Legal prism — 2026-08-16

Article 41(1) of the Labour Code requires both parties to comply with gender equality, non-discrimination, good faith, the provision of necessary information, and confidentiality.

If this boundary is breached, under Article 41(2) of the Labour Code the candidate may apply to the body hearing labour disputes and claim damages or other remedies.

Core issue

The selection processes conducted by Panevėžys educational institutions place candidates in a pre-contractual employment relationship in which the rules on non-discrimination, good faith, and limits on information requests already apply. For employers, the decisive risk is not the number of vacancy announcements, but the lawfulness of the selection process by reference to qualifications, the job function, and a transparent decision. The newsworthy fact is one: municipal institutions are announcing numerous teaching, pupil-support, administrative, and cultural positions from 1 September 2026 or 7 September 2026. The precise legal question is how municipal educational institutions may select teachers and other employees under Articles 1, 2, and 41 of the Labour Code of the Republic of Lithuania, Articles 17, 25, and 30 of the Law on Education, and the Procedure for the Recruitment and Dismissal of Teachers.

Legal assessment

Article 1 of the Labour Code also covers relationships prior to the conclusion of an employment contract; therefore, selection is not merely an internal administrative act. The employer may not request information unrelated to health, qualifications, or the direct performance of the job function. The applicable selection conditions are as follows:

• pedagogical work requires pedagogical higher education or post-secondary education;
• non-pedagogical higher education or post-secondary education is acceptable only together with a state-recognised teacher qualification;
• heads of state and municipal educational institutions are appointed through a public competition for a five-year term under Article 25(3) of the Law on Education. The teacher recruitment procedure further details the decision-making process: applicants who meet the requirements are invited to an interview, at which up to three representatives of the school council may participate as observers.

After the interviews, the school principal makes the decision, hears the observers’ views, and informs the applicants. An employment contract is concluded with the successful candidate in accordance with the procedure established by the Labour Code. A contract with a student is concluded only after the student submits documents proving compliance with the requirements laid down in Article 48 of the Law on Education. Article 17 of the Law on Education means that teachers’ remuneration in state and municipal institutions is linked to length of service, education, qualification category, and work performed. Accordingly, the workload, hours, and position level stated in the vacancy announcement cannot replace the statutory remuneration criteria. Article 30 of the Law on Education also links employee selection to teaching plans, general curricula, and the objectives set for the educational institution. The excerpt from the Panevėžys strategic plan supplements this situation at the level of local law: access to education is assessed by reference to the sufficiency of educational needs and the network of education providers.

Consequences

For candidates, the most practically important point is not the publication of the vacancy announcement itself, but documentable qualifications and the conduct of the selection procedure. For municipal institutions, the key issue is to substantiate why a particular applicant met the requirements of the position better than others, especially where the position is pedagogical or specialist in nature. If questions are asked during the selection process about circumstances unrelated to the job function, the dispute may be referred to the body hearing labour disputes under Article 41(2) of the Labour Code. If the selection process is completed lawfully, the procedural consequence is straightforward: the principal’s decision and an employment contract with the successful applicant.

Under Article 17(1) of the Law on Public Procurement, the municipality must ensure equal treatment, non-discrimination, proportionality, and transparency.

Under paragraph 3 of the Rules of the Public Procurement Office on the Submission and Examination of Requests, the Office examines requests for consent to terminate international-value or simplified procurement procedures in the cases provided for by law.

Core issue

For Kaunas Municipality, this termination does not eliminate the need to procure publicity services, but it does require that new procurements be designed so that competition is not artificially restricted. For suppliers, the practical issue is not merely the end of the EUR 1.13 million tender, but whether the termination and the forthcoming division into lots remedy the earlier competition problem or merely change its form. The precise legal question will be assessed under Article 17(1)–(3), Article 7(1)–(2), Article 101, and Article 211 of the Law on Public Procurement.

Legal assessment

Under Article 17(2)(1), it must also seek the rational use of funds.

• If the requirements in fact correspond to only one publication in a specific procurement lot, this raises an issue under Article 17(3) concerning artificially reduced competition.
• That provision treats competition as artificially reduced where the procurement unjustifiably creates more favourable or less favourable conditions for certain suppliers.
• The future division indicated by the municipality may constitute a lawful corrective measure if it genuinely expands the pool of suppliers and does not create new single-supplier requirements. Under Article 7(1) of the Law on Public Procurement, draft technical specifications must be published, and comments received on them must be assessed in accordance with the procedure established by the Public Procurement Office. Accordingly, the mere disregard of the June comments is not, in itself, conclusive evidence of an infringement, but it weakens the consistency of the reasons for termination. If the municipality initially rejected the proposal to ensure at least two genuine publications in a category, the later termination on grounds of insufficient competition will need to be supported by documents. The procedural position of suppliers remains active, because Article 101(1) of the Law on Public Procurement allows challenges to decisions of the contracting authority that infringe or may infringe legitimate interests. On the public procurement control side, competence lies with the Public Procurement Office and authorised state institutions under Article 211(1) of the Law on Public Procurement. Under Article 211(4), heads of authorities, commission members, experts, and employees are liable for infringements of the law in accordance with the procedure established by law.

Consequences

First scenario: the municipality announces several separate procurements by publicity medium, and in each of them the requirements allow more than one genuine market participant to compete. In that case, the termination would operate in practice as a procedural correction under Article 17(1)–(3) of the Law on Public Procurement. Second scenario: the new procurements are divided only formally, while the specific conditions continue to steer lots towards one publication or one intermediary. In that case, suppliers could rely on Article 101(1) of the Law on Public Procurement and seek the annulment or amendment of the decisions. The third scenario concerns existing contracts: the sources provided do not support their automatic termination merely because of the cancellation of the new tender or political assumptions. As a result, contracts still in force remain, in practice, a separate legal issue unless specific acts relating to their performance or amendment are challenged. For the market, the most important point is that the EUR 1.13 million procurement value and the contraction of the print advertising market increase the municipality’s burden of justification. The more precisely the need is defined in the new documents, the less room there will be for a dispute concerning the reduction of competition prohibited by Article 17(3). The next document to be expected is the announcement of new procurements or an updated procurement plan, because Article 7(1) of the Law on Public Procurement requires publication of the summary of planned procurements and draft technical specifications.

Under Article 153(1) of the Criminal Code, the core of the criminal offence is the commission of acts of sexual corruption against a person under the age of sixteen.

The limit for one episode is up to five years, but the sources provided indicate the logic of treating separate acts and aggregating sentences.

Core issue

A. Ulvidas’s position now depends on the decision of the court of cassation: he is seeking not a more lenient sentence, but the quashing of the convictions and the termination of the cases. For the reader, the key point is that the sentence of 6 years and 9 months may exceed the limit applicable to a single episode because multiple acts against multiple children are classified and punished separately. The news item is narrow: the Supreme Court of Lithuania accepted for examination two cassation appeals in cases concerning the sexual corruption of girls under the age of 16. The precise legal issue will be whether the established acts fall within Article 153(1) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania, under which sexual corruption is punishable by restriction of liberty, arrest, or imprisonment for up to five years. Another issue is whether multiple episodes and multiple victims could justify separate legal classification and a final aggregate sentence. This logic is confirmed by the Government’s position on the draft amendment to Article 153 of the Criminal Code: acts against several persons under the age of 16 are classified separately, and sentences are imposed separately.

Legal assessment

The provision does not require proof of physical contact if the established acts are regarded as sexual corruption on the facts of the case. In this matter, the accusation is based not merely on nudity, but on acts of a sexual nature directed against girls under the age of 16. Accordingly, in the cassation proceedings, the decisive issue will not be the victims’ subjective wording that they were “not harmed”, but whether the courts properly applied Article 153(1) of the Criminal Code. For that reason, the argument concerning a mental disorder could be relevant only through specific grounds of liability or sentencing, which are not present in the sources provided. The multi-episode structure of the case is directly linked to the Government’s explanation concerning draft No. XIVP-2991. It states that:

• acts against several persons under the age of sixteen are classified separately;
• sentences for such acts are imposed separately;
• the final aggregate sentence may exceed the maximum limit for a single episode under Article 153 of the Criminal Code. This explains why one proceeding refers to the classification of 33 acts under Article 153(1) of the Criminal Code and to a sentence of 6 years and 9 months’ imprisonment. Article 1521(1) of the Criminal Code, concerning the grooming of a person under the age of 16, is not the central provision here, because the report concerns completed acts of sexual corruption. Article 151(2) of the Criminal Code provides for liability for compelling a minor to engage in sexual intercourse, but the facts provided are based on sexual corruption.

Consequences

The practical risk for A. Ulvidas is twofold: an effective custodial sentence that remains in force and, if the new cassation appeals are dismissed, additional convictions that will remain standing. The sources provided support the following possible penalties under Article 153(1) of the Criminal Code:

• restriction of liberty;
• arrest;
• imprisonment for up to five years for one act. If the Supreme Court of Lithuania upholds the judgments, the legal basis will remain the same: sexual corruption of a person under the age of sixteen under Article 153(1) of the Criminal Code. If the Supreme Court allows the appeals, two routes identified in the report are possible: termination of the cases or remittal to the court of first instance or the appellate court. At the market or institutional level, this matter is relevant to the boundary of criminal policy in cases involving multiple victims. The Government document provided shows that separate classification may lead to a more severe outcome than a single special aggravated offence covering several children or a prolonged period. The victims’ practical interest lies in the stability of the convictions, because cassation may overturn the finding of guilt or remit the proceedings for re-examination.