke was divided into the State lands and Throne lands. The Grand Duke's freedom to dispose these lands was limited. Up to the middle of the 16th century there were no permanent circuit courts for land disputes in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. All state courts heard land cases in their permanent quarters and moved in locality to survey borders only if it was very necessary. The Government of the GDL stimulated activity of arbitration and village courts and set them to resolve land disputes in locality. The first permanent circuit court (Sub-Chamber court) for boundary disputes was established in every county during the court reform in 1564-1566. Up to the middle of the 16th century jurisdiction of the Church determined by canons was very wide and came into collision with jurisdiction of the State. Besides clergymen and other subjects of the Church spiritual courts prosecuted noblemen, peasants and townsfolk. Competence of secular and spiritual courts was delimited clearly by the Third Statute of Lithuania. In accordance with this Statute spiritual courts could prosecute noblemen, peasants and townsfolk only if a certain case was bound up with religion or marriage. The medieval conception of formal evidences existed and dominated in the GDL from the 13th century up to the 18th century. The court was passive because all evidences were collected and produced by the plaintiff or by the defendant, and legal force of any evidence was determined by Lithuanian custom law and by the Lithuanian Statutes. The author believes that compurgators were not eye-witnesses of crime or event, there testified on oath only about good name of somebody. Compurgators swore together with plaintiff or defendant. Witnesses testified to or against somebody without oath. The legal status of witnesses and compurgators determined by the Lithuanian custom law and the First Lithuanian Statute was partly corrected by the Second and the Third Lithuanian Statutes in 1566 and 1588. Dietsky office appeared in the Ancient Slav State about the 11th century. From the 13th century onwards this office functioned in the GDL. Vizh office was instituted in the end of the 15th century or in the beginning of the 16th century in the GDL. Dietsky and Vizh were court officers executed judgements. Vizh was also official witness in criminal and civil cases. Vozny office was established in the GDL during the judicial reform in 1564-1566. Vozny was an important official of a court of law. He used to be elected by county noblemen. His duty was to inspect damages, wounds, and to witness at a trial. He was an executor of court's sentences. The number of lawyers who took scholastic degrees increased in the GDL in the 16th century. They developed legal terminology, introduced the written form of contracts and elaborated many legal acts. The Lithuanian Statutes should be regarded as the acme of progressive legal theoretical thought and practical activity. They surmounted the codification of the legislation of the GDL and brought the country to the leading position among other European countries. Yet the high standard, progressive spirit and intrinsic humanistic ideas by themselves did not mean that the Statutes were properly applied. In the 16th century, the lack of qualified lawyers complicated application of the Lithuanian Statutes. The legal sophistication of judges was often rather poor. Even members of the Lithuanian Tribunal of the GDL were not professional lawyers. The requirement constituted in the Lithuanian Statutes that only nobility were eligible to the position of judges was hardly observed because for a long time there had been not a single law school or college in the GDL. Why the Faculty of Law had not been founded in the Vilnius Jesuits' Academy before 1641? The author believes that the problem may be viewed in the context of international relations between the Kingdom of Poland and the GDL. In the year of the foundation of Vilnius University, one more event important for the legal development of GDL took place: creation of the highest appeal court – Lithuanian Tribunal. Polish landlords did not tolerate the steps strengthening the statehood of Lithuania. Creation of the Lithuanian Tribunal was a difficult victory of the GDL nobility. It is quite possible that concession to the University of Krakow and recognition of Polish monopoly in preparing lawyers were the cost paid for the mentioned victory. It seemed then more important to have their own appeal court than to prepare lawyers in the GDL. In the one article the author aspires to elucidate what was a medieval university – integral part of the town or feudal benefice, what were professors ant students – full fledged citizens of the town or aliens, and what were courts of the university – State or private, secular or ecclesiastical. The author established that any university in the Middle Ages was a self-governing professional corporation similar with guild or craft. Doctors and scholars (like merchants or craftsmen) elected rector and some others officials who governed and administered justice. Mostly university was an integral part of the town; professors ant students could exercise their rights on an equality with citizens of the town. Sometimes university was ruled by the Bishop or King as a feudal benefice independent from the town magistrates and courts (in this case the relations between town citizens and students were exceptionally strained). A very ample jurisdiction was allowed to the Rector's court, extending to all civil cases and all criminal cases except such as involved mutilation (in those criminal cases the jurisdiction of the town Magistrates, King's or Bishop's judges was recognized). Rector was required to suppress quarrels between students and townsmen, or among the students themselves. If Rector failed to punish offenders, a scholar or doctor was amenable to the town Magistrates, King's or Bishop's judges. The Bishop always reserved to himself spiritual jurisdiction over professors ant students. An appellate civil jurisdiction was reserved to the town Magistrates, King's or Bishop's judges. It should be recognized that the legal system

In the present work the author reviews the two scientific monographs and twenty scientific articles in which the history of the Lithuanian legal system is investigated. The author aspires to elucidate how did the main subsystems of the Lithuanian legal system – legislation, jurisdiction and jurisprudence – appeared and developed up to the end of the 20th century in the context of evolution of the Western legal tradition. The basic methods of research used in the works are historical, comparative and teleological. The main theses of the reviewed scientific monographs and articles are these: The law of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) was created by the Government on the basis of the national Lithuanian law and some elements of the custom Slav law. Substitution of the custom Slav law for the Lithuanian public and private law took place in those provinces in the 14th-16th centuries. The custom Slav law hampered forming of the system of law of the GDL. It was created finally in the middle of the 16th century. The law of the GDL was a medieval estate law. Estate is a legal phenomenon and law determines signs and features of any estate. Main sign of any estate is rights leaved to him by law and protected by state. Estate system, that is an organization of society into classes rigidly divided for political purposes and defined primarily by law, is based on a legal inequality of estates. Any estate is a stable order closed to outsiders. In order to belong to estate any person must correspond to certain conditions determined by law. At the same time any person can belong to a few different social groups but only to one estate. The estate system of the GDL was formed finally in the middle of the 16th century. It was defined by the Second Statute of Lithuania and consisted of four estates: nobility, clergy, peasantry and townspeople. The nobility and the clergy were privileged. They governed the state and exploited bondsmen. In the towns which obtained the Magdeburg Law the townsmen were free, but haven't political rights and privileges. The author believes that all persons were subjects of medieval law of Lithuania, but their legal capacity was not equal. This inequality was determined by law. Volume of legal capacity of these persons depended upon their age, sex, citizenship, religion and estate. It could be changed in accordance with law. Under certain conditions loss of legal capacity also was able. Collective subjects of law were the GDL itself (not its government bodies or officials), the people of Lithuania as a political unit (not estates or ethnographic nations), political confederations of noblemen (if they were sanctioned by the Grand Duke), self-governing territorial units (counties, towns, etc.), guilds organized by craftsmen and merchants and self-governing religions communities. The author believes that a land-ownership in the GDL was divided. Two persons held the same land. One of them was an immediate owner, the second was a superior owner of the land. An immediate owner's right to dispose the land was limited by a superior owner's rights to this land. In the 14th-first half of the 16th century an ancestral land was the main form of land-ownership in the GDL. At first an ancestral land was owned without obligation of vassalage. Since the beginning of the 16th century an owner of an ancestral land was obliged to military service from his land. Since the 14th century a benefice was the second form of feudal land-ownership in the GDL. Gradually a benefice turned into a feud. In 1566 the Second Statute of Lithuania gave the equal rights to all owners of ancestral lands and feuds. They got the freedom to dispose all their lands, but were obliged to military service from their real estate. In the middle of the 16th century the domain of the Grand Duke was divided into the State lands and Throne lands. The Grand Duke's freedom to dispose these lands was limited. Up to the middle of the 16th century there were no permanent circuit courts for land disputes in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. All state courts heard land cases in their permanent quarters and moved in locality to survey borders only if it was very necessary. The Government of the GDL stimulated activity of arbitration and village courts and set them to resolve land disputes in locality. The first permanent circuit court (Sub-Chamber court) for boundary disputes was established in every county during the court reform in 1564-1566. Up to the middle of the 16th century jurisdiction of the Church determined by canons was very wide and came into collision with jurisdiction of the State. Besides clergymen and other subjects of the Church spiritual courts prosecuted noblemen, peasants and townsfolk. Competence of secular and spiritual courts was delimited clearly by the Third Statute of Lithuania. In accordance with this Statute spiritual courts could prosecute noblemen, peasants and townsfolk only if a certain case was bound up with religion or marriage. The medieval conception of formal evidences existed and dominated in the GDL from the 13th century up to the 18th century. The court was passive because all evidences were collected and produced by the plaintiff or by the defendant, and legal force of any evidence was determined by Lithuanian custom law and by the Lithuanian Statutes. The author believes that compurgators were not eye-witnesses of crime or event, there testified on oath only about good name of somebody. Compurgators swore together with plaintiff or defendant. Witnesses testified to or against somebody without oath. The legal status of witnesses and compurgators determined by the Lithuanian custom law and the First Lithuanian Statute was partly corrected by the Second and the Third Lithuanian Statutes in 1566 and 1588. Dietsky office appeared in the Ancient Slav State about the 11th century. From the 13th century onwards this office functioned in the GDL. Vizh office was instituted in the end of the 15th century or in the beginning of the 16th century in the GDL. Dietsky and Vizh were court officers executed judgements. Vizh was also official witness in criminal and civil cases. Vozny office was established in the GDL during the judicial reform in 1564-1566. Vozny was an important official of a court of law. He used to be elected by county noblemen. His duty was to inspect damages, wounds, and to witness at a trial. He was an executor of court's sentences. The number of lawyers who took scholastic degrees increased in the GDL in the 16th century. They developed legal terminology, introduced the written form of contracts and elaborated many legal acts. The Lithuanian Statutes should be regarded as the acme of progressive legal theoretical thought and practical activity. They surmounted the codification of the legislation of the GDL and brought the country to the leading position among other European countries. Yet the high standard, progressive spirit and intrinsic humanistic ideas by themselves did not mean that the Statutes were properly applied. In the 16th century, the lack of qualified lawyers complicated application of the Lithuanian Statutes. The legal sophistication of judges was often rather poor. Even members of the Lithuanian Tribunal of the GDL were not professional lawyers. The requirement constituted in the Lithuanian Statutes that only nobility were eligible to the position of judges was hardly observed because for a long time there had been not a single law school or college in the GDL. Why the Faculty of Law had not been founded in the Vilnius Jesuits' Academy before 1641? The author believes that the problem may be viewed in the context of international relations between the Kingdom of Poland and the GDL. In the year of the foundation of Vilnius University, one more event important for the legal development of GDL took place: creation of the highest appeal court – Lithuanian Tribunal. Polish landlords did not tolerate the steps strengthening the statehood of Lithuania. Creation of the Lithuanian Tribunal was a difficult victory of the GDL nobility. It is quite possible that concession to the University of Krakow and recognition of Polish monopoly in preparing lawyers were the cost paid for the mentioned victory. It seemed then more important to have their own appeal court than to prepare lawyers in the GDL. In the one article the author aspires to elucidate what was a medieval university – integral part of the town or feudal benefice, what were professors ant students – full fledged citizens of the town or aliens, and what were courts of the university – State or private, secular or ecclesiastical. The author established that any university in the Middle Ages was a self-governing professional corporation similar with guild or craft. Doctors and scholars (like merchants or craftsmen) elected rector and some others officials who governed and administered justice. Mostly university was an integral part of the town; professors ant students could exercise their rights on an equality with citizens of the town. Sometimes university was ruled by the Bishop or King as a feudal benefice independent from the town magistrates and courts (in this case the relations between town citizens and students were exceptionally strained). A very ample jurisdiction was allowed to the Rector's court, extending to all civil cases and all criminal cases except such as involved mutilation (in those criminal cases the jurisdiction of the town Magistrates, King's or Bishop's judges was recognized). Rector was required to suppress quarrels between students and townsmen, or among the students themselves. If Rector failed to punish offenders, a scholar or doctor was amenable to the town Magistrates, King's or Bishop's judges. The Bishop always reserved to himself spiritual jurisdiction over professors ant students. An appellate civil jurisdiction was reserved to the town Magistrates, King's or Bishop's judges. It should be recognized that the legal system

In the present work the author reviews the two scientific monographs and twenty scientific articles in which the history of the Lithuanian legal system is investigated. The author aspires to elucidate how did the main subsystems of the Lithuanian legal system – legislation, jurisdiction and jurisprudence – appeared and developed up to the end of the 20th century in the context of evolution of the Western legal tradition. The basic methods of research used in the works are historical, comparative and teleological. The main theses of the reviewed scientific monographs and articles are these: The law of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) was created by the Government on the basis of the national Lithuanian law and some elements of the custom Slav law. Substitution of the custom Slav law for the Lithuanian public and private law took place in those provinces in the 14th-16th centuries. The custom Slav law hampered forming of the system of law of the GDL. It was created finally in the middle of the 16th century. The law of the GDL was a medieval estate law. Estate is a legal phenomenon and law determines signs and features of any estate. Main sign of any estate is rights leaved to him by law and protected by state. Estate system, that is an organization of society into classes rigidly divided for political purposes and defined primarily by law, is based on a legal inequality of estates. Any estate is a stable order closed to outsiders. In order to belong to estate any person must correspond to certain conditions determined by law. At the same time any person can belong to a few different social groups but only to one estate. The estate system of the GDL was formed finally in the middle of the 16th century. It was defined by the Second Statute of Lithuania and consisted of four estates: nobility, clergy, peasantry and townspeople. The nobility and the clergy were privileged. They governed the state and exploited bondsmen. In the towns which obtained the Magdeburg Law the townsmen were free, but haven't political rights and privileges. The author believes that all persons were subjects of medieval law of Lithuania, but their legal capacity was not equal. This inequality was determined by law. Volume of legal capacity of these persons depended upon their age, sex, citizenship, religion and estate. It could be changed in accordance with law. Under certain conditions loss of legal capacity also was able. Collective subjects of law were the GDL itself (not its government bodies or officials), the people of Lithuania as a political unit (not estates or ethnographic nations), political confederations of noblemen (if they were sanctioned by the Grand Duke), self-governing territorial units (counties, towns, etc.), guilds organized by craftsmen and merchants and self-governing religions communities. The author believes that a land-ownership in the GDL was divided. Two persons held the same land. One of them was an immediate owner, the second was a superior owner of the land. An immediate owner's right to dispose the land was limited by a superior owner's rights to this land. In the 14th-first half of the 16th century an ancestral land was the main form of land-ownership in the GDL. At first an ancestral land was owned without obligation of vassalage. Since the beginning of the 16th century an owner of an ancestral land was obliged to military service from his land. Since the 14th century a benefice was the second form of feudal land-ownership in the GDL. Gradually a benefice turned into a feud. In 1566 the Second Statute of Lithuania gave the equal rights to all owners of ancestral lands and feuds. They got the freedom to dispose all their lands, but were obliged to military service from their real estate. In the middle of the 16th century the domain of the Grand Duke was divided into the State lands and Throne lands. The Grand Duke's freedom to dispose these lands was limited. Up to the middle of the 16th century there were no permanent circuit courts for land disputes in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. All state courts heard land cases in their permanent quarters and moved in locality to survey borders only if it was very necessary. The Government of the GDL stimulated activity of arbitration and village courts and set them to resolve land disputes in locality. The first permanent circuit court (Sub-Chamber court) for boundary disputes was established in every county during the court reform in 1564-1566. Up to the middle of the 16th century jurisdiction of the Church determined by canons was very wide and came into collision with jurisdiction of the State. Besides clergymen and other subjects of the Church spiritual courts prosecuted noblemen, peasants and townsfolk. Competence of secular and spiritual courts was delimited clearly by the Third Statute of Lithuania. In accordance with this Statute spiritual courts could prosecute noblemen, peasants and townsfolk only if a certain case was bound up with religion or marriage. The medieval conception of formal evidences existed and dominated in the GDL from the 13th century up to the 18th century. The court was passive because all evidences were collected and produced by the plaintiff or by the defendant, and legal force of any evidence was determined by Lithuanian custom law and by the Lithuanian Statutes. The author believes that compurgators were not eye-witnesses of crime or event, there testified on oath only about good name of somebody. Compurgators swore together with plaintiff or defendant. Witnesses testified to or against somebody without oath. The legal status of witnesses and compurgators determined by the Lithuanian custom law and the First Lithuanian Statute was partly corrected by the Second and the Third Lithuanian Statutes in 1566 and 1588. Dietsky office appeared in the Ancient Slav State about the 11th century. From the 13th century onwards this office functioned in the GDL. Vizh office was instituted in the end of the 15th century or in the beginning of the 16th century in the GDL. Dietsky and Vizh were court officers executed judgements. Vizh was also official witness in criminal and civil cases. Vozny office was established in the GDL during the judicial reform in 1564-1566. Vozny was an important official of a court of law. He used to be elected by county noblemen. His duty was to inspect damages, wounds, and to witness at a trial. He was an executor of court's sentences. The number of lawyers who took scholastic degrees increased in the GDL in the 16th century. They developed legal terminology, introduced the written form of contracts and elaborated many legal acts. The Lithuanian Statutes should be regarded as the acme of progressive legal theoretical thought and practical activity. They surmounted the codification of the legislation of the GDL and brought the country to the leading position among other European countries. Yet the high standard, progressive spirit and intrinsic humanistic ideas by themselves did not mean that the Statutes were properly applied. In the 16th century, the lack of qualified lawyers complicated application of the Lithuanian Statutes. The legal sophistication of judges was often rather poor. Even members of the Lithuanian Tribunal of the GDL were not professional lawyers. The requirement constituted in the Lithuanian Statutes that only nobility were eligible to the position of judges was hardly observed because for a long time there had been not a single law school or college in the GDL. Why the Faculty of Law had not been founded in the Vilnius Jesuits' Academy before 1641? The author believes that the problem may be viewed in the context of international relations between the Kingdom of Poland and the GDL. In the year of the foundation of Vilnius University, one more event important for the legal development of GDL took place: creation of the highest appeal court – Lithuanian Tribunal. Polish landlords did not tolerate the steps strengthening the statehood of Lithuania. Creation of the Lithuanian Tribunal was a difficult victory of the GDL nobility. It is quite possible that concession to the University of Krakow and recognition of Polish monopoly in preparing lawyers were the cost paid for the mentioned victory. It seemed then more important to have their own appeal court than to prepare lawyers in the GDL. In the one article the author aspires to elucidate what was a medieval university – integral part of the town or feudal benefice, what were professors ant students – full fledged citizens of the town or aliens, and what were courts of the university – State or private, secular or ecclesiastical. The author established that any university in the Middle Ages was a self-governing professional corporation similar with guild or craft. Doctors and scholars (like merchants or craftsmen) elected rector and some others officials who governed and administered justice. Mostly university was an integral part of the town; professors ant students could exercise their rights on an equality with citizens of the town. Sometimes university was ruled by the Bishop or King as a feudal benefice independent from the town magistrates and courts (in this case the relations between town citizens and students were exceptionally strained). A very ample jurisdiction was allowed to the Rector's court, extending to all civil cases and all criminal cases except such as involved mutilation (in those criminal cases the jurisdiction of the town Magistrates, King's or Bishop's judges was recognized). Rector was required to suppress quarrels between students and townsmen, or among the students themselves. If Rector failed to punish offenders, a scholar or doctor was amenable to the town Magistrates, King's or Bishop's judges. The Bishop always reserved to himself spiritual jurisdiction over professors ant students. An appellate civil jurisdiction was reserved to the town Magistrates, King's or Bishop's judges. It should be recognized that the legal system

In the present work the author reviews the two scientific monographs and twenty scientific articles in which the history of the Lithuanian legal system is investigated. The author aspires to elucidate how did the main subsystems of the Lithuanian legal system – legislation, jurisdiction and jurisprudence – appeared and developed up to the end of the 20th century in the context of evolution of the Western legal tradition. The basic methods of research used in the works are historical, comparative and teleological. The main theses of the reviewed scientific monographs and articles are these: The law of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) was created by the Government on the basis of the national Lithuanian law and some elements of the custom Slav law. Substitution of the custom Slav law for the Lithuanian public and private law took place in those provinces in the 14th-16th centuries. The custom Slav law hampered forming of the system of law of the GDL. It was created finally in the middle of the 16th century. The law of the GDL was a medieval estate law. Estate is a legal phenomenon and law determines signs and features of any estate. Main sign of any estate is rights leaved to him by law and protected by state. Estate system, that is an organization of society into classes rigidly divided for political purposes and defined primarily by law, is based on a legal inequality of estates. Any estate is a stable order closed to outsiders. In order to belong to estate any person must correspond to certain conditions determined by law. At the same time any person can belong to a few different social groups but only to one estate. The estate system of the GDL was formed finally in the middle of the 16th century. It was defined by the Second Statute of Lithuania and consisted of four estates: nobility, clergy, peasantry and townspeople. The nobility and the clergy were privileged. They governed the state and exploited bondsmen. In the towns which obtained the Magdeburg Law the townsmen were free, but haven't political rights and privileges. The author believes that all persons were subjects of medieval law of Lithuania, but their legal capacity was not equal. This inequality was determined by law. Volume of legal capacity of these persons depended upon their age, sex, citizenship, religion and estate. It could be changed in accordance with law. Under certain conditions loss of legal capacity also was able. Collective subjects of law were the GDL itself (not its government bodies or officials), the people of Lithuania as a political unit (not estates or ethnographic nations), political confederations of noblemen (if they were sanctioned by the Grand Duke), self-governing territorial units (counties, towns, etc.), guilds organized by craftsmen and merchants and self-governing religions communities. The author believes that a land-ownership in the GDL was divided. Two persons held the same land. One of them was an immediate owner, the second was a superior owner of the land. An immediate owner's right to dispose the land was limited by a superior owner's rights to this land. In the 14th-first half of the 16th century an ancestral land was the main form of land-ownership in the GDL. At first an ancestral land was owned without obligation of vassalage. Since the beginning of the 16th century an owner of an ancestral land was obliged to military service from his land. Since the 14th century a benefice was the second form of feudal land-ownership in the GDL. Gradually a benefice turned into a feud. In 1566 the Second Statute of Lithuania gave the equal rights to all owners of ancestral lands and feuds. They got the freedom to dispose all their lands, but were obliged to military service from their real estate. In the middle of the 16th century the domain of the Grand Duke was divided into the State lands and Throne lands. The Grand Duke's freedom to dispose these lands was limited. Up to the middle of the 16th century there were no permanent circuit courts for land disputes in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. All state courts heard land cases in their permanent quarters and moved in locality to survey borders only if it was very necessary. The Government of the GDL stimulated activity of arbitration and village courts and set them to resolve land disputes in locality. The first permanent circuit court (Sub-Chamber court) for boundary disputes was established in every county during the court reform in 1564-1566. Up to the middle of the 16th century jurisdiction of the Church determined by canons was very wide and came into collision with jurisdiction of the State. Besides clergymen and other subjects of the Church spiritual courts prosecuted noblemen, peasants and townsfolk. Competence of secular and spiritual courts was delimited clearly by the Third Statute of Lithuania. In accordance with this Statute spiritual courts could prosecute noblemen, peasants and townsfolk only if a certain case was bound up with religion or marriage. The medieval conception of formal evidences existed and dominated in the GDL from the 13th century up to the 18th century. The court was passive because all evidences were collected and produced by the plaintiff or by the defendant, and legal force of any evidence was determined by Lithuanian custom law and by the Lithuanian Statutes. The author believes that compurgators were not eye-witnesses of crime or event, there testified on oath only about good name of somebody. Compurgators swore together with plaintiff or defendant. Witnesses testified to or against somebody without oath. The legal status of witnesses and compurgators determined by the Lithuanian custom law and the First Lithuanian Statute was partly corrected by the Second and the Third Lithuanian Statutes in 1566 and 1588. Dietsky office appeared in the Ancient Slav State about the 11th century. From the 13th century onwards this office functioned in the GDL. Vizh office was instituted in the end of the 15th century or in the beginning of the 16th century in the GDL. Dietsky and Vizh were court officers executed judgements. Vizh was also official witness in criminal and civil cases. Vozny office was established in the GDL during the judicial reform in 1564-1566. Vozny was an important official of a court of law. He used to be elected by county noblemen. His duty was to inspect damages, wounds, and to witness at a trial. He was an executor of court's sentences. The number of lawyers who took scholastic degrees increased in the GDL in the 16th century. They developed legal terminology, introduced the written form of contracts and elaborated many legal acts. The Lithuanian Statutes should be regarded as the acme of progressive legal theoretical thought and practical activity. They surmounted the codification of the legislation of the GDL and brought the country to the leading position among other European countries. Yet the high standard, progressive spirit and intrinsic humanistic ideas by themselves did not mean that the Statutes were properly applied. In the 16th century, the lack of qualified lawyers complicated application of the Lithuanian Statutes. The legal sophistication of judges was often rather poor. Even members of the Lithuanian Tribunal of the GDL were not professional lawyers. The requirement constituted in the Lithuanian Statutes that only nobility were eligible to the position of judges was hardly observed because for a long time there had been not a single law school or college in the GDL. Why the Faculty of Law had not been founded in the Vilnius Jesuits' Academy before 1641? The author believes that the problem may be viewed in the context of international relations between the Kingdom of Poland and the GDL. In the year of the foundation of Vilnius University, one more event important for the legal development of GDL took place: creation of the highest appeal court – Lithuanian Tribunal. Polish landlords did not tolerate the steps strengthening the statehood of Lithuania. Creation of the Lithuanian Tribunal was a difficult victory of the GDL nobility. It is quite possible that concession to the University of Krakow and recognition of Polish monopoly in preparing lawyers were the cost paid for the mentioned victory. It seemed then more important to have their own appeal court than to prepare lawyers in the GDL. In the one article the author aspires to elucidate what was a medieval university – integral part of the town or feudal benefice, what were professors ant students – full fledged citizens of the town or aliens, and what were courts of the university – State or private, secular or ecclesiastical. The author established that any university in the Middle Ages was a self-governing professional corporation similar with guild or craft. Doctors and scholars (like merchants or craftsmen) elected rector and some others officials who governed and administered justice. Mostly university was an integral part of the town; professors ant students could exercise their rights on an equality with citizens of the town. Sometimes university was ruled by the Bishop or King as a feudal benefice independent from the town magistrates and courts (in this case the relations between town citizens and students were exceptionally strained). A very ample jurisdiction was allowed to the Rector's court, extending to all civil cases and all criminal cases except such as involved mutilation (in those criminal cases the jurisdiction of the town Magistrates, King's or Bishop's judges was recognized). Rector was required to suppress quarrels between students and townsmen, or among the students themselves. If Rector failed to punish offenders, a scholar or doctor was amenable to the town Magistrates, King's or Bishop's judges. The Bishop always reserved to himself spiritual jurisdiction over professors ant students. An appellate civil jurisdiction was reserved to the town Magistrates, King's or Bishop's judges. It should be recognized that the legal system

Relevance of the research problem. Sport is a value of every nation, which includes the system of physical, spiritual and cultural education, sports achievements, scientific knowledge, international communication (Karoblis, 2005). High level sport is inseparable from competitive activities, the pursuit of sports results (Hargreaves & MacDonald, 2000; Karoblis, 2005). The special training of athletes in the chosen sports is a part of general education of personality, which has a close connection with social, educational, political, economic issues of humanity development (Johnson et al., 2007). The athlete training process is a multi-year educational process of a specific structure and organizational form, which develops physical characteristics of an athlete, determines his activity, behavior, independence and responsibility, promotes to achieve excellent results. However, optimization of athlete training technology, construction of training system and its filling with full content still have the greatest impact on the improvement of sports results (Bompa & Buzzichelli, 2018; Karoblis, 2005; Платонов, 2004). Management of high-performance athlete training is related to prognostication, individual model characteristics of sport fitness, general and special load ratio, search for new effective directions of workout methodology, modeling of competition activity indicators, workout process planning, competition program conclusion, sport training adjustment (Karoblis, Raslanas, Steponavičius, 2002). Track-and-field athletics is integral sports that combine cyclic and acyclic exercise competitions: running, throws, vertical and horizontal jumps (Armonavičius, 1995). Short distance running is one of the most prestigious track-and-field athletics competitions. An exceptional short distance motor feature is the maximum intense activity of the whole body, especially the nervous and muscular systems, lasting from 0.1 to 40–50 s (Stanislovaitis et al., 2008). The ever-improving sports results reveal new human mental and physical abilities, vast resources of the body that could not even be dreamed of before. The organization of exercise, methodology, their scope and intensity, their combination with the means of recovery according to the main laws of phenotypic adaptation form the basis for the training of high-performance athletes (Платонов, 2004; Stonkus, 2000; Issurin, 2008; Krylovas, Kosareva, Dadelienė, & Dadelo, 2020). The particularity of the sport is based on competition. The results recorded in sport receive global recognition and become a true human achievement standard. In the world, they are constantly progressing, promoting the development of the sport community, therefore the greatest human intellectual and material resources are directed to the training of high-performance athletes (Skernevičius, 2015; Krylovas, Kosareva, Dadelienė, & Dadelo, 2020). However, the results of a research conducted by scientists showed that over the past nearly 20 years, elite athletes, including Olympic, world champions and prizewinners, have achieved personal best results in key competitions of the season by only in 50 percent cases (Yakimovich & Ovchinnikov, 2016). This shows that the opinion that contemporary coaches are high-performance and knowledgeable in the training of elite athletes and immaculately control and manage the process of sport training of athletes is not sufficiently substantiated. It has been established that the development of high-performance sprinters depends on many factors, the most important of which is the directionality of the training process, its management, taking into account the individual characteristics of the athlete's body adaptation to workout and competition loads (Stanislovaitis, 2008; Бондаренко, 1999; Нбанекова, Филин, 1995). The training of sprinters and their competitive activities have been extensively studied not only by foreign (Smith, 2005; Doscher, 2009; Kale & Bayrak, 2009; Prins, Murata, Derenne, Morgan, & Solomon, 2010; Dickin, Reyes, & Dolny, 2009; Nelson, Landin, Young, & Schexnayder, 2008; Eikenberry, Mcauliffe, Welsh, Zerpa, Mcpherson, & Newhouse, 2008; Oзoлин, 1986), but also by Lithuanian sport scientists (Stanislovaitis, 2008, 2006, 2005; Grūnovas, 2006; Butkus, 2006, 1995; Skurvydas, 1999, 2003; Bradauskienė, 2006). Although the world record of female sprinters in a 100 m distance is quite high (10.49 s), the search for new training methods and their application in the process of female sprinter workouts continues. Scientists are not only analyzing and evaluating existing workout methodological tools, but also looking for new methods for an advanced sprinter training process. Thus, in search of new methods to increase running speed, through more research and the application of the latest training technologies, methods can be discovered to help athletes to become faster and to develop a running speed, which has never been achieved before. Recently, in a 100 m running, as in many track-and-field athletics competitions, the results of athletes are progressing rapidly. That progress depends heavily on the selection of talented athletes, scientifically and practically sound and effective workout methodologies, the selection and application of remedial measures, the material compensation of athletes, which greatly increases motivation of athletes, and etc. Therefore, in order to achieve good results and prizes in high rank competition in contemporary sport, it is necessary to know the peculiarities of the application of training methodology, to properly select the most important starts of the annual training cycle, taking into account all conditions at the place and time of competition. An athlete and a coach must not only follow the innovations of training methodology, science and medicine, but also look back, be able to analyze his own results and the results of athletes, who have shown significant results theretofore, the peculiarities of workout tools and methods applied by them, the reasons for successful and unsuccessful starts, and then all this to apply to the management of his own training process. Discovering, revealing and learning about new technologies through the theory and didactics of sport workout is the most important function of sport science (Mester, 2003), and it is important for a coach to be able to use scientific results and recommendations, be insightful and be able to successfully model the training of elite athletes (Karoblis, Raslanas, Poteliūnienė, Steponavičius, Petkus, & Žilinskienė, 2011). The purposeful training of female sprinters and the search for effective technologies in order to increase the maximum running speed become a scientific problem. The presented scientific problem is relevant for the following reasons: ● It is important to analyze the change in results in terms of age and to determine the age, at which the highest results are achieved; ● It is important to research and theoretically substantiate, which components determine the sports result in short distance running; ● To research the effectiveness of training measures in order to increase maximum running speed; ● The contribution of running at maximum speed to the sports result in a 100 m run has not been sufficiently researched; ● It is important to establish criteria that affect the progress of athletes' mastery and the change of sport performance. Hypothesis. It is likely that sports results of female sprinters are not improving due to the integrated and concentrated training models applied separately. A universal speed training model is more effective. Object of the research is the process of female sprinter training. Aim is to identify the peculiarities of optimizing the training of high-performance female sprinters. Objectives of the research: 1. On the basis of the data of the theoretical analysis of scientific sources, to reveal the change of the results of high-performance female sprinters in terms of age. 2. To perform a comparative analysis of the preparation of high-performance female spriners for the Athens, Beijing, London and Rio Olympic Games. 3. To review the technologies of sports training of female sprinters and to examine the factors influencing their results. 4. To determine the effectiveness of a universal method for training the speed of high-performance female sprinters. 5. To reveal/identify the opinion of high-performance female sprinters about the factors determining their training system. Theoretical and practical significance Researching the structure and content of sports training for female sprinters of different ages and sports mastery, analyzing the change of sports results in terms of age, evaluating workout methods, running speed components, the provisions for effective running speed increase were identified: ● Running speed is determined by the speed of muscle contraction, the length of leg support, the frequency of steps, and the sports result in a 100-meter run depends mainly on the maximum running speed. ● In order to improve the results of the maximum running speed of female sprinters, it is important to apply a universal, combined method in the workout process, running with weight and stretching with an elastic band. These provisions are relevant to the theory and practice of female sprinter training. The results of the study can be used in the development of training programs for sports schools and high-performance female sprinters. CONCLUSIONS 1. The age for achieving the best personal result in the women's 100 m running competition is 24.69 ± 3.27 year. The best Lithuanian sprinter L. Grinčikaitė-Samuolė achieved her best result in this running competition at the age of 25 – 11.19 s. At the beginning of their athletic career, American sprinters had the highest running scores and dominated until the age of 17, however later is observed leadership of the Caribbean Region female sprinters up to the age of 35. The results of European sprinters were average in almost all age groups. 2. Analysis of the four Olympic Games revealed a significant improvement in the results of the 100 m running and starting reaction speed (p < 0.05). In order to get to in the 100 m running final, athletes should run an average of 10.96 ± 0.03 s, and to become the prizewinners of the competition – 10.86 ± 0.08 s. Sprinters become the prizewinners of the 100 m run at the age of 25.42 ± 3.18 year. 3. Lithuanian female sprinters lose to the best sprinters of Europe and the world in the competition requiring the maximum running speed – 40 m in acceleration (11.99 %). The best Lithuanian sprinter L. Grinčikaitė-Samuolė reduces this difference to 4.05 % in the 100 m running distance, the gap between Europe's and the world's best female sprinters is gradually declining due to improved European sprinters' maximum running speed results. 4. The resisted/assisted running method is the most effective way to increase the running speed and starting acceleration, as this speed training method significantly improves the values of step length and support duration than running normally. 5. High-performance female sprinters lack attention to an important component of training – psychological training – in the process of their sports training. It was found out that their sports training and improvement of results are more influenced by external (monetary prizes, premiums) than internal motives (desire to improve results, honor to represent their country). A coach's personality also has impact. The coach is valued not only as a specialist, but distinguishing his personal qualities, such as sincerity, friendliness, motivation, promotion is considered an integral part of the training process.

Relevance of the research problem. Sport is a value of every nation, which includes the system of physical, spiritual and cultural education, sports achievements, scientific knowledge, international communication (Karoblis, 2005). High level sport is inseparable from competitive activities, the pursuit of sports results (Hargreaves & MacDonald, 2000; Karoblis, 2005). The special training of athletes in the chosen sports is a part of general education of personality, which has a close connection with social, educational, political, economic issues of humanity development (Johnson et al., 2007). The athlete training process is a multi-year educational process of a specific structure and organizational form, which develops physical characteristics of an athlete, determines his activity, behavior, independence and responsibility, promotes to achieve excellent results. However, optimization of athlete training technology, construction of training system and its filling with full content still have the greatest impact on the improvement of sports results (Bompa & Buzzichelli, 2018; Karoblis, 2005; Платонов, 2004). Management of high-performance athlete training is related to prognostication, individual model characteristics of sport fitness, general and special load ratio, search for new effective directions of workout methodology, modeling of competition activity indicators, workout process planning, competition program conclusion, sport training adjustment (Karoblis, Raslanas, Steponavičius, 2002). Track-and-field athletics is integral sports that combine cyclic and acyclic exercise competitions: running, throws, vertical and horizontal jumps (Armonavičius, 1995). Short distance running is one of the most prestigious track-and-field athletics competitions. An exceptional short distance motor feature is the maximum intense activity of the whole body, especially the nervous and muscular systems, lasting from 0.1 to 40–50 s (Stanislovaitis et al., 2008). The ever-improving sports results reveal new human mental and physical abilities, vast resources of the body that could not even be dreamed of before. The organization of exercise, methodology, their scope and intensity, their combination with the means of recovery according to the main laws of phenotypic adaptation form the basis for the training of high-performance athletes (Платонов, 2004; Stonkus, 2000; Issurin, 2008; Krylovas, Kosareva, Dadelienė, & Dadelo, 2020). The particularity of the sport is based on competition. The results recorded in sport receive global recognition and become a true human achievement standard. In the world, they are constantly progressing, promoting the development of the sport community, therefore the greatest human intellectual and material resources are directed to the training of high-performance athletes (Skernevičius, 2015; Krylovas, Kosareva, Dadelienė, & Dadelo, 2020). However, the results of a research conducted by scientists showed that over the past nearly 20 years, elite athletes, including Olympic, world champions and prizewinners, have achieved personal best results in key competitions of the season by only in 50 percent cases (Yakimovich & Ovchinnikov, 2016). This shows that the opinion that contemporary coaches are high-performance and knowledgeable in the training of elite athletes and immaculately control and manage the process of sport training of athletes is not sufficiently substantiated. It has been established that the development of high-performance sprinters depends on many factors, the most important of which is the directionality of the training process, its management, taking into account the individual characteristics of the athlete's body adaptation to workout and competition loads (Stanislovaitis, 2008; Бондаренко, 1999; Нбанекова, Филин, 1995). The training of sprinters and their competitive activities have been extensively studied not only by foreign (Smith, 2005; Doscher, 2009; Kale & Bayrak, 2009; Prins, Murata, Derenne, Morgan, & Solomon, 2010; Dickin, Reyes, & Dolny, 2009; Nelson, Landin, Young, & Schexnayder, 2008; Eikenberry, Mcauliffe, Welsh, Zerpa, Mcpherson, & Newhouse, 2008; Oзoлин, 1986), but also by Lithuanian sport scientists (Stanislovaitis, 2008, 2006, 2005; Grūnovas, 2006; Butkus, 2006, 1995; Skurvydas, 1999, 2003; Bradauskienė, 2006). Although the world record of female sprinters in a 100 m distance is quite high (10.49 s), the search for new training methods and their application in the process of female sprinter workouts continues. Scientists are not only analyzing and evaluating existing workout methodological tools, but also looking for new methods for an advanced sprinter training process. Thus, in search of new methods to increase running speed, through more research and the application of the latest training technologies, methods can be discovered to help athletes to become faster and to develop a running speed, which has never been achieved before. Recently, in a 100 m running, as in many track-and-field athletics competitions, the results of athletes are progressing rapidly. That progress depends heavily on the selection of talented athletes, scientifically and practically sound and effective workout methodologies, the selection and application of remedial measures, the material compensation of athletes, which greatly increases motivation of athletes, and etc. Therefore, in order to achieve good results and prizes in high rank competition in contemporary sport, it is necessary to know the peculiarities of the application of training methodology, to properly select the most important starts of the annual training cycle, taking into account all conditions at the place and time of competition. An athlete and a coach must not only follow the innovations of training methodology, science and medicine, but also look back, be able to analyze his own results and the results of athletes, who have shown significant results theretofore, the peculiarities of workout tools and methods applied by them, the reasons for successful and unsuccessful starts, and then all this to apply to the management of his own training process. Discovering, revealing and learning about new technologies through the theory and didactics of sport workout is the most important function of sport science (Mester, 2003), and it is important for a coach to be able to use scientific results and recommendations, be insightful and be able to successfully model the training of elite athletes (Karoblis, Raslanas, Poteliūnienė, Steponavičius, Petkus, & Žilinskienė, 2011). The purposeful training of female sprinters and the search for effective technologies in order to increase the maximum running speed become a scientific problem. The presented scientific problem is relevant for the following reasons: ● It is important to analyze the change in results in terms of age and to determine the age, at which the highest results are achieved; ● It is important to research and theoretically substantiate, which components determine the sports result in short distance running; ● To research the effectiveness of training measures in order to increase maximum running speed; ● The contribution of running at maximum speed to the sports result in a 100 m run has not been sufficiently researched; ● It is important to establish criteria that affect the progress of athletes' mastery and the change of sport performance. Hypothesis. It is likely that sports results of female sprinters are not improving due to the integrated and concentrated training models applied separately. A universal speed training model is more effective. Object of the research is the process of female sprinter training. Aim is to identify the peculiarities of optimizing the training of high-performance female sprinters. Objectives of the research: 1. On the basis of the data of the theoretical analysis of scientific sources, to reveal the change of the results of high-performance female sprinters in terms of age. 2. To perform a comparative analysis of the preparation of high-performance female spriners for the Athens, Beijing, London and Rio Olympic Games. 3. To review the technologies of sports training of female sprinters and to examine the factors influencing their results. 4. To determine the effectiveness of a universal method for training the speed of high-performance female sprinters. 5. To reveal/identify the opinion of high-performance female sprinters about the factors determining their training system. Theoretical and practical significance Researching the structure and content of sports training for female sprinters of different ages and sports mastery, analyzing the change of sports results in terms of age, evaluating workout methods, running speed components, the provisions for effective running speed increase were identified: ● Running speed is determined by the speed of muscle contraction, the length of leg support, the frequency of steps, and the sports result in a 100-meter run depends mainly on the maximum running speed. ● In order to improve the results of the maximum running speed of female sprinters, it is important to apply a universal, combined method in the workout process, running with weight and stretching with an elastic band. These provisions are relevant to the theory and practice of female sprinter training. The results of the study can be used in the development of training programs for sports schools and high-performance female sprinters. CONCLUSIONS 1. The age for achieving the best personal result in the women's 100 m running competition is 24.69 ± 3.27 year. The best Lithuanian sprinter L. Grinčikaitė-Samuolė achieved her best result in this running competition at the age of 25 – 11.19 s. At the beginning of their athletic career, American sprinters had the highest running scores and dominated until the age of 17, however later is observed leadership of the Caribbean Region female sprinters up to the age of 35. The results of European sprinters were average in almost all age groups. 2. Analysis of the four Olympic Games revealed a significant improvement in the results of the 100 m running and starting reaction speed (p < 0.05). In order to get to in the 100 m running final, athletes should run an average of 10.96 ± 0.03 s, and to become the prizewinners of the competition – 10.86 ± 0.08 s. Sprinters become the prizewinners of the 100 m run at the age of 25.42 ± 3.18 year. 3. Lithuanian female sprinters lose to the best sprinters of Europe and the world in the competition requiring the maximum running speed – 40 m in acceleration (11.99 %). The best Lithuanian sprinter L. Grinčikaitė-Samuolė reduces this difference to 4.05 % in the 100 m running distance, the gap between Europe's and the world's best female sprinters is gradually declining due to improved European sprinters' maximum running speed results. 4. The resisted/assisted running method is the most effective way to increase the running speed and starting acceleration, as this speed training method significantly improves the values of step length and support duration than running normally. 5. High-performance female sprinters lack attention to an important component of training – psychological training – in the process of their sports training. It was found out that their sports training and improvement of results are more influenced by external (monetary prizes, premiums) than internal motives (desire to improve results, honor to represent their country). A coach's personality also has impact. The coach is valued not only as a specialist, but distinguishing his personal qualities, such as sincerity, friendliness, motivation, promotion is considered an integral part of the training process.

RIJEČ UREDNIŠTVAZa ovogodišnje lipanjske Dane hrvatskoga šumarstva održana je panel rasprava o trenutnoj situaciji u šumama Hrvatske. Naziv rasprave bio je "Hoće li nas šume nadživjeti?". Svrha skupa bila je informirati širu javnost o stanju šumskih ekosustava, ali i o promjenama koje se događaju u njima. Govori li sam naziv skupa dovoljno o ozbiljnosti situacije u kojoj se nalaze naše šume? Promijenjeni klimatski uvjeti koji vladaju na početku 21. stoljeća, donijeli su mnogo neprilika u šumama posljednjih pet godina. Tome treba pribrojiti i nikad veću trgovačku globalizaciju, što doprinosi bržem i lakšem širenju invazivnih vrsta bolesti i štetnika. Danas gotovo da nema ni jedne značajnije šumske vrste drveća koja nema svojih problema. Šume Gorskog kotara sastavljene od jele, bukve i smreke stradale su uslijed klimatskih ekstrema, a potom potkornjaka, nizinske šume hrasta lužnjaka napadnute su hrastovom mrežastom stjenicom, a šume poljskog jasena ubrzano propadaju uslijed više čimbenika, posebice Halare, dok dalmatinske borove šume ozbiljno ugrožava borov potkornjak. Tu su i šumski požari nakon kojih uslijed erozija nestaje i šumsko tlo, što umnogome onemogućuje sanaciju i vodi degradaciji šume. Tako ugroženim šumama smanjuju se financijska sredstva za njihov zaštitu i obnovu, što je sad i definitivno ozakonjeno Zakonom o šumama (NN 68/2018) koji je stupio na snagu 4. kolovoza 2018. O prijedlogu zakona pisali smo u Šumarskom listu 5-6/2018. Saborska rasprava nije donijela zaokret u odnosu na zakonski prijedlog koji je usvojila Vlada Republike Hrvatske. Zakon je ustvari na tragu programa Vlade RH za područje gospodarstva, poljoprivrede i ruralnog razvoja iz listopada 2016. godine. Šumarstvo se u tom programu spominje u potpoglavlju "Aktivno upravljanje šumama, veća proizvodnja i više radnih mjesta u domaćoj drvnoj industriji" s rečenicom: Izmjenom zakonske regulative Vlada će poboljšati i otkloniti poteškoće u načinu raspolaganja šumama i šumskim zemljištima, provoditi razminiranje šuma i šumskog zemljišta, sprječavati ilegalne sječe i trgovine i poticati razvoj domaće drvne industrije koja proizvodi drvni proizvod. Smatramo da takav program baš i nije poticajan za šume i šumska zemljišta. Razminiranje je svakako unaprjeđenje u upravljanju i gospodarenju šumama koje se provodi godinama, kao i najavljeno sprječavanje ilegalne sječe i trgovine, samo za to nema dovoljno pozitivnih pokazatelja, jer je takva djelatnost postala jako unosna na štetu šume i šumovlasnika / šumoposjednika. Početkom godine donesen je i Zakon o poljoprivrednom zemljištu (NN 20/2018, na snazi od 9. ožujka 2018.) koji je propisao, kao i Zakon o šumama, izdvajanje iz šumsko-gospodarske osnove zapuštenog poljoprivrednog zemljišta koje se može privesti poljoprivrednoj proizvodnji i mogućnost davanja takvog zemljišta sukladno Programu raspolaganja u zakup ili prodaju. Omogućeno je i za zemljišta izvan građevinskog područja koja se u katastru vode kao poljoprivredna zemljišta, a u pravilu su zapuštena, da se uključe u šumskogospodarsko područje, jer su troškovi njihovog privođenja poljoprivrednoj namjeni veći od tržišne vrijednosti ili ukupnog iznosa zakupnine toga zemljišta. Ove odredbe trebale bi napokon omogućiti svrsishodnu raspodjelu zemljišta na poljoprivredno i šumsko te njihovo stvarno korištenje. Novi Zakon o šumama uvažio je višegodišnje primjedbe obveznika plaćanja naknade za općekorisne funkcije šuma (OKFŠ), što je u javnosti i medijima često prvo bilo na udaru kao nepotreban i neshvaćen "parafiskalni" namet. Sad se 90 % dosadašnjih obveznika (oko 180 tisuća) izuzima iz plaćanja naknade, jer je prag za obvezu plaćanja godišnji prihod ili primitak veći od 3 milijuna kuna uz zadržanu visinu stope naknade od 0,0265 %. Uvaženo je i traženje jedinica lokalne samouprave o povećanju stopa šumskog doprinosa, pa su one povećane s 3,5 % na 5 % i za jedinice na potpomognutim područjima s 5 % na 10 % prodajne cijene proizvoda na panju. Zakon je uveo i definiciju šumoposjednika: javni šumoposjednik ovlašten za gospodarenje šumom i/ili šumskim zemljištem u vlasništvu Republike Hrvatske, javna ustanova čiji je osnivač Republika Hrvatska i njezine znanstveno-nastavne sastavnice, koje svoju znanstveno-nastavnu djelatnost i znanstvenoistraživački rad obavljaju iz područja šumarstva, pravna osoba čiji je osnivač i vlasnik jedinica lokalne samouprave, a kojoj se odlukom Vlade povjerava gospodarenje te privatni šumoposjednik s podjelom na male (do 20 ha šume i/ili šumskog zemljišta), srednje (od 20 do 300 ha) i velike (većim od 300 ha) šumoposjednike. Za šumskogospodarsko područje ustanovljuje se Registar pri Ministarstvu koji se vodi u elektroničkom obliku, a bit će dostupan pod određenim uvjetima. Registar će sadržavati i dio za izvješćivanje potreban za ispunjavanja međunarodnih i nacionalnih obveza iz sektora šumarstva. Zakon predviđa i izdvajanje namjenskih sredstva u poseban fond za razvoj drvne industrije, što je također jedna od predviđenih aktivnosti u programu Vlade iz 2016. godine.Novi Zakon o šumama pokušao je uvažiti razne promjene koje su se dogodile od donošenja prošloga zakona iz 2005. godine, a koje su nivelirane izmjenama i dopunama kroz proteklih 13 godina, njih ukupno osam. Pokušao se uskladiti i s drugim zakonima iz područja poljoprivrede, zaštite pri­ro­de i okoliša, te strategije EU za šume i sektor koji se temelji na šumama. Potrebno je još uskladiti i donijeti sve podzakonske akte vezane uz zakon.Pitamo se hoće li odredbe novog Zakona o šumama biti na tragu rješavanja nagomilanih problema u šumama Hrvatske?Uredništvo ; EDITORIALA panel addressing the current condition of Croatian forests was organized on the occasion of Days of Croatian Forestry that were held in June 2018. The title of the discussion was "Will forests outlive mankind?" The purpose of the panel was to inform broader public of the condition of forest ecosystems, as well as of the changes taking place in them. Does the title of the panel reflect the seriousness of the danger facing our forests? In the last five years, changed climate conditions occurring at the beginning of the 21st century have inflicted major problems to the forests. Add to this general market globalisation, which contributes to the faster and easier spread of invasive diseases and pests. There is not one important forest tree species today that does not have problems. Forests of Gorski Kotar, which are composed of fir, beech, and spruce, have succumbed to climatic extremes and to attacks of bark beetles. Lowland forests of pedunculate oak are infested with the oak lace bug, while forests of narrow-leaved ash are rapidly deteriorating under the cumulative action of several factors, particularly Halare. Dalmatian pine forests are severely threatened by the pine bark beetle. Forest fires also cause extensive damage. The subsequent erosions lead to the loss of forest soils, which greatly hinders recovery and contributes to the degradation of forests. The financial means needed to protect and regenerate such forests are being minimized and this has now definitely been incorporated in the new Forest Act (Official Gazette 68/2018), which came into effect on August 4th, 2018. A parliamentary discussion did not bring about any changes with regard to the proposed act, which was adopted by the Government of the Republic of Croatia. The Act in fact follows the Government programme for the field of economy, agriculture and rural development of October 2016. In the said programme forestry is addressed in the sub-chapter "Active management of forests, higher production and more work places in the domestic wood industry" with the following sentence: By changing legal regulations, the Government will remove obstacles and improve ways of managing forests and forest land. It will also undertake demining operations in forests and forest land, prevent illegal felling and trade and stimulate the development of domestic wood industry which produces wood products. In our opinion, such programme is not really stimulative for forests and forest land. Demining is certainly an improvement in the management of forests and it has been carried out for years, and so is the announced prevention of illegal felling and trade. However, there are not enough positive indicators for this, since these activities have become very profitable at the detriment of forests and forest owners. At the beginning of the year the Agricultural Land Act was passed (Official Gazette 20/2018, in effect since March 9th, 2018), which regulated, as did the Forest Act, the exclusion of abandoned agricultural land from the forest-management plan and its conversion to agricultural production, as well as the possibility of leasing or selling such land in accordance with the Disposition Programme. The Act also allows for the land outside construction areas, which is listed as agricultural land in the land register but is abandoned in reality, to be included in the forest-management area, since the cost of converting the land for agricultural purposes is higher than the market value or the total amount of rent for such land. These provisions should finally enable a rational division of land into agricultural and forest land, and consequently its proper usage. The new Forest Act has also adopted long-lasting objections made by those obliged to pay a non-market forest function fee. The public and the media often harshly criticized this fee as an unnecessary and incomprehensible "parafiscal" tax. Now, 90% of those obliged to pay the fee (about 180 thousand subjects) are exempt from paying the fee, since the threshold for the obligation has been set down at an annual income or profit higher than 3 million kuna, while the rate of the fee has been retained at 0.0265 %. Demands by local self-management units to raise the rate of forest contribution have also been adopted, and it has accordingly been raised from 3.5 % to 5 %, while for units in subsidized areas it has been raised from 5 % to 10 % of the selling price of the product before felling. The Act also defines a forest owner: a public forest owner authorized to manage a forest and/or forest land owned by the Republic of Croatia, a public institution whose founder is the Republic of Croatia and its scientific-teaching components which carry out their scientific-teaching activity and scientific-research work in the field of forestry, a legal person whose founder and owner is the local self-management unit and which is entrusted with management by a Government decision, and a private forest owner. Private forest owners are divided into small (up to 20 ha of forests and/or forest land), medium (from 20 to 300 ha) and large (more than 300 ha) forest owners. A Register of a forest-management area in the electronic form will be established by the Ministry, and it will be available under certain conditions. The Register will contain a reporting part needed to fulfil international and national obligations in the forestry sector. The Act also provides for the allocation of earmarked means into a special fund for the development of the wood industry, which is also one of the activities in the Government programme from 2016. The new Forest Act has attempted to incorporate different changes taking place since the previous Act of 2005 was passed. There have been a total of eight changes, which have been adjusted by revisions and amendments over the past 13 years. The Act is also coordinated with other laws from the field of agriculture, nature and environment protection, and the EU strategy for forests and forest-based sector. All by-laws related to the Act need to be coordinated and passed.We wonder whether the regulations of the new Forest Act will try to solve the growing problems in the forests of Croatia. Editorial Board