Scientific Thematic Groups (STG)

Head of the group – Prof. Dr. Ramūnas Birštonas

Members: Professor of Practice Dr. Ramūnas Birštonas (Head), Dr. Jūratė Liauksminaitė, PhD students: Olga Ševčenko, Sandra Idkinaitė, Simona Martinavičiūtė, Akvilė Medvedevaitė.

Industry 4.0 is based on data and its efficient operation depends on the smooth movement and access of the latter. However, most of the data is not created by its users, but rather created and / or controlled by other market participants. Daily and legal practice raises the question of the extent to which data created / controlled by other entities may be lawfully used, while legal uncertainty creates additional financial-administrative burdens for data users, resulting in inefficient allocation of resources and stifling innovation.

The term “data” describes a very heterogeneous group: intellectual property, trade secrets or other confidential information, personal data, public domain data, open data, public sector information, etc. The boundaries between them are often not clear in practice. In addition, there is a collision of different interests: traditionally business is focused on data control and non-disclosure, while the scientific community, consumers and competitors have an interest in maximum data openness.

The problem of data ownership, control and access is driven by the spread of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things or autonomous cars. Among other things, the performance and results of these technologies are based on Big Data. For example, the development of one of the most promising current technologies – artificial intelligence – is directly dependent on the ability to utilize and process large volumes of data sets. As a result, we are facing previously unexplored questions concerning the attribution of this data to individuals and the extent of their rights to it.

A systematic approach is needed to address and answer these questions, requiring the integration of different institutes, which are generally perceived separately in private law – intellectual property, protection of privacy and other personal non-pecuniary rights, contract law, protection of personal data, competition law (in particular, unfair competition and abuse of a dominant position).

Head of the group – Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rimantas Simaitis

Members: assoc.prof. dr. Vigita Vėbraitė, dr. Milda Markevičiūtė, dr. Miglė Žukauskaitė-Tatorė.

The researchers at Vilnius University, Faculty of Law, who are part of the e-Justice and ADR thematic research team, have been actively involved in the recent respective thematic R&D projects, such as Conflict Resolution with Equitative Algorithms (CREA)and Small Claims Analysis Network (SCAN) projects, co-funded by the European Commission and implemented by VU Faculty of Law jointly with foreign partners. The researchers are also actively involved, both at national and international level, in other activities of the Council of Europe, the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania and other institutions and organisations relating to the establishment and development of mediation, e-justice and online dispute resolution standards.

Head of the group – Prof. Dr. Jurgita Paužaitė-Kulvinskienė

The goal of the R&D group initiative “Changes in the administrative law system: towards an adaptive leadership in public administration” is to put administrative law at the forefront of the latest developments of in the field of public administration as a legal tool to create new law-technologies and law-products through combining digital, public-social products and services and establishing new procedural models for private market regulation. Democracy and public governance at the EU level and in different national states are facing turbulent times. Traditional public administration institutions and procedures have been substantially affected by new social movements and changes in finance and economic systems. The financial crisis of 2007-8, migration, anti-corruption measures and rapid developing of information and communication technologies raised questions about the ability of European governments to provide sufficient and effective a framework for economic security and the pursuit of redistributive policies. National governments and the governance in the EU itself changed significantly over the past quarter century, with a growing role for “arm’s length” agencies and regulatory bodies, international governance structures and private sector organisations. This R&D initiative offers a timely investigation of the adaptive leadership of the administrative law – on how it could enhance the quality of governance and public administration. Under this research exercise it is expected to identify and promote innovations in administrative law that could, on one hand, make public administration (governance) nationally and internationally attractive and able respond to the new social challenges, and on the other hand, that could be the basis for the respect to the human rights and the rule of law.

The R&D initiative will be split into three main work packages:

1. Searching for new institutional models and improving existing functional models in public administration (e.g. Common European principles of administrative law and good administration; new legal regimes for strengthening of public entities in Europe; public-economic sanctions for private market actors, etc.).
2. Searching of input of an effective justice system on strengthening the rule of law in public administration (e.g. „good judging“; the discretionary power of the judge; ethics at the judiciary system, etc.).
3. Searching of the transformative impact of technologies in public services (e.g. administrative procedure under the influence of information and communication technologies; decision-making while using the artificial intelligence; evidence based and enabled law-making procedure; cyber-security of public data, automatization of the investigation of public offences, etc.).

More information.

Head of the group – Assoc. prof. Dr. Donatas Murauskas.

Head of the group – Prof. Dr. Ligita Gasparėnienė.

Members: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Martynas Endrijaitis, Dr. Arnas Paliukėnas, Dr. Rita Remeikienė, Paulius Lauraitis, Evaldas Raistenskis.

The topic of the newly established MTG group “Legal challenges in the implementation of the EU green course strategy” is extremely timely and relevant in the conditions of the modern market. The European Commission seeks that Europe by 2050 will have become the first climate-neutral continent by addressing the legal, social and economic implications of this transition.

The MTG group’s 5-year activity plan defines the research directions:

• Research on the interaction between the EU green deal and corruption.
• Issues of legal regulation when implementing the latest greening technologies in companies.
• Digitalization implementation opportunities and legal challenges in the private and public sector.

The purpose of the MTG group is to carry out research in the field of legal regulation of the EU green course and to popularize the obtained results in international scientific journals, conferences, and public communication reports.

Head of the group – Prof. habil. dr. Vytautas Nekrošius

Members: dr. Neringa Gaubienė, dr. Kristina Pranevičienė, dr. Gabrielė Taminskaitė-Kočiūnė, doctoral student Lina Dzindzelėtaitė-Šaltė, doctoral student Eimantas Kadys

The main aim of scientific thematic group’s (STG) is to promote interdisciplinary research activities in the field of interactions between private law and digital technologies when applying innovative research methods. STG aims at developing a dialogue between scientists, inventors, policy makers and business enterprises, and to offer creative research-based solutions to problems. STG unites researchers from the Faculty of Law of Vilnius University, who investigate the challenges posed by digital technologies to private law institutes.

The subject of STG’s research is the multidimensional relationship between private law and digital technologies. The multidimensional relationship manifests itself in several dimensions. First, due to technology, fundamental changes occur in the way legal research is carried out, or how lawyers perform, and legal services are provided. Digital technologies can facilitate access to legal aid and access to justice in society.

Also, technology facilitates both private entities and business entities in terms of clarifying their rights faster and at lower costs (for example, chatbots), concluding contracts (for example, smart contracts, electronic signature systems, etc.) and resolving legal disputes remotely (for example, remote mediation). Second, the digital transformation makes us not only review the existing legal regulation, but also regulate new legal relations. Digital technologies have led to a global data economy that transcends national borders. An increasingly growing distribution between entities and subjects of legal relations is observed in different jurisdictions. Therefore, it is necessary to reconsider how legal systems should interact and to what extent the regulation of digital technologies and the data economy should be unified and integrated into national law. Diverse ethical, legal, and social issues such as privacy, cyber security, intellectual property protection, taxation and competition law have emerged because of digital transformation through data science and artificial intelligence.

STG’s research directions: international and national interdisciplinary research arising from the interaction of private law and digital technologies. Scientific thematic group conducts research in close and comprehensive collaboration between lawyers, data scientists and engineers.