Naujieji teisininkai – chirurgai be anatomijos ir fiziologijos žinių
New Lawyers – Surgeons without Knowledge of Anatomy and Physiology

Summary/Abstract: Over the past few years, universities in Lithuania have make changes to the legal study programs—obligatory subject Criminology moved to list of alternative optional subjects. Therefore, is increasing the number of new lawyers, who have not studied criminology, which thinking about criminals, crime victims, crime, its causes and successful impact on crime, is based on stereotype understanding of a few centuries ago. However, the new lawyers, being professionals, pre-trial investigators, advocates, prosecutors, judges play a crucial role in criminal proceedings, to decide the fate of people, how to use public resources for crime control and prevention. They will make speeches during the hearing in courts savour of their complete incomprehension of processes speaking about. Purpose of the article is to assess what criminological competencies are important to lawyers today, what are the possible consequences for the Lithuanian society if lawyers do not acquire these competencies. There are used the methods of analysis, aggregation, comparison and others. Objects of the research are competencies of lawyers acquired during the study of modern criminology, its importance to the lawyers and to the society. Research limitations: analysed only regular undergraduate degree programs (Bachelor) of the law direction of universities in order to avoid unnecessary and non-essential issues. There analysed only part of the integrated study programs (join Bachelor and Master) by the choice of specialization. The article examines the reasons why criminology has become the subject of an alternative choice, what alternative subjects are offered, whether they are suitable as an alternative to criminology. Here examined the legal aspects of study program creation and preparation of the lawyers. Author raises questions: is it possible let the lawyers to serve in a criminal justice system, if they do not have the scientific knowledge about crime, its causes and impact on it in effective ways? Can we let perform an operation by the surgeon who hasn’t knowledge of human anatomy and physiology? The author concludes that criminology knowledge and Lithuania’s need of this knowledge changing in opposite directions—the need is increasing, but the knowledge is decreasing. Prison population rate (per 100,000 of the population) in Lithuania is one of the largest in the European Union and almost two times higher than the EU average. Widespread awareness of strengthening of sanctions as an effective method for crime prevention in Lithuanian society and even the criminal justice professionals is one of the factors that hinder successful solution of the crime problem brings us all to suffer harm. Criminology in Lithuanian universities is not currently a compulsory subject (except for two programmes of Mykolas Romeris University). Universities do not provide a proper alternative for criminology. The subject “Legal Philosophy and Sociology” (3 credits)

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