Ethan Frome

Ethan Frome Official translation REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA POSTAL LAW April 15, 1999 No. VIII- 1141 Vilnius Article 1. Scope of the Law 1. The present Law shall regulate postal activities, relations between the providers and the consumers of the postal services, the rights and obligations of the universal service provider, as well as the liability for the infringement of this Law. 2. This Law shall not regulate diplomatic mail. Article 2. Main Definitions of this Law 1. Persons - natural, legal persons, and entities without the status of a legal person. 2. Documentation item - an item that is not attributed to the universal postal services, in which any information or documentation is sent. 3. Philatelic production - mint and cancelled postage stamps of different countries, in and out of circulation, maximum cards, envelopes and postcards bearing the date or occasional seal, as well as albums or files containing sets of postage stamps. 4. Express mail service - collection and delivery of postal items or parcels, as well as documentation items in a very short period of time. 5. A cash-on-delivery postal item or a parcel - a postal item or a parcel handed to the receiver upon the payment of a sum specified by the sender 6. An insured postal item or a parcel - a postal item the value of which has been determined by the sender. 7. Postage prepayment impressions - circulating postage stamps of the Republic of Lithuania, souvenir sheets, sealed envelopes, postcards and aerogrammes, stamps of franking machines and special postage imprints approved by the public post. 8. Postal services - collection (acceptance), sorting, conveyance and distribution (delivery) of postal items, postal parcels and postal money orders. 9. Consumer of postal services - any natural, legal person or an entity without the status of a legal person which, being the sender or receiver, are making use of the universal or other postal services. 10. The receiver - a person to whom the provider of postal services must deliver or hand in a postal item or a parcel dispatched by the sender. 11. The sender - a person who furnishes a postal item or a parcel, or a money order to the provider of the postal services and authorises him to deliver it (to hand in, to pay) to the receiver specified by him, and who is responsible for the content thereof. 12. Provider of the postal services - a legal person or an enterprise without the status of a legal person, providing domestic and international postal services. 13. Couriers - entities providing courier and express mail services, working in domestic or international express mail network. 14. Public post - a state enterprise authorised by the State to provide the universal and other postal services in its branch or throughout the territory attended by it, as well as to dispatch postal items and parcels to the foreign posts 15. Money order - money transfer through the post. 16. A postal item - a letter, a postcard, an aerogramme, literature for the blind, a small packet, printed matter. 17. A letter - a notification made or made not in writing, enclosed in an envelope and sent by mail. 18. A postcard - a card (usually bearing a picture) for a letter sent without envelope. 19. Aerogramme - an air letter in the form of a single sheet that is folded and gummed as an envelope. 20. Literature for the blind - a notification made in writing, a cliché or a publication for the blind executed in the alphabet for the blind, as well as audio cassettes and special paper intended solely for the use of the blind, sent in an envelope or in a different enclosure. 21. Carte maxime - a postcard bearing an image commemorating a particular anniversary together with a postage stamp glued (printed) onto it. 22. A small packet - an item comprising small articles dispatched in a wooden or cardboard box, or in other stable packaging. 23. Printed matter - a printed publication sent in an envelope or in other enclosure. 24. A postal parcel - works of science and art, various manufactured articles, foodstuffs and other things sent in a wooden or cardboard box, or in other stable packaging. 25. Universal postal services - postal services including the collection, sorting, transport and delivery of the postal items weighing up to 2 kg, postal parcels up to 10 kg, registered and insured postal items and parcels 26. Universal service provider - an entity providing the universal postal services. Article 3. Legal Framework of Postal Activities Activities of the providers of the postal services and the relations between them and the consummers of their services in the Republic of Lithuania shall be regulated by this Law and other laws of the Republic of Lithuania, resolutions of the Government, other legal acts, the Universal Postal Union Convention and its Detailed Regulations and international agreements to which the Republic of Lithuania is a party. Article 4. Public Administration of Postal Activities State policy in the postal sphere shall be formed and implemented by the Government or by an institution authorised by it. The Government or an institution authorised by it shall: 1) determine the requirements for the providers of postal services relating to the provision of such services; 2) approve the procedure of providing the universal postal services, quality requirements for postal services, postal and other regulations applicable to the provision of the postal services; 3) upon the declaration of martial law or state of emergency, in case of catastrophes, major disasters or calamities, issue special legal acts obligatory on the providers of postal services; 4) establish the procedure of issuing and accounting of postage prepayment impressions; 5) ensure correspondence of the development of universal postal services to the technical progress and needs of the consummers; and 6) fulfil other obligations provided for in the legal acts regulating postal activities. Article 5. Obligations and Rights of the Public Post Related to the Provision of Universal Postal Services 1. The obligation of the public post shall be the provision of universal postal services. 2. While providing the said services and taking into account the needs of consumers, the public post must ensure: 1) uninterrupted provision of universal postal services, except for the cases of force majeure, without any political, religious or ideological discrimination, to all consumers of postal services on equal terms, every business day, at least five business days per week, throughout all the territory of the State; 2) provision of the consumers of such services with comprehensive and constantly updated information about universal postal services, the possibilities of making use of them, the prices and quality standards thereof; 3) a separate financial accounting of each kind of postal services, both universal and non-universal. Managing accounting of non-universal services, the part of the services, which is attributed to the universal postal services, must be accounted for. Such internal accounting shall be managed on the basis of the objectively-founded principles of cost accounting applicable to it; and 4) provision of other universal postal services established by the Government or by an institution authorised by it. 3. While providing universal postal services, the public post must: 1) site letter boxes in public places for the collection of letters, postcards and aerogrammes; 2) issue postage prepayment impressions and withdraw them from use; 3) establish the marking means of payment for the services provided, use them themselves and let others use and distribute them. 4.The public post shall have the right to have a seal bearing the State Emblem of Lithuania and its name. The post may use the State Emblem of Lithuania on signboards, postage stamps and document forms. Article 6. Provision of other Services 1. The public post may also provide other postal services: collection, sorting, transport and delivery of postal items weighing more than 2 kg, postal parcels weighing more than 10 kg, and money orders. 2. The public post and other providers of postal services may provide express mail, courier mail, document dispatching and other services which are not directly related to the provision of postal services, if other laws do not prohibit this. Article 7. Income of the Public Post 1. Income of the public post shall consist of the income from the provision of universal postal and other services, and from the sale of postage stamps and philatelic production at home and abroad. 2. If the maximum tariffs for universal postal services, established by the Government, are lower than the real prices co-ordinated with the State institution exercising the supervision of competition, the difference shall be covered from the funds provided for in the State budget. In any other case, the tariffs must correspond to the real prices for the services provided. 3. The public post shall, from its income, cover the costs of sending the postal items and parcels free of charge in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 14 of this Law. Article 8. Prices and Tariffs of Postal and other Services 1. The Government shall establish the maximum prices and tariffs of universal postal services. 2.The provider of postal services shall establish the prices and tariffs of other postal services specified in paragraph 1 of Article 6 of this Law. 3.The provider of postal services shall establish the prices and tariffs of other postal services specified in paragraph 2 of Article 6 of this Law, or they shall be established in the contracts with the consumers of such services. Article 9. Principles of Establishment of the Prices and Tariffs of Universal Postal Services The prices and tariffs of universal postal services shall be established in compliance with the following principles: 1) prices must be related with the costs of the services provided and accessible for the consumers of postal services; 2) tariffs established must be clear; unified tariffs must be applicable to all the consumers of the services throughout the whole territory of the State; 3) application of unified tariffs must not restrict the right of the provider of universal postal services to make individual agreements with the consumers of postal services on the costs of the universal postal services, which would not exceed the rates established by the Government. Article 10. Articles Prohibited for Sending in the Postal Items and Parcels It shall be prohibited to send the articles in postal items and parcels, the import or use whereof is prohibited in the country receiving the postal item or parcel, if there exists a resolution of the receiving country or the Government of the Republic of Lithuania to this effect. Article 11. Inspection and Secrecy of Postal Items and Parcels 1.An employee of the provider of postal services may, upon the receipt of a postal item or parcel, check the presence in it of the articles the sending whereof is prohibited, and if such articles are discovered - refuse to accept such item or parcel. 2. If it is established that the accepted postal item or parcel contains the articles the sending whereof is prohibited by legal acts, they shall be seized in accordance with the procedure established by the law. 3. If a postal item or parcel containing articles the sending whereof is prohibited has been seized under the circumstances and in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the law, the sender shall be immediately notified of it. The notification shall contain the list of the items seized. 4. Officers of the State institutions may receive information about the consumers of postal services, inspect postal items or parcels, as well as the documentation thereof, check or otherwise control articles being sent, and seize them only in accordance with the procedure established by the law. 5. The providers of postal services shall be prohibited from providing information to unauthorised persons or to create conditions for them to obtain any information about the use of the postal services by other persons. Article 12. Conveyance of Postal Items and Parcels 1. Postal items and parcels shall be conveyed by the means of transportation belonging to the providers of postal services or to other carriers with whom corresponding agreements have been made. 2. The means of transportation conveying postal items and parcels, as well as the persons accompanying them shall be allowed to cross the State border control posts and to use permanent or temporary sea, river, channel, and other water basins ferry services out of turn. Article 13. Acceptance and Delivery of Postal Items and Parcels 1. The procedure of providing universal postal services shall be regulated by the Postal regulations approved by the Government or by an institution authorised by it. Other postal services shall be provided in accordance with the procedure established in the agreements concluded with the consumers of the services or by the provider of postal services. 2. A postal item or parcel shall be delivered (handed

1. in)to the receiver specified by the sender or to a person authorised by the receiver. A postal item or parcel addressed to a place of employment or studies of the receiver, a hostel, a place of military service, a hospital, a sanatorium, a camp, or a place of imprisonment shall be delivered (handed in ) to the administration of such institution or to the persons authorised by it. 3. Postal items and parcels impossible to deliver (hand
2. in)to the receiver or to return to the sender (when the sender ( receiver) refuses to accept a postal item or parcel, or if the receiver (the sender) does not reside at the specified address, etc.) shall be given over into the possession of the State in accordance with the procedure prescribed by legal acts. 4. Providers of postal services shall put postal items into the letter boxes sited by the owners of multi-family apartment houses, associations, enterprises, institutions, or organisations on the ground floor of each stairways, and by the gardeners’ societies - at the main entrance into the garden area. 5. Providers of postal services shall put postal items into the letter boxes sited by the owners of private houses at the entrances to their plots of land, or on the walls of the houses, fences or stands located along the street. The letter boxes must be easily accessible from the street or roads, pavements or waysides. 6. Providers of postal services may site blocks of letter boxes in private houses areas. Such blocks shall be sited by the pavements or waysides. The distance between such blocks and the place of residence of the receivers o postal items shall not exceed 300 m in the urban area and 500 m in the rural area. 7. In cases when letter boxes are not sited, postal items shall not be delivered to the receivers. The receivers must collect postal items at the post office servicing them. Article 14. Free Sending of Postal Items and Parcels 1. The public post shall cover the costs of sending official postal items and parcels of the public post and its branches, postal items and parcels of the prisoners of war and the internees, as well as the literature for the blind. 2. The costs of sending postal items of the servicemen fulfilling mandatory military service, as well as official mail of the national defence system shall be covered from the funds of the State budget allocated to the Ministry of National Defence. Article 15. Submitting Claims 1. The sender or a person authorised by him may file a claim for damages in the event of a loss of a postal item or parcel, disappearance, deficiency or spoiling of the articles contained therein to: 1) the public post regarding a postal item or parcel sent domestically or abroad - within the period of six months starting from the day of dispatching thereof; 2) other providers of postal services - within the period provided for in the agreements with the consumers of postal services which may be no shorter than the time period provided for in subparagraph 1 of paragraph 1 of this Article. 2. Claims filed after the expiration of the time limit provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article shall not be investigated. Article 16. Liability of the Providers of Postal Services 1.The providers of postal services shall be liable for postal items and parcels (from their acceptance until delivery to the sender) in accordance with the procedure established by this Law and other laws. 2. The providers of postal services shall not be liable for: 1) the postal items and parcels which, upon the decisions of the State institutions, are transferred into the possession of the State or seized in a manner prescribed by the law; 2) such lost articles the sending whereof in postal items and parcels is prohibited by legal acts. Article 17.Amount and Procedure of Damage Compensation 1. In the event that the postal items or parcels have been lost or damaged, or if there are deficient articles therein, or if they have been spoilt through the fault of the public post, it shall compensate: 1) for the loss of a registered postal item and an ordinary postal parcel, and if all articles contained therein have been damaged, the compensation amount shall be double the sum of the dispatch charge thereof; 2) for a part of the lost or spoilt articles contained in a registered postal item or an ordinary postal parcel, the compensation amount shall be equal to the value of the articles lost (spoilt), but not exceeding the sum specified in subparagraph 1 of paragraph 1 of this Article; 3) for an insured postal item or a parcel lost, the compensation amount shall be double the sum of the dispatch charge plus the sum of insurance thereof; 4) for a part of the lost or spoilt articles contained in an insured postal item or a parcel accompanied by a description (a list) of the articles contained, the compensation amount shall be double sum of the dispatch charge thereof plus the value of the articles lost or spoilt and included into the list, but not exceeding the total insurance sum of the postal item or the parcel; 5) for a part of the lost or spoilt articles contained in an insured postal item or a parcel not accompanied by the list of the articles contained, the compensation amount shall be double the sum of the dispatch charge thereof plus the value of the articles lost, but not exceeding the insurance sum of the postal item or the parcel. 2. In the event when the receiver fails to pay the COD amount or the dispatch charge due to the fault of the public post, the public post shall pay the sender the COD amount specified by him. 3. The public post shall refund the sender the value of the postal money order not paid up, as well as the sum of the dispatch charge (if it was impossible to pay the money sent to the receiver). 4. The public post shall compensate the sender double the sum of the dispatch charge, if a registered postal item or a parcel was returned to him through the fault of the public post. 5. The public post shall pay compensation to the sender or to a person duly authorised by him. The compensation shall be payable to the receiver only if the sender has refused to accept the compensation and requested in writing to pay it to the receiver. 6. Upon the receipt of the claim filed in accordance with the procedure established in Article 15 of this Law, the public post shall pay compensation: 1) for a postal item or a parcel sent domestically - within a month from the filing date of the claim; 2) for a postal item or a parcel sent abroad - within three months from the filing date of the claim. 7. The employees of the public post who have concluded total financial liability agreements, shall be responsible for the loss of postal items and parcels, as well as for the deficiency or damaging of the articles contained, if the loss occurred through their fault. 8. Other providers of postal services shall, pursuant to the provisions of the agreements concluded with the consumers of postal services, compensate for the loss or damage of the postal items and parcels, if it occurred through their fault. However, in the absence of other agreements between the parties, the compensation amount shall be no less than provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article. 9. The public post shall not compensate for the damage made, if: 1) in the event of force majeure during the dispatching of postal items and parcels, which has resulted in the loss of the postal item or parcel, the deficiency of the articles contained therein, or spoiling thereof; it is impossible to establish what had happened to the postal item or parcel concerned because the accompanying documents relevant as the proofs have been destroyed, and the postal fault cannot be proved otherwise; 2) the damage has been made through the fault of the sender who has violated the requirements of the Postal Regulations regarding the packaging of the articles and the specific properties of the article concerned; 3) the postal item or parcel, the articles or a part thereof contained, as well as the money enclosed have been seized in the cases and in accordance with the procedure established by the laws and other legal acts of the country of origin or destination; 4) upon delivery to the receiver of the postal item or parcel, the package (tare) thereof, the impression of the post office of origin, the label bearing a special stamp, the adhesive tape, the seal or the tying string have not been damaged and the weight of the postal item or parcel corresponds to the one indicated in the post office of origin; 5) the receiver accepted the postal item or parcel in accordance with the procedure established by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania or by its authorised institution and has signed for the receipt thereof; 6) the postal item or parcel has not been received through the fault of the person authorised by the receiver to collect it; 7) the postal item or parcel has been lost or damaged in the country providing no compensation for that kind of damage made. Article 18. Liability for the Violations of the Postal Law The persons shall be liable for the violations of this Law in accordance with the procedure established by the law. Article 19. Dispute Settlement Disputes between the providers of postal services and the consumers of such services shall be settled in accordance with the procedure established by the law. Article 20. Final Provisions 1. This Law shall come into force on 1 July 1999. 2. Upon the enactment of this Law, the Communications Law of the Republic of Lithuania shall cease to have effect. I promulgate this Law passed by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania. PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC VALDAS ADAMKUS