"The State is me", declared King Louis XIV of France at the age of 12. This statement reflects the era of absolutism, when the king had complete power. And although it is a long time since we have heard this kind of reflection that the state is the king's personality, a few years ago Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the French Socialist Party, echoed the King's phrase with the paraphrase "The Republic is me". Although this phrase was uttered during a raid on the party's headquarters, it only reaffirms how important it is to raise questions in order to understand what the state is.

Meda Baranauskaitė, a student of Mykolas Romeris University, analyses the problems of the concept of state responsibility in the context of the works of Mykolas Romeris, the founder of the Lithuanian constitutional law science, Doctor of Laws, Professor. This research has earned her a diploma of the laureate of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences in the competition of scientific works of young scientists and doctoral students. She is currently in her fifth year at the School of Law, studying in the Joint Diploma Programme in European and International Business Law with the University of Savoy Montblanc in France. Meda is looking forward to the next academic year, when she will be able to spend a semester studying in France. After hesitating between psychology and law studies, Meda is now happy with her choice and says that she has received a lot of encouragement from her lecturers to write and participate in various academic activities.

From written work to scientific article

Mykolas Romeris University lecturers actively encourage students to get involved in scientific activities. The initiative, which has been in place since 2000, gives Law School students a unique opportunity to publish their research in the publication "Legal Thought Celebration". This initiative not only encourages students' scientific development, but also provides them with valuable experience in the field of scientific publishing. In 2021, the University's lecturers have revived this initiative in order to strengthen students' scientific competences and to unlock their scientific potential. In 2023, the initiative grew into a university-wide event, the Celebration of Scientific Thought, through the efforts of the entire university community. The first joint collection of scientific papers by students from all MRU faculties was published, with a selection of the best papers, peer-reviewed by experienced scientists.

Directed research on responsibility

Meda Baranauskaitė's articles that received the Academy of Science Award have been published in the above-mentioned MRU publications. The first article "Problems of the Concept of State Responsibility in the Context of Mykolas Romeris's Works" (supervised by Assoc. Prof. Dr. D. Sagatienė) was published in the 2022 edition of the "Legal Thought Celebration" publication, which analyses the relevance of the works of professor Mykolas Romeris in the context of today. In the second article, "Peculiarities of fault in contractual liability in Lithuania and Germany" (supervised by Prof. Dr. S. Drukteinienė), published in the 2023 edition of the Scientific Thought Celebration, Meda Baranauskaitė compares the peculiarities of the element of fault in contractual liability in the Lithuanian and the German national legal frameworks. The topic of liability is of interest to Meda not only because of its theoretical complexity, but also because of the diversity of case law. She argues that analysing the element of fault as part of liability is both complex and interesting, as it requires careful scrutiny. She is currently carrying out another study on the legal regulation of the real estate sector, the results of which will be published later this year. Meda is continuing her research on state liability, revealing that the failure or inadequate fulfilment of obligations undertaken in legal documents can lead to state liability.

What is Prof. Mykolas Romeris' contribution to the formation of the concept of the state?

In an article published in 2022, Meda reveals the relevance of the work of Professor Mykolas Romeris for the modern concept of state responsibility. In order to shed light on the essence of state responsibility, the author highlights Prof. Romeris' contribution to the formation of the concept of the rule of law in the society of his time, highlighting its essential aspects, which are still relevant today in the scientific legal doctrine and in the national case law.

Analysing Prof. Romeris' monographs "The State" and "The Administrative Court", the author notes that between the wars, the professor defined the state through three essential elements: the nation, the territory and the government. While The State is a widely studied work, The Administrative Court has received less scholarly attention. Meda's study shows that the latter monograph is equally valuable and can help define the concept of the state.

The professor's writings also refer to the state as a "public service organisation", i.e. an entity whose main function is to provide public services to its citizens. The state is understood as a social organisation that operates like a large mechanism of reciprocal service exchange. This approach is in line with the ideas of the French legal theorist L. Duguit (1859-1928), which shows that the ideas of both Prof. Romeris and L. Duguit are still relevant today, when the role of the state in society is increasingly being discussed.

Analysing the concept of state responsibility as discussed in Prof. Romeris' monograph "Administrative Court", Meda observes that the professor emphasises the equality of all people, which manifests itself in the idea of a common public burden. State action is understood as "the business of the whole collective", and the burden of state action should therefore be distributed equally among all.

What is today's concept of the state?

Today, there is more than one term for the state in scientific doctrine. Despite this diversity, the author identifies two main ones. In the first case, the state is understood as "a society with a supreme authority and a form of collective life", says the master's student. In the second case, the state is identified with one of its essential elements: power. Baranauskaitė argues that legal doctrine states that these two approaches should not be seen as antagonistic. Instead, it is better to understand the state as a form of national life and the organisation of political power, which is characterised by features such as the representation of the public, the making of decisions on its behalf, the adoption of decisions binding on all members of society and their implementation, if necessary by the use of coercion by the state.

Although some political actors today dare to see themselves as essential elements of the state, it must be borne in mind that it is up to the citizens themselves to critically assess the activities of the state and to take part in the political process in order to ensure that the state functions in the interests of all citizens. After all, to paraphrase Prof. Romeris*, the welfare of the state is the responsibility of all citizens. So maybe it is time for us to take it upon ourselves?

 

*Mykolas Romeris, Administrative Court (Kaunas: Valstybės spaustuvė, 1928), 316.