CIVIL PROTECTION LAW
15 December 1998 No. VIII-971
Vilnius
Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Purpose of the Law
This Law establishes legal and organisational principles of the civil protection and rescue system organisation and operation, the duties and rights of state and municipal institutions, economic entities, public organisations and residents.
Article 2. Definitions
As used in this Law,
1. “Civil protection” means a civil function of the national defence comprising preparedness of public authorities, executive institutions of municipalities, all economic entities, public organisations and the population for an emergency and actions in the event of occurrence thereof, also the use of all resources of the state for the survival of the population, keeping up the operability of the national economy, protection of the property and the environment against the effects of the existing emergency, with the citizens actively participating in the processes.
2. “Emergency” means a situation which is caused by natural, ecological or social factors or military actions and brings about a sudden and grave danger to human health and life, property and nature or causes death and mutilation or property losses.
3. “Disaster” means an event of natural, technical, ecological or social character which has reached or exceeded the established criteria and poses a threat to people, the physiological and social conditions of their life, to property, economy and the environment.
4. The types of emergency causes:
1) natural - drastic changes of climatic conditions causing natural disasters, widespread forest and peat-bog fires, geologically dangerous phenomena, especially dangerous or mass epidemics, epizootics, epiphytotics;
2) technical - disorders of various technological processes which cause fires, explosions, discharge of chemical or radioactive effluents, collapse of buildings, transport, energy system, main pipe-line accidents of various types and other emergencies likely to happen in industrial objects and communications systems;
3) ecological - factors leading to changes in the condition of the land, composition and properties of the atmosphere, the state of the hydrosphere;
5. “Disaster criteria” means physical, chemical or geographical quantities defining the magnitude and consequences of the event, established as a result of observations and calculations or used in international practice, which represent the limits at which or above which the event shall be considered as an emergency. The criteria of an emergency shall be laid down by the Government or an institution authorised by it.
6. “Disaster area” means the territory affected by natural, technical, ecological or social events, where fires broke out, buildings or other engineering constructions collapsed, the environment was polluted by radioactive, chemical or biological substances, liquids, gases or aerosols resulting in human casualties or a threat to human life or health.
7. “Operational management” means the exercise by the commander of civil protection operation of the delegated right to organise the assigned civil protection and rescue system forces and to command, through chief officers of civil protection and rescue system institutions, the actions of the forces along the lines the operation commander deems expedient in order to enable the forces to implement the assigned task. The concept of operational management shall not embrace liability for the formation, administration, discipline and provision of civil protection and rescue system institutions.
8. “Rescue operations” means reconnaissance of movement routes and rescue sites; suppression and extinguishing of fires on the movement routes and rescue sites; rescue operations above and under water; rescue of traffic accident casualties; localisation and containment of radiological incidents; search for the dead and injured, rescue of the injured survivors from collapsed and burning buildings, crashed aircraft, foundering ships, flooded premises, premises and ruins contaminated with gas and smoke; digging up of destroyed shelters and covers, rescue of persons located therein; ensuring the ventilation of shelters buried under the rubble in the event of the filtering-ventilation system disorder; provision of first aid to the victims and their transportation to medical facilities; relocation of the residents from a hazard area to a lower risk area.
9. “Other emergency operations” means the laying of roads and passages through ruins and contaminated areas; accident relief and mitigation of consequences in electricity, water supply, sewage and other technological networks; fortification or pulling down of hazardous constructions and structures obstructing rescue operations or perilous to humans, unexploded explosives reconnaissance, defusing or destruction of explosives; sanitary treatment of humans and veterinary treatment of animals, decontamination and degassing of clothing, individual protection kit and machinery; decontamination of contaminated area, structures, food, fodder and water.
10. “Economic entity” means an enterprise registered and functioning in the Republic of Lithuania, a foreign enterprise subsidiary or representative office.
11. “Hazardous facility” means an enterprise, warehouse or any other structure wherein one or several hazardous materials or their waste, the amount whereof exceeds the fixed marginal amount as well as hydraulic engineering equipment are constantly or temporarily produced, processed, kept, transhipped, used, stored or neutralised.
12. “Evacuation of the population” means moving the at risk population to an area of lower risk and providing them with permanent or temporary housing.
Article 3. Civil Protection and Rescue System
The civil protection and rescue system of the Republic of Lithuania shall comprise:
3) the Civil Protection Department under the Ministry of National Defence (hereinafter - Civil Protection Department);
5) fire protection, search and rescue, other territorial population warning and information, evacuation and civil protection services of ministries, other institutions of public administration and local government municipalities, civil protection and rescue system bodies of economic entities;
Article 4. Goals of Civil Protection and Rescue System
The goals of the civil protection and rescue system shall be:
1) to provide conditions for public institutions, economic entities and the population for the transfer from ordinary living (working) conditions to an emergency situation with the smallest possible losses, for the keeping of order, preservation of human lives, property, protect the environment against the effects of an emergency;
2) to guarantee optimum use of state resources in order to ensure public security, maintain the operability of the national economy, localise the emergency areas and alleviate the effects thereof;
Article 5. Tasks of the Civil Protection and Rescue System
Taking into account the causes, character and threat of emergencies, the civil protection and rescue system shall implement the following tasks:
1) warn the population of the imminent emergency, inform of its possible effects and measures to mitigate said effects;
3) organise the supply of the population with individual protection kits and collective protection equipment;
16) make arrangements for the training for emergencies of chief officers, personnel, civil protection and rescue system forces and the population;
Article 6. Principles of Civil Protection and Rescue System Organisation
and Functioning
When implementing the goals and tasks set to them, the civil protection institutions shall be guided by the following principles of organisation and functioning:
1) territorial - civil protection shall be organised on the national scale according to the administrative division of the state and shall embrace the entire population as well as foreign nationals located in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania ;
2) differentiation - civil protection measures and preparedness for rescue operations shall be performed in individual administrative units taking into account the level, scope of danger of the emergency anticipated in the territories of said units, also possible effect thereof on the national economy, the population, also production and social activities;
3) universal obligatoriness - civil protection measures shall be obligatory to all institutions of public administration and local government, all economic entities and residents;
4) transparency - the activities of public administration and local government institutions in the sphere of civil protection shall be transparent to the public and the mass media;
5) state of constant readiness - the institutions and forces of civil protection and rescue system must be in the state of constant readiness to act under the likely emergency conditions;
6) interoperability - the effectiveness of civil protection measures and actions under emergency conditions shall be ensured by co-ordinating the interoperability plans and management system of the public administration and local government institutions, civil protection and rescue system forces, the Lithuanian Armed Forces, medical institutions and other services.
Article 7. Basic Legal Principles of Civil Protection and Rescue System
Civil protection and rescue system institutions shall be guided in their activities by the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, laws and other legal acts enacted by the Seimas, decrees of the President of the Republic, Government resolutions, Prime Minister’s ordinances, orders of the National Defence Minister and international treaties to which the Republic of Lithuania is a party.
DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS OF THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS AS WELL AS
ECONOMIC ENTITIES IN THE SPHERE OF CIVIL PROTECTION
Article 8. The Government
Implementing the state policy in the sphere of civil protection, the Government shall:
1) draw up civil protection and rescue system development programmes and submit them to the Seimas for approval;
2) lay down the procedure for implementing civil protection and rescue system priority development trends;
5) approve national level plans of civil protection emergency preparedness, lists of objects of national significance which are the likely hazards, basic public services provided to the population free of charge in the event of an emergency;
7) establish the composition of the state reserve of civil protection technical means, food, clothing, the size of the reserve, the procedure of its building, storage, renewal and delivery to the site of use;
9) fix the amounts of budget allocations for the maintenance and development of civil protection and rescue system and submit same to the Seimas for approval;
10) notify the President of the Republic and the Seimas about emergencies, their consequences and causes, and act in support of the declaration, when appropriate, of an emergency situation;
Article 9. Ministry of National Defence
1. In time of peace the Ministry of National Defence shall implement, in conjunction with other institutions, the Government’s policy in the area of civil protection, co-ordinate the activities of civil protection and rescue system institutions in accomplishing the tasks assigned to their competence.
2. The Minister of National Defence shall:
2) approve the needs for shelters and other collective protection structures, the norms and procedure of provision of the population with individual means of protection;
6) issue orders on civil protection matters, the implementation whereof shall be mandatory to civil protection and rescue system management institutions;
Article 10. Civil Protection Department
1. The Civil Protection Department is a constituent part of the civil protection and rescue system, directing the activities of the civil protection and rescue system, organising the prevention of emergencies, co-ordinating the activities of public institutions and economic entities in the sphere of civil protection and planning the national preparedness for the implementation of civil protection tasks in case of emergencies in time of peace and in wartime.
2. When implementing the tasks assigned to it, the Civil Protection Department shall:
1) warn and inform state institutions, economic entities and the population of a national-scale hazard in case of an emergency, presenting a threat to human life, health, property and the environment;
2) plan measures so as to ensure that the transfer by state institutions, economic entities and the population from ordinary working (living) conditions to an emergency situation should entail smallest possible losses, that peace should be maintained, human life, health and property should be preserved, the environment should be protected against the effects of an emergency;
3) plan measures to ensure the optimum use of state resources for the upkeep of the national economy operability, for localisation of emergency area and for mitigation of the effects thereof;
6) organise the preparedness of public administration institutions and the community for practical actions in case of an emergency;
Article 11. State Fire Prevention and Rescue Service
1. The State Fire Prevention and Rescue Service is a constituent part of the Civil Protection and Rescue System, which is in the state of constant readiness and commands for the extinguishing of fires, search for people and their rescue as well as their urgent relocation from the emergency area and provides first aid of the scope specified by law. The State Fire Prevention and Rescue Service shall be controlled by the Fire Prevention and Rescue Department under the Ministry of the Interior (hereinafter - Fire Prevention and Rescue Department).
2. State Fire Prevention and Rescue Service units, firemen brigades and departmental fire prevention forces taking part in the mitigation of effects of the emergency shall be subordinate, irrespective of their institutional dependence, to the commander of the rescue operations in the emergency area, appointed by the Fire Prevention and Rescue Department.
3. The State Fire Prevention and Rescue Service shall carry out state supervision of fire prevention. Its tasks shall be effecting fire prevention and guaranteeing the availability of technical and organisational measures for the extinguishing of fires. The work of state fire prevention supervision shall be organised in compliance with the regulations approved by the Government.
4. The regulations, composition, norms of supplies and development programmes of the State Fire Prevention and Rescue Service and its subdivisions shall be approved by the founder, whereas the specific functions, rights and responsibility in the event of an emergency, in carrying out rescue operations shall be established by other legal acts.
Article 12. Ministries and other Institutions of State Administration
1. The activities of ministries and other institutions of state administration in the sphere of civil protection shall be directed by their chief executives or persons authorised by the chief executives.
2. Ministries and other institutions of state administration shall:
1) be responsible for the organisation of civil protection according to the type of activity and competence assigned to them;
2) approve the regulations of the emergency management centre of the ministry or other institution of state administration, as well as plans of emergency preparedness upon prior co-ordination thereof with the Civil Protection Department;
3) build departmental reserves of supplies and funds in order to increase the stability of functioning and security under emergency conditions of the enterprises assigned to their sphere of regulation;
7) co-ordinate, taking into account the character of tasks within their competence, the planning of civil protection measures of entities assigned to their sphere of regulation, as well as the preparedness of said entities to work under emergency conditions;
8) furnish state institutions with information necessary for the implementation of civil protection tasks;
Article 13. County Governor
2. The county governor shall:
2) organise the drawing up of plans of emergency preparedness of civil protection in the county, warn the public and local authorities, economic entities, the population of the imminent emergency, notify of its character and the likelihood of spread;
3) obtain from all district (city) municipalities information necessary for the implementation of civil protection tasks;
4) in the event of the likely emergencies organise and implement in the territory of the administrative unit preventive measures of civil protection;
5) notify the Civil Protection Department of the emergencies which occurred in the administrative unit;
6) make arrangements to mitigate the emergency effects, organise supply of search and rescue operations;
8) control the preparedness of executive bodies of municipalities to avert the likely consequences of emergencies or to mitigate the effects thereof;
9) apply to the Government for aid in the event of an emergency when own forces and resources prove insufficient;
Article 14. Mayor of the District (City) Municipality
1. Civil protection is a function delegated by the state to a municipality, and its discharge is the responsibility of mayor of the municipality.
2. Mayor of a district (city) shall:
1) be responsible for the preparedness of civil protection within the territory of the municipality;
4) warn public authorities, economic entities, and the population about an imminent emergency, inform about its nature, the likelihood of its spreading, and the necessary actions required of the population;
5) prescribe tasks and functions of civil protection for administrative units of the municipality, approve plans of civil protection emergency preparedness;
7) organise and implement preventive measures of civil protection, rescue and other urgent tasks, mitigate the effects of emergencies, evacuate the population and provide as necessary accommodation for them, organise civil protection training of the population;
8) collect information from all the economic entities within the territory of the municipality necessary for carrying out the tasks of civil protection;
9) control carrying out of the civil protection tasks, compliance of the economic entities with the Civil Protection Law and other legal acts;
10) provide information to the county governor, the economic entities and the population within the territory of the municipality necessary for carrying out the tasks of civil protection;
11) stockpile, keep and renew a state reserve of civil protection supplies and make arrangements as necessary for its distribution;
13) mobilise all the civil protection forces within the municipality territory for mitigation of emergency effects and rescue operations;
15) apply to the district governor for assistance in evacuation, rescue operations and mitigation of emergency effects when his own capacities and resources are not adequate;
17) control the state of civil protection of economic entities of the district (city) and provide methodological assistance to them;
Article 15. Manager of an Economic Entity or an Institution
The manager of an economic entity or an institution shall:
6) in the manner prescribed by the Government stockpile material resources and technical means to sustain the operability and safety of the entity in the event of an emergency;
7) seek to ensure provision of services in emergencies according to the character of activities of the entity (office);
Article 16. Public Organisations
Public organisations may be called to take part in organising state civil protection measures for elimination of the consequences of emergencies and provide assistance to the victims in co-operation with the municipal civil protection service units.
Article 17. Rights of the Population of the Republic of Lithuania in the Sphere
of Civil Protection
In the event of emergencies or imminent emergencies the population of the Republic of Lithuania shall be entitled to life and health care, material and financial assistance, and shall have the right to be duly informed about the imminent danger.
Article 18. Duties of the Population of the Republic of Lithuania in the
Sphere of Civil Protection
In the sphere of civil protection the population of the Republic of Lithuania must:
2) be familiar with the warning signals of civil protection and know how to behave upon hearing them;
Article 19. Management of Civil Protection
2. On the national level, the Government, the Government Emergency Commission, the Emergency Management Centre, the Ministry of National Defence, the Civil Protection Department, the State Fire Prevention and Rescue Service, ministries, and other public authorities shall make strategic decisions on the implementation of civil protection measures.
3. On the county level, administrations of county governors, county civil protection departments, and county emergency management centres shall organise preparedness for emergencies, and assist as necessary in their relief.
4. On the municipal level, mayors (boards) of municipalities, civil protection departments (divisions, services), civil protection personnel, municipal emergency management centres, fire protection, humans search and rescue services, warning and information, evacuation, civil protection services and economic entities shall organise preparedness for emergency situations, and as necessary mitigate their effect.
5. On the national level, the management of the civil protection operations chain shall start with the Prime Minister, proceed through the chief officer of a civil protection operation appointed by him and shall go down to chief executive officers of ministries, departments and other public administration bodies and county governors, and in exceptional circumstances - directly to mayors of municipalities.
6. On the national level, the Prime Minister shall usually appoint, in accordance with prepared and co-ordinated civil protection operation plans, and with account of the character of the operation, a member of the Cabinet or some other official to be in command of civil protection operations (operational command). In discharging the functions of operational command, the appointed civil protection operations commander shall be assisted by the operations headquarters made up of the specialists from the Civil Protection Department and the Emergency Management Centre under direction of the Director of the Civil Protection Department.
7. During the first response to an emergency, the commander of rescue operations shall direct civil protection actions on the site of a disaster. Depending on the extent of an emergency and the level of the civil protection actions, operational command from the commander of civil protection operations shall be taken over either by head of the municipality emergency management centre or head of the county emergency management centre, or the commander of the national level civil protection operations appointed by the Prime Minister.
Article 20. The Government Emergency Commission
1. The Government Emergency Commission (hereinafter the Emergency Commission) shall be a permanent Government commission which shall organise emergency prevention and direct emergency relief actions where an emergency encompasses the territory of one or more counties or where there is a need for assistance from public administration bodies for rallying without delay forces and material resources necessary for mitigation of the effects an emergency.
Article 21. The Emergency Management Centre
1. The Emergency Management Centre shall function as a permanent institution of the Emergency Commission having the function of a Government institution. In the event of large-scale natural disasters, technological accidents and catastrophes this Centre shall organise disaster containment, rescue of people and mitigation of the effects. If there is a need to assist the civil protection forces engaged in rescue operations the Centre shall mobilise services and equipment under the control of other state institutions and shall co-ordinate their actions. The Government shall approve emergency management plans which provide that rescue and mitigation of consequences operations when appropriate shall be directed by ministers.
2. In the event of emergencies the Emergency Management Centre shall adopt and submit to the ministries, other public administration institutions, executive bodies of local government, economic entities and the population mandatory decisions on localisation and mitigation of the effects of an emergency.
Article 22. Other Civil Protection Management Institutions
1. Departmental emergency management centres shall be established at the ministries and other public administration institutions.
2. Carrying out assignments within the competence of the county and district (city) civil protection and rescue system shall be organised by departments (divisions) of civil protection. Their composition and pay-roll fund shall be established in accordance with the standards prescribed by the Civil Protection Department with account of the degree of the risk. Emergency management centres shall be formed under the office of the county governor and the district (city) mayor. The regulations, heads and structure of these centres shall be approved by the founders.
Article 23. Forces of the Civil Protection and Rescue Systems
1. Forces of the civil protection and rescue system shall be formed for carrying out rescue, search of people and other urgent tasks.
Article 24. Units of the State Fire Prevention and Rescue Service and their
Purpose
1. Units of the State Fire Prevention and Rescue Service shall fight fires, carry out rescue operations at the scene of industrial and road accidents, mitigate the effects of natural disasters, chemical and radiological incidents, take part in search of people on land, in territorial waters and the economic zone, provide first aid, and effect state fire prevention. These units shall be established in counties, districts (city) and at economic entities. They shall be in the state of constant readiness, prepared to go to the scene of a disaster 24 hours a day.
Article 25. General and Special Units and their Purpose
1. General units shall be used for rescue and other urgent operations, and for search of people. They shall be established by counties, district (city) municipalities and economic entities.
2. Special units shall be used for special rescue and other urgent operations to reinforce and ensure adequate logistics for general units during the operations. Special units shall be established by ministries, other public administration bodies, district (city) municipalities and economic entities.
Article 26. Municipal Fire Protection Services
1 A municipal fire protection service shall be a part of the civil protection and rescue system in the state of constant readiness financed from the municipal budget.
2. Municipal fire protection services shall extinguish fires and carry out first-response rescue operations.
3. Joint actions of municipal fire protection services and of the units of the state fire protection service shall be prescribed by the Fire Protection and Rescue Department. It shall provide methodological support to municipal fire protection services and supervise their preparedness to act in emergencies.
Article 27. The Search and Rescue Service
1. The Search and Rescue service shall be a part of the civil protection and rescue system which shall organise search and rescue of crashed aircraft, foundering ships and people who find themselves at risk for the above reasons, as well as containment of the pollutants in the air space, territorial waters and the economic zone of the Republic of Lithuania.
2. The Search and Rescue Service shall be made up of co-ordination centres of the Marine Search and Rescue at the Klaipëda State Sea Port and of the Aeronautic Search and Rescue at the Administration of the Civil Aviation. The Ministry of Communications shall be the founder of the above centres. After consultation with the Civil Protection Department it shall approve the regulations of the above centres. When there is a necessity, other territorial search and rescue services and units of the Lithuanian Armed Forces shall also be mobilised for rescue operations in the manner established by legal acts.
Article 28. Civil Protection Services
To carry out civil protection measures and provide support for the forces of civil protection and rescue system carrying out rescue operations civil protection services of ministries and other public administration institutions shall be formed according to the sphere of their activities, competence and functions. The functions of the above services shall be prescribed by the Government or an institution authorised by it.
Article 29. Monitoring and Laboratory Control Network
1. Pollution of the environment with hazardous biological, chemical and radioactive substances shall be monitored by environment research laboratories of the environment protection system and their branches, hydrometeorological centres, the Radiation Protection Centre of the Ministry of Health, the Centre for Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases, the National Specialised Hygiene Centre, laboratories of public health centres and their branches, laboratories of agriculture and forestry, laboratories and research centres of veterinary services, as well as laboratories and research centres of other state institutions. These bodies shall make up the national network of monitoring and laboratory control.
2. Managers of the agencies belonging to the network of monitoring and laboratory control shall be responsible for their activities.
3. In the event of disasters or their imminent threat the activities of the network of monitoring and laboratory control shall be co-ordinated by the Department of Civil Protection. It shall establish the procedure of making available to the county and district (city) emergency management centres the monitoring reports and findings of laboratory analysis.
Article 30. Direction of Rescue and other Urgent Activities
1. Fire fighting, search and rescue of people, and their speedy evacuation from the scene of a disaster shall be organised by the commander of rescue operations who shall also be in charge of the civil protection actions at an initial emergency stage.
2. In urgent cases, when mitigating the effects of emergencies and taking account of their causes, officers of a fire protection and rescue unit, the police or officials of personal health care institutions shall perform the functions of the commander of rescue operations without a special order.
3. All civil protection and rescue system forces, irrespective of their subordination, upon arrival to the disaster area shall become subordinate to the commander of rescue operations. No official shall have the right to interfere in the activities of the commander of rescue operations or cancel his orders and instructions to the forces of the civil protection and rescue system.
4. The police shall co-ordinate its actions with the commander of rescue operations or an officer performing his functions. In carrying out his instructions it will protect the disaster area, control the ingress of the forces of the civil protection and rescue system to the disaster area, maintain public order, process information about the victims, identify the dead and organise their removal from the scene.
5. The first aid service shall administer first aid on the scene of the disaster, notify the nearest individual health care institutions about the victims and transport them.
6. All individual health care institutions which provide in-patient assistance must be prepared to organise the work of the institutions in an emergency in accordance with a plan prepared in advance and co-ordinated with the municipality. The plan shall be developed according to the recommendations of the Ministry of Health.
7. When the material resources of a municipality are used or when they are obtained from other municipalities, the overall command of the rescue operations and other urgent tasks may be taken over by the head of the municipality emergency management centre. He shall co-ordinate all assistance provided to the commander of rescue operations.
8. When an emergency spreads over a territory of several municipalities and affects a large number of the population, in the event of the initial emergency operations shall proceed in the manner specified in paragraphs 1-7 of this Article. The county emergency management centre shall be established to co-ordinate rescue operations.
9. When an emergency spreads over the territory of one or more counties or when institutions of civil protection and rescue system of the national level get involved into the emergency management, the chain of civil protection operations (operational management) specified in paragraphs 5 and 6 of Article 19 shall be put into effect.
10. When the extent of an emergency grows rapidly, at the request of chief executive officers of administrative units, in the manner prescribed by the law, units of the Lithuanian Armed Forces may be used for individual operations at the disaster site in accordance with the plans drawn up in advance on the interaction with chiefs of military districts.
Article 31. Prevention of Nuclear Accidents, their Containment and Mitigation
of their Effects
1. The procedure for the prevention of nuclear accidents, containment of the accidents and mitigation of their effects, as well as the basic principles of civil liability shall be stipulated by the Law on Nuclear Energy.
2. The Department of Civil Protection shall co-ordinate preparedness of all institutions of public administration and local government to respond to the effects of a radiation accident at the Ignalina Nuclear Plant outside the sanitary protection zone of the plant and develop a plan for the protection of the population of the Republic of Lithuania in the event of a radiation accident at the Ignalina Nuclear Plant.
Article 32. Evacuation of the Population
1. Taking into account the magnitude of an emergency and its hazard for the population, county governors, mayors of districts (city) and managers of economic entities shall make decisions about the evacuation of the population; in individual cases, decisions on a prompt removal of the population from the disaster area shall be made by the officials of the State Fire Prevention and Rescue Service, fire prevention services of district (city) municipalities and police officers. The population shall be evacuated in accordance with the principle of territoriality.
2. The evacuation of the population shall be organised by the evacuation commissions (groups) formed at the district (city) emergency management centres and shall be directed by people appointed by mayor of a district (city) municipality. The evacuation commissions (groups) shall be composed of officials from the administration of an appropriate district (city), health care institutions, the police, motor transport enterprises and other institutions. The regulations of the evacuation commissions (groups) and the composition of the commissions shall be approved by district (city) mayor.
4. Following a radiation accident at the Ignalina Nuclear Plant, the population shall be evacuated pursuant to a plan for the protection of the population in the event of a radiation accident at the Ignalina Nuclear Plant developed by the Department of Civil Protection. On the basis of this plan mayors of the municipalities of Ignalina, Zarasai and Visaginas shall develop detailed plans for the evacuation of the population and co-ordinate the issues of accommodation of the population with mayors of the municipalities where the population shall be evacuated.
5. Mayors of the municipalities where the population of Ignalina, Zarasai and Visaginas are to be evacuated shall provide motor vehicles and organise accommodation of the evacuated people. Mayors of municipalities and the owners of motor vehicles shall conclude contracts in advance on the provision of motor vehicles and shall prepare accommodation facilities for the evacuated people.
Article 33. Training of the Population
1. Training in the fundamentals of civil protection shall be organised at general secondary, vocational schools, institutions of college education pursuant to programmes of civil protection training developed by the Department of Civil Protection and approved by the Ministry of Education and Science.
2. At higher educational institutions, students shall be trained according to civil protection training programmes approved by heads of the higher educational institutions.
3. At economic entities and institutions, training in civil protection fundamentals shall be given in accordance with civil protection training programmes which shall be approved by the Department of Civil Protection. Managers of economic entities and institutions shall prescribe the procedure of testing of training and the skills of the personnel.
4. The population not in employment shall learn the basics of civil protection on their own from booklets prepared by civil protection officials, and their practical skills shall be tested during a district (city) civil protection exercise.
5. Officials of emergency management centres of economic entities, the State Fire Prevention and Rescue Service and municipal fire prevention services and chief officers of their departments, commanders and the personnel of special units, regular members of the civil protection personnel shall be trained according to civil protection training programmes developed by the Civil Protection Department.
6. Regular members of the civil protection personnel, officials of all levels of emergency management centres, chief officers of the State Fire Prevention and Rescue Service and municipal fire prevention services as well as chief officers of their departments, commanders of general and special units, managers of economic entities and their deputies must complete a prescribed civil protection training course developed by the Civil Protection Department. This category of the personnel shall be trained and its professional qualifications shall be improved in the manner prescribed by the Civil Protection Department
Article 34. The Civil Protection Training Centre
The Civil Protection Training Centre (hereinafter - the Training Centre) shall be the principal educational establishment of the civil protection and rescue system established at the Civil Protection Department. The Training Centre shall be founded and its regulations shall be approved by the Minister of National Defence.
Article 35. Civil Protection Exercises and Training Sessions
To test the preparedness of the institutions of public administration, local government and economic entities for emergencies and improvement of their civil protection management skills, exercises and training sessions shall be held in the manner prescribed by the Government and shall be financed from the state budget.
Article 36. International Co-operation in Civil Protection
International co-operation of the Republic of Lithuania in civil protection shall be based on the universally recognised international principles of civil protection, protection of human rights and the environment, and securing people’s welfare in accordance with international agreements and other legal instruments.
Article 37. Notification
In the event of an emergency which may endanger the population and environment of the neighbouring states, the Civil Protection Department shall without delay and in the prescribed manner notify the neighbouring states about the disaster and the anticipated consequences.
Article 38. Financing of the Management Institutions of the Civil Protection
and Rescue System
1. Management institutions of the civil protection and rescue system, the Training Centre, other educational institutions of civil protection as well as the forces of the civil protection and rescue system shall be financed from the state budget, and those of economic entities - from their own accumulated resources.
Article 39. Logistics of the Civil Protection and Rescue System
1. A state reserve of supplies shall be stockpiled for use in organising protection of the population, rescue and other urgent operations in the event of disasters. The composition and size of the state reserve of supplies, replenishment, renewal and the procedure of its use shall be prescribed by the Government.
2. The institutions and forces of the civil protection and rescue system shall be provided with supplies in accordance with a registration list. These lists shall be approved by the founders in consultation with the appropriate civil protection and rescue institutions.
3.The Government and other institutions of public administration and local government shall provide premises for the institutions of the civil protection and rescue system, the emergency management centres, the forces of the civil protection and rescue system, and the network of monitoring and laboratory control centres.
Article 40. Social Guarantees of Persons-Participants in the Mitigation
of Disaster Effects
Social guarantees shall be applied in the manner prescribed by law to persons who belong to general and special units of civil protection and rescue system and take part in the mitigation of disaster effects.
Article 41. Liability for Breaches of Provisions of this Law
Persons who are in breach of the provisions of this Law shall be held liable under the law.
Article 42. Compensation for Damage and Losses
1. Persons responsible for damage and losses sustained by legal and natural persons during accidents and disasters, expenses incurred during mitigation of their effects, and for the harm to the environment shall pay an indemnity under the law.