DOES CRIMINAL LIABILITY ESTABLISHED IN ARTICLE 245 OF THE CRIMINAL CODE OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA CORRESPOND TO THE PRINCIPLE OF ULTIMA RATIO?

Abstract

Criminal law is a measure of last resort, therefore, a person can be prosecuted only in cases where the measures of other branches of law are ineffective. The issue of compliance of various articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania with the principle of ultima ratio has been examined for several years. One of such articles is Article 245 of the Criminal Code of Republic of Lithuania, "Non-execution of a court decision that is not related to punishment". On the one hand, non-execution of court decisions causes damage to individuals, society and the state. On the other hand, criminalization of such acts might not achieve the goal of criminal law to ensure that potential offenders do not commit criminal acts. The wording of Article 245 of the Criminal Code of Republic of Lithuania is quite abstract, and more detailed signs of application are revealed in the practice of the Supreme Court of Lithuania. After analyzing the criminal laws of the member states of the European Union referred to in the article, it was found that they state that a person cannot be found guilty not for non-execution of all court decisions: in some countries, the interests of family members are protected, in others, the interests of the debtor, etc. Meanwhile, in the Republic of Lithuania, in this case, this criminal act is not of a high degree of danger, but it is dangerous in itself, because a person commits such a criminal offense by acting with direct intent. Attention should be drawn to the fact that enforcement measures established in the Civil Procedure Code of the Republic of Lithuania are often sufficient for the execution of a court decision that is not related to punishment. Based on the information presented in the article, it is believed that the composition of Article 245 of the Criminal Code of Republic of Lithuania should be adjusted, including the signs of malice and non-implementation of civil process measures two or more times. Also, taking into account the criminal laws of the discussed European Union member states, it is recommended to indicate which court decisions may lead to criminal liability, for example, those related to children, spouses, parents and persons affected by violence, and to establish criminal liability for criminal acts enshrined in Article 245 of the Criminal Code of Republic of Lithuania also for legal persons.