APPROVED by 17 January 2002 Resolution No. IX-711 of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania NATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION PROGRAMME OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS 1.1.   With a view to implementing radical corruption prevention measures as well as eradicating, in a multifaceted manner, the reasons of this negative social phenomenon, it is necessary to strengthen the system of law enforcement bodies and other state institutions, encourage closer co-operation with the general public and non-governmental organisations, raise civic awareness of the public and build their intolerance towards negative phenomena.  1.2.   Manifestation of corruption in the public service as well as the other public and private sectors has a detrimental effect on democracy, economy and the rule of law; therefore, the measures developed to fight corruption should be consistent, comprehensive and long-term. A particular emphasis should be placed on preventing the occurrence of corruption, establishing the principle of inevitable legal accountability for unlawful acts, building public intolerance towards corruption, as well as developing international co-operation in the fight against corruption. 1.3.   This Programme will help to combine the efforts of all the institutions to develop anti-corruption activities when implementing Republic of Lithuania laws, ratified international conventions, concluded treaties related to the prevention of corruption. The importance of the preparation and implementation of the Programme for Lithuania while integrating into the European Union (hereinafter referred to as the EU) is emphasised in the 2000 Regular Report from the Commission. 1.4.   The fight against corruption may be effective only when the long-term Programme is based on the components now universally recognised as essential: corruption prevention, investigation of law violations, public education and support. It must be noted that positive results are achieved only when the said components are implemented as a whole. 1.5.   The measures provided for in this Programme should be in line with process of solving social problems, protecting society from the current and imminent sources of corruption. In addition, the measures envisaged should ensure a full protection of universally recognised human rights and freedoms and must not violate the presumption of innocence. 1.6.   The anti-corruption initiatives shall correspond to the expectations of every person and society at large, therefore, the public should be well encouraged to contribute to the implementation of anti-corruption measures. In addition, closer co-operation of state institutions with non-governmental and international organisations as well as individual persons should be promoted. The public intolerance towards corruption should be taught at schools of general education as a special curriculum incorporated into other education and training programmes. 2. ANALYSIS OF ENVIRONMENT Factors of Corruption 2.1. The factors of corruption may be listed as the following: 2.1.1.    general-social (unemployment, shortcomings of health insurance system, low salaries of civil servants, etc.); 2.1.2.    legal (flaws, frequent amendments to legal acts and its inconsistencies, impunity, shortcomings in control mechanisms, witness protection programmes, legal procedures and measures, improper procedures for the appointment and dismissal of officials, absence of codes of professional conduct at the public service, etc.); 2.1.3.    institutional (the principle of rotation and the system of promotion driven by motivation are not applied in all the institutions; internal and external audit systems are underdeveloped; the process of decision-making is not transparent enough; the factors of corruption have not been eliminated in the appointment procedure of managers in the companies where the state has a majority share; the responsibility of such managers has not been established); 2.1.4.    lack of civic awareness (the public’s stance on corruption is vague and controversial, often resulting in their passivity to counter corrupt civil servants or get involved in anti-corruption initiatives); 2.1.5.    influence of external factors (emergence of international corruption, failure to provide proper conditions for a fair competition of individual economic entities, specific nature of cross-border smuggling and corruption, etc.). Level and Prevalence of Corruption 2.2.       According to the Department of Information Technology and Communications of the Ministry of the Interior, 1,530 public service offences were registered over the period of 1995 to 2001, including 388 instances of bribe-taking and 1,142 other public service offences. 2.3.       In the Corruption Perception Index of an international non-governmental anti-corruption organisation Transparency International, Lithuania has moved from the 50th position in 1999 to the 38th in 2001. The perception index is drafted each year on the basis of 12 international corruption surveys, i.e. surveys conducted by experts having the experience of co-operating with different countries and, primarily, international surveys organised by the famous Gallup poll, as well as evaluations of other well-known economic, political, and scientific institutions. 2.4.       The World Bank report of 1999, Fighting Corruption in Transitional Economies, placed Lithuania together with Russia, the Slovak and the Czech Republic according to the level of administrative corruption (i.e. when civil servants intentionally distort laws or other legal acts for personal benefit). According to the level of state capture Lithuania occupies the second place among the Baltic states (the first place occupied by Latvia, and the third place - by Estonia), together with Poland, Kazakhstan and the Czech Republic. 2.5.       Corruption crimes have a high coefficient of latency, because the parties to a transaction are interested in keeping the fact of corruption secret. The aforementioned data make it difficult to establish an accurate index of perception, therefore, it is essential to conduct a detailed criminological survey each year to establish the prevalence of corruption in different sectors of the State. 2.6.       The distribution of corruption is not even across the country. Therefore, the success of fighting corruption depends on the accuracy of mapping out corruption prone areas in the State government and administration sectors among civil servants and officials, as well as in the private sector. A more realistic scale of corruption in Lithuania may be identified by surveying various social groups as well as analysing the performance indicators of law enforcement agencies. 2.7.       The survey of the Baltijos Tyrimai conducted within the framework of a market research and public opinion campaign at the end of 2000 on the problem of corruption in Lithuania shows that 13% of Lithuanians regard corruption as an unavoidable and insoluble problem, 76% believe it is possible and necessary to solve it: 41% of the respondents are in favour of resorting to the most severe anti-corruption measures, including undemocratic methods; 21% believe that corruption must be fought with all the possible democratic means, and 14% say that it is possible to reduce the level of corruption in Lithuania to a minimum by toughening up the existing laws. According to the findings of the survey 24% of Lithuanian residents do not believe in the success of combating corruption or have no opinion about the issue, while 76% think that corruption must be confronted. 2.8.       According to a report  “Does Lithuania Want Political Transparency?” drawn up on the basis of two projects of the year 2000 by the Lithuanian Chapter of Transparency International, the most corrupt institutions, in the opinion of the Lithuanian residents are: the customs (47% of the respondents believe that it is very corrupt and 39% view it as corrupt), courts (27% and 48% respectively), police (26% and 49%), prosecutor’s office (23% and 47%), major companies (19% and 48%), Parliament (18% and 45%), Government (13% and 45%) and local authorities (12% and 41%). The 2001 survey of a scientific research studio Spinter, revealed the opinion that corruption was mostly widespread in the customs (this was said by 17% of the respondents), courts (16%), privatisation transactions (14%), and the traffic police (9%). 2.9.       An international victimological study “Unlawful Attempts to Tamper with the Work of Judges and Prosecutors in Lithuania”, conducted in Lithuania in 2000, surveyed 55 % of judges and 75 % of prosecutors. Every eighth and seventh of the respondents, respectively, said that they personally or their friends and family experienced unlawful pressure in the form of threats or attempted bribery. 32% of judges believed, on the basis of the cases they had decided, that corruption was widespread in Lithuania. 2.10.     Another matter of concern is an issue of more active social groups (the youth, the educated and the businessmen) getting reconciled to the phenomenon of corruption, albeit denouncing it. 2.11.     Upon having summarised official statistics, findings of public surveys, mass media reports, information provided by the institutions responsible for combating corruption as well as opinions of experts and organisations examining corruption in Lithuania, a presumption may be made that the most corrupt bodies in Lithuania are those that enforce legislation, administer justice, carry out monitoring and control. The prevention of corruption in appropriate bodies is one of the main goals of every democratic country willing to ensure its social-economic development and reduce the level of corruption. Consequences of Corruption 2.12.     Although dividing corruption consequences into certain groups would facilitate the perception of diversity and complexity of the phenomenon and would help identify better anti-corruption measures. However, taking into consideration the ever-changing and intertwined social, economic and political environment both in Lithuania and in the whole world makes it impossible to attribute corruption consequences to definite groups. 2.13.     Where corruption impairs the public realm, its consequences may be divided into four groups: 2.13.1.  economic (with corruption infecting the mechanisms of market economy, the efficiency of the country's economy and competitive powers of the market may be reduced impairing the quality of goods and services, slowing down investments, invoking mistrust in state institutions on the part of the business community, etc.); 2.13.2.  social-political (the social tension rises, negatively affecting the country’s economy and political stability; citizens lose their trust in the state, democracy and its principles; the ideas about autocratic ideology become more and more popular; political competition diminishes; political corruption finds its fertile soil to grow, etc.); 2.13.3.  state administration (diminishing quality of public administration; an emerging system of unofficial decision-making; stronger links between organised crime and corrupt civil servants and politicians, etc.); 2.13.4.  international relations (corruption undermines the country’s prestige, closing the way for potential investments, etc.). Development of the Framework of Anti-Corruption Legislation 2.14.     Some of the key tasks of the Government in the areas of lawmaking, personal security, and law enforcement are to focus, in particular, on the drawing-up of legal acts that would ensure effective fight against corruption; form a coherent and effective system for combating corruption, smuggling and organised crime; with the help of effective preventive means, ensure a more transparent and open activity of law enforcement agencies as well as other state administration institutions and officials; establish public accountability procedures; prepare for the ratification of the 1999 Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on Corruption and Civil Law Convention on Corruption as well as the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions; carry out a streamlined and effective anti-corruption policy. 2.15.     Lithuania has passed a substantial number of legal acts pertaining to anti-corruption. These could be grouped as follows: 2.15.1.  laws, providing for legal responsibility for the acts of corruption, including the Criminal Code, the Code of Administrative Violations of Law, and the Civil Code, as well as the laws amending the aforementioned; 2.15.2.  other laws, including the Law on the Declaration of Property and Income of the Residents, Law on the Adjustment of Public and Private Interests in the Public Service, Law on Public Procurement, Law on Public Administration, Law on Public Service, Code of Criminal Procedure, Code of Civil Procedure, Law on Administrative Proceedings, Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering, Law on the Accounting of Persons for the Lawfulness of Acquisition of Property and Income, Law on Competition, Law on Lobbying Activities, Law on the Control of Funding of Political Campaigns, Law on the Funding of Political Parties and Political Organisations, Law on the Special Investigation Service, Law on the Basics of the National Security of Lithuania, Law on the Protection from Tampering of the Participants of Criminal Procedure and Operational Activities, Judicial and Law Enforcement Officers, Law on Prevention of Organised Crime, as well as the laws amending the aforementioned, etc.; 2.15.3.  legal acts of the Seimas and Government of the Republic of Lithuania, ordinances of the Prime Minister, laying down specific anti-corruption measures, including: Seimas Resolution No VIII-1723 as of 8 June 2000, Concerning the Plan on the Preparation and Implementation of Long-term State Security Strengthening Programmes; Seimas Resolution as of 10 May 2001, On the Fight against Corruption; Government Resolution No. 1196 as of 4 October 2001, On the Approval of the Measures for Implementation of the 2001-2004 Programme of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania; Government Resolution No. 433 as of 9 April 1998, On the Complex Measures to Increase the Effectiveness of Legal Responsibility for Economic and Financial Crimes, to Strengthen Prevention of Organised Crime and Corruption; Government Resolution No. 62 as of 15 January 1999, On the Programme of Organised Crime and Corruption Prevention; The Prime Minister’s Ordinance No. 31 as of 26 February 2001, on the Establishment of the Working Group. 3. PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAMME The main objective of the Programme is to reduce the level of corruption in Lithuania and aspire it to become the smallest possible hindrance to develop economy and democracy, seek social welfare and to strengthen national security. 4. MAIN TASKS OF THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION 4.1.      The main tasks of the fight against corruption are as following: 4.1.1.   ensuring effective and targeted long-term fight against corruption, as well as effective implementation and necessary funding of the measures foreseen; 4.1.2.   ensuring successful disclosure of persons suspected of corruption offences, and enforcing the principle of inevitable legal responsibility of offenders; 4.1.3.   identifying the areas mostly affected by corruption as well as the conditions for corruption to occur and spread; improving the existing legal acts and the law-making process; 4.1.4.   by various means promoting intolerance to corruption; in view of this, establishing close co-operation with non-governmental organisations and the mass media, developing and incorporating anti-corruption curriculum into the education system; 4.1.5.   ensuring a more effective implementation of corruption prevention measures and a more effective investigation of corruption related offences; 4.1.6.   ensuring proper administration of the implementation of the measures of this Programme. 5. CONCEPTION OF CORRUPTION 5.1.   It is necessary to make a clear and precise legal definition of corruption, which would also embrace the private sector. An accurately elaborated concept would be easier to employ in the law-making process, in the operational life of public administration bodies, and it would be better comprehended by the general public and contribute to a more successful enforcement of anti-corruption legislation.          5.2.   In addition, Lithuania should adhere to the requirements laid down in the conventions of the EU, the Council of Europe and the OECD and take into consideration the concepts of corruption defined in these documents (for example, the Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on Corruption No. 173 and Civil Law Convention on Corruption No. 174, others). 5.3.   Bearing in mind the legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania and international organisations as well as the current state of affairs, corruption, in general terms, could be defined as any conduct of a civil servant or an equivalent person, non-conforming with the authority entrusted or standards of conduct established, or promotion of such conduct for the benefit of oneself or third persons, to the detriment of the interests of other people and the State. 6. PREVENTION OF CORRUPTION 6.1.   The purpose of corruption prevention is to forestall the occurrence and spreading of corruption: eliminate loopholes in legal acts and fill in the gaps in actions, procedures of State government institutions as well as the other areas promoting the conditions for corruption. Strategic Provision of Corruption Prevention Constraining Political Corruption 6.2.   Development of democracy, strengthening of civic society and the rule of law, enforcement of the principle of the division of powers are the basic factors eliminating the manifestation of corruption. 6.3.   To reduce the level of political corruption, the following measures of constraint should be applied: 6.3.1.   establishing clear-cut criteria for the decisions made by politicians in relation to the use, management and disposal of the state or municipal property; 6.3.2.   prohibition for legal entities to fund political parties; 6.3.3.   definition of major instances of political corruption, providing for appropriate legal sanctions; 6.3.4.   analysis and improvement of legal acts with a view to limiting the possibility to be elected to the Seimas and municipal councils at the same time, as well as hold simultaneous positions in municipal council, board, be a county governor or deputy governor of the district, and a head of an agency, undertaking operating in the territory of the same municipality; 6.3.5.   vetting, from the point of view of anti-corruption, of candidates to the positions appointed by the Seimas, President of the Republic or the Prime Minister, also candidates to hold the office of vice-minister, secretary of the ministry, head or deputy head of a department or service under the ministry, municipal mayor or deputy mayor or become a head or deputy head of any other state or municipal institution or agency; 6.3.6.   providing for the application of a simplified procedure of temporary suspension in office for civil servants that are appointed to a position and are suspected of corruption offences;  6.3.7.   establishing the procedure for accounting of receiving, managing and using party funds, with a view to ensuring personal accountability of a party treasurer or its leader for committing financial offences; 6.3.8.   improving the lawmaking process, with a view to avoiding corrupt influence on the drafting and adoption of legal acts; 6.3.9.   drafting a Code of Ethics for Lobbying Activities, improving the Law on Lobbing; 6.3.10. increasing the efficiency of the activities of the Seimas Commission on Anticorruption in preventing corruption and investigating its manifestations; 6.3.11. providing for the obligation to identify and publicise owners of the mass media. Constraining Administrative Corruption 6.4.   One of the most effective organisational and legal measures to reduce the incidence of corruption in the administration is to have a precise definition of behavioural practices violating the law and promoting corruption. This area should be legally regulated, and civil servants should be bound by a code of institutional ethics. Thus having the aim of reducing the manifestation of administrative corruption, the following measures should be attained in: 6.4.1.  Public Administration: 6.4.1.1.            the principle of the rule of law should be consistently applied; the decision-making procedures of the public administration should be clearly laid down. This would prevent a civil servant authorised to make a decision from procrastinating  the examination of a request or application, as well as engaging in other faulty practices that lie at their discretion; 6.4.1.2.            in order to avoid corruption in the lawmaking process, it is necessary to establish a system of reviewing legal acts and draft legal acts from the point of view of anti-corruption, ensure consistent implementation of the provisions of the Law on the Procedure of Drafting Laws and other Legal Acts within the framework of lawmaking process, as well as harmonise the Lithuanian legislation with the EU legal acts; 6.4.1.3.            the civil servant’s code of ethics should include anti-corruption provisions and legal responsibility measures that are in line with the norms of the laws regulating employment relations and declaration of private interests, also the measures of political responsibility (non-confidence should be expressed in political party candidates that serve in the system of public administration); 6.4.1.4.            the Chief Institutional Ethics Commission should help to promote the priorities of civil service (public interests, objectivity), adopted decisions should be publicised on internet. It is expedient to increase respect for the decisions made by the Commission and encourage their application; 6.4.1.5.            based on the findings of a corruption mapping exercise, identifying areas that require the principle of rotation; 6.4.1.6.            clear-cut criteria should be established for information to be considered a commercial secret. Quite often, the executive bodies interpret the concept of a commercial secret differently; thus allowing, consciously or without knowing, to hide the real state of financial affairs of economic entities that take part in privatisation, public tendering, etc, and create room for unfair competition or corruption; 6.4.1.7.            ensuring that the amount of a fee for a licence (permission) to engage in a certain activity does not become an obstacle for economic entities or their groups to start up appropriate activities (or engage in certain activities); 6.4.1.8.            the current system of receiving permissions to acquire or rent land for industrial purposes (to set up companies, shopping centres, petrol stations, etc.) or to build residential houses is very complicated. Administrations of county governors or local authorities often set ungrounded requirements for additional investments into the infrastructure. Therefore, this process should be properly regulated establishing the general procedure and dimension of investment into the infrastructure; 6.4.1.9.            improving the procedure for the use of land and forests as well as the legal regulation of the lease of land of non-agricultural purpose; 6.4.1.10.   simplification to a maximum the provision of public services (issuance of permissions, quotas, establishment of economic entities and registration of property, certification of goods and services, etc.); the functions related to provision of said services should be transferred to non-governmental organisations more extensively; 6.4.1.11.   systematic review of secondary legislation regulating business; establishing the procedure for the preparation and approval of such legislation, involving representatives of non-governmental organisations; 6.4.1.12.   seeking to simplify the procedure for issuing permissions and licences to engage in certain activities, especially where certificates are required to confirm the information already possessed by other state institutions (e.g. debts to the budget, the budget of the State social insurance fund, the customs, etc.), to promote the infrastructure of information technologies, and organise public services following the ‘one stand’ principle, i.e. the applicant should not be required to collect certificates verifying information already available to the state institutions; 6.4.1.13.   for the persons that had committed civil service offences, economic and financial crimes or serious crimes to property, limiting the right to hold the position of authority, hold more than 51 per cent of company stock or engage in other activities in compliance with the procedure established by legal acts; 6.4.1.14.   developing a transparent risk assessment system of undertakings, agencies and organisations, based on clear and universally applied criteria. The access to the data shall be enjoyed by executive authorities that make decisions in relation to such entities (for example, in relation to public procurement, privatisation of state and municipal property, etc.); 6.4.1.15.   establishment of a personnel management system; state institutions and state-owned companies must select managers by public competition and appoint them on the basis of a service contract. Their remuneration should be based on the performance of the managers and employees and in compliance with the articles of the service contract. In corruption prone areas, performance should evaluated by taking into consideration transparency and clarity of decision-making procedures; 6.4.1.16.   establishing a motivation-driven system of career development for civil servants (which includes in-service training, material and moral incentives for good performance); 6.4.1.17.   using and allocating human resources more rationally to avoid queues in the areas where public services are provided, which could be a potential factor of corruption; 6.4.1.18.   ensuring disclosure of the names of authors of some decisions (particularly in relation to the strategic decisions taken collegially) adopted by various civil servants or institutions; 6.4.1.19.   with a view to closing down the ways of corruption, division of functions between the adoption of individual rules (issuance of licences, permissions and quotas, etc.) and monitoring of their application; such functions should be performed by separate bodies; 6.4.1.20.   development and implementation of personnel training programmes for the apparatus of the State, involving fostering and adhering to the standards of institutional ethics and anti-corruption conduct; 6.4.1.21.   development of independent internal and external audit services in state and municipal institutions - creation of a national auditing system, ensuring that the heads of internal audit services are appointed or dismissed from office in accordance with the criteria (requirements) set by the established National Internal Auditing Agency; 6.4.1.22.   with the national auditing system in place, bringing the activities of internal and external auditors of state and municipal institutions in line with the EU auditing system standards; 6.4.1.23.   creating a system ensuring protection from administrative reprisal of the persons who provide information about corruption occurring in their workplace; 6.4.1.24.   in an attempt to prevent a situation when individuals resort to bribe-giving, because otherwise they have no right to complain about the decision violating their interests,  ensuring the possibility of appealing against such decisions; 6.4.1.25.   analysing and improving legislation regulating the public service, providing for a simpler procedure of dismissing or transferring staff to another position; 6.4.1.26.   when hierarchical corruption is rampant in a public administration institution, agency or service (i.e. when almost all the civil servants take bribes and share them with their managers), application of an exclusive measure to reorganise the institution or to transfer its staff to another job in compliance with the simplified procedure; 6.4.1.27.   setting the remit of civil servants that make decisions concerning the recovery of contributions to the state or local budget (for the benefit of the State, a municipality), providing for limited contacts between such civil servants and the persons authorised to make payments. 6.4.2. Tax and Customs: 6.4.2.1.   simplification of the procedures of tax-payment, accounting and bookkeeping; establishment of clear and publicly available criteria for deferring taxes owed to the budget; placing decisions related to deferring on the internet; 6.4.2.2.   elaboration of tax legislation with precise provisions and definitions to forestall personal interpretation and abuse of ambiguities; 6.4.2.3.   installation of integrated information systems in the institutions administrating taxes; 6.4.2.4.   improving the mechanism of appealing against the decisions of agencies engaged in collection of taxes or their officers, creating a possibility for the general public to report about existing corruption; 6.4.2.5.   implementation of an integrated customs information system (particularly for processing customs declarations); 6.4.2.6.   simplification of customs procedures (actions); reducing time used for customs clearance; 6.4.2.7.   increasing the risk involved in committing unlawful acts by monitoring customs clearance and resorting to technological means, first and foremost, installing x-ray control systems; 6.4.2.8.   ensuring constant exchange of information, as well as co-operation and co-ordination of activities in disclosing violations of law, between the customs and the other law enforcement bodies; 6.4.2.9.   establishing the procedure according to which more than one officer would perform customs clearance; 6.4.2.10. provision of simple and easily accessible information about the customs clearance, rights, procedures and regulations. 6.4.3.      Public procurement and privatisation: 6.4.3.1.   reducing, to a maximum, the regulation of public procurement by secondary legislation. It is necessary to draw up a Law on Public Procurement which meets the EU standards; 6.4.3.2.   strengthening the monitoring role played by the Public Procurement Agency, crystallising its functions in this field, placing more attention on the preliminary examination of  the conditions of public procurement; 6.4.3.3.   in an attempt to avoid possible abuse of office by the staff of institutions involved in public procurement, reduction of their discretionary decision-making powers; 6.4.3.4.   encouraging the staff of procuring institutions to report the abuse of powers in the area of public procurement and after doing so, protecting them from tampering; 6.4.3.5.   in the process of public procurement, maintaining the balance between qualitative (technical) and quantitative (financial) indicators when evaluating a bid; 6.4.3.6.   making public the process of public procurement; envisaging the transformation of public procurement into the electronic environment; filming major public procurement processes in procuring bodies; placing non-classified data on the web-sites of procuring bodies; 6.4.3.7.   creating a mechanism that would disqualify the economic entities that corrupted the procedure of public procurement in the past; 6.4.3.8.   denying the right to add information to a concluded agreement on public procurement or to change its key conditions (the price, quality, time limits) during the period of the fulfilment of the order except where the conditions of the contract are improved for the benefit of the procuring organisation; 6.4.3.9.   publicising the results of public procurement tenders; establishing criteria for setting up an evaluation committee; 6.4.3.10. disclosing the names of the heads of public administration agencies, who approved the technical task, and the names of the organisers; 6.4.3.11. constantly providing information to the public about the implementation of the contracts of public procurement as well as about any digressions from the initial technical requirements and changes made to all contracts; 6.4.3.12. setting clear-cut remit and responsibility of the Government, the state company State Property Fund and the Privatisation Commission related to privatisation transactions and decision-making; publicising the names of decision-makers; 6.4.3.13. establishing that a political decision concerning the major objects of privatisation, ways of privatisation and set key criteria in relation to the selection of investors should be adopted by the Seimas; 6.4.3.14. clear definition of information to be regarded as confidential in a privatisation transaction. 6.4.4. Health care: 6.4.4.1.     improving the system of centralised public procurement; approving the methodology of entering centralised procurement into a list of services with indicated prices; 6.4.4.2.     developing and approving the programme on ensuring the quality of individual health care; implementing the centrally approved diagnostic and treatment standards; 6.4.4.3.     establishing the procedure of mandatory provision of information to residents about the medical services for which payment is required; 6.4.4.4.     harmonisation of laws and other legal acts regulating the health system with the Civil Code, Law on Public Administration and Law on Consumer Protection; 6.4.4.5.     reforming the registration of imported medical products, equipment and medicines in the Republic of Lithuania to meet the requirements of the EU directives; abandoning the practice of secondary testing of those imports when not required by the EU legislation; 6.4.4.6.     drafting a list of diseases, medical products and medicines that would be subject to the standards of out-patient treatment; approval of compensation methodology; 6.4.4.7.     developing a concept paper and implementation measures on voluntary health insurance. 6.4.5. Law enforcement and judicial institutions: 6.4.5.1.   establishing by relevant legislation the mechanism of co-ordinating the activities of bodies involved in the prevention and investigation of corruption as well as co-ordination of their activities; 6.4.5.2.   reducing the impact of corruption upon the judicial and law enforcement bodies; increasing openness and transparency of their decision-making; 6.4.5.3.   improving the mechanism of selecting staff to the law enforcement and judicial bodies as well as evaluation of their performance; 6.4.5.4.   carrying out corruption risk analysis in all the units accountable to the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice, particularly in the Police Department, Migration Department, Tax Police, Department of Prisons and Courts as well as the State Border Protection Service; 6.4.5.5.   analysis and amendment of legislation stipulating the realm of operation of law enforcement and judicial bodies when forestalling and investigating corruption with a view to ensuring a more effective performance; 6.4.5.6.   changing the procedure for imposing and paying fines for the violations of administrative law in order to reduce the power of discretion enjoyed by public officers; 6.4.5.7.   establishing a clear-cut mechanism of distributing cases among the law enforcement and judicial officers. 6.4.6. International co-operation: 6.4.6.1.   with corruption becoming a high profile international dimension -analysis of the existing experience to be taken over by the Republic of Lithuania that aspires the EU membership and thus is required to harmonise its legislation in line with the standards and practices of the EU member states and  international organisations; 6.4.6.2.   elaborating legal language norms, terminology and contents; adherence to the major international instruments with shortest possible delay, implementation of such instruments. With this in mind: 6.4.6.2.1.   to sign and/ or ratify the main international anti-corruption conventions: the 1999 Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on Corruption No. 173, the 1999 Council of Europe Civil Law Convention on Corruption No. 174, the 1 December 1997 Convention of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions; 6.4.6.2.2.   when moulding an effective anti-corruption policy, to play an active role in the following regional anti-corruption programmes: -     National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis (NPAA), PHARE (Institutional Development/ Twinning Programme); -     OCTOPUS, joint Programme between the Council of Europe and the European Commission on the Fight against Corruption and Organised Crime in Central and Eastern Europe; -     Baltic States programmes on combating bribery and corruption; 6.4.6.2.3.   take part in the international integration structures, i.e. Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) and aspire membership in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development or the Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions; 6.4.6.2.4.   develop close links with the institutions of other countries and develop international bilateral interagency co-operation in the area of combating corruption; also meet the commitments pursuant to the agreements and treaties on mutual legal assistance. Public Involvement into the Fight against Corruption 6.5.         In order to involve as many people as possible into an active fight against corruption, a permanent Advisory Council should be established to represent widest strata of society, including public organisations, state institutions, trade unions, associations of employers, the Chamber of Commerce, etc. The Council would regulate and discuss at its meetings the areas most prone to corruption and it would elaborate the joint actions to be taken together with other institutions, including state institutions. Such a commission of civic society could operate under the Special Investigation Service (hereinafter referred to as the SIS); its composition could be approved by President of the Republic. 7. INVESTIGATION OF CORRUPTION RELATED OFFENCES 7.1.  The objective is to ensure effective investigation of corruption related offences both in the public and the private sectors and bringing guilty persons to justice. Strategic Provisions 7.2.  With a view to increasing the effectiveness of investigation of corruption related offences, the following measures should be taken: 7.2.1.   increasing the role of the Police Department under the Ministry of the Interior, State Security Department and other intelligence-gathering bodies in the fight against corruption; 7.2.2.   more consistent imposition of administrative sanctions, particularly in relation to the conflict of interests in the public service; improving the mechanism of administrative responsibility by increasing its legal and social effectiveness; 7.2.3.   amending the existing legislation to allow the officers investigating corruption offences to compare the data provided in declarations of property and income of residents, as well as the statements of political campaigns and other declarations against factual information in an administrative or criminal case; improving the mechanism of making persons liable for the false statement in relation to their property, etc.; 7.2.4.   creation of a systemised database to keep information about the shareholders of companies; the latter may be accessed by the State government and administration institutions and law enforcement bodies which have lawful cause to use such data. The investigation and prevention of corruption offence could be facilitated by the use of all the possible state-of-the-art information technologies and developing an appropriate legal framework regulating such a realm; 7.2.5.   in State and municipal institutions and agencies that render public services, establishing internal investigation, immunity or other structural subdivisions which would be authorised to carry out prevention of corruption and its control in an appropriate institution or agency, or appointing officers assigned with carrying out such functions; 7.2.6.   reinforcing the monitoring of lawfulness and legitimacy of the actions taken by  law enforcement bodies and elaborating the appropriate legal framework; 7.2.7.   encouraging the officers who disclose and investigate criminal offences to report about the crimes (corruption) committed in their respect because the current legal norms do not set such duty explicitly; 7.2.8.   ensuring the application of the Criminal Code provisions envisaging criminal liability for improper disclosure of information about a pending criminal case or other material (evidence, etc.) during a pre-trial period, because such an act if committed would violate the principle of lawfulness and injure a just, full and objective investigation of a case, helping the offenders to avoid legal accountability; 7.2.9.   ensuring that the law enforcement officers investigating cases that involve responsible officials are protected from tampering or exertion of other influence and are able to perform their functions properly; whereas persons co-operating with the law enforcement agencies in addition to the full legal protection granted pursuant the Law on the Protection from Tampering of the Participants of Criminal Procedure and Operational Activities, Judicial and Law on Enforcement Officers, they should be protected from retaliation at work; 7.2.10. paving the way for in-service training for officers, supply of equipment, provision of social guarantees in order to ensure better investigation of offences; 7.2.11. encouraging judges that have grounded doubts about procedural decisions to voice their opinions in compliance with the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Code of Civil Procedure; 7.2.12. setting clear-cut limits of operational activities and its measures in the legislation, to allow operational entities and other persons applying the results of operational activities to fully make use of the possibilities provided by these activities; 7.2.13. setting an optimum balance between prevention and criminal prosecution, paying  greater attention to reliability of operational and other information, its accurate and comprehensive verification, and objective evaluation; 7.2.14. ensuring proper co-operation of the SIS with the Police Department under the Ministry of the Interior, State Security Department and other operational entities while investigating corruption crimes; 7.2.15. enlisting co-operation of law enforcement and monitoring bodies to examine criminal formations that involve organised crime groups, shadow economy and corrupt civil servants, in an attempt to strike at the heart of corrupt systems impairing socio-economic development and aggravating the crime situation; 7.2.16. focusing on the investigation of corruption in priority areas of anti-corruption; 7.2.17. taking into account the international experience in the fight against corruption, developing international co-operation in analysing corruption patterns and investigating criminal and other cases. Investigation of some corruption cases is dependent on international co-operation and the exchange of information because corruption (particularly large-scale) tends to trespass the national boundaries. Public Involvement in the Investigation of Corruption Related Offences 7.3.  With a view to involving the public into the investigation of corruption offences, it is necessary to: 7.3.1.   encourage civic society organisations to take interest in high-profile corruption cases and explain to the public the judgements passed by courts and their implementation; 7.3.2.   encourage residents to use “hotlines” to inform the authorities about corruption offences, develop a direct link between society and anti-corruption bodies via internet; 7.3.3.   create a mechanism of reviewing complaints welcoming residents to report about corruption offences (or attempts of committing them); 7.3.4.   fully apply the Law on the Protection from Tampering of the Participants of Criminal Procedure and Operational Activities, Judicial and Law Enforcement Officers in relation to persons victimised by the manifestation of corruption and also to witnesses in corruption cases. 8. ANTI-CORRUPTION EDUCATION OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND MASS MEDIA 8.1.   The objective is to inform the residents of the Republic of Lithuania about the danger of corruption, build their intolerance towards corruption and encourage their active fight against it. Strategic Provisions of the Anti-Corruption Education of the General Public and Mass Media 8.2.   The residents of the Republic of Lithuania do not receive sufficient information about their rights and possibilities to actively confront corruption. The general public could contribute to the successful implementation of the Programme, however, it is poorly informed about its potential role in the fight against corruption. Thus an anti-corruption public campaign is required to involve residents into the fight against corruption and show the moral, public and financial damage made by corruption; also to specify the measures of countering it. With this in mind, the following efforts should be taken: 8.2.1.   organisation of special TV and radio shows, preparation of commercials, publications, using applied arts, launching various competitions; 8.2.2.   publication of special press editions covering information on the damage that corruption brings to the state and society and disclosing ways of countering it; 8.2.3.   conducting anti-corruption training to convey theoretical and practical knowledge and impart skills to various strata of society, inform them about anti-corruption developments and ways of countering this evil, exchange ideas about the measures to be taken; 8.2.4.   developing and applying anti-corruption curricula in comprehensive schools and higher education colleges. Special anti-corruption curricula should be carried out at universities and colleges that offer specialities most prone to corruption. The anti-corruption education should become an inseparable part of the public education system; 8.2.5.   education of the mass media, since it plays, similarly to non-governmental organisations, an important role in disclosing corruption and unveiling abuses of office; 8.2.6.   encouraging journalists’ agreement on separating corruption matters that cause severe damage to the state and society from competitive rivalry as well as political likes and dislikes; also urging journalists to write about corruption in an objective and responsible manner. The aforementioned rule could be included into the Code of Ethics for Journalists and Publishers. Public Involvement into Anti-Corruption Education 8.3.   One of the most useful forms of anti-corruption education is the so-called round table discussions organised for the representatives of various strata of society. 8.4.   Regular anti-corruption conferences and workshops would help experts from various areas exchange relevant information and carry out innovative methods to eradicate corruption from society and the state. 8.5.   This activity should also embrace the private sector. 8.6.   Circuit meetings should be regularly conducted, as well as meetings of anti-corruption officers with the public in smaller regions as well as major Lithuanian towns. 9. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAMME 9.1.   The anti-corruption action, including the implementation of the measures of the Programme, control, and technical assistance in preventing corruption, shall be taken, within the limits of their competence, by the Government, SIS and other bodies that should reinforce their efforts to forestall corruption (the diagram of bodies involved in the implementation of this Programme is appended). 9.2.   The provisions of the Programme (implementation measures) shall be carried out, within their relevant remit, by the following entities: political parties, State and municipal institutions, law enforcement bodies, non-governmental organisations, educational and scientific institutions, auditing organisations, expert groups, other agencies, undertaking and organisations. 9.3.   Corruption is an integrated social matter, the success over the fight against corruption shall be measured, or monitored, by qualitative as well as quantitative indicators: 9.3.1. prevention of corruption: 9.3.1.1.            number of public administration systems examined; 9.3.1.2.            number of implemented and pending measures of the Programme; 9.3.1.3.              implementation of the Programme within the set time limits; 9.3.2.   investigation of offences: 9.3.2.1.            number of crimes investigated; 9.3.2.2.            number of criminal proceedings initiated, terminated; 9.3.2.3.            number of persons convicted and acquitted against the number of criminal cases initiated; 9.3.2.4.            ratio of anonymous statements against official statements about alleged crimes; 9.3.3.   public education and support: 9.3.3.1.            number of special TV shows, radio broadcasts, articles in the press, speeches at conferences, seminars, workshops; 9.3.3.2.            assessment of success in the fight against corruption (in percentage), as reflected by the regularly conducted opinion polls. 9.4.   One of the main indicators of success in this area should be stronger public support of anti-corruption initiatives. There is a growing interest in the topic, coupled with civic society initiatives, development of contacts between representatives of the general public and the state authorities running anti-corruption initiatives. Such developments will be favourable to a further growth of anti-corruption activities carried by local and state authorities as well as civic society organisations. 9.5.   The implementation of the Programme will be state-funded. The allocation of monetary resources from the budget will depends on the financial capacity of the state. 9.6.   In the year 2002, Lithuania is backed up by the technical assistance of PHARE project No LI9913.02 "Review and Implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Programme, the Preparation and Implementation of Sectors, Anti-Corruption Strategies and Action Plans" (EUR 2,100,000). 9.7.   In order to implement the Programme, an Implementation Plan shall be developed to stipulate implementation measures, implementation time limits and executors. 9.8.   The corruption situation, the provisions of the Programme as well as priority directions of anti-corruption initiatives shall be reviewed and amended every two years. Implementation Measures Description Objective Time limits Implementing authority CHAPTER I PREVENTION OF CORRUPTION SECTION 1. CONSTRAINING POLITICAL CORRUPTION 1. Developing proposals on the amendment and supplementing of the laws and other legal acts regulating the activity of politicians and civil servants who may influence the allocation of funds from the state and municipal budgets or other property. Setting clear criteria in the decision-making of politicians in relation to the use, management and disposition of the state and municipal property. 1st quarter of 2002 Ministry of Justice Ministry of Finance State company State Property Fund Chief Institutional Ethics Commission Lithuanian Chapter of „Transparency International“* 2. Development of draft laws amending and supplementing the Law on Political Parties and Political Organisations, Law on Funding of Political Parties and Political Organisations, Law on Control of Funding of Political Parties and Political Organisations, as well as preparation of drafts of other necessary legal acts. Prohibition to fund political parties by legal entities. Establishment of legal responsibility for indirect or covert sponsorship of political parties. Definition of major instances of the manifestation of political corruption, elaboration of legal sanctions for such activities. Ensuring transparency and legitimacy of the party financial situation; establishing the procedure for accounting of receiving, handling and use of party funds; providing for personal responsibility of a party treasurer or its leader for committing financial offences. Harmonisation of provisions laid down in the Law on Political Parties and Political Organisations, Law on Funding of Political Parties and Political Organisations, Law on Control of the Funding of Political Campaigns. Consideration of recommendations on the funding of political parties and campaigns put forward by the Council of Europe’s GMC. 3rd quarter 2002 Ministry of Justice Ministry of Finance Ministry of Economy Central Electoral Commission Special Investigations Service PHARE expert* Lithuanian Chapter of „Transparency International“* 3. Provision for a reduced number of positions of civil servants of political (personal) confidence in the legal acts regulating the Public Service. Reduction of reshuffles in the public service followed by the change of political powers. 1st quarter of 2002 Ministry of the Interior 4. Drafting of legislation to amend and supplement the Law on the Elections to the Seimas and the Law on the Elections to the Councils of Local Authorities. Analysis and improvement of legislation with a view to limiting the possibility to be elected to the Seimas and municipal councils at the same time, as well as hold simultaneous positions in municipal council, board, be a governor or deputy governor of the county, and a manager of agencies, undertakings operating in the same district. 3rd quarter of 2002 Ministry of Justice Central Electoral Commission 5. Drafting the Code of Ethics for Lobbying Activities and improving the Law on Lobbying Activities. Application of the code of ethics in lobbying. Establishment of a system of application of the rules and monitoring of their application. Implementation of legislative provisions regulating illegal lobbying activities. 2nd quarter of 2002 Chief Institutional Ethics Commission Ministry of Justice National Association of Lobbyists* PHARE expert* 6. Drafting a legal act on the procedure of obligatory provision and publicising of data on the authors, disseminators and owners of public information as well as the owners of the authors and/or disseminators of public information and the other means of mass media. Making public and informing Lithuanian residents about the authors, disseminators and owners of public information as well as the owners of the authors and/or the disseminators of public information will discipline relevant persons and obligate them to screen the nature of developed or disseminated public information more effectively. 1st quarter of 2002 Ministry of Culture Journalist Ethics Inspector Service SECTION 2. CONSTRAINING ADMINISTRATIVE CORRUPTION 1.   PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: 1.1. Developing a draft law on amending and supplementing the Law on the Procedure of Drafting Laws and other Regulations, as well as other relevant secondary legislation. Establishing a procedure for drafting, adjustment, evaluation of alternatives and the impact of decisions that result in laws, Government resolutions, legal acts of ministries and other public administration institutions. Developing a system of reviewing legislation and draft legislation from the point of view of anti-corruption; ensuring consistent implementation of the Law on the Procedure for Drafting Laws and other Regulations in the law making process; harmonisation of Lithuanian laws with the EU legislation. Launching tenders for the development of legislation and using the assistance of experts from relevant areas.  Involving non-governmental organisations into the law making process. Ensuring participation of representatives from the business community in developing relevant legislation. Systematic review of secondary legislation regulating business; establishing the procedure of approving the aforementioned legislation which involves representatives of non-governmental organisations. Improving the law making process by closing down the opportunities for corruption both in the law making and approval process. Ensuring implementation of the provisions of the Law on the Procedure for Drafting Laws and other Regulations in law making. 2nd quarter of 2002 Ministry of Justice Ministry of the Interior Special Investigations Service Ministry of Economy PHARE expert* 1.2. Developing a Civil Servant’s Code of Conduct. Definition of anti-corruption provisions and the measures of legal responsibility in line with the laws regulating contractual relations and the declaration of private interests. 4th quarter of 2002 Chief Institutional Ethics Commission Ministry of the Interior Special Investigations Service PHARE expert* Lithuanian Chapter of „Transparency International“* 1.3. Developing amendments and supplements to the Seimas Resolution Concerning the Approval of Regulations of the Chief Institutional Ethics Commission. Encouraging implementation and abidance by the decisions of the Chief Institutional Ethics Commission. Ensuring publicity of decisions made and disciplinary measures suggested by the Chief Institutional Ethics Commission. 2nd quarter of 2002 Chief Institutional Ethics Commission Ministry of the Interior Special Investigations Service 1.4. Developing draft laws to supplement the statutes and other legal acts of state institutions. Based on the findings of a corruption mapping exercise, identifying areas that require the principle of rotation. 4th quarter of 2002 Ministry of the Interior Ministry of Finance Special Investigations Service 1.5. Examining the procedure of issuing licences (permissions) by state and municipal institutions as well as rules of licensing and drafting proposals with respect to their amendment. Protection of public realm most prone to corruption. Simplification of the process involved in issuing licences (permissions). Ensuring that the amount of a fee for a licence (permission) to engage in certain activities does not become an obstacle to start up such activities (or engage in them). With a view to closing down the ways of corruption, division of functions between the adoption of individual rules (issuance of licences, permissions and quotas, etc.) and monitoring of their application; such functions should be ascribed to separate bodies or their subdivisions. 4th quarter of 2002 Special Investigations Service Ministry of Economy Ministry of the Interior Ministry of Finance Ministry of Education and Science Ministry of Health Care Ministry of Social Security and Labour Ministry of the Environment Ministry of Transport and Communications Ministry of Justice Ministry of Agriculture State Tobacco and Alcohol Control Service under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania PHARE expert* 1.6. Elaborating the procedure of establishing the purpose of the use of land and forest; developing and submitting amendments to the laws on the acquisition of land, forest, or other property, as well as the procedure for the disposal thereof. Establishing a more detailed general procedure for the acquisition, selling and lease of land …