Suchergebnisse

Recent years in Europe have been marked by efforts to introduce changes in labour law in order to boost employment, reduce labour costs and increase flexibility of national labour markets. The increased international competition has led to major labour law reforms in some European countries but the majority of national developments still indicate a rather limited reformist approach. Evolutionary rather than revolutionary efforts were initiated to balance the wage-setting mechanisms and to soften the dismissal law protection to create room for flexibility, to increase employment by promoting atypical forms of employment, to accommodate legal regulations to technological advances and the new types of economy. Accompanying social security measures intended to improve the efficiency of active labour market policies. The current selection of academic contributions intends to provide an overview of recent developments in the legal regulation of labour markets in Eastern and Western European countries. The authors' contributions could not cover all the aspects of the current state of recent reformist efforts on the labour markets. However, by picturing separate developments in different European countries, it intends to assist in identifying regional similarities. Furthermore, it provides opportunities for exchange of ideas, experiences and practices for shaping labour law both at European and national level

The new Labour Code of the Republic of Lithuania, which was adopted in 2016, replaced the Lithuanian Labour Code of 2002. The problematic aspects of the Labour Code of 2002 have been the cause of permanent changes of the law and eventually led to the need for substantive recodification of labour law standards. The procedures of the adoption and entry into force of the new Labour Code did not go on smoothly – the reform has led to strong resistance from the social partners and political groups, which has significantly influenced the adoption of the law. In the final stages of the adoption of the draft Labour Code, the crucial role was played by the institutions of the tripartite social dialogue. When granting a specific mandate to the social partners to negotiate the specific changes of the draft legislation, the Seimas thus recognised the importance of social dialogue and relied upon compromises reached between the social partners. In the new Labour Code of 2016, changes were made to all labour law institutes, as well as to the general provisions defining the scope of the Code, relation to the norms of other branches of law. One of the goals of the recodification was the need for flexibility of the employment. In this field the new Labour Code provides a number of innovations related to the termination of employment contract and the protection of certain groups of employees, the formalisation of the dismissal, and the fixed – term contracts. The norms of the new Labour Code aim to strengthen the competitiveness of the country's labour market by increasing legal certainty, reducing formalisation, balancing social guarantees, and creating more flexibility for the employers. The Code does not only encourage employer's investment in the employee's qualifications, strengthening the professional development of the employee as a principle of legal regulation of labour relations, however, also clarifies the regulation of reimbursement of training expenses and the additional obligation of employers to contribute to the personal qualification improvement chosen by the employees themselves. Although the new Labour Code allows more than 60 new rights of employees, the most prominent innovations are more favourable work – family reconciliation and the new net of employee's security provisions. Moreover, the new Labour Code creates a new system of industrial relations which is more conducive to the implementation of the collective bargaining rights by trade unions. Any trade union will have the right to bargain collectively and to take collective action, regardless of the number of its members or the will of the employer or another trade union. Consequently, the code contains a number of programmatic provisions that target both the parties to the individual contract of employment and social partners. In the nearest future, these rules will be investigated in labour dispute resolution bodies in search for their specific content.

The new Labour Code of the Republic of Lithuania, which was adopted in 2016, replaced the Lithuanian Labour Code of 2002. The problematic aspects of the Labour Code of 2002 have been the cause of permanent changes of the law and eventually led to the need for substantive recodification of labour law standards. The procedures of the adoption and entry into force of the new Labour Code did not go on smoothly – the reform has led to strong resistance from the social partners and political groups, which has significantly influenced the adoption of the law. In the final stages of the adoption of the draft Labour Code, the crucial role was played by the institutions of the tripartite social dialogue. When granting a specific mandate to the social partners to negotiate the specific changes of the draft legislation, the Seimas thus recognised the importance of social dialogue and relied upon compromises reached between the social partners. In the new Labour Code of 2016, changes were made to all labour law institutes, as well as to the general provisions defining the scope of the Code, relation to the norms of other branches of law. One of the goals of the recodification was the need for flexibility of the employment. In this field the new Labour Code provides a number of innovations related to the termination of employment contract and the protection of certain groups of employees, the formalisation of the dismissal, and the fixed – term contracts. The norms of the new Labour Code aim to strengthen the competitiveness of the country's labour market by increasing legal certainty, reducing formalisation, balancing social guarantees, and creating more flexibility for the employers. The Code does not only encourage employer's investment in the employee's qualifications, strengthening the professional development of the employee as a principle of legal regulation of labour relations, however, also clarifies the regulation of reimbursement of training expenses and the additional obligation of employers to contribute to the personal qualification improvement chosen by the employees themselves. Although the new Labour Code allows more than 60 new rights of employees, the most prominent innovations are more favourable work – family reconciliation and the new net of employee's security provisions. Moreover, the new Labour Code creates a new system of industrial relations which is more conducive to the implementation of the collective bargaining rights by trade unions. Any trade union will have the right to bargain collectively and to take collective action, regardless of the number of its members or the will of the employer or another trade union. Consequently, the code contains a number of programmatic provisions that target both the parties to the individual contract of employment and social partners. In the nearest future, these rules will be investigated in labour dispute resolution bodies in search for their specific content.

Just as we never get a second chance to make a good first impression, we may equally be deprived of a unique chance to act both as witnesses and evaluators of the centennial after regaining the independence of the Republic of Lithuania if we fail to review and assess this period. Therefore, we have to seize the opportunity and reflect upon the twisting path of our history since regaining the independence of the state until the current situation. The centennial development of law cannot be disembodied from the story of state's development. One can treat law both as a pathfinder and as a legal guide of the state; however it can likewise be applied as an instrument to solely ensure proper functioning of the state. Creating an effective system of law is not a one-day project; it is the process requiring deliberation, constant effort and deep awareness, otherwise the system will be doomed to failure or malfunctioning. Every state or nation is believed to deserve such a legal system as the efforts that the state puts to ascertain and develop it. The centennial period since the restoration of the independence of the Republic of Lithuania can unmistakably be described as a unique one: on the one hand the state was faced with the challenges of restoration and creation in various areas of the state and the society; it later experienced the loss of independence and survived 50 years of occupation; it eventually restored an independent state and was repeatedly faced with fresh challenges of re-establishing a historically-literate, well-structured and well-functioning state-governance system in both national and international levels. On the other hand, the technological and communications progress intensified the recent hundred years to such an extent that it clearly outdistances any previous centennials. Advancement of information technologies intensifies our time, our law, while huge amounts of information and its immense spread accelerate the pace of our life and our history. New forms of social relations and new branches of law emerge all in need of proper legal regulation. The study "The Development of the Lithuanian Law within the Period of 1918-2018: the Centennial Experience and Prospects" is a result of joint research efforts of more than 50 outstanding lawyers representing different areas of law from Mykolas Romeris University, Vytautas Magnus University, and Vilnius University. The study, dedicated to the Centennial of Lithuanian statehood due in 2018, presents the results of scientific research on legal science and major branches of law, covering the period of 1918-beginning of 2018 (information presented in the study covers a period until end-2017); it reflects upon the centennial development of Lithuanian law, discusses its major characteristics, tendencies and preconditions of their formation; it examines its influence on the state and state authorities and envisages possible impact on the development of law in the future. The Lithuanian law of 1918-2018 is analysed from the perspective of three statehood periods. 1918-1940 is the period when the independence of the Republic of Lithuania was declared, the groundwork for the statehood was laid and an independent legal system was being established. 1940- 1990 denotes the period of occupation, when the authentic legal system of Lithuania was destroyed and the Soviet legal system was forcibly entrenched. The latter was based on socialist ideology and the superiority of governmental authority over the civil society. It is not easy to evaluate the span of 1990- 2018 as the impartial assessment of it is seriously hindered by the authors' partial attitude towards the existing surrounding phenomena. [.]

Just as we never get a second chance to make a good first impression, we may equally be deprived of a unique chance to act both as witnesses and evaluators of the centennial after regaining the independence of the Republic of Lithuania if we fail to review and assess this period. Therefore, we have to seize the opportunity and reflect upon the twisting path of our history since regaining the independence of the state until the current situation. The centennial development of law cannot be disembodied from the story of state's development. One can treat law both as a pathfinder and as a legal guide of the state; however it can likewise be applied as an instrument to solely ensure proper functioning of the state. Creating an effective system of law is not a one-day project; it is the process requiring deliberation, constant effort and deep awareness, otherwise the system will be doomed to failure or malfunctioning. Every state or nation is believed to deserve such a legal system as the efforts that the state puts to ascertain and develop it. The centennial period since the restoration of the independence of the Republic of Lithuania can unmistakably be described as a unique one: on the one hand the state was faced with the challenges of restoration and creation in various areas of the state and the society; it later experienced the loss of independence and survived 50 years of occupation; it eventually restored an independent state and was repeatedly faced with fresh challenges of re-establishing a historically-literate, well-structured and well-functioning state-governance system in both national and international levels. On the other hand, the technological and communications progress intensified the recent hundred years to such an extent that it clearly outdistances any previous centennials. Advancement of information technologies intensifies our time, our law, while huge amounts of information and its immense spread accelerate the pace of our life and our history. New forms of social relations and new branches of law emerge all in need of proper legal regulation. The study "The Development of the Lithuanian Law within the Period of 1918-2018: the Centennial Experience and Prospects" is a result of joint research efforts of more than 50 outstanding lawyers representing different areas of law from Mykolas Romeris University, Vytautas Magnus University, and Vilnius University. The study, dedicated to the Centennial of Lithuanian statehood due in 2018, presents the results of scientific research on legal science and major branches of law, covering the period of 1918-beginning of 2018 (information presented in the study covers a period until end-2017); it reflects upon the centennial development of Lithuanian law, discusses its major characteristics, tendencies and preconditions of their formation; it examines its influence on the state and state authorities and envisages possible impact on the development of law in the future. The Lithuanian law of 1918-2018 is analysed from the perspective of three statehood periods. 1918-1940 is the period when the independence of the Republic of Lithuania was declared, the groundwork for the statehood was laid and an independent legal system was being established. 1940- 1990 denotes the period of occupation, when the authentic legal system of Lithuania was destroyed and the Soviet legal system was forcibly entrenched. The latter was based on socialist ideology and the superiority of governmental authority over the civil society. It is not easy to evaluate the span of 1990- 2018 as the impartial assessment of it is seriously hindered by the authors' partial attitude towards the existing surrounding phenomena. [.]