| Abstract [eng] |
This master's thesis analyzes the criminal liability of municipal council members for abuse of office. The thesis reveals that the legal regulations on municipal council member allowances that were in force during the 2019-2023 term of office of municipal council members under the Law on Local Self-Government of the Republic of Lithuania lacked clarity, as there was no provision on the calculation of allowances for municipal council members. lacked clarity, as it did not establish a specific mechanism for accounting for the allowances received by municipal council members and adequate internal control, nor was there a definitive list of municipal council member expenses eligible for compensation, which could have encouraged municipal council members to choose a course of action that had negative legal consequences and led to criminal liability. This paper analyzes the elements of three criminal offenses—abuse of office, embezzlement, and document forgery—and the qualifying characteristics of these acts, based on court practice. It reveals the problematic aspects that courts encounter when qualifying these criminal offenses. In addition, the analysis of court practice aims to clarify what penalties and criminal measures are imposed by courts for criminal offenses committed by municipal council members, when municipal council members are subject to criminal liability, whether municipal council members are exempt from criminal liability, and seeks to assess whether the justice administered by the courts in this category of criminal cases is selective. |
