SEIMAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA

SEIMAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA SEIMAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA STATUTE 24 June 1993 No. I-191 Vilnius PART 4 SESSIONS OF THE SEIMAS Chapter

The First Session of the Seimas Article
The Seimas shall be deemed elected after the Central Electoral Commission confirms that at least 3/5 of Seimas members have been elected. The opening sitting of the newly- elected Seimas must be held no later than 15 days after the election of the Seimas and shall be convened by the President of the Republic. If the opening sitting of the Seimas is not convened by the President of the Republic, the Seimas members shall themselves convene on the first working day after the expiration of the 15-day period. The opening sitting of the newly-elected Seimas shall open at 12 o'clock noon in the building of the Seimas. Article
The opening sitting of the Seimas shall be commenced by the eldest member of the Seimas. In the event that he or she is unable or refuses to open the sitting, it shall be opened by the next eldest member of the Seimas. He or she shall preside over the meeting until the Speaker is elected. Other members of the Seimas Board shall thereafter be elected. Article
Upon the commencement of the first session, time shall be assigned for the formation and registration of parliamentary groups. Thereafter, the Seimas, in the following order, shall: 1) approve or reject the candidature for Prime Minister nominated by the President of the Republic; 2) form the Committees of the Seimas and approve their respective Chairpersons; 3) consider the Programme of the Government submitted by the Prime Minister and decide whether or not to approve it; and 4) draw up a work programme for the session in accordance with the procedure established by the Statute of the Seimas. Chapter
General Issues of Session Organisation Article
The Seimas shall meet annually in two regular sessions (spring and autumn). The spring session shall open on March 10 and shall close on June
The autumn session shall open on September 10 and close on December
The Seimas may resolve to prolong a session. If the day of the opening of a session is a non-working day, the session shall open on the first working day following the scheduled commencement. The members of the Seimas shall convene into ordinary sessions according to the law and without a separate invitation. Article
Extraordinary sessions shall be convened by the Speaker of the Seimas on the written proposal of at least 1/3 of all members of the Seimas, or, in cases specified in the Constitution, by the President of the Republic. The Seimas Board must notify all of the Seimas members of the extraordinary session at least 2 days before the opening of the session. Only issues submitted by the Seimas members on whose initiative the extraordinary session was convened shall be considered at the session. The duration of extraordinary sessions may not exceed 15 days. The work programme of extraordinary sessions shall be approved by the Seimas. Article
Sessions of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania shall be held in the Seimas building in Vilnius. In the event that the Seimas cannot convene in the building of the Seimas, the Seimas Board may temporarily assign another place for sittings to be held. All members of the Seimas must be notified of such a decision. Having convened in a place designated by the Seimas Board for a sitting, the Seimas shall hear the information of the Seimas Board concerning the reasons which compelled them to change the place of the sitting. In sittings, sessions shall open and close with the State anthem. Article
The Secretariat of Seimas sittings shall provide technical services during sittings and shall fulfil the related assignments of the Seimas Speaker, his or her deputies and the Chancellor. The Secretariat shall be formed of Seimas staff members. The Secretariat of Seimas sittings shall: 1) attend to adequate technical preparation of the sittings and provide assistance to Seimas members during sittings; 2) see that material required for a sitting be presented to Seimas members and the officer presiding over the sitting in adequate time; 3) register all of the Seimas members participating in a sitting, receive applications of Seimas members concerning their inability to take part in a sitting, and inform the presiding officer and the Seimas Speaker thereof; 4) accept written requests of Seimas members asking to be given the floor and deliver said requests to the officer presiding over the sitting; 5) accept and register questions and inquiries of Seimas members, hand them over, as required, either to the Seimas Speaker or the Chancellor, and assist in supervising the manner said questions and inquiries are dealt with; 6) accept from Seimas members other written statements, proposals, protests or requests and deliver them to the addressees; 7) see that translations of the work of the sitting be provided; 8) provide divisions of the Seimas apparatus with information concerning the sitting; 9) register drafts of laws which are submitted; and 10) carry out other assignments of the Seimas Speaker, the presiding officer, and the Chancellor. Chapter 11a. Session Work Programmes and Sitting Agendas Article
The preparation of sessions, with the exception of the first session, shall be organised by the Seimas Speaker. Together with the Seimas Chancellor, the Speaker shall prepare drafts of the work programme of the session and of the agenda of sittings held during the first week. Seimas members may obtain said drafts at the Secretariat of sittings no later than 2 working days before the opening of the session. The Seimas Committees responsible for the issues included in the programme and the date on which an issue is planned to be presented at a Seimas sitting must be specified in the draft work programme of the session. The draft work programme shall be delivered to the Government and the President of the Republic. The draft of the session work programme shall be considered by the Assembly of Spokesmen upon receiving the written proposals of the Government and the President of the Republic. The Assembly may amend and supplement the draft in the manner established in Par. 4 of Article 24 of this Statute. The draft, along with the amendments and supplements and the advisory findings made by the Assembly of Spokesmen, shall be submitted to the Seimas for debate. At the first session after the elections, the Seimas shall, as a rule, consider and approve the work programme at the time specified in Article 68 of this Statute. Other sessions shall open with the discussion and approval of the work programme. The Seimas may later revise the work programme in accordance with the procedure established in this Statute. Individual items of the work programme shall be discussed and put to the vote at the Seimas according to the same procedure as the articles of laws during their passing. In this case, one Seimas member may be given the floor to speak "for" and one -- to speak "against" regarding the motives of voting. Article
In accordance with the approved work programme of the session, the Seimas Speaker, together with the Chancellor, shall prepare a detailed draft agenda of the week's sittings and submit it to the Assembly of Spokesmen for discussion. Proposals shall be submitted by members of the Board, members of the Assembly of Spokesmen, Committees, other members of the Seimas, and the Government. The time of the sittings, the issues under discussion, the draft registration number, the stage of debate, and the speakers and extra speakers must be specified in the agenda. The Seimas must also be informed of proposals which were not accepted. If the time limit proves insufficient for analysing any of the issues during a week's sittings, said issues shall be included in the agenda of the first sitting of the next week. With the exception of cases specified in this Statute, only issues which are on the session work programme and with regard to which, in accordance with the requirements set forth in Chapter 21 of this Statute, drafts of laws, resolutions or other acts have been adequately drawn up shall be included in the week's agenda. The Assembly of Spokesmen shall decide at its sitting whether or not to approve each item of the presented agenda in accordance with the procedure established in Par. 4 of Article 24 of this Statute. In the event that any of the items are adopted only by majority vote, they shall be presented to the Seimas as recommendations. If a decision is passed to work one day a week, the Assembly of Spokesmen may simultaneously present the agenda of the next day of sittings. In such a case, requirements applicable to the agenda's preparation, adoption and amendment shall be the same as those which apply to the preparation, adoption and amendment of an agenda of a week's sittings. Article
Draft agenda of a week's sittings approved at the Assembly of Spokesmen shall be put to the vote at the Seimas without preliminary discussion thereon. The items of the agenda presented as recommendations by the Assembly of Spokesmen as well as the entire draft agenda, provided that it was not approved by vote at the Seimas, may be discussed at the sitting of the Seimas. In such a case, proposals may be submitted by the Seimas Board members, Committees, parliamentary groups, and the Government. Before voting, one Seimas member may speak "for" and one -- "against" each item. If, for some reason, the Assembly of Spokesmen could not approve the draft agenda of a week's sittings, the Seimas Speaker may submit it to a sitting of the Seimas. In such an event, the procedure established in Par. 2 hereof shall be applied. Article 77-
At the request of a group of at least 1/3 of the Seimas members, inclusion of an issue in the session work programme or in the agenda of the week or the next day shall be mandatory, provided that the issue has been prepared and adequate provisions for its discussion have been made in accordance with the procedure established in this Statute. No more than 1.5 hours shall be assigned for debating such issues unless the Seimas decides to prolong the discussion period. Article
In conjunction with the Seimas Chancellor, the Seimas Speaker shall prepare, on the basis of the approved agenda of the week's sittings, a detailed draft agenda of every day of the sitting in which the speaker and the time of debate or voting on every issue must be provided separately. The above draft agenda shall be considered and adopted at the Seimas on the preceding day of the sittings. In the event that the draft agenda of a day's sitting is approved at the Assembly of Spokesmen, the agenda shall be considered in accordance with the procedure established in Article
In the contrary case, members of the Seimas Board, Committees, parliamentary groups and the Government may present additional proposals, but only on the condition that they adhere to the approved agenda of the week's sittings. Before voting on the proposal, one Seimas member may speak "for" and one -- "against" the proposal. Article
The Seimas Board, the Assembly of Spokesmen and the Government shall have the right to propose the inclusion of additional issues in the adopted agenda of a week's or a day's sittings. Such a proposal may be adopted provided it is voted for by the majority of the Seimas members present at the sitting but by no less than 1/3 of all the Seimas members. In the event that such a proposal is not approved, it may only be presented again on the next day. Article
At the request of the President of the Republic, the issues and reports presented by him shall be included in the agenda of a sitting in the mandatory manner (without voting). The Government of the Republic of Lithuania shall have the right to request that the Government's report on an urgent issue be included in the agenda of the Seimas sittings of the week. On the decision of the Seimas, a discussion may follow such a report. Chapter
Sittings of a Session Article 80-
Sittings of the Seimas and its Committees shall be held in the Lithuanian language. Guests, experts or witnesses who do not know the language shall have the right to speak in another language, provided that they notify the Secretariat of the Seimas sittings thereof at least 6 hours before the sitting; the Secretariat must see to it that a translation is provided. Article 80-
As a rule, four sittings a week -- two on Tuesday and two on Thursday -- shall be held during sessions of the Seimas, and every 3 weeks plenary sittings of the Seimas shall be adjourned for a week. On Thursdays, the afternoon sitting shall be allotted to the Government, inquiries, and replies to questions presented by the Seimas members to the Seimas officers and heads of State institutions appointed by the Seimas, with the exception of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court. On other days of the week and during the week when no plenary sittings are held, sittings of the Seimas Board, the Assembly of Spokesmen, parliamentary groups, Committees and commissions as well as meetings of members of the Seimas with electors or representatives of local governments shall be held; members of the Seimas may also go on business trips. During sittings of the Seimas, members of the Seimas shall be sent on business trips only in connection with urgent State matters. Article 80-
The last half hour of the second sitting of every day shall be allotted to the statements of the Seimas members on urgent issues of electoral areas or state or international problems. Persons wishing to speak shall submit a written request to the Seimas Chancellor during the previous day's sitting, giving a brief characterisation of the issue which they would like to speak on. The Seimas Chancellor shall prepare a supplement to the agenda of the sitting, specifying the persons wishing to speak as well as the issues put forward by them. The presiding officer shall grant the floor at his or her own discretion, taking into account the urgency of the problem and the requirement of proportional representation of the Seimas majority and the parliamentary groups of the opposition. No discussion shall be held on said statements. The Seimas may without discussion approve of the speaker's proposal to charge an appropriate Seimas committee or commission to investigate the problem. The agendas of the morning sitting of every third Thursday shall be drawn up by the parliamentary groups of the opposition. A week before the opening of such sittings, the Seimas Board, taking into consideration the principle of proportional representation of the parliamentary groups of the opposition, shall appoint a parliamentary group or a coalition of parliamentary groups who shall be responsible for the agenda of such sitting. In such an event, the agenda shall not be approved at the Seimas sitting. Article
The morning sitting of the Seimas shall as a rule be held from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and the afternoon sitting -- from 3:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., with a 30 minutes recess 1.5 hours after the beginning of the sitting. The Seimas members shall be registered at the beginning of every sitting and before the voting planned in advance. Article
A sitting which is not provided for in the week's work programme must be held provided that its is requested by 1/3 of the Seimas members, by the President of the Republic or by the Seimas Board. The issues submitted by the persons on whose initiative the meeting is held shall be considered at such a sitting. Said persons shall inform the Seimas members in the manner established by the Seimas Board of the sitting and the issues proposed for discussion no later than 6 hours before the commencement of the sitting. Article
Sittings of the Seimas shall be presided over by the Seimas Speaker or a Deputy Speaker. Speaking at sittings shall only be permitted with permission from the presiding officer. Article
As a rule, sittings of the Seimas shall be open. The President of the Republic, members of the Government, the Chairperson of the Constitutional Court, the Chairperson of the Supreme Court and heads of State institutions formed by the Seimas may attend the sittings without a special invitation and may state their opinion during discussions of issues which are connected with their work. Signatories of the Act of 11 March 1990, as well as representatives of the President of the Republic and the Government may attend sittings as observers. The participation of other persons in sittings shall be established in Articles 85 and 85-1 of this Statute. On the decision of the Seimas or at the request of the Seimas Speaker, the President of the Republic, or the Prime Minister, a closed sitting may be held by way of exception which, in addition to Seimas members, may be attended only by persons specially invited to the sitting and, as necessary, by the members of staff of the Secretariat of sittings. The Seimas Board, the Government, parliamentary groups and Committees shall have the right to propose a closed sitting; a substantiation of the proposal shall be requisite. Article
The Seimas Speaker as well as the Seimas Board may invite notable guests of the Republic of Lithuania -- heads of foreign states, members of governments, heads of parliamentary delegations, chairpersons of Lithuanian emigrant organisations -- to speak at a sitting. Other distinguished guests may be invited as observers of the sittings of a session. Article 85-
Open sittings of the Seimas shall be public. They may be attended by the assistants secretaries of Seimas members, employees of the Seimas apparatus, representatives of public organisations who have received invitations, as well as radio, television and press journalists accredited to the Seimas. The procedure for issuing invitations and accrediting shall be established by the Seimas Board. Only members of the Seimas, employees of the Secretariat of sittings and persons who have been granted the floor may be present in the front of the chamber. Article
The Seimas may convene a meeting of all the Seimas members for preliminary discussion of issues; the rules of this Statute shall not be valid at such meetings. No decisions shall be adopted by the Seimas at such meetings. The Seimas members shall elect the chairperson of the meeting and may establish provisional rules of procedure of the meeting. Article
The officer presiding over the Seimas sitting shall: 1) announce, by word and by banging the gavel, the opening and closing of a sitting, and, as necessary, announce a recess not provided for in the agenda; 2) attend to the order of work of the Seimas sittings, supervise that this Statute be adhered to at the sittings, and control the performance of the group of tellers and the Secretariat of sittings of their duties; 3) refrain from taking part in discussions and influencing in any other way the Seimas members concerning decisions which are being adopted; 4) grant the floor to Seimas members, direct the discussions and, when specifying the essence of proposals, pose questions to the Seimas members; 5) keep track of the duration of speeches, and, if the time limit is exceeded, shall warn the speaker, and cut the speaker off after the second warning; 6) may prolong the time of a speech delivered on an urgent issue provided that the Seimas does not object; 7) warn the speaker or may cut the speaker off after the second warning in the event that the speaker digresses from the issue under discussion; 8) may grant the floor to other persons provided that the Seimas does not object; 9) formulate, on the basis of discussion results, questions to be put to the vote; pursuant to this Statute, establish the voting procedure; by word and by banging the gavel, announce the beginning of voting; and, in accordance with the information presented by the group of tellers or electronic voting machines, announce the results of the voting; 10) call Seimas members to order if they do not adhere to the Statute, if they make noise in the chamber, or if they insult the President of the Republic, the Seimas, the Speaker, members of the Seimas, the Government, or the Prime Minister or ministers; and may submit proposals concerning the recording of the warnings in the minutes or examination thereof in the Commission on Ethics and Procedures or expulsion of the Seimas member from the chamber; 11) make decisions to expel invited persons or correspondents from the chamber if they interfere with the sitting; 12) when adopting decisions and at the request of the Seimas members, announce the article of the Statute which he or she is acting in pursuance of; and 13) sign the minutes and the verbatim record of Seimas sittings as well as official reports on sittings, and shall visa laws and other acts passed at sittings. Article
All reports shall be read at Seimas sittings from the dais. In the cases set forth in Par. 2 of Article 93 of this Statute, Seimas members may speak from their seats or into the microphones installed in the chamber. Article
As a rule, one principal report and one additional report shall be made on every issue on the agenda unless the Statute provides for a different procedure. The duration of a report shall be fixed by the presiding officer in coordination with the person delivering the report. Ordinarily, reports should not exceed 30 minutes. Additional reports shall be allotted a duration of up to 15 minutes; final words and commentary on behalf of the Government, a committee or a parliamentary group shall be granted up to 10 minutes; and speeches said on behalf of the speaker himself shall be given up to 5 minutes. After reports, up to 30 minutes shall be allocated for questions and answers; up to 15 minutes shall be allocated for said purpose after additional reports. An answer to a single question may not exceed 3 minutes, whereas the question itself may not take longer than 1 minute. Only one question shall be permitted at a time. A person shall be allowed to ask a second question only once it is again his or her turn to ask. On the decision of the Seimas, question and answer sessions may be terminated before the fixed time, provided that at least one other member of the Seimas supports such a proposal. Article
Registration of persons wishing to speak shall begin an hour before the first sitting of the day the issue is planned to be discussed and shall close by the commencement of discussion of the issue. Upon completion of registration, the officer presiding over the sitting must announce the list of persons participating in the discussion. Registration for speaking shall be carried out either by submitting applications to the presiding officer or by an electronic system. Article
Speakers shall be granted the floor during discussions according to the order in which they registered to speak. The presiding officer may change the order for reason of ensuring proportional representation of parliamentary groups and Committees, and for presenting arguments "for" and "against". Upon mutual agreement, the Seimas members may change the order of speaking. A speaker may waive his or her right to take the floor. If the speaker leaves the chamber without giving prior notice to the presiding officer and is not present when called upon to speak, he or she shall be deemed to have waived his or her right to take the floor. Article
The President of the Republic, the Seimas Speaker, and the Prime Minister shall have the right to take the floor out of turn one time in a discussion. If members of the Government or a representative named by a Committee or a parliamentary group notify the Secretariat of the sittings of their wish to be granted the floor prior to the termination of a discussion, they shall retain the right to take the floor even if it is resolved to terminate the debate. Article
During debates, the Seimas members shall have the right to take the floor not more than once for every item on the agenda. Questions, remarks, and speeches concerning the motives or procedure of voting, prejudicial issues or issues related to the termination of debate, and proposals to reject or postpone the issue under consideration shall constitute an exception. In said cases no advance registration shall be required. However, every member of the Seimas shall have the right to make an inquiry, speech, or remark only once on each given issue on the agenda, and concerning the motives of voting -- once before every voting. In said cases, members shall be granted the floor for no longer than 2 minutes after the speaker has finished his or her speech. If the speaker speaks on an issue other than the one for which he or she was granted the floor, the presiding officer may revoke his or her right to speak. Speaking on issues concerning procedure, termination of debate, or postponement or rejection of an issue shall have precedence over the issue under consideration; once the speaker finished speaking, the discussion shall be stopped. In the cases specified in the Statute, a vote may be taken after such speeches. Article
Debates shall be terminated on the decision of the Seimas, with the exception of cases where the Statute provides for a different procedure for the termination of a debate. Proposals to terminate a debate may be submitted after at least two speakers have been given the floor and may be put to the vote provided that at least one other member of the Seimas supports the proposal. Prior to that, the presiding officer must announce how many persons are registered to speak and how many have already spoken. Upon resolving to terminate a debate, the presiding officer must grant the floor, according to the order, to one more member of the Seimas as well as to everyone who still has the right to be granted the floor pursuant to Article 92 of this Statute. In addition, the speaker may be granted the floor for concluding remarks. The Seimas may in advance limit both the general duration of debates on each issue and the number of speakers. In such cases, proposals to terminate a debate shall not be accepted. Article
In discussing each issue, the Seimas may take an unscheduled recess of no more than an hour prior to the commencement of voting or the discussion of the issue may be postponed to the next sitting if the presiding officer, a Committee, or a parliamentary group so requests. In discussing an issue, such recesses and debate postponements may only be done twice. Only one unscheduled recess may be taken in the same sitting. If the Statute has been expressly violated during discussion of an issue, the Committee which prepared the draft of the law or other legal act, a parliamentary group, or the Commission on Ethics and Procedure shall have the right to request that the discussion of the issue be postponed, but for no longer than one week. Such a decision shall be adopted by voting after two members of the Seimas have been granted the floor to speak "for" and two --"against". Article
If the conduct or words of a Seimas member are presented in a distorted manner by other speakers, he or she shall have the right to request that the presiding officer grant him or her the floor to speak on a personal issue for up to 2 minutes. If the presiding officer does not oblige the request, the Seimas member shall have the right to request that the issue of whether or not he or she should be granted the floor to speak on a personal question be put to the vote. Seimas members shall be granted the floor to speak on personal issues at the end of the sitting. Chapter
Voting and Vote Calculation Article
Voting on issues under debate shall be open, by raising voting cards, with the exception of cases provided for in this Statute. On the decision of the Seimas or the presiding officer, a vote may be taken either by standing up or by using an electronic vote tallying system rather than by raising a card. As a rule, the electronic vote tallying system shall be used when taking a vote on separate provisions of the issue under debate, on separate articles or statements of a law, and on resolutions of the sitting and issues concerning the work procedure of a session. A separate instruction approved by the Seimas Board shall establish the procedure for using the electronic vote tallying system. Seimas members shall vote personally. The right to vote may not be delegated to other persons. Article
The presiding officer shall announce the commencement of the voting procedure by word and by banging the gavel after having made clear the precise issue being put to the vote and having made sure that the Seimas members understood it, and after the closing of speeches concerning the motives of voting. The presiding officer must also inform the Seimas members of the number of votes required for the decision to be adopted. In voting by raising voting cards or by standing up, the presiding officer shall vote only in the event that one vote is needed to decide the result of the voting. In such a case, the presiding officer shall vote after the voting results have been tallied. No issues shall be discussed and nobody shall be granted the floor until the voting procedure is completed, except for the time that the results of the voting by roll call or by ballot are being counted. Walking in the chamber during voting shall be prohibited. Article
Laws of the Republic of Lithuania, resolutions of the Seimas, and other decisions of the Seimas shall be adopted at sittings of the Seimas by simple majority vote (i.e. more than half) of the Seimas members participating in the sitting, provided that the question is included in the agenda according to the procedure established by this Statute and the required stages of debate have been completed, with the exception of special cases provided for in the Constitution and this Statute. In voting on resolutions of the sitting (resolutions which are recorded in the minutes), separate provisions of the issue under debate, separate articles or statements of a law, or questions concerning the work procedure of the session, decisions shall be adopted by majority vote of all the voting members, or may also be passed without voting (by unanimous consent), i.e., if no member responds to the presiding officer's question "Is there any objection to...?", the presiding officer shall announce "Adopted." If, in the cases specified by the Constitution and this Statute, a qualified majority vote of all the Seimas members is required, the number of Seimas members who have acquired the rights of a People's representative under Article 59 of the Constitution and whose powers have not been terminated under Article 63 of the Constitution shall be considered the number of all the Seimas members. Prior to the first voting of every sitting, the presiding officer must check the number of Seimas members present. If, prior to a voting, the presiding officer or any parliamentary group has not requested to check the number of the Seimas members present at the sitting, no doubts may later be raised concerning this. The last number of Seimas members determined at a sitting shall be considered the number of Seimas members present at the sitting. If a qualified majority vote of all the Seimas members is required for passing a decision, the presiding officer must check the number of Seimas members present at the sitting before the voting. Article
In adopting laws of the Republic of Lithuania, resolutions of the Seimas, or other acts, with the exception of personnel issues, roll call voting is permitted if it is so requested by a parliamentary group. Such a request may be submitted by the spokesman or deputy spokesman of a parliamentary group only upon the closing up of a debate on the issue and prior to voting on the entire draft. In such a case, ballot papers shall be distributed to the Seimas members prior to the commencement of voting for roll call voting; upon receipt of said ballot papers, the Seimas members shall sign the record of issued ballot papers. Upon announcement of the commencement of voting, every Seimas member shall fill in the ballot paper, sign it, and hand it over to the tellers' group. Upon tallying the votes, the presiding officer shall announce the vote of every Seimas member. Article
Issues concerning the election of the Seimas Speaker, non-confidence in the Government, the Prime Minister or an individual minister, and dismissal of, or non-confidence in, any officer of the Seimas or head of a state institution appointed by the Seimas shall be voted on by secret ballot. On the decision of the Seimas, other issues concerning official persons may also be voted on by secret ballot. In this manner, voting shall be done during recess. Ballot papers shall be stamped and distributed by the tellers' group. Upon receiving their ballot papers, Seimas members shall sign the record of issued ballot papers. There must be a voting booth and ballot box in the voting place. The ballot box must be put in such a way that, upon approaching it, the members casting their votes can cross the secret ballot booth. Article
Voting shall be done by open ballots when it is necessary to elect several candidates to some posts from a larger number of candidates and when it has not been resolved to vote by secret ballot. In open voting, the procedure for voting and establishing the results shall be the same as in voting by secret ballot except that secret ballot voting booths shall not be used and ballot papers shall be filled out in the chamber. It is not necessary to sign the ballot papers. Article
A standard ballot paper for secret and open voting shall be approved by the Seimas prior to voting. Issues concerning the dismissal of an officer or declaration of non-confidence in an officer shall be voted on with ballot papers on which the propositions "Dismiss" and "Not dismiss" or "Confidence" and "Non-confidence" shall be inscribed. With one ballot paper it is only possible to vote on either the dismissal of an officer or the declaration of non-confidence in a collective institution or one of its members. On one ballot paper it is only possible to write the surnames, in alphabetical order, of candidates to the same post. In all cases, ballot papers must have a heading which clearly indicates the issue being voted on. On the ballot paper, the member casting his or her vote shall cross out the surname of the candidates against which he or she is voting or the proposition which he or she does not accept. Ballot papers which are not of the approved sample, as well as ballot papers on which more surnames than the number of officers being elected or more than one proposition given for election is left, shall be deemed invalid. Additional surnames and propositions which are written in shall not be counted. The record of calculation of votes by ballot papers shall be signed by the chairperson of the tellers' group and the presiding officer. Voting ballot papers shall be preserved in the Seimas archives until the end of the term of office of the Seimas. Article
One or two alternative propositions may be presented to be voted upon. If one proposition is presented, it shall be voted "for", "against" or "abstain". If two propositions are presented, voting shall be "for the first proposition" or "for the second proposition". Alternative propositions shall be voted for in the order that they were presented for discussion. If there are more than two propositions, the presiding officer must group them according to purport so that they are all decided upon after several votes for one or two propositions. The proposition which collects the most votes shall be adopted if the necessary majority is collected; otherwise, it shall be presented for additional voting to confirm the decision. If this fails to be done, the Seimas members may either propose a compromise or postpone the issue. At his or her own initiative or at the request of at least two Seimas members, the presiding officer shall divide the issue being put to the vote into two. Article
The decision of whether to postpone or reject an issue shall be voted on before voting on the main point of the issue. Numbers shall be voted on in increasing order. If necessary, the presiding officer may change the order of voting if those who made the proposals do not object. Article
If the commencement of voting has not yet been declared, the members may explain their respective votes after the presiding officer announces what is being voted on and asks if anyone would like to explain his or her vote. In voting for an entire issue or the passing of a draft law, no more than five Seimas members may explain their votes "for" and no more than five -- "against". In other cases, no more than two Seimas members may explain their votes "for" and no more than two -- "against". Article
When the electronic tallying system is not being used, the tellers' group shall organise the voting and count the votes. The tellers' group shall also assist the presiding officer in checking how many Seimas members are present in the chamber and in revising their registration. Members of the tellers' group shall vote according to the general procedure. Article
The Seimas shall alphabetically appoint the tellers' group for the period of one month upon the proposal of the Seimas Chancellor. The group may not be made up solely of members of one parliamentary group. Members of the Seimas Board, chairpersons of Committees and commissions, spokesmen of parliamentary groups, and members of the Government shall not be assigned to the tellers' group. The tellers' group shall elect a chairperson from its members. The Seimas may he declare non-confidence in the tellers' group or one of its members by majority vote of the Seimas members present at the sitting. In such an event, a new group or group member shall be appointed, and, upon the decision of the Speaker or the request of a parliamentary group, the voting which took place before the declaration of non-confidence may be repeated. Article
The results of voting shall be announced by the presiding officer based on the information provided by the tellers' group or by the indicators of the electronic tallying system. Article
Voting carried out by raising cards or by using the electronic system may be repeated once if so requested by the presiding officer or a parliamentary group. This may be requested if the issue put up to vote was not properly and clearly formulated and only before another item on the agenda has begun to be discussed. In this case, the chairperson or deputy chairperson of the Commission on Ethics and Procedures, or in their absence -- a member of the Commission, must confirm that the request of the parliamentary group concerning the improper formulation of an issue put to the vote is correct. Chapter
Official Registration and Announcement of Seimas Documents. Information concerning the Activities of the Seimas Article
Minutes of Seimas sittings shall be compiled and announced by the Documentation Department of the Seimas and shall be signed by the presiding officer. Issues which are discussed, speakers, adopted resolutions, and voting results shall be recorded in the minutes. The full texts of resolutions adopted during sittings shall be recorded in the minutes. Supplementary materials (results of voting by roll call, statements of Seimas members, etc.) shall be appended to the minutes. Minutes shall be distributed to Committees and parliamentary groups by 2.00 p.m. of the next day of work of the sitting. Seimas members may state their claims concerning the minutes at the end of the first Seimas sitting of the next day. If there are disputable questions, the Seimas shall adopt a decision thereon by simple majority vote of the voting members after a short explanation has been given by the officer who presided over the previous sitting. Article
The Seimas Documentation Department shall compile and publish verbatim records of the Seimas sittings. Their originals shall not be edited and shall be preserved in the Documentation Department. Tape-recordings of the Seimas sittings shall be preserved in the Documentation Department for a period of at least one month. Members of the Seimas and other persons who were granted the floor during a sitting shall have the right to check, within a fortnight after the Seimas sitting, the verbatim records of their speeches edited for publication. Upon checking the text against the tape-recording, they may revise the edited version of the verbatim record of their speech provided that they do not change the essence of the speech. If the speaker does not present any claims concerning the text of the verbatim record, it shall be assumed that he or she agrees with the text. In the event of disputes or misunderstandings concerning the edited text of a verbatim record, a decision thereon shall be adopted by the presiding officer. Following a sitting, the verbatim record shall be signed by the officer who presided over the sitting. Article
Verbatim records of closed sittings shall not be published; only members of the Seimas shall have access thereto. The Seimas Chancellor shall preserve the verbatim records of closed sittings and shall create conditions for Seimas members to familiarize themselves with said records. A speech of a Seimas member may be quoted from the verbatim record of a closed sitting only with his or her consent. Article
Minutes shall be taken at sittings of the Seimas Board and Assembly of Spokesmen; no verbatim records shall be taken of the above sittings. Participants in the sitting, issues which are discussed, speakers, adopted resolutions, and voting results shall be listed in the minutes. Seimas members shall familiarize themselves with said minutes through Committees and parliamentary groups. Article
Seimas Committees and commissions shall takes minutes at their own sittings. Committee and commission resolutions, conclusions, and minutes of sittings shall be signed by the respective chairperson. The minutes of sittings of committees and commissions are official internal documents which may only be used by members of the Seimas. Other persons may use these minutes only with the consent of the chairperson of the Committee or commission. Upon the completion of the calendar year, the minutes of sittings and other documents of Committees and commissions shall be preserved in the Committees or commission for the period of a year; thereafter they shall be transferred to the Seimas archives. All documents of interim commissions must be transferred to the Seimas archives within 10 days of the expiration of the authorized period of said commission. Article
Draft laws of the Republic of Lithuania submitted for public consideration shall be published in national newspapers using State funds. In publishing such drafts, the names of the persons who prepared and initiated them must be indicated. Draft laws given over to be published must be signed by the chairperson of the Committee to which the draft was given for preparation as well as by the Seimas Chancellor. Article
Before being given to the President of the Republic to be signed, adopted laws of the Republic of Lithuania and other acts of the Seimas shall, together with the visas of the chairperson of the Committee which prepared the draft and of the Seimas Chancellor, as well as of the officer who presided over the sitting whereat the act was adopted if the sitting was not presided over by the Seimas Speaker, be presented to the Seimas Speaker to be given a visa or to be signed. Adopted laws which have a visa from the Seimas Speaker shall immediately be given to the President of the Republic to be signed. The Seimas Speaker shall sign acts adopted by the Seimas Board after they have been given a visa by the Seimas Chancellor. Upon signing an act, the Seimas Speaker shall transfer said act to the Seimas Chancellor to be promulgated. Article
Laws of the Republic of Lithuania and other documents of the Seimas shall be promulgated and shall become effective pursuant to the law "On the Procedure for Promulgating and Enforcing the Laws of the Republic of Lithuania and other Legal Acts." Laws of the Republic of Lithuania signed by the President of the Republic as well as resolutions of the Seimas shall be sent to the Government, the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the State Controller, and, as necessary, to heads of other State institutions and regional and town local governments within 3 working days after their signing. Article
The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania shall have two seals with the Lithuanian State emblem - the great seal which is 38 mm in diameter, and the small seal which is 27 mm in diameter. The Seimas Chancellor shall be responsible for the use and preservation of the Seimas seals. Article
The great seal of the Seimas with the Lithuanian State emblem shall be imprinted on the laws, resolutions and other official documents of the Seimas, as well as on documents sent to institutions of State authority and government of foreign states, international treaties and other documents signed by the Seimas Speaker. Article
The small seal of the Seimas with the Lithuanian State emblem shall be imprinted on the identification certificates and other documents signed by the Seimas Speaker, his or her deputies, or the Seimas Chancellor. Article
The Seimas Speaker, his or her deputies, and the Seimas Chancellor shall have the right to speak on behalf of the Seimas. The Seimas may also authorize a Seimas member or a Speaker's Spokesman for the press appointed by the Seimas Board to speak on behalf of the Seimas. Chairpersons of Seimas Committee, their deputies, and authorised Committee members may speak on behalf of their respective Committees. Article
The Lithuanian Radio and Television shall regularly prepare coverage of open sittings of the Seimas. On the resolution of the Seimas, separate sittings shall be broadcast in full on the radio and television at a time acceptable by the Lithuanian Radio and Television. In disputable cases, issues shall be resolved by the Seimas at the request of parliamentary groups. Representatives of the radio and television shall be informed of sitting agendas by the Seimas Chancellor. Accredited journalists shall be supplied with documents which are necessary for their job by the Seimas information and analysis service. Article
Official information concerning sittings of the Seimas, the Seimas Board, and the Assembly of Spokesmen shall be prepared and announced by the Seimas information and analysis service and shall be signed by the presiding officer. The Lithuanian Radio and Television and national newspapers, when publishing or broadcasting coverage of Seimas sittings, shall also announce an official report on these sittings. Coverage must be separate from commentary on the activities of the Seimas. (Amended 12 October 1993) Article
After important sittings, Committees shall, as a rule, prepare reports for the mass media on their work and shall present said reports to the Seimas information and analysis service. Broadcasting or coverage of sittings of the Seimas Board, the Assembly of Spokesmen, Committees, commissions and parliamentary groups shall be made only with the consent of the chief officer of the respective group. Article
Documents intended for all members of the Seimas, Committees or parliamentary groups shall be distributed by the Secretariat of the sittings. The documents must be registered at the Seimas Reception office and must be signed by at least one member of the Seimas. The procedure for submitting, registering and distributing drafts of laws and other standard acts shall be established in Chapter 21 of this Statute. Information concerning the activities of the Seimas shall be prepared and, as necessary, presented to the Seimas members by the Seimas information and analysis service. Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania Ceslovas Jursenas

🔗 Į oficialų šaltinį

DI paaiškinimas pagal oficialų įstatymo tekstą. Orientacinis, nepakeičia teisinės konsultacijos.