On 12 April 2024, for the fourth year in a row, the Mykolas Romeris University School of Law, the Institute of Law of the Lithuanian Social Science Centre and the Faculty of Law of Vytautas Magnus University jointly organised the International Scientific and Practical Conference "Trends and Challenges in European and National Criminal Policy". The conference brought together academics and practitioners to share scientific ideas and practical insights on emerging trends and challenges in the field of criminal policy.

The conference's engaging programme covered topics ranging from the legal regulation of drug quantity determinations (rhetorically asking "How do the scales of the Themis weigh drugs?") to the future prospects of remote criminal proceedings in EU law.

The conference focused in particular on areas of EU criminal law such as electronic evidence and data retrieval from EU Member States. Other topics were also presented: the application of conventional criminal norms in the grey area of interpretation, the problem of distinguishing fraud from financial crimes, the assessment of the quality of indictments (based on the results of a study conducted by experts of the MRU School of Law on the assessment of the quality of the procedural activities of prosecutors' offices), etc. Many speakers, while presenting individual topics, highlighted the problems of legal uncertainty and inconsistency in the areas of legal regulation and its application.

It is also pleasing that the conference, and its second session, was attended by German and Polish scholars from a distance, whose legal experience and views really enriched the scientific debate and allowed us to hear how different countries deal with similar problems.

"The discussions at the conference were successful and fruitful. I hope that this conference will become a meaningful platform for further development and legal progress in different areas of criminal justice," emphasised Professor Dr Jolanta Zajančkauskienė.

The Fifth International Scientific and Practical Conference on "Trends and Challenges in European and National Criminal Policy" will already take place in 2025, in Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas.