The Institute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania has launched a project to make a Lithuanian translation of the Third Statute of Lithuania, one of the most important legal codes in Lithuanian history. This interesting project, very significant to the Lithuanian history of law, is sponsored by the law firm GLIMSTEDT.
All three Statutes of Lithuania were adopted in the 16th century, which can be called an age of Lithuanian law codification. The First Statute of Lithuania was adopted in 1529, the Second Statute was adopted in 1566, and the Third Statute was adopted in 1588. All three Statutes were written in the old Ruthenian language, which at that time was used as an office language of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Third Statute was the most distinguished among them and, with some amendments, was actually in power until 1840. According to legal historians, the Third Statute of Lithuania is an important source in the context both of Lithuanian and European legal thought. However, so far only the First Statute of Lithuania has been translated into the Lithuanian language.
The main translation work of the Third Statute of Lithuania is being performed by Ričardas Jaramičius, assisted by other researchers related to the Institute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vytautas Magnus University and other academic institutions of Lithuania, Poland and Belarus. It is expected that the translation of the Third Statute of Lithuania will be finished in 2022 and will be published as a book in 2023.
A non-profit NGO Institute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania is set up under the initiative of Lithuanian, Polish, Belarusian and Ukrainian intellectuals to focus on the exploration and promotion of the common history and heritage. The Institute was established in 2009 in Kaunas. Director of the Institute is Dr Rūstis Kamuntavičius, the docent of the History Department in Vytautas Magnus University and the director of Czesław Miłosz Centre.
More information about the Third Statute of Lithuania and the translation project available at http://www.3statutas.lt/.
