Legal Responsibility for the Evacuation of the Civilian Population During Large-Scale Emergencies: A Case Study of Lithuania

The evacuation of the civilian population constitutes one of the fundamental instruments of civil protection in situations involving natural, technological, epidemiological, and military hazards. The primary objective of civilian evacuation is to ensure the orderly, efficient, and timely evacuation of residents from threatened or contaminated areas in order to safeguard their life and health. In response to rising geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe, the Baltic states have undertaken measures aimed at strengthening the resilience of their national security systems. The aim of this article is to examine the civilian evacuation system operating in the Republic of Lithuania and to assess its effectiveness in the context of large-scale emergencies. The research question addressed in the study is: What legal mechanisms can ensure the effective evacuation of the civilian population during large-scale emergencies in Lithuania? The study employs the institutional and legal analysis method, strategic document analysis, and the comparative method. It presents the organizational structure of the civil protection system, the competences of public administration authorities, and the procedures for planning and implementing evacuation operations. The concluding section identifies directions for the further improvement of the Lithuanian crisis management model. This article is an outcome of research conducted under the Miniatura 9 grant awarded by the National Science Centre (NCN), Poland, within which the author is carrying out a broader research project. The present publication constitutes one of the four stages of that project. Keywords: civilian evacuation, civil protection, civil security, crisis management, Lithuania, public administration.