Ethnicity Studies 2013/1
Karolis Žibas. Foreword. Asylum in Lithuania: Legal and Sociological Focus.
This paper presents the results of the research carried out in Lithuania in the field of asylum. In view of the recent developments of the EU asylum policies, the article presents the need of an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of the implementation of the EU asylum policies in Lithuania with the emphasis on the legal and sociological aspects. At the end, according to the results of the project ‘Implementation of the EU Asylum Policy: Legal and Sociological Focus’8, which was implemented by the Lithuanian Red Cross Society, the Institute for Ethnic studies and the Centre for Sustainable Society, the article briefly presents the contents of this thematic publication. To implement the project, a comprehensive analysis of asylum policines in Lithuania was carried out. It revealed the status of Lithuania’s obligations in relation to the implementation of the EU asylum policies. It is expected that the results presented in this thematic publication will ensure a further development of the asylum policies in Lithuania.
Laurynas Biekša, Eglė Samuchovaitė. Problems of Implementation of the Reception Conditions’ Directive in Lithuanian Legal System.
This article analyses the system of the reception conditions of asylum seekers in Lithuania according to the requirements of the Council Directive 2003/9/EC. The anglysis is based on the assessment of the legal framework of the Republic of Lithuania, administrative practice of institutions, and work in the field of reception conditions and established case law. The main legal and practical problems of the reception conditions are emphasised in the article. The authors of the article discuss the limitations of the scope of the application of the reception conditions, and unreasonable restrictions on the freedom of movement for the asylum seekers. Moreover, the authors examine insufficient material reception conditions and medical assistance, problems of the application of sanctions and inappropriate reception conditions for the persons with special needs.
Laurynas Biekša, Vladimiras Siniovas. Searching for a fair and efficient asylum procedure: Lithuania’s efforts to implement Council Directive 2005/85/EC
The article examines the implementation of the Council Directive 2005/85/EC of 1 December 2005 on minimum standards on procedures in Member States for granting and withdrawing refugee status. It is based on the research carried out within the project ‘Implementation of the EU Asylum Policy: Legal and Sociological Focus’ supported by the European Refugee Fund. The article is primarily focused on the directive provisions that set the basic procedural guarantees as well as essential aspects concerning the organisation of asylum procedures. The analysis focuses on both the formal transposition of the directive provisions into the domestic law and the most important aspects of their practical application. Insufficient awareness of the applicable procedure and related rights and obligations as well as the shortcomings of the personal interviews conducted in the course of the examination of asylum applications are singled out as key problems the asylum seekers face when they try to substantiate their claims. Special attention is given to the Lithuanian accelerated procedure. The authors maintain that this procedure falls short of ensuring an adequate examination of the asylum applications and to facilitate the asylum seekers’ access to the basic procedural guarantees.
Lyra Jakulevičienė, Marius Urbelis. Qualification Directive 2004/83/EC: Lithuanian Experience after Seven Years from its Transposition into Lithuanian Legislation.
The article aims at the disclosure of the problems of the transposition of the Qualification Directive into the Lithuanian law and certain essential features of its application, which grew evident in the course of seven years after the start of its implementation. The authors provide the analysis of the particular provisions1 of the Qualification Directive and the main Lithuanian legal acts implementing the Qualification Directive, they also identify the most evident cases of improper transposition of the Directive provisions into the Lithuanian law. The authors also analyse the Lithuanian administrative and court practice whereby those Lithuanian legal acts, which aim at the implementation of the Qualification Directive, are used and provide with some recommendations aimed at the improvement of the current legal acts and shaping of good administrative and court practice.
Jolanta Aleknevičienė. Survival in Lithuania: the experiences of asylum-seekers and foreigners granted asylum.
The article examines the experiences of asylum-seekers and foreigners that are granted asylum in Lithuania. Qualitative research, that was conducted to determine the experiences of the asylum seeking foreigners and those that were granted it as a part of the Lithuanian asylum system, and to determine how they make sense of their experiences/survival and how these experiences affect their integration. The results of the research were processed and analysed by making use of the principles of the interpretative phenomenological analysis. The structural themes of the experiences of asylum-seekers and asylum granted foreigners in the Lithuanian asylum system are revealed in the article: the beginning of life in Lithuania of the asylum-seekers and asylum granted foreigners and their experiences at the Pabradė Foreigners’ Registration Centre as well as what sense those people make of their experiences; the experiences/their meanings encountered by the interviewees during the first (at Rukla) and second (in various municipalities) stages of the integration are analysed; the experience the research participants had to undergo is examined in the context of integration. Finally, it is stated that the lives of asylum-seekers and asylum granted foreigners in Lithuania depend greatly on the institutions that operate within the asylum system, that they experience stigmatisation, and that their experiences could be called the ‘wrong side’ of social capital: resulting in isolation, restricted opportunities and social exclusion. It is stated that asylum-seekers and asylum Grante foreigners in Lithuania experience the life of an underprivileged, useless, undesirable stranger with the restricted human rights, the sense of imprisonment (psychologically and geographically) and dependence, and that this kind of experience leaves practically no chance for successful integration.
Gintarė Guzevičiūtė. Recommendations for implementation asylum policy in Lithuania.
