| Abstract [eng] |
As Lithuania continues to strengthen its defense capabilities and ensure national security, there is a duty not only to educate the country’s citizens to recognize threats, but also to ensure an appropriate and deterrent criminal policy that would prevent hostile states from engaging in aggressive rhetoric against Lithuania’s statehood and national security. This master’s thesis analyzes the historical development, concept, and forms of the criminal offense of espionage; discusses the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the European Court of Justice (ECJ) regarding the legal status of spies and procedural guarantees in peacetime; and identifies the essential and qualifying elements of the crime of espionage, as well as their distinction from one another and from other similar criminal offenses established in criminal law. To assess whether the legal regulation of the crime of espionage is clear and ensures the proper interpretation and application of criminal law, the author analyzes the latest amendments to the Criminal Code, current legal regulations in Poland and Germany, as well as legal doctrine and case law. Although Article 119 of the Criminal Code is rarely applied in practice, the established case law of Lithuanian courts, legal doctrine, and an analysis of relevant legislation suggest that the Lithuanian legislature takes an extremely strict stance toward this offense. The elements of the crime of espionage and the establishment of a special type of exemption from criminal liability in Article 119 of the Criminal Code should generally be viewed positively, however, ambiguities in classification related to the interpretation of the elements of the offense and the application of the doctrine of exemption from criminal liability may become a serious problem not only in classifying the criminal act but also in exempting from it; therefore, the regulation must be improved. For this reason, considering the objective and tasks set forth in this master’s thesis, proposals have been formulated. |
