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2008 Assessment

Lithuania: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Lithuania : Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Civil Society Organizations
Indicators		Score
1	Are anti-corruption/good governance CSOs legally protected?	100
2	Are good governance/anti-corruption CSOs able to operate freely?	83
3	Are civil society activists safe when working on corruption issues?	100
4	Can citizens organize into trade unions?	88

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Are anti-corruption/good governance CSOs legally protected?

1a: In law, citizens have a right to form civil society organizations (CSOs) focused on anti-corruption or good governance.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Constitution (Article 35, Part 1): [ LINK ]

Law on Associations (Articles 4 and 3): [ LINK ]

Law on Public Establishments (Articles 4 and 3): [ LINK ]

1b: In law, anti-corruption/good governance CSOs are free to accept funding from any foreign or domestic sources.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Law on Associations (Article 16, Part 4): [ LINK ]

Law on Public Establishments (Article 13, Part 8): [ LINK ]

1c: In law, anti-corruption/good governance CSOs are required to disclose their sources of funding.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Law on Associations (Article 10): [ LINK ]

Law on Public Establishments (Article 12): [ LINK ]

Are good governance/anti-corruption CSOs able to operate freely?

2a: In practice, the government does not create barriers to the organization of new anti-corruption/good governance CSOs.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Darius Kuolys, director, Civil Society Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 19, 2008)

Rytis Juozapavicius, Transparency International Lithuanian Chapter (Vilnius, Sept. 18, 2008)

Egle Kavoliunaite, head of Legal System Research Department, Law Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 1, 2008)

2b: In practice, anti-corruption/good governance CSOs actively engage in the political and policymaking process.

Score:

100

Comments: Anti-corruption/good governance CSOs are quite active, but most of the proposals or recommendations that comes from these CSOs are not implemented (for example, Transparency International Lithuanian Chapter has for many years ineffectively advocated to introduce universal income declarations or legal protection of whistle-blowers).

References: Darius Kuolys, director, Civil Society Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 19, 2008)

Rytis Juozapavicius, Transparency International Lithuanian Chapter (Vilnius, Sept. 18, 2008)

Egle Kavoliunaite, head of Legal System Research Department, Law Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 1, 2008)

Peer Review Comments: Anti-corruption/good governance CSOs in Lithuania are facing at least two other concerns, too. First of all, while there are formal CSO engagement mechanisms, it is often unclear what selection criteria are used to select CSOs as social partners. Secondly, often it is also unclear whether and how CSO recommendations/suggestions in working groups have been taken into account when dealing with amendments and content of discussed official documents, guidelines, etc.

2c: In practice, no anti-corruption/good governance CSOs have been shut down by the government for their work on corruption-related issues during the study period.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no CSOs shut down by the government or forced to cease operations because of their work on corruption-related issues during the study period. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if any CSO has been effectively shut down by the government or forced to cease operations because of its work on corruption-related issues during the study period. The causal relationship between the cessation of operations and the CSO\'s work may not be explicit, however the burden of proof here is low. If it seems likely that the CSO was forced to cease operations due to its work, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: Egle Kavoliunaite, head of Legal System Research Department, Law Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 1, 2008)

Henrikas Mickevicius, Human Rights Monitoring Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 22, 2008)

Rytis Juozapavicius, Transparency International Lithuanian Chapter (Vilnius, Sept. 18, 2008)

Are civil society activists safe when working on corruption issues?

3a: In practice, in the past year, no civil society activists working on corruption issues have been imprisoned.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no CSO activists imprisoned because of their work covering corruption. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if any activist was jailed in relation to work covering corruption. The causal relationship between the official charges and the person\'s work may not be explicit, however the burden of proof here is low. If it seems likely that the person was imprisoned due to his or her work, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: Egle Kavoliunaite, head of Legal System Research Department, Law Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 1, 2008)

Henrikas Mickevicius, Human Rights Monitoring Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 22, 2008)

Rytis Juozapavicius, Transparency International Lithuanian Chapter (Vilnius, Sept. 18, 2008)

3b: In practice, in the past year, no civil society activists working on corruption issues have been physically harmed.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of CSO activists covering corruption being assaulted in the specific study period. A YES score can be earned if there was an attack but it was clearly unrelated to the activist\'s work. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases during the study period of assault to an activist who covers corruption. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: Egle Kavoliunaite, head of Legal System Research Department, Law Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 1, 2008)

Henrikas Mickevicius, Human Rights Monitoring Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 22, 2008)

Rytis Juozapavicius, Transparency International Lithuanian Chapter (Vilnius, Sept. 18, 2008)

3c: In practice, in the past year, no civil society activists working on corruption issues have been killed.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of CSO activists being killed because of their work covering corruption in the specific study period. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases during the study period where a person was killed related to a corruption trial, scandal or investigation. The relationship between a mysterious death and an individual\'s history may not be clear, however the burden of proof here is low. If it is reasonable that a person was killed in relation to his or her work on corruption issues, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: Egle Kavoliunaite, head of Legal System Research Department, Law Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 1, 2008)

Henrikas Mickevicius, Human Rights Monitoring Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 22, 2008)

Rytis Juozapavicius, Transparency International Lithuanian Chapter (Vilnius, Sept. 18, 2008)

Can citizens organize into trade unions?

4a: In law, citizens have a right to organize into trade unions.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Constitution (Article 50): [ LINK ]

Law on Trade Unions (Articles 1 and 2): [ LINK ]

4b: In practice, citizens are able to organize into trade unions.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Henrikas Mickevicius, Human Rights Monitoring Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 22, 2008)

Egle Kavoliunaite, head of Legal System Research Department, Law Institute (Vilnius, Sept. 1, 2008)