Criminal liability for rioting

Abstract

Disturbances that turn into riots are very diverse. This can happen when farmers block highways during a protest or when residents protest at the Seimas against the Government's austerity policy and tax reform, or when they protest against the Government's restrictions for people who do not have immunity to the coronavirus and who do not get tested, as well as when football fans express their dissatisfaction with the result of the match. Why are these events considered riots and not public order violations? How do riot crimes differ from other public disorder crimes? What are the characteristics of riot crime investigation? What are the challenges faced by the officers investigating these crimes? The answers to these questions are discussed in the article. Scientific literature, legal acts, and court practice were analysed to achieve the aim. To identify the problems arising in handling riot cases, police officers were interviewed. The analysis shows that the definitions of the riot and the grave violation of public order, established in Article 283 of the Criminal Code of Lithuania, is not clear and leaves the court with wide discretion on how to interpret the content. The Criminal Code should provide definitions of “public order,“ “gathering of people“, and “grave violation of public order.“ The law should establish that for determining a riot, it does not matter where the riot takes place - in a public or private place. In the “gathering of people“ the focus should be on the number of active violators of public order instead of the total number of people present at the riot scene. Police officers lack knowledge about the effects of riots and need riot recognition and qualification training. In practice, police officers face some challenges in identifying riot organisers, instigators and active participants.