Suchergebnisse

This aim of this Master's thesis is to carry out the analysis of health care quality of people serving imprisonment sentences. There are several works and studies of foreign authors on this theme, however Lithuania is unlikely to have at least one scientific work dealing with health care quality of prisoners. Non-governmental organizations and defenders of human rights draw attention to the serious existing problems of health care quality assurance in places of detention. The existing international, regional and national legislation establish a person's right to health, the best possible mental, emotional and social well-being. The prisoners are not an exception. It is noted that the freedoms of prisoners must be the same, equivalent health care services that are available in the country without discrimination based on their legal status. However, the practice is different. Persons that are in custodial places lose access to health care services that were available to them while they were outside of prison. Often in prison certain health care services are not available, what is more, when a person ends up in an imprisonment institution the treatment given while such person was free is unilaterally terminated and other treatment or no treatment at all is given, as an argument is given legal regulation, the treatment adjustment to the detention regime, as well as the environment. The paper has analyzed in detail the international, regional, national legislation and other documents, as well as case law of Lithuania and European Court of Human Rights relating to legal regulation and guarantee of health care of persons serving imprisonment sentences. In the international and regional level the right to health is established by common principles and standards, and in the national legislation according to the international and regional sources, the organizational features of the person's right to health care are provided in detail. As for the regulation of prisoners' health, it is a bit confusing in the same national law, i.e. the general and special regulations are intertwined. In the national law, in the norms of health protection the assurance features of prisoners' health care are often separately stated, and on the contrary, in some areas the prisoners' health care is determined exclusively by mere general regulation. Also, certain areas are regulated by both the general and the special laws. Concepts of general health health care includes preventive medical care, emergency medical services, diagnosis and treatment, rehabilitation, sanatorium treatment, and care. Prisoners' health care is derived from the principle of equality, and the content of this right is analogous to the content of the general concept of health care. Given the conditions of detention, treatment and other factors, the method of provision of these services and their scope may differ. However, these differences must be objectively and reasonably justified. Paper has analyzed the features of prisoner's health care according to the most problematic aspects. This part has been also intended to reveal the basic standards, principles and attitudes describing security of prisoners' health care. The right to quality mental health care is not assured for the persons serving prison sentences. Current legal regulations do not provide treatment according to the individual indications, ignores that individuals with mental illness are more vulnerable, and they need a higher level of constant care. The availability of adequate specialized health care institutions is not assured, the health care institutions of penitentiaries do not have authority to issue instructions for treatment in a specialized institution. Equivalent services are not assured, the general regulation of mental health care is not followed, forced hospitalization in specialized institutions is solved only on the basis of criminal law. It has also been found out that the persons serving imprisonment sentences are not guaranteed access to quality treatment of mental and behavior disorders caused by drugs or psychotropic substances. When a person ends up in an imprisonment institutions the continuity of treatment is not ensured, the treatment is unilaterally terminated by the prison doctor. The availability is not guaranteed, i.e. in places of detention such treatment that is available being free is not available (substitution supportive treatment). The access to rehabilitation for addiction is restricted, there are selection criteria, and violations of procedure deprive a person's right to rehabilitation for one year. Also, the persons serving imprisonment sentences are not guaranteed the right to good quality health care. If the person serving imprisonment sentence was recommended some treatment in a public health institution, but in the prison it is not possible to provide such treatment, it is replaced by a similar treatment or is terminated as unnecessary. Such treatment as rehabilitation is not possible at all. The main finding of the thesis is that health care services are ensured for the prisoners, but their quality is poor. It is officially declared that the health care services of equivalent quality must be available to prisoners as those available outside of prison, it is aimed to formally establish the provision of such services. However, the reality is different. There is stigmatization and discrimination of the prisoners' legal status from not only the prison authorities but also the courts. The equal health care is not ensured, as the existing legal regulation does not provide availability, continuity, and provision of health care services according to indications on individual and environmental factors, does not provide the strategy for health care services (for a dual legal regulation, the general and special, the legal clarity is lost). After a review of the European Court of Human Rights and the sources that discuss the prisoners' health, it must be concluded that because of the conditions of detention and the treatment itself, the objectively and reasonably justified differences in society and in prison in the area of health care vary in their extent, their method and order. However, the principle of equality ensures that the person does not lose the right to adequate, affordable preventive medical care, emergency medical services, diagnosis and treatment, rehabilitation, sanatorium treatment, and care. The study leads to the conclusion that the laws of the Republic of Lithuania do not guarantee high-quality health care services for the prisoners.

This thesis analyses the concept of inclusive training in scientific literature and its regulation in the normative documents worldwide and in Lithuania, the concept of training assistance to the pupil and the documents regulating this assistance are reviewed as well.The thesis is based on such methodological definitions as critical theory and social constructivism which provide the opportunity to encourage the understanding and activeness of the students, teach the individual person to understand the essence of events and develops his/her capabilities to solve problems. The problem of the research – what could be the system of assistance to the student at school with orientation into the tasks of inclusive training? The subject of the researchis theimprovement of the system of assistance to the student at school with orientation into the tasks of inclusive training. Visaginas "Verdenė" gymnasium case study. The objective of the researchisto substantiate the necessity of the system of assistance to the student at school with orientation into the tasks of inclusive training. Goals of the research 1. On the basis of scientific literature and the analysis of education normative documents to provide the theoretical guidelines for the improvement of the system of assistance to the student at school. 2. To perform an empirical analysis of the existing system of assistance to the student at school in the context of inclusive training. 3. To create a model for the improvement of the existing system of assistance to the student at school. Research methods The case study type of research was chosen (Bitinas, 1996) by selecting one training institution; this is why the qualitative strategy of the research will be followed. However, in this case, it is important to define the context of the inclusive training in which the school operates. To be able to clarify the approaches dominating in this context, the strategy of quantitative research is applied - poll of the general/secondary level teachers of the municipality is performed. The qualitative and the quantitative methods used for the research: analysis of scientific literature, analysis of education normative documents, questioning/poll of the respondents, statistical processing, modeling. On the basis of the performed research data, conclusions are made: The analysis of the research data allows maintaining that the deconstruction of special training and construction of inclusive training in the case study for the above mentioned school can possibly face a serious challenge. The teachers are not sufficiently prepared to provide assistance to their students with orientation towards the inclusive training tasks, and the results received allow to know what knowledge, as related to the inclusive training, the teachers providing the assistance still lack and how it would be possible to help them to improve their knowledge and skills, to organize quality assistance to their students with orientation towards the tasks of inclusive training. 1. After the first goal of the study was performed, i.e. the analysis of the scientific literature, it is possible to maintain that the inclusive training is understood as a continuous and dynamic process in which culture, politics, and practice is created taking into regard the needs of diversity of the students, when diversities and differences are tolerated and they are valued as possible resources, and not considered to be problems. The school shall be changed, not the student, seeking to eliminate all possible obstacles and to ensure the access to training, involvement and participation for every person. The student can take part in the training process on a full value scale and realize his/her skills only when his/her basic needs are satisfied and, at least partially disordered functions, are compensated. The inclusive training is the target which shall depend on the future teachers. 2. The analysis of the normative education documents shows that lots of important decisions were taken in Lithuania seeking to provide studying and learning conditions for children with special needs and with special training needs. The documents which regulate the meeting of special training needs in Lithuania, their methods, and forms, and which are discussed in the context of inclusive training, enforce a variety of training forms. The assistance of the education system is based on a systematic approach and is oriented towards the training of a child in the conventional environment when the assistance is provided not only to the child, but also to the teachers and the family. The assistance to the student is provided in consistent manner on the basis of cooperation principle and upon the basis of joint work of various institutions. 3. When analyzing the documents of the case study it was identified that conditions for the implementation of the inclusive training exist. The assistance system to the student is constructed on the basis of the education normative documents of the country which regulate the assistance in the area of education. This system is institutionalized; the assistance functions are authorized to various institutions and subjects. The original document of the school (The Description of the Procedures for Training Differentiation, Forming of Temporal/Mobile Students Groups and Division of Classes into Groups), reflects the philosophy of the inclusive training. However, in this school, the integration of the students with special needs prevails over the inclusive training. More work is carried out with the children of special needs and with talented children. There was little research on how the teachers are prepared for the inclusive training. This responsibility is ascribed to the special pedagogists, and for talented children – for the responsible pedagogists. On the other hand, the improvement of the competence of the teachers for the inclusive training is organized in a targeted manner. 4. The analsysis of the research data allows to maintain that the school in which the case study was performed has the system of assistance to the student in the stage of training deconstruction and inclusive training construction.

This aim of this Master's thesis is to carry out the analysis of health care quality of people serving imprisonment sentences. There are several works and studies of foreign authors on this theme, however Lithuania is unlikely to have at least one scientific work dealing with health care quality of prisoners. Non-governmental organizations and defenders of human rights draw attention to the serious existing problems of health care quality assurance in places of detention. The existing international, regional and national legislation establish a person's right to health, the best possible mental, emotional and social well-being. The prisoners are not an exception. It is noted that the freedoms of prisoners must be the same, equivalent health care services that are available in the country without discrimination based on their legal status. However, the practice is different. Persons that are in custodial places lose access to health care services that were available to them while they were outside of prison. Often in prison certain health care services are not available, what is more, when a person ends up in an imprisonment institution the treatment given while such person was free is unilaterally terminated and other treatment or no treatment at all is given, as an argument is given legal regulation, the treatment adjustment to the detention regime, as well as the environment. The paper has analyzed in detail the international, regional, national legislation and other documents, as well as case law of Lithuania and European Court of Human Rights relating to legal regulation and guarantee of health care of persons serving imprisonment sentences. In the international and regional level the right to health is established by common principles and standards, and in the national legislation according to the international and regional sources, the organizational features of the person's right to health care are provided in detail. As for the regulation of prisoners' health, it is a bit confusing in the same national law, i.e. the general and special regulations are intertwined. In the national law, in the norms of health protection the assurance features of prisoners' health care are often separately stated, and on the contrary, in some areas the prisoners' health care is determined exclusively by mere general regulation. Also, certain areas are regulated by both the general and the special laws. Concepts of general health health care includes preventive medical care, emergency medical services, diagnosis and treatment, rehabilitation, sanatorium treatment, and care. Prisoners' health care is derived from the principle of equality, and the content of this right is analogous to the content of the general concept of health care. Given the conditions of detention, treatment and other factors, the method of provision of these services and their scope may differ. However, these differences must be objectively and reasonably justified. Paper has analyzed the features of prisoner's health care according to the most problematic aspects. This part has been also intended to reveal the basic standards, principles and attitudes describing security of prisoners' health care. The right to quality mental health care is not assured for the persons serving prison sentences. Current legal regulations do not provide treatment according to the individual indications, ignores that individuals with mental illness are more vulnerable, and they need a higher level of constant care. The availability of adequate specialized health care institutions is not assured, the health care institutions of penitentiaries do not have authority to issue instructions for treatment in a specialized institution. Equivalent services are not assured, the general regulation of mental health care is not followed, forced hospitalization in specialized institutions is solved only on the basis of criminal law. It has also been found out that the persons serving imprisonment sentences are not guaranteed access to quality treatment of mental and behavior disorders caused by drugs or psychotropic substances. When a person ends up in an imprisonment institutions the continuity of treatment is not ensured, the treatment is unilaterally terminated by the prison doctor. The availability is not guaranteed, i.e. in places of detention such treatment that is available being free is not available (substitution supportive treatment). The access to rehabilitation for addiction is restricted, there are selection criteria, and violations of procedure deprive a person's right to rehabilitation for one year. Also, the persons serving imprisonment sentences are not guaranteed the right to good quality health care. If the person serving imprisonment sentence was recommended some treatment in a public health institution, but in the prison it is not possible to provide such treatment, it is replaced by a similar treatment or is terminated as unnecessary. Such treatment as rehabilitation is not possible at all. The main finding of the thesis is that health care services are ensured for the prisoners, but their quality is poor. It is officially declared that the health care services of equivalent quality must be available to prisoners as those available outside of prison, it is aimed to formally establish the provision of such services. However, the reality is different. There is stigmatization and discrimination of the prisoners' legal status from not only the prison authorities but also the courts. The equal health care is not ensured, as the existing legal regulation does not provide availability, continuity, and provision of health care services according to indications on individual and environmental factors, does not provide the strategy for health care services (for a dual legal regulation, the general and special, the legal clarity is lost). After a review of the European Court of Human Rights and the sources that discuss the prisoners' health, it must be concluded that because of the conditions of detention and the treatment itself, the objectively and reasonably justified differences in society and in prison in the area of health care vary in their extent, their method and order. However, the principle of equality ensures that the person does not lose the right to adequate, affordable preventive medical care, emergency medical services, diagnosis and treatment, rehabilitation, sanatorium treatment, and care. The study leads to the conclusion that the laws of the Republic of Lithuania do not guarantee high-quality health care services for the prisoners.

This aim of this Master's thesis is to carry out the analysis of health care quality of people serving imprisonment sentences. There are several works and studies of foreign authors on this theme, however Lithuania is unlikely to have at least one scientific work dealing with health care quality of prisoners. Non-governmental organizations and defenders of human rights draw attention to the serious existing problems of health care quality assurance in places of detention. The existing international, regional and national legislation establish a person's right to health, the best possible mental, emotional and social well-being. The prisoners are not an exception. It is noted that the freedoms of prisoners must be the same, equivalent health care services that are available in the country without discrimination based on their legal status. However, the practice is different. Persons that are in custodial places lose access to health care services that were available to them while they were outside of prison. Often in prison certain health care services are not available, what is more, when a person ends up in an imprisonment institution the treatment given while such person was free is unilaterally terminated and other treatment or no treatment at all is given, as an argument is given legal regulation, the treatment adjustment to the detention regime, as well as the environment. The paper has analyzed in detail the international, regional, national legislation and other documents, as well as case law of Lithuania and European Court of Human Rights relating to legal regulation and guarantee of health care of persons serving imprisonment sentences. In the international and regional level the right to health is established by common principles and standards, and in the national legislation according to the international and regional sources, the organizational features of the person's right to health care are provided in detail. As for the regulation of prisoners' health, it is a bit confusing in the same national law, i.e. the general and special regulations are intertwined. In the national law, in the norms of health protection the assurance features of prisoners' health care are often separately stated, and on the contrary, in some areas the prisoners' health care is determined exclusively by mere general regulation. Also, certain areas are regulated by both the general and the special laws. Concepts of general health health care includes preventive medical care, emergency medical services, diagnosis and treatment, rehabilitation, sanatorium treatment, and care. Prisoners' health care is derived from the principle of equality, and the content of this right is analogous to the content of the general concept of health care. Given the conditions of detention, treatment and other factors, the method of provision of these services and their scope may differ. However, these differences must be objectively and reasonably justified. Paper has analyzed the features of prisoner's health care according to the most problematic aspects. This part has been also intended to reveal the basic standards, principles and attitudes describing security of prisoners' health care. The right to quality mental health care is not assured for the persons serving prison sentences. Current legal regulations do not provide treatment according to the individual indications, ignores that individuals with mental illness are more vulnerable, and they need a higher level of constant care. The availability of adequate specialized health care institutions is not assured, the health care institutions of penitentiaries do not have authority to issue instructions for treatment in a specialized institution. Equivalent services are not assured, the general regulation of mental health care is not followed, forced hospitalization in specialized institutions is solved only on the basis of criminal law. It has also been found out that the persons serving imprisonment sentences are not guaranteed access to quality treatment of mental and behavior disorders caused by drugs or psychotropic substances. When a person ends up in an imprisonment institutions the continuity of treatment is not ensured, the treatment is unilaterally terminated by the prison doctor. The availability is not guaranteed, i.e. in places of detention such treatment that is available being free is not available (substitution supportive treatment). The access to rehabilitation for addiction is restricted, there are selection criteria, and violations of procedure deprive a person's right to rehabilitation for one year. Also, the persons serving imprisonment sentences are not guaranteed the right to good quality health care. If the person serving imprisonment sentence was recommended some treatment in a public health institution, but in the prison it is not possible to provide such treatment, it is replaced by a similar treatment or is terminated as unnecessary. Such treatment as rehabilitation is not possible at all. The main finding of the thesis is that health care services are ensured for the prisoners, but their quality is poor. It is officially declared that the health care services of equivalent quality must be available to prisoners as those available outside of prison, it is aimed to formally establish the provision of such services. However, the reality is different. There is stigmatization and discrimination of the prisoners' legal status from not only the prison authorities but also the courts. The equal health care is not ensured, as the existing legal regulation does not provide availability, continuity, and provision of health care services according to indications on individual and environmental factors, does not provide the strategy for health care services (for a dual legal regulation, the general and special, the legal clarity is lost). After a review of the European Court of Human Rights and the sources that discuss the prisoners' health, it must be concluded that because of the conditions of detention and the treatment itself, the objectively and reasonably justified differences in society and in prison in the area of health care vary in their extent, their method and order. However, the principle of equality ensures that the person does not lose the right to adequate, affordable preventive medical care, emergency medical services, diagnosis and treatment, rehabilitation, sanatorium treatment, and care. The study leads to the conclusion that the laws of the Republic of Lithuania do not guarantee high-quality health care services for the prisoners.

The aim of the Master thesis Does the Law System of the Republic of Lithuania Ensure the Non-Discrimination of Women in Labour Market is, by answering the problematic question, to conduct a scientific research and confirm or deny the hypothesis that the law system of the Republic of Lithuania does not ensure the non-discrimination of women in labour market. This topic is problematic because there is a legislative context established in Lithuania that aims to ensure equal individual rights in the field of labour. Despite the relative legislation, the official statistical data demonstrate that de facto situation of women in labour market is worse than men. In Lithuania only in 2012 in the age range of 25-34 there were 17.8% more women with higher education than men and, compared to men, their work pay gap was 12.6%. What is more, in the age range of 35-44 the work pay gap was 17.3%, and the employment rate of women was 3% smaller than men. Hence, the subject of the scientific study is the legal system of the Republic of Lithuania in terms of the non-discrimination/discrimination of women in labour market. The objectives of the paper are as follows: 1. interview the representatives of three different institutions in Lithuania in order to find out the main reasons, why the situation of women in the labour market is worse, and to provide the form and base of discrimination of women; 2. present the concept of positive actions and the application of tools of positive actions that ensure the non-discrimination of women in labour market; 3. analyze and describe how to ensure the non-discrimination of women in labour market on an international and supranational level; 4. analyze Lithuanian law and point out the imperfections of certain laws that do not ensure the non-discrimination of women in labour market. In the first chapter of this Master thesis the forms and reasons of women discrimination in labour market were analyzed. It was important to find what the forms of discrimination are and what factors influence the worse situation of women in labour market, compared to men. The study was done as follows: the representatives of three different Lithuanian institutions were interviewed, the comparative analysis of legislation was carried out, and the analysis of scientific publications was done. The results demonstrated that women in labour market are discrimanet for these reasons: lack of representation of women when making decisions, constantly reproduced gender stereotypes, and the higher burden of family responsibilities, compared to men. The base of discrimination are marital and family status, family commitment, pregnancy, and parental leave. The Lithuanian law provides four prohibited forms of discrimination: direct, indirect, harassment, and sexual harassment. However, the description of law has no direct relation with actual segregation in employment. The second chapter provides the analysis of the application of positive actions that ensure the non-discrimination of women in labour market. Positive actions are important because they eliminate actual inequality in social life. It was researched, what the tools of positive actions are in the public work sector and private work sector. The comparative analysis with other countries was carried out. The results revealed that the Lithuanian law treats positive actions as temporary special measures that are used to ensure equality and prevent the violation of equal rights because of gender-related and other reasons. However, there is no law in Lithuania that would provide the exact nature and conditions of application of these measures. The third chapter provides the analysis of how the non-discrimination of women in labour market on an international and supranational level is ensured. Descriptive, analytic, and comparative methods were used to find out what measures and mechanisms can help to ensure the non-discrimination if women in labour market. With the use of international mechanisms the United Nations obligate the countries-participants of convention to apply national measures in fighting with the discrimination of women in labour market. In Lithuania the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Optional Protocol to the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women are confirmed. Lithuania, as a participating country, formally considers the recommendations regarding the worse situation of women in labour market and implements them through various national programs by modifying or supplementing the legislation. The influence of the European Union is felt on a supranational level when writing national legislation. There are many EU directives applied in the national law of Lithuania. However, not all of them are applied consistently because the non-discrimination of women in labour market is not the priority issue in Lithuania. Chapter 4 provides the analysis of the legislation and legal mechanisms of the Republic of Lithuania. The main focus was on the issue of maternity leave regulated by the Labour Code, and the issue of making decisions, appealing them, and functions of Equal Opportunities Ombudsman. These questions are important because they are directly related to the situation of women in labour market and the ability to address a quasi-judicial body with the appeal about violation of rights. The methods of scientific analysis used in this chapter are analytical method, descriptive method and interview. The provision of parental leave that is regulated by the Labour Code raises main problems regarding the situation of a woman in labour market because the stereotypical idea that only a woman should go on parental leave is still alive. A very small part of men choose to go on a parental leave what causes long breaks between work for women and strongly affects their career. The results showed that people in Lithuania trust the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman more than they trust court. However, the contemporary function of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman, which is the supervision of law enforcement, and its related competence of imposing administrative liability regarding the violation of Act on Equal opportunities for Women and Men and Law on Equal Opportunities are limited. The results of this research are important because they reveal the imperfections of laws and pose a need to adopt amendments. After the scientific research was conducted, the hypothesis raised was confirmed: the law system of the Republic of Lithuania does not ensure the non-discrimination of women in labour market. The answer to the question, whether the law system of the Republic of Lithuania ensures the non-discrimination of women in labour market, is no.

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