Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

LITHUANIA | DANGUOLĖ BUBLIENĖ AND IEVA NAVICKAITĖ-SAKALAUSKIENĖ 983 new provisions or which will be influenced by new provisions. The transposition picture would not be full without the explanation of the transposition way of the old Travel Directive (Directive 90/314/EEC). Therefore, the first part of the article is devoted to the short review of the transposition of the old Travel Directive into Lithuanian law and the general description of transposition technique chosen for the new Travel Directive. The second and the third parts reveal the transposition issues related to the persons to whom the Travel Directive is applied ( personae materia ), besides subject matter and the scope of the Travel Directive ( rationae materia ). The fourth part analyses the issues related to the regulation of the various aspects of contractual, including pre-contractual, relationship. The fifth and sixth parts cover problematic issues of the national regulation of insolvency protective measures and sanctions system. 1. THE TRANSPOSITION TECHNIQUE OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE TRAVEL DIRECTIVE INTO LITHUANIAN LAW The story of the regulation of tourism services and tourism services agreements in Lithuania began its life with the Law on Tourism, adopted in 1998 11 . This law was the starting background in Lithuania for the formation of the regulation basis, reflecting the traditions of the Western countries in the field of tourism services. Being very laconic, this first piece of legislation could not pretend to be the mirror reflection of the EU law. In fact, the regulation echoing the ideas of the old Travel Directive was established by adopting the new Civil Code in 2000 12 and alongside amending the Law on Tourism accordingly, i.e. much earlier than Lithuania became a Member State of the EU. Therefore, the provisions of the old Travel Directive were integrated into Lithuanian law by dividing them into two legal acts. As a result of this way of transposition, in essence, the peculiarities of the tourism services agreement 13 were laid down in the Civil Code, other matters in the Law on Tourism. The norms, regulating the provision of tourism services as a separate section, were incorporated into the new chapter devoting to the remunerative services. However, some duplications (especially concerning information requirements) or inconsistencies (e.g. 11 The Republic of Lithuania Law on Tourism adopted by the Law No. VIII-667 as of 19 March 1998. 12 The Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania was adopted on 18 of July 2000 and came into force in 1 of July 2001. 13 With the exception of some information requirements which were regulated by the Law on Tourism.