Publication on freedom and regulation of economic activity launched

On 11 October, on the occasion of the birthday of the VU Law Faculty, was held the presentation of book

“Protection of Freedom of Economic Activity in Lithuania and Germany”, where distinguished guests participated in a discussion on the topics of freedom and restrictions of business and economic activity.

A book published at the perfect time

The Dean of the Law Faculty, Assoc. Prof. Dr Haroldas Šinkūnas, who welcomed the guests of the event, said he was pleased that the publication was timely, as cooperation with Germany is more important than ever before due to geopolitical reasons.

The guest of the event, Member of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania Žygimantas Pavilionis, also agreed, stressing that Germany is currently the most important partner in security. In his view, this country’s leadership in European security will grow in the future.

Professor (HP) Dr Egidijus Šileikis, teacher at the Law Faculty, one of the co-authors of the book, said that his aim in writing the book was to investigate unprecedented events in the history of Lithuanian legislation, such as the restrictions on alcohol consumption and the deliberations on reducing the prices of medicines. These topics were fraught with difficulties, which he overcame by a sense of inner justice.

The book can certainly be further developed, said Prof. Dr Danutė Jočienė, Judge of the Supreme Court of Lithuania, who reviewed the book. “I wish to keep going and continue this topic. The book is very complex and excellent”, said the professor.

Economic activity – finding the balance between freedom and regulation

The event featured a lively discussion and addressed issues related to business freedoms, liability and the work of supervisory authorities. The discussion was moderated by Prof. Dr Jurgita Paužaitė-Kulvinskienė, Vice Dean for Science of the Law Faculty, who stressed the importance of the development of legal regulation: “If there are no social relations, we will not have anything to do”. She believes that the Administrative Court protects business from the state. She supports the creation of supervisory institutions. However, she notes that the supervisory authorities base their activities on their own laws and not on administrative law.

The panellists shared their insights into the challenges facing business. Rūta Skyrienė, Executive Director of the “Investors Forum”, when asked how business feels about the relationship between business and the state, replied that business feels that the state has a negative attitude towards them.

The event focused on the activities of the supervisory authority. “There is a problem that the institutions are very different, and a lot depends on the managers and people working in them”, – said Senior Lect. Dr Lauras Butkevičius. However, he believes that things are moving in a right direction and that there are progressive institutions in the country.

Giedrius Kadziauskas, Member of the Board of the Association of Supervisory Authorities (PIA), Director of the of Environmental Protection Department under the Ministry of Environment, spoke more about the regulatory and supervisory issues. He argued that the focus should be on regulatory outcomes. “We don’t want incidents, we don’t want pollution and we don’t want the destruction of ecosystems. These are the results we want from other regulators”, he said. Depending on the magnitude of the risk, the focus on the problem is correspondingly higher or lower, he said.

Goda Aleksaitė, also a member of the PIA Board and Director of the State Consumer Rights Protection Authority, noted that the number of consumer complaints is rising, which complicates the work, as each complaint needs attention.

The discussion was also attended by Assoc. Prof. Dr Agnė Juškevičiūtė-Vilienė, and was joined remotely by Prof. Dr Gerrit Manssen (Regensburg University) and Dr. Max Hogeforster, President of the Hanse Parlament. The event was organised in cooperation with the Lithuanian-German Forum.

Authors of the book “Protection of Freedom of Economic Activity in Lithuania and Germany” – Agnė Andrijauskaitė, Stefan Drechsler, Andrea Edenharter, Agnė Juškevičiūtė-Vilienė, Airė Keturakienė, Stefan Korioth, Gerrit Manssen, Rasa Ragulskytė-Markovienė, Egidijus Šileikis, Haroldas Šinkūnas, Robert Uerpmann-Wittzack, Eva Weinbeer. Editors – prof. dr. (HP) Egidijus Šileikis, prof. dr. Jurgita Paužaitė-Kulvinskienė.