Although high alcohol consumption has long been a widely-recognized problem in Lithuanian public policy circles, there were no major alcohol control policy changes until 2016. This thesis argues that a unique set of circumstances were needed to impose strict alcohol measures that were introduced by the current Government. This Master thesis uses Paul Sabatier's Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) theory to explain what factors lead to major policy changes that were achieved in 2017. Sabatier combines "bottom up" and "top down" approaches to construct a theoretical model that explains the process of policy change in a complicated policymaking environment. Sabatier studies policy processes through the lenses of advocacy coalitions and policy subsystems. Advocacy coalitions are defined as groups of various actors that share particular belief systems and coordinate activities to achieve policy change. Policy subsystems are issue-specific networks, which are contested by opposing advocacy coalitions. According to ACF theory, an advocacy coalition can contain very diverse actors such as scientists, journalists, politicians and other actors unified by certain core beliefs. We argue that the theory fails to distinguish between actors who are active in policy making and actors who are only active in influencing policy makers. Thus, the role of political parties, arguably the most important actors in parliamentary democracies, remains relatively unclear. This thesis aims to make a small contribution towards rectifying this problem. In order to explain strict alcohol control measures imposed in 2017, this thesis analyzes Lithuania's advocacy control subsystem, which is contested by "Anti-alcohol" and "Individual choice" advocacy coalitions. "Anti-alcohol" coalition argues for tighter alcohol control through the lenses of public health interest, while "Individual choice" coalition opposes tight regulation arguing that such measures stifle individual's freedom of choice. This case is interesting, because both "Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union" (LFGU), ruling party since October 2016, and "Lithuanian Christian Democrat Unions" (LCDU), the leading opposition party, shared both core beliefs and a lot of secondary beliefs in regards to alcohol control. Although both parties shared the goal of stricter alcohol control, policy making process in 2016-2017 was marked by a high degree of political conflict. ACF theory fails to explain why two actors of "Anti-alcohol" control coalition, with shared core beliefs and most of secondary beliefs, had a profound clash. This thesis employed theory process method to study a one year time frame, from formation of a new ruling coalition in December 2016 to adoption of new alcohol control regulations in June 2017. In order to answer why a major alcohol control policy breakthrough was achieved in 2017 and what was the role of LFGU and LCDU parties in the policy change process.
Although high alcohol consumption has long been a widely-recognized problem in Lithuanian public policy circles, there were no major alcohol control policy changes until 2016. This thesis argues that a unique set of circumstances were needed to impose strict alcohol measures that were introduced by the current Government. This Master thesis uses Paul Sabatier's Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) theory to explain what factors lead to major policy changes that were achieved in 2017. Sabatier combines "bottom up" and "top down" approaches to construct a theoretical model that explains the process of policy change in a complicated policymaking environment. Sabatier studies policy processes through the lenses of advocacy coalitions and policy subsystems. Advocacy coalitions are defined as groups of various actors that share particular belief systems and coordinate activities to achieve policy change. Policy subsystems are issue-specific networks, which are contested by opposing advocacy coalitions. According to ACF theory, an advocacy coalition can contain very diverse actors such as scientists, journalists, politicians and other actors unified by certain core beliefs. We argue that the theory fails to distinguish between actors who are active in policy making and actors who are only active in influencing policy makers. Thus, the role of political parties, arguably the most important actors in parliamentary democracies, remains relatively unclear. This thesis aims to make a small contribution towards rectifying this problem. In order to explain strict alcohol control measures imposed in 2017, this thesis analyzes Lithuania's advocacy control subsystem, which is contested by "Anti-alcohol" and "Individual choice" advocacy coalitions. "Anti-alcohol" coalition argues for tighter alcohol control through the lenses of public health interest, while "Individual choice" coalition opposes tight regulation arguing that such measures stifle individual's freedom of choice. This case is interesting, because both "Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union" (LFGU), ruling party since October 2016, and "Lithuanian Christian Democrat Unions" (LCDU), the leading opposition party, shared both core beliefs and a lot of secondary beliefs in regards to alcohol control. Although both parties shared the goal of stricter alcohol control, policy making process in 2016-2017 was marked by a high degree of political conflict. ACF theory fails to explain why two actors of "Anti-alcohol" control coalition, with shared core beliefs and most of secondary beliefs, had a profound clash. This thesis employed theory process method to study a one year time frame, from formation of a new ruling coalition in December 2016 to adoption of new alcohol control regulations in June 2017. In order to answer why a major alcohol control policy breakthrough was achieved in 2017 and what was the role of LFGU and LCDU parties in the policy change process.
Although high alcohol consumption has long been a widely-recognized problem in Lithuanian public policy circles, there were no major alcohol control policy changes until 2016. This thesis argues that a unique set of circumstances were needed to impose strict alcohol measures that were introduced by the current Government. This Master thesis uses Paul Sabatier's Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) theory to explain what factors lead to major policy changes that were achieved in 2017. Sabatier combines "bottom up" and "top down" approaches to construct a theoretical model that explains the process of policy change in a complicated policymaking environment. Sabatier studies policy processes through the lenses of advocacy coalitions and policy subsystems. Advocacy coalitions are defined as groups of various actors that share particular belief systems and coordinate activities to achieve policy change. Policy subsystems are issue-specific networks, which are contested by opposing advocacy coalitions. According to ACF theory, an advocacy coalition can contain very diverse actors such as scientists, journalists, politicians and other actors unified by certain core beliefs. We argue that the theory fails to distinguish between actors who are active in policy making and actors who are only active in influencing policy makers. Thus, the role of political parties, arguably the most important actors in parliamentary democracies, remains relatively unclear. This thesis aims to make a small contribution towards rectifying this problem. In order to explain strict alcohol control measures imposed in 2017, this thesis analyzes Lithuania's advocacy control subsystem, which is contested by "Anti-alcohol" and "Individual choice" advocacy coalitions. "Anti-alcohol" coalition argues for tighter alcohol control through the lenses of public health interest, while "Individual choice" coalition opposes tight regulation arguing that such measures stifle individual's freedom of choice. This case is interesting, because both "Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union" (LFGU), ruling party since October 2016, and "Lithuanian Christian Democrat Unions" (LCDU), the leading opposition party, shared both core beliefs and a lot of secondary beliefs in regards to alcohol control. Although both parties shared the goal of stricter alcohol control, policy making process in 2016-2017 was marked by a high degree of political conflict. ACF theory fails to explain why two actors of "Anti-alcohol" control coalition, with shared core beliefs and most of secondary beliefs, had a profound clash. This thesis employed theory process method to study a one year time frame, from formation of a new ruling coalition in December 2016 to adoption of new alcohol control regulations in June 2017. In order to answer why a major alcohol control policy breakthrough was achieved in 2017 and what was the role of LFGU and LCDU parties in the policy change process.
Although high alcohol consumption has long been a widely-recognized problem in Lithuanian public policy circles, there were no major alcohol control policy changes until 2016. This thesis argues that a unique set of circumstances were needed to impose strict alcohol measures that were introduced by the current Government. This Master thesis uses Paul Sabatier's Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) theory to explain what factors lead to major policy changes that were achieved in 2017. Sabatier combines "bottom up" and "top down" approaches to construct a theoretical model that explains the process of policy change in a complicated policymaking environment. Sabatier studies policy processes through the lenses of advocacy coalitions and policy subsystems. Advocacy coalitions are defined as groups of various actors that share particular belief systems and coordinate activities to achieve policy change. Policy subsystems are issue-specific networks, which are contested by opposing advocacy coalitions. According to ACF theory, an advocacy coalition can contain very diverse actors such as scientists, journalists, politicians and other actors unified by certain core beliefs. We argue that the theory fails to distinguish between actors who are active in policy making and actors who are only active in influencing policy makers. Thus, the role of political parties, arguably the most important actors in parliamentary democracies, remains relatively unclear. This thesis aims to make a small contribution towards rectifying this problem. In order to explain strict alcohol control measures imposed in 2017, this thesis analyzes Lithuania's advocacy control subsystem, which is contested by "Anti-alcohol" and "Individual choice" advocacy coalitions. "Anti-alcohol" coalition argues for tighter alcohol control through the lenses of public health interest, while "Individual choice" coalition opposes tight regulation arguing that such measures stifle individual's freedom of choice. This case is interesting, because both "Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union" (LFGU), ruling party since October 2016, and "Lithuanian Christian Democrat Unions" (LCDU), the leading opposition party, shared both core beliefs and a lot of secondary beliefs in regards to alcohol control. Although both parties shared the goal of stricter alcohol control, policy making process in 2016-2017 was marked by a high degree of political conflict. ACF theory fails to explain why two actors of "Anti-alcohol" control coalition, with shared core beliefs and most of secondary beliefs, had a profound clash. This thesis employed theory process method to study a one year time frame, from formation of a new ruling coalition in December 2016 to adoption of new alcohol control regulations in June 2017. In order to answer why a major alcohol control policy breakthrough was achieved in 2017 and what was the role of LFGU and LCDU parties in the policy change process.
With the strong expansion of the market for autonomous robots, these, mostly, self-acting devices can be seen everywhere: in the home, military, medical, industrial and defence sectors. Autonomous functions performed by robots range from operations in the medical sector, to environmental monitoring at home and finishing with military actions in the defence sector. Autonomous environmental monitoring robots typically operate in environments which are rich in private and confidential data, regarding this, there is a need to be concerned about the secure transmission of such data and the cyber security of robots itself. When sending data to the end device, the data communication channel must be secure, and the data must be protected from possible misappropriation, modification or falsification of their origin. Taking into account the rapid growth of the autonomous robot market and forecasts that show that in the future the bulk of Internet data will be mostly multimedia data, the main object of this final work is the implementation of an autonomous environmental monitoring robot secure communication method. After reviewing the existing communication methods, comparing their advantages and disadvantages, the aim of this is work is to propose an efficient, effective secure communication method that can be adapted to an autonomous environmental monitoring robot with limited computing power and constrained energy resources. The method must meet the requirements of the video transmission operation: to ensure good video quality, high operational speed, low video delay and energy saving. Depending upon the function performed by the autonomous environmental monitoring robot, operating environment, the required, non-redundant level of security is defined. In the prototype developing phase, it was proposed to implement a secure communication method to transmit video data using modified SRTP protocol with pre-shared key technique. In the experimental part, the performance parameters of the proposed secure communication method are compared against other communication methods which are implemented using an insecure RTP and SRTP-DTLS protocol stacks. The results of the research obtained in the experimental part are compared, discussed and the final conclusions of the work are presented.
With the strong expansion of the market for autonomous robots, these, mostly, self-acting devices can be seen everywhere: in the home, military, medical, industrial and defence sectors. Autonomous functions performed by robots range from operations in the medical sector, to environmental monitoring at home and finishing with military actions in the defence sector. Autonomous environmental monitoring robots typically operate in environments which are rich in private and confidential data, regarding this, there is a need to be concerned about the secure transmission of such data and the cyber security of robots itself. When sending data to the end device, the data communication channel must be secure, and the data must be protected from possible misappropriation, modification or falsification of their origin. Taking into account the rapid growth of the autonomous robot market and forecasts that show that in the future the bulk of Internet data will be mostly multimedia data, the main object of this final work is the implementation of an autonomous environmental monitoring robot secure communication method. After reviewing the existing communication methods, comparing their advantages and disadvantages, the aim of this is work is to propose an efficient, effective secure communication method that can be adapted to an autonomous environmental monitoring robot with limited computing power and constrained energy resources. The method must meet the requirements of the video transmission operation: to ensure good video quality, high operational speed, low video delay and energy saving. Depending upon the function performed by the autonomous environmental monitoring robot, operating environment, the required, non-redundant level of security is defined. In the prototype developing phase, it was proposed to implement a secure communication method to transmit video data using modified SRTP protocol with pre-shared key technique. In the experimental part, the performance parameters of the proposed secure communication method are compared against other communication methods which are implemented using an insecure RTP and SRTP-DTLS protocol stacks. The results of the research obtained in the experimental part are compared, discussed and the final conclusions of the work are presented.
With the strong expansion of the market for autonomous robots, these, mostly, self-acting devices can be seen everywhere: in the home, military, medical, industrial and defence sectors. Autonomous functions performed by robots range from operations in the medical sector, to environmental monitoring at home and finishing with military actions in the defence sector. Autonomous environmental monitoring robots typically operate in environments which are rich in private and confidential data, regarding this, there is a need to be concerned about the secure transmission of such data and the cyber security of robots itself. When sending data to the end device, the data communication channel must be secure, and the data must be protected from possible misappropriation, modification or falsification of their origin. Taking into account the rapid growth of the autonomous robot market and forecasts that show that in the future the bulk of Internet data will be mostly multimedia data, the main object of this final work is the implementation of an autonomous environmental monitoring robot secure communication method. After reviewing the existing communication methods, comparing their advantages and disadvantages, the aim of this is work is to propose an efficient, effective secure communication method that can be adapted to an autonomous environmental monitoring robot with limited computing power and constrained energy resources. The method must meet the requirements of the video transmission operation: to ensure good video quality, high operational speed, low video delay and energy saving. Depending upon the function performed by the autonomous environmental monitoring robot, operating environment, the required, non-redundant level of security is defined. In the prototype developing phase, it was proposed to implement a secure communication method to transmit video data using modified SRTP protocol with pre-shared key technique. In the experimental part, the performance parameters of the proposed secure communication method are compared against other communication methods which are implemented using an insecure RTP and SRTP-DTLS protocol stacks. The results of the research obtained in the experimental part are compared, discussed and the final conclusions of the work are presented.
With the strong expansion of the market for autonomous robots, these, mostly, self-acting devices can be seen everywhere: in the home, military, medical, industrial and defence sectors. Autonomous functions performed by robots range from operations in the medical sector, to environmental monitoring at home and finishing with military actions in the defence sector. Autonomous environmental monitoring robots typically operate in environments which are rich in private and confidential data, regarding this, there is a need to be concerned about the secure transmission of such data and the cyber security of robots itself. When sending data to the end device, the data communication channel must be secure, and the data must be protected from possible misappropriation, modification or falsification of their origin. Taking into account the rapid growth of the autonomous robot market and forecasts that show that in the future the bulk of Internet data will be mostly multimedia data, the main object of this final work is the implementation of an autonomous environmental monitoring robot secure communication method. After reviewing the existing communication methods, comparing their advantages and disadvantages, the aim of this is work is to propose an efficient, effective secure communication method that can be adapted to an autonomous environmental monitoring robot with limited computing power and constrained energy resources. The method must meet the requirements of the video transmission operation: to ensure good video quality, high operational speed, low video delay and energy saving. Depending upon the function performed by the autonomous environmental monitoring robot, operating environment, the required, non-redundant level of security is defined. In the prototype developing phase, it was proposed to implement a secure communication method to transmit video data using modified SRTP protocol with pre-shared key technique. In the experimental part, the performance parameters of the proposed secure communication method are compared against other communication methods which are implemented using an insecure RTP and SRTP-DTLS protocol stacks. The results of the research obtained in the experimental part are compared, discussed and the final conclusions of the work are presented.
The Baltic society underwent different stages of development just as any other culture. Throughout centuries weaponry and its progress stages were among the major factors facilitating community's adaptation to altering environment. The Baltic tribes which once inhabited the territory of the modern Lithuania had to develop their weaponry in order to promote their own existence and to defend their habitat from the attacks of foreign foes during the course of time; therefore, they gradually developed traditional munitions outfits distinctive with their own specific features and revealing shared similarities when compared. This paper seeks to review the 5th – early 13th century weaponry of the Lithuanian tribe which inhabited the habitat of the Eastern Lithuanian Barrow Culture (hereinafter referred to as the ELBC) based on the materials of the burial monuments. The tasks of the paper are: 1. Describing the social structure and economical and political development of the Lithuanian tribe (ELBC) in the 5th – early 13th century identifying its most characteristic features; 2. Assessing types of weaponry used by the 5th – early 13th century Lithuanian tribe (ELBC) and identifying what kind of weapons (which of their types) were typical for a warrior of this tribe during the Middle and Late Iron Age period; 3. Highlighting specifics of the munitions of the 5th – early 13th century warriors of the Lithuanian tribe (ELBC) compared to other Baltic tribes and identifying typical munitions outfits of the warriors of this tribe.
The Baltic society underwent different stages of development just as any other culture. Throughout centuries weaponry and its progress stages were among the major factors facilitating community's adaptation to altering environment. The Baltic tribes which once inhabited the territory of the modern Lithuania had to develop their weaponry in order to promote their own existence and to defend their habitat from the attacks of foreign foes during the course of time; therefore, they gradually developed traditional munitions outfits distinctive with their own specific features and revealing shared similarities when compared. This paper seeks to review the 5th – early 13th century weaponry of the Lithuanian tribe which inhabited the habitat of the Eastern Lithuanian Barrow Culture (hereinafter referred to as the ELBC) based on the materials of the burial monuments. The tasks of the paper are: 1. Describing the social structure and economical and political development of the Lithuanian tribe (ELBC) in the 5th – early 13th century identifying its most characteristic features; 2. Assessing types of weaponry used by the 5th – early 13th century Lithuanian tribe (ELBC) and identifying what kind of weapons (which of their types) were typical for a warrior of this tribe during the Middle and Late Iron Age period; 3. Highlighting specifics of the munitions of the 5th – early 13th century warriors of the Lithuanian tribe (ELBC) compared to other Baltic tribes and identifying typical munitions outfits of the warriors of this tribe.
Good foreign practices from the Western world help to form the emerging Lithuanian ideology of prison. The idea of resocialization, which was adapted through cooperation, is also being consolidated in the legal documents and legal acts of the Lithuanian penitentiary system and gradually is being implemented in prisons. The prison system of the Kingdom of Norway is becoming a leader by developing a new approach about sentencing and imprisonment. The careful and empathetic approach towards infringers implemented in their system creates the possibility of ensuring greater security for the institutions, employees, convicts and the public, reducing the risk of recidivism in the future. Not only that but also it shapes good practice that is willing to be shared with other developing democratic countries. The dynamic supervision approach is one of the hallmarks of the Norwegian law enforcement system. The core aspect of this method is a positive and professional relation between employee and a convict, which not only seeks to get to know and understand the convicts individually, but also to engage them in meaningful activities, as well as to assess and manage potential risks and thus ensure a safe environment for everybody – employees, convicts and the public. In this way, Norway's penitentiary system remains a model for other countries to change their attitudes towards convicts and helps to develop social skills to ensure easier and more successful integration into society. The aim of this work is to evaluate the factors of implementation of the principles of dynamic supervision of the Kingdom of Norway in the Lithuanian public administration system. It was sought to find out the importance of dynamic supervision in the organization and implementation of the resocialization model, to determine the influence of good foreign practice on the Lithuanian penitentiary system and to investigate the implementation of dynamic supervision in pilot institutions - Vilnius Correctional Facility and Pravieniškės Correctional Facility. These two institutions are considered to be pilot, according to the fact that the Department of Prisons under the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania, together with its partners in the Kingdom of Norway is currently focusing on them in order to create a more successful resocialization model in Lithuania. The empirical part of this research - the qualitative research – is to evaluate the opinions of the employees and the convicts from Pravieniškės Correctional Facility about the organization and implementation of dynamic supervision. The method of comparative analysis was used to overlook the relevancy of the dynamic supervision method of the Kingdom of Norway and its principles in the practice of execution of sentences in Lithuania. The adaptation, implementation and accommodation of good foreign practices were identified during the research. By comparative analysis, on empirical research it was found out on what aspects Lithuanian penitentiary system should raise awareness in order to achieve a more efficient resocialization process. Having this in mind, conclusions and recommendations are also provided.
Good foreign practices from the Western world help to form the emerging Lithuanian ideology of prison. The idea of resocialization, which was adapted through cooperation, is also being consolidated in the legal documents and legal acts of the Lithuanian penitentiary system and gradually is being implemented in prisons. The prison system of the Kingdom of Norway is becoming a leader by developing a new approach about sentencing and imprisonment. The careful and empathetic approach towards infringers implemented in their system creates the possibility of ensuring greater security for the institutions, employees, convicts and the public, reducing the risk of recidivism in the future. Not only that but also it shapes good practice that is willing to be shared with other developing democratic countries. The dynamic supervision approach is one of the hallmarks of the Norwegian law enforcement system. The core aspect of this method is a positive and professional relation between employee and a convict, which not only seeks to get to know and understand the convicts individually, but also to engage them in meaningful activities, as well as to assess and manage potential risks and thus ensure a safe environment for everybody – employees, convicts and the public. In this way, Norway's penitentiary system remains a model for other countries to change their attitudes towards convicts and helps to develop social skills to ensure easier and more successful integration into society. The aim of this work is to evaluate the factors of implementation of the principles of dynamic supervision of the Kingdom of Norway in the Lithuanian public administration system. It was sought to find out the importance of dynamic supervision in the organization and implementation of the resocialization model, to determine the influence of good foreign practice on the Lithuanian penitentiary system and to investigate the implementation of dynamic supervision in pilot institutions - Vilnius Correctional Facility and Pravieniškės Correctional Facility. These two institutions are considered to be pilot, according to the fact that the Department of Prisons under the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania, together with its partners in the Kingdom of Norway is currently focusing on them in order to create a more successful resocialization model in Lithuania. The empirical part of this research - the qualitative research – is to evaluate the opinions of the employees and the convicts from Pravieniškės Correctional Facility about the organization and implementation of dynamic supervision. The method of comparative analysis was used to overlook the relevancy of the dynamic supervision method of the Kingdom of Norway and its principles in the practice of execution of sentences in Lithuania. The adaptation, implementation and accommodation of good foreign practices were identified during the research. By comparative analysis, on empirical research it was found out on what aspects Lithuanian penitentiary system should raise awareness in order to achieve a more efficient resocialization process. Having this in mind, conclusions and recommendations are also provided.
The French Minister of Culture suggested extending to a European level the "Monuments' Open Doors" initiative launched in France in 1984. Several European countries, such as The Netherlands, Luxemburg, Malta, Belgium, the United Kingdom (Scotland) and Sweden soon set up similar events. In 1991, the Council of Europe officially launched the European Heritage Days (EHDs) with the support of the European Commission. In 1999, this initiative became a joint action of the Council of Europe and the European Commission. Throughout Europe, during the weekends of September, the European Heritage Days open the doors of numerous monuments and sites, many of them usually closed to the public, allowing Europe's citizens to enjoy and learn about their shared cultural heritage and encouraging them to become actively involved in the safeguard and enhancement of this heritage for present and future generations. Today, the European Heritage Days can be considered an essential instrument for fostering a tangible experience of European culture and history in addition to raising the awareness of the public about the multiple values of our common heritage and the continuous need for its protection. All 49 States parties to the European Cultural Convention actively take part in the initiative and the number of annual visitors is now estimated to be around 20 million at more than 30,000 participating monuments and sites. The EHDs have succeeded in stimulating civil society's participation, the specific involvement of youth, voluntary work and cross-border cooperation, thereby promoting the core principles of intercultural dialogue, partnership and civic responsibility. Like in the rest of Europe, in its European Heritage Days Lithuania is trying to draw attention to a certain area of our national heritage, to make us able to gain a deeper recognition of the long-term role and potential of heritage in the context of modern civilisation and culture. In particular, Heritage Days focus on youth thus hoping to inspire in them more aspirations and interest in the cultural history of their own and neighbouring European countries which have become as close as never before. As regards municipalities and other responsible or involved organisations, these events should become a stimulus to preserve and nurture cultural heritage of Lithuania more carefully and take a more innovative approach as regards its integration into information flows of European cultural heritage, as well as promote cultural tourism. In Lithuania European heritage days began only at 1995 and lasts till now already for 12 years. The themes were: jewish heritage in Lithuania, wooden, technical heritage, parks and gardens, cultural tourism and others. This year European heritage days will be – "Europe: common heritage. Cultural routes". With the support of the Council of Europe, the Photo experience from 1995 allows young people, in the framework of the European Heritage Days, to become familiar with the richness of their heritage, their history and their environment, from the past and from today. The international photo contest is a very good experience for young people. In Lithuania the campaign started at 1999.
The French Minister of Culture suggested extending to a European level the "Monuments' Open Doors" initiative launched in France in 1984. Several European countries, such as The Netherlands, Luxemburg, Malta, Belgium, the United Kingdom (Scotland) and Sweden soon set up similar events. In 1991, the Council of Europe officially launched the European Heritage Days (EHDs) with the support of the European Commission. In 1999, this initiative became a joint action of the Council of Europe and the European Commission. Throughout Europe, during the weekends of September, the European Heritage Days open the doors of numerous monuments and sites, many of them usually closed to the public, allowing Europe's citizens to enjoy and learn about their shared cultural heritage and encouraging them to become actively involved in the safeguard and enhancement of this heritage for present and future generations. Today, the European Heritage Days can be considered an essential instrument for fostering a tangible experience of European culture and history in addition to raising the awareness of the public about the multiple values of our common heritage and the continuous need for its protection. All 49 States parties to the European Cultural Convention actively take part in the initiative and the number of annual visitors is now estimated to be around 20 million at more than 30,000 participating monuments and sites. The EHDs have succeeded in stimulating civil society's participation, the specific involvement of youth, voluntary work and cross-border cooperation, thereby promoting the core principles of intercultural dialogue, partnership and civic responsibility. Like in the rest of Europe, in its European Heritage Days Lithuania is trying to draw attention to a certain area of our national heritage, to make us able to gain a deeper recognition of the long-term role and potential of heritage in the context of modern civilisation and culture. In particular, Heritage Days focus on youth thus hoping to inspire in them more aspirations and interest in the cultural history of their own and neighbouring European countries which have become as close as never before. As regards municipalities and other responsible or involved organisations, these events should become a stimulus to preserve and nurture cultural heritage of Lithuania more carefully and take a more innovative approach as regards its integration into information flows of European cultural heritage, as well as promote cultural tourism. In Lithuania European heritage days began only at 1995 and lasts till now already for 12 years. The themes were: jewish heritage in Lithuania, wooden, technical heritage, parks and gardens, cultural tourism and others. This year European heritage days will be – "Europe: common heritage. Cultural routes". With the support of the Council of Europe, the Photo experience from 1995 allows young people, in the framework of the European Heritage Days, to become familiar with the richness of their heritage, their history and their environment, from the past and from today. The international photo contest is a very good experience for young people. In Lithuania the campaign started at 1999.
Research problem It has been four decades since conclusion of the Vienna Convention on the law of treaties. The Convention included a provision that a treaty shall be inter-preted in good faith in accordance with the ordinary meaning to be given to the terms of the treaty in their context and in the light of its object and purpose. The customary status of this rule has been accepted by the International Court of Justice. Disregarding that, some question whether the rules, as opposed to principles, of interpretation are possible (i.e. would that not be better not to reduce them to writing). The International Law Commission itself has com-mented on this. On the other hand, the differences concerning interpretation of treaties were apparent already at the time the treaty was drafted. When the Convention was finally adopted, a few scholars representing the so-called New Haven approach opined that they expected the Convention to fail due to its "insistent emphasis upon an impossible, comformity-imposing textuality". In their view, conclusion of an international agreement was a continuous process of cooperation and collaboration of the parties, which required a much more detailed focus on the intentions of the parties than the Vienna Convention rule of interpretation envisaged. They called for interpretation which would search for genuine shared expectations, together with the complementary appeals for 'supplementing' and 'policing' communications in accordance with overriding community goals. Disregarding these hallmarks, they accepted that the text should remain an important index of party expectations, which they identify as one of the goals of interpretation. In their view, attention to the carefully worked out arrangements of the parties encourages the clarity of expectation, especially when sources of equal credibility give contradictory results concern-ing their expectations. Although the New Haven approach to interpretation of treaties was not included in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, a form of their reflection could be identified in national law, especially that of continental legal systems. It is agreed that the major difference between common law and conti-nental practice lies in the rules of interpretation: common law is based on a presumption of law, into which statutes are interwoven, hence the practice of drafting statutes in the fullest detail, and the broad assumptions that a statute deals only with those cases which fall within its actual wording. Continental theory, on the other hand, treats statutes as a basis of the law, but these tend to be drafted in a very general and abstract way, leaving it up to the courts to fill in the details by reference to a presumed legislative intention. However, this key difference seems to dissipate, as the common law tends to move away from the purely literal towards the purposive construction of statutory provi-sions, i.e. a new, 'revamped' version of literal rule has developed, which required the general context and purpose to be taken into consideration before any decision is reached concerning the ordinary meaning of statutory words. The continental practice remains consistent on its emphasis on the legislative intention. In the law of contracts this rule turns into a global one: both Lando and UNIDROIT principles of international commercial contracts include a rule of interpretation requiring to determine the common intentions of the parties. This approach finds reflection also in the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania, which was drafted on the basis of the UNIDROIT Principles. The International Law Commission returned to the topic of interpreta-tion of treaties thirty years later, in 2000, when it decided to consider the issue of fragmentation of international law and the potential problems it might give rise to. With this purpose in mind in its report on the topic of 2006 the study group has identified four general principles of interpretation of international rules: first, international law should be considered as a legal system, not as a random collection of international rules; second, in applying international law, it is necessary to determine the precise relationship between two or more rules and principles that are both valid and applicable in respect of the whole situa-tion (i.e. to identify whether their relationship is a one of interpretation or con-flict); thirdly, the norms should be interpreted in accordance with the Vienna Convention on the law of treaties, and fourthly, when several norms bear on a single issue, they should be interpreted so as to give rise to a set of compatible obligations. Explaining the latter principle, the Commission, similarly to the New Haven group approach, emphasized the need to take into consideration the community values, i.e. ius cogens and erga omnes, even though continues to recommend to follow the Vienna Convention approach on the ordinary meaning of the terms. Forty years later, it is already possible to consider, whether the New Haven group was correct criticising the Vienna Convention rule of interpreta-tion for its excessive emphasis on text, and how significant is the practical difference between the rule requiring to determine the common intentions of the parties as opposed to the rule, which requires to interpret a treaty in accor-dance with the ordinary meaning of its terms. Also, what is the practical im-pact of these differences on protection of the rights of persons. In order to answer this research question, the focus of the dissertation is on the foreign investment law in the energy sector. The topic is suitable and convenient to consider the impact of the rules of interpretation and the problems posed by fragmentation of international law. Its sources include in-ternational, national, and for the EU countries also EU law, even though the nature of the relationship between EU law and international investment law remains a disputable issue. The energy sector has been chosen in order to evaluate more precisely the impact of the rules of interpretation and fragmenta-tion of international law on the content of the rights of persons and their appli-cation. Research sources The Dissertation analyzes multilateral and bilateral investment trea-ties which are significant for the the protection of investment in the energy sector and the decisions of international investment arbitral tribunals. The ma-jor sources of international investment law are international treaties. The most significant documents for the energy sector currently are the Energy Charter treaty, the ICSID Convention, and the bilateral investment treaties, although national law remains also important for enforcement of arbitral awards and interpretation of state contracts. State contracts also remain significant, be-cause as a rule they include arbitration clauses and stabilization clauses. The latter are particularly common in the energy sector due to its specificity – on the one hand, energy is a heavily politicized sector due to its significance for the development of the economy of a state and both its economic and political stability. Therefore it has a status of a strategic sector, even an issue of national security. This could be observed ever since the beginning of the twentieth century. On the other hand, energy is an infrastructure sector, which requires high investments for development. Not all states are capable to develop this sector by their own financial means, and choose to attract foreign investment. As a result, investment contracts (state contracts) are concluded; they have a status of international commercial contracts, and their parties are free to choose both the applicable law and the means of dispute settlement. The en-ergy contracts as a rule include stabilization clauses, which seek to maintain stable business legal and financial environment for the duration of the contract. Finally, European Union law may also be accepted as a source for in-vestment protection, despite its generalized purposes, which are to achieve the strengthening and convergence of their economies and to establish a monetary and economic union, to implement a common foreign and security policy, including the progressive framing of the common defence policy, and to estab-lish the area of freedom, security and justice. EU law and foreign investment law are still largely conceived as independent and hardly interlinked. However, as integration between the EU member states becomes closer, EU legislation makes an increasing impact also on the specific sectors of the economy, in-cluding the energy sector. Research object The research object of this dissertation are the problems of interpreta-tion and application of law which arise in the resolution of disputes concerning protection of investments in the energy sector between the host states and for-eign investors. They may be grouped into three groups on the basis of the ap-plicable law: 1. The problems of interpretation of international agreements. Both BITs and MITs apply only with respect to investment. ICSID arbitral tribunals can hear only disputes arising directly out of an investment. Disregarding the key role the notion has on the exercise of rights, its meaning remains unclear. The most recent arbitral practice is completely inconsistent on this issue. No less problems are posed by the umbrella clauses, which are included in a large number of BITs and the Energy Charter Treaty, and which requires states to observe obligations they have entered into with an investor. These provisions have been included even in the BITs of 1970s, but in practice they have emerged only recently. The arbitral tribunals differ on whether this provision should be read literaly, or whether its meaning should be restricted. 2. The problems of interpretation of arbitration clauses and invest-ment contracts. This group includes the problems concerning arbitrab
