Preconditions for the codification of law in Lithuania

Mokslo studijoje analizuojamos teisės aktų kodifikavimo Lietuvoje prielaidos. Šis klausimas Lietuvos teisės doktrinoje nagrinėtas fragmentiškai, o teisės aktų sisteminimas vyksta gana chaotiškai. Studijoje nuodugniai aptariama kodifikavimo samprata, šiam procesui būdingi požymiai, eiga bei apimtis, kodifikavimo tikslai, priežastys, bei kodifikavimo poreikį rodantys indikatoriai. Nemažai dėmesio skiriama ir teisės kodifikavimo istorinės raidos analizei, aptariama užsienio valstybių patirtis kodifikuojant teisę. Atliktos analizės kontekste tiriamos ir atskirų Lietuvos teisės sričių kodifikavimo perspektyvos.Study aims to answer the question whether there are the preconditions for the codification of law in Lithuania. It is true to say that currently codification of law in Lithuania is chaotic and spontaneous process heavily based on the political will and authority of the legal scholars involved in the code drafting. In academic sphere phenomenon of codification was analyzed only fragmentically as well. The first part of this study is devoted to analysis of the concept of law codification, main features and scope of this phenomenon. Accordingly, second and third part contains analysis of the workflow process, main aims and grounds of the codification. Fourth part deals with law codification from the historical perspective and final, fifth part concludes the study providing findings about the preconditions for the codification of law in Lithuania. The study proved that the main feature of the codification process itself is its systemic nature. This phenomenon is definitely the most complex while the most definitive way to rationalize the law so far. There are no universal guidelines which can be used to indicate the necessity of the codification of one or another branch of law. Such indicators as ambiguity, inconsistency, need for the modern approach are evaluative and can be interpreted differently. Therefore, it is very important to take into account the opinion of legal scholars, law practitioners and best practice of foreign countries. Codification of law depends on the aims which are raised, therefore, it is desirable to establish the right and adequate targets before starting the process. Moreover, the conception of the code reflecting the vision and the main ideas of the concrete codification is important as well. However, various theoretic and practical obstacles, for instance week doctrinal background or inert judicial practice, can influence the codification quality. Notwithstanding, the study has showed that there are reasonable preconditions of the codification of Lithuanian tax law, environmental law, social welfare law and electoral law