On July 2, 22 persons who have rendered meritorious service to the Lithuanian justice system were honoured at a ceremony held at the Ministry of Justice. Among them were six lecturers of the Faculty of Law of Vilnius University, who were presented with awards “For Merit to Justice”. These awards are given for significant and lasting contributions to the legal system, lawmaking, science, and public education.
The following members of the academic community of the VU Faculty of Law have received the award:
- Dr. Haroldas Šinkūnas – Dean of the Faculty of Law, Associate Professor, former Legal Advisor to President Valdas Adamkus. He has been actively involved in legislative processes, with a particular focus on electoral law, judicial independence, the judiciary, and ensuring constitutionality.
- Dr. Vigita Vėbraitė – Vice Dean and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law of Vilnius University.Her research interests include civil procedure law, EU civil procedure, alternative dispute resolution methods and notarial law. She is an active contributor to legal education initiatives and the strengthening of human rights in Lithuania.
- Gintautas Bartkus – an attorney-at-law, associate professor at the Faculty of Law, Vilnius University, and former Minister of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania. He is one of the co-authors of the Commentary to the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania, author of numerous scientific publications and international studies, analysing EU law, corporate governance and legislative issues.
- Dr. Vida Petrylaitė – an associate professor at the Faculty of Law of Vilnius University, a specialist in social security law and a lawyer. She is a former Director of the Law Clinic and actively contributes to legislative initiatives in the fields of social security, labour and family law, as well as researching social guarantees in the public sector.
- Dr. Gintautas Sakalauskas – an associate professor, criminologist, and long-time editor-in-chief of the journal “Teisės problemos”. His research interests include the politics of sentencing, social integration of prisoners and juvenile delinquency. He is also an associate member of the International Foundation on Sentencing and Punishment.
- Darius Prapiestis – a lecturer at Vilnius University, whose expertise covers criminal law, criminal procedure and international criminal law. His research deepens the understanding of the principles of humanism in criminal policy, the institution of guilt and the application of constitutional law in criminal cassation.
