D E C I S I O N
ON THE NEW WORDING OF THE STATUTES ON THE
BALTIC ASSEMBLY PRIZES FOR LITERATURE,
ARTS AND SCIENCE
The Baltic Assembly,
proceeding from the proposals of the Joint Judging
Committee of the Baltic Assembly Culture Prizes,
proposes to approve the Statutes on the Baltic Assembly
Prizes for Literature, Arts and Science in the following wording:
STATUTES ON THE BALTIC ASSEMBLY PRIZES
FOR LITERATURE, THE ARTS AND SCIENCE
I. General Provisions
1. The Baltic Assembly Prizes for Literature, the Arts and
Science (henceforth - the Prizes) were established upon the
suggestion of the Baltic Assembly session of October 31, 1993, in
order to facilitate the development of literature, the arts and
science in the Baltic States, to assess the most distinguished
achievements in these fields and to disseminate these
achievements in other states.
The Prizes have been established in order to:
- demonstrate the mutual interests of the countries in this
region for the upholding of their national identity and self-
esteem by supporting outstanding achievements in literature, the
arts and science;
- maintain a continuous interest among the people in
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania about developments in the Baltic
States by creating the possibility to learn about each other's
achievements;
- strengthen co-operation among the Baltic States in the
fields of literature, the arts and science;
- create an interest among a growing number of people in the
acquisition of the intellectual values and languages of the
Baltic nations;
- raise the level of literature, the arts and science in the
Baltic States.
2. The Prizes are to be awarded within the framework of the
mutual co-operation program of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania,
upon the basis of the resolution passed by the joint judging
committee (experts joint judging committee, henceforth Joint
Judging Committee) approved by the Baltic Assembly.
3. The Baltic States shall allocate at least 5,000 ECU per
each prize.
The nominal value of the Prizes shall be set annually in
accordance with the resources allocated in the budget. The
monetary prize to be presented to the winners shall be tax
exempt.
II. Procedure for awarding the Prizes
1. The Baltic Assembly Prize for Literature shall be awarded
annually at the session of the Baltic Assembly to an author for a
novel, a play, a collection of poems, short stories or essays, or
any similar written composition in Estonian, Latvian or
Lithuanian. The work must have been published for the first time
within the past three years.
2. The Baltic Assembly Prize for the Arts shall be awarded
annually at the session of the Baltic Assembly either to an
author or to a performer for a work of art or a series of works
presented (performed before an audience) within the past three
years in fine arts, applied arts, in music, architecture, theatre
or cinema. It also may be awarded to a director, soloist, actor,
ballet artist or a group of artists for outstanding artistic
achievement accomplished within the past three years.
3. The Baltic Assembly Prize for Science shall be awarded
annually at the session of the Baltic Assembly to an author for
outstanding research work or series in the humanities, social or
natural sciences, which is of international importance, has a
considerable impact on the Baltic region and has been published
within the past three years.
III. The joint judging committee
1. The Joint Judging Committee of the Baltic Assembly Prize
shall consist of nine people. The works nominated for the Prize
in literature, the arts or science shall be assessed by the
respective experts. Each country shall delegate three persons to
the Joint Judging Committee and determine the procedure for their
selection.
2. The members of the Joint Judging Committee shall be
outstanding specialists in the fields of literature, the arts and
science.
3. The members of the Joint Judging Committee shall be
changed at least every three years.
Every year at least one member of the Joint Judging
Committee from each state shall be released whereas after the
attainment of proper rotation no member of the Joint Judging
Committee shall have the right to participate in its work for
more than three years running.
4. The Joint Judging Committee shall elect a chairperson and
two vice chairpersons from their midst who shall change each year
in accordance with the procedure for their rotation (among the
countries).
5. The Joint Judging Committee meetings shall be convened at
least once a year and shall be recorded in writing in the
languages of all three countries and translated into English.
Joint Judging Committee decides its own internal working
procedures.
The Joint Judging Committee meetings shall take place
alternately in Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius.
6. The Joint Judging Committee meetings shall have full
powers if at least two representatives from each country
participate.
In addition to the regular meetings for awarding prizes, the
Joint Judging Committee may convene other meetings if the
necessity arises. The Committee meetings may be convened upon the
suggestion of the Baltic Assembly, the Joint Judging Committee
chairperson or the jury representatives from any of the
respective countries. Every year members of the Joint Judging
Committee shall be entitled to discuss the rules of the
competition and the procedure for awarding prizes, and to propose
amendments to the Statutes.
The Joint Judging Committee shall be entitled to make a
decision not to award any one of the Prizes. The Prize shall also
not be awarded if the Joint Judging Committee is not able to
reach an agreement, that is, to make a concrete decision with a
simple majority vote. The unused resources shall be transferred
to the following year's budget.
The Joint Judging Committee shall make its decisions and the
substantiation for them known to the public.
7. The Prize nominees from each country shall be assessed by
national Judging Committees. Only the National Judging Committees
shall be entitled to select works for submission to the joint
competition of the Baltic States and the works shall be submitted
together with all the necessary information (the curriculum vitae
of the nominee, reviews and other related materials like audio-
and video cassettes, slides etc.).
8. Works and their authors shall be nominated for the Prize
by the Joint Judging Committee. The Joint Judging Committee shall
assess the works nominated by the respective National Judging
Committee of each country.
IV. Nominating the work and awarding the Prize
1. Works shall be submitted to the National Judging
Committee in accordance with the rules of the competition three
months and to the Joint Judging Committee one month before the
awarding of the prizes. The National Judging Committee shall
assess these works and nominate no more than the best two works
from the fields of literature, the arts and science for review to
the Joint Judging Committee.
In order to assess a musical work, fine arts and theatrical
productions, it is recommended to organise concerts, exhibitions
and performances.
2. The decision on awarding the Prize shall be submitted to
the Baltic Assembly Secretariat no later than two weeks before
the session of the Baltic Assembly.
3. The same person (group of authors) may not receive the
Prize more than once.
V. Presenting the Prize
1. The prize - a special medal, diploma, signed by the
Chairman of the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly and the Chairman
of the Joint Judging Committee, and monetary prize - shall be
presented by the Chairman of the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly
or his/her deputy at a Baltic Assembly ceremony, and the names of
the prize winners and information on their achievements shall be
published in the press of all three Baltic States.
2. The literary work, the author of which has been awarded
the Baltic Assembly prize, shall be published within two years
from the reception of the Prize in the languages of two other
Baltic States.
The prize-winning works in the arts and science shall also
be given publicity in other countries.
VI. The administration and Secretariat of the Joint Judging
Committee
1. The Joint Judging Committee shall be co-ordinated by the
Baltic Assembly Secretariat, which also provides assistance to
the National Judging Committee.
2. Each year the Joint Judging Committee shall request from
the Council of Ministers of the Baltic States the resources
necessary for the prize, for ensuring the necessary work of the
experts, organising exhibitions and concerts and providing for
other needs related to the assessment.
3. The administration of the Joint Judging Committee shall
be conducted and the accounts of the financial resources shall be
kept in accordance with the laws of the respective countries and
the regulations of the Council of Ministers of the Baltic States.
VII. Duties of the Joint Judging Committee
1. The Joint Judging Committee, in conjunction with the
Baltic Assembly Secretariat, shall be responsible for the proper
utilisation of allocated funds.
2. The Joint Judging Committee shall provide the Baltic
Assembly with a report on its activity.
The Statutes on the Baltic Assembly Prizes for Literature,
the Arts and Science shall be adopted, amended and, if necessary,
suspended by the Baltic Assembly.
Vilnius, 13 April 1996