SEIMAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA SEIMAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA STATUTE 19 October 1993 No. I-279 Vilnius PART 5 LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURE Chapter
(185). The Seimas Chancellor shall not present draft laws for consideration in the Seimas if the Seimas Committee on State and Law draws a preliminary conclusion that the laws are not in conformity with the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and no draft amendments to the Constitution have been presented in the established manner. In the event that the same draft law or another draft law of analogous content has been rejected by the Seimas within the last six months, the draft shall not be accepted for repeat consideration. Draft laws submitted by entities who are not vested with the right of legislative initiative shall be registered, but shall not be forwarded for consideration; however, competent Committees shall be familiarized with them. In all of the above cases, drafts with a corresponding visa of the Seimas Chancellor shall be returned to the Secretariat of the sittings, provided that there is the approval of a competent Committee; at the Secretariat, the draft shall be recorded in the register of rejected draft laws and proposals and shall thereafter be sent to the archives. An announcement to this effect must be made at the Seimas sitting, and the person who presented the draft must be notified thereof. Article
- The initiators of a draft law shall have the right to recall said draft before it is considered at a sitting of the Seimas. Said persons must immediately notify the Seimas Chancellor of the decision, and the Chancellor must notify the Seimas. In such an case, a copy of the draft law shall be left with the principal Committee and the Legal Department. However, in the event that the recalled draft law is officially supported and submitted no later than the next day by another entity vested with the right of legislative initiative, the consideration procedure of such draft shall be continued. Chapter 21-b. Presentation of Drafts of Laws and other Standard Acts at Sittings of the Seimas Article
- When the Committees present their preliminary (positive or negative) conclusions, the Seimas Chancellor must, within one month, propose that the presentation of the draft law be included in the week's agenda of the Seimas sittings. If the Committees fail to present their conclusions during the Seimas session or within a month from the commencement of the Seimas session, the Seimas Chancellor must notify the Seimas thereof. A representative of the initiators of a draft law shall be invited to attend the sitting of the Seimas where the draft is presented. Said representative shall give a brief (maximum of 10 minutes) characterisation of the draft. Thereafter, the presiding officer shall familiarize the members with the preliminary conclusions of the Committees and the Legal Department and also of the Government, provided that such conclusions have been received, and, if said conclusions correspond in essence, shall propose that a vote be taken on the proposals. The Seimas must decide whether or not to include the draft in the work programme of the session, whether or not to commence the procedure of consideration (of the drafts which have already been included in the work programme of the session), whether or not to apply the urgency or special urgency procedure of consideration, whether or not to reject the draft, and whether or not to postpone consideration. If the conclusions vary, or if the initiators of the draft, parliamentary groups, Committees, or the Government object thereto, a discussion shall commence. Article
- A discussion on the presentation of a draft law shall be held according to the following procedure: 1) questions posed by Seimas members to the representative of the initiators of the draft (maximum of 15 minutes); 2) elaboration on the conclusions of the Committees which have performed preliminary examination of the draft (maximum of 5 minutes for each Committee); 3) elaboration on the Government's opinion if it has been stated (maximum of 5 minutes); 4) presentation of the arguments of the representatives of other Committees or parliamentary groups whose opinion and motives do not coincide with those stated (maximum of 5 minutes for each representative); and 5) a vote on the proposed decisions in accordance with the procedure established in Article 188 of this Chapter. Article
- All decisions on the presentation and consideration of a draft law at the sitting of the Seimas shall be adopted by a simple majority vote of those present and voting, with the exception of decisions to reject a draft, to return a draft to its initiators, or to announce a draft for public consideration, which shall be adopted provided that more than 1/3 of all the Seimas members vote in favour thereof. Application of the urgency or special urgency procedures shall be established in Chapter 24 of this Statute. Article
- The procedure for consideration may be commenced only concerning drafts which are included in the work programme of the session. The consideration procedure shall consist of the following stages: consideration at the principal Committee, consideration at the sitting of the Seimas, and adoption. Upon deciding to commence the procedure of consideration of a draft law, the Seimas must at the same sitting appoint an approximate date of consideration at the sitting of the Seimas (no earlier than after a week, and no later than by the end of the session), the principal Committee for further consideration or revision of the draft, and other Committees performing additional examination thereof. The Seimas may also form a preparatory working group for the revision of the draft law. A decision to propose that a draft law be made available to the public may also be adopted at the sitting. Article
- In the event that State funding is required for the implementation of a law, the proposals of the initiators of the draft and the conclusions of the Committee on Budget and Finance and the Government concerning the possible sources of funding must be presented during further consideration of the draft. If amending the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania is also necessary in order to enact the draft law, the conclusions of the Committee on State and Law must be presented during further consideration of the draft. Article
- If an initiative group for the announcement of a referendum on the draft law has been formed, the issue shall be considered at the next Seimas sitting during the Seimas session after it has been confirmed that the required number of signatures has been collected. Representatives of the initiators of the referendum shall be invited to attend the sitting. During the sitting, amendments approved of by the initiators of the referendum may be made to the draft law taking into consideration the received conclusions. Should it be established that the draft is not in conformity with the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, a referendum on amendment of the Constitution shall be announced. If the Seimas decides to discuss and enact a submitted draft law within 15 days, the decision to announce the referendum may be postponed. However, the referendum must be announced at the sitting at which the Seimas rejects the submitted draft or accepts it with an amendment whereto the initiators of the referendum object. The referendum must also be immediately announced in the event that the Seimas fails to enact the law within the established period. Chapter
- Consideration of Draft Laws by Principal Committees Article 195-1.The Committee which has been appointed by the Seimas as the principal Committee for the examination of the draft of a law, in respect whereof the consideration procedure has been commenced, must, within one week, discuss at a sitting the preparedness of the draft for examination by the Committee. For the above purpose, responsible Committee members and experts must be assigned, additional conclusions may be requested of other Committees and State institutions, and other preliminary decisions may be adopted. If the Committee is charged to revise the draft, a working group may be formed for said purpose. As necessary, the Committee may also discuss issues concerning the preparedness of the draft for consideration at other sittings. Article 195-
- The principal Committee which is examining a law must send the draft law to all interested State institutions and, as necessary, to public organisations, so that said institutions and organisations could send their evaluations. All material which has been received concerning a draft law shall be evaluated and summarized by the principal Committee which is examining the law. If it has been resolved in the Seimas to consider the text of the draft presented by the initiators, the principal Committee which is examining the draft law shall be entitled to present alongside its own version for consideration at the Seimas sitting. If a draft law has been announced to the public for consideration, the received proposals shall be referred to the principal Committee which is examining the draft. Article 195-
- Each draft law must be considered by the principal Committee which is examining said draft law no later than 5 workdays prior to the consideration thereof at a sitting of the Seimas. The time and place of such deliberations must be announced at a sitting of the Seimas. Representatives of the initiators of the draft, representatives of the Committees which are preparing additional conclusions, experts, and experts who have been invited by the parliamentary groups of the opposition shall be invited to the deliberations by the principal Committee. Said persons must be granted the floor at the sitting of the Committee. Representatives of other interested State institutions and public organisations may also be invited to the sitting. Upon the consent of the presiding officer, they, as well as members of other Committees present at the sitting, may also be granted the floor. Article 195-
- Decisions concerning the approval of a draft law submitted by the initiators, or of a draft law revised by its respective Committee, or of an alternative draft law, or of a draft with stipulations, or concerning the announcement of a draft to the public for consideration or the return of a draft to its initiators for revision or rejection, must be adopted during the deliberations in the principal Committee which is examining said draft; the adopted decision shall be presented for consideration of the draft at the Seimas sitting. After deliberations by the principal Committee, the draft which has been submitted by the initiators or revised by the Committee shall be forwarded to the Documentation Department for editing. The edited draft shall be coordinated with a representative of the initiators thereof. The edited text of the draft must be distributed among the Seimas members and delivered to the Government no later than 2 days prior to deliberations at the Seimas sitting. Additional data together with a cover letter shall be distributed among the Seimas members no later than 1 workday prior to above deliberations. The Seimas Speaker must be notified of the Committee reporters and additional reporters no later than 2 workdays prior to the consideration of the draft law at the sitting of the Seimas. When possible, a recording shall be made during the deliberations, and minutes shall be kept of the speeches which are made. Article
- In the event that the principal Committee which is examining the draft law fails to examine the draft law within the established time period, it must address the Seimas for extension of the term. Chapter
- Consideration of Draft Laws at Seimas Sittings Chapter
- During consideration at the Seimas sitting, the expediency, conception and the basic provisions and principles of the draft law shall be discussed and all the received amendments and supplements shall be presented. At the Seimas sitting the draft law shall be considered according to the following procedure: 1) report of the principal Committee which is examining the draft law; 2) a vote, should the principal Committee propose to return the draft to its initiators or to reject it; 3) reports by representatives of initiators of alternative drafts, should such be presented; 4) additional reports by other Committees; 5) a general discussion of the basic provisions of the draft law -- statements of the Government, other Committees, parliamentary group members, and individual Seimas members; 6) a special discussion of the structure, individual sections, paragraphs, and articles of the draft. Should there be no proposals to hold a special discussion, the Seimas may abandon said discussion or hold it together with the general discussion; and 7) a concluding word by the principal speaker and representatives of the initiators of alternative drafts. Article
- After consideration, the Seimas shall decide: 1) whether or not to approve the draft prepared by the initiators or revised by the Committee, or one of the alternative drafts, and whether or not to appoint the date of passage of the law after at least 4 workdays. As necessary, the principal Committee examining the draft shall be charged to make the necessary amendments and supplements in accordance with the comments voiced during the discussion. In this case, the passage of the law shall be prepared no sooner than after 7 days; 2) whether or not to announce the draft for public consideration provided that the proposals specified in Par. 1 hereof have been adopted. The results obtained from the above consideration shall be summarised by the principal Committee examining the draft law and the entire procedure shall be repeated beginning from the consideration in this Committee. As a rule, the draft of one and the same law shall not be announced for public consideration twice; 3) whether or not to return the draft for revision to the principal Committee examining it. In such a case, the procedure shall be repeated beginning from the consideration in the principal Committee. The above decision may be adopted only once during the consideration of the draft; 4) whether or not to adjourn the consideration of the draft in the event that the consideration has not been completed at one sitting, if it transpires that the Seimas members require additional information for the passage of the law, or in the cases provided for in Article 96 of this Statute. Adjournment may not continue through to the next session; 5) whether or not to return the draft to its initiators for fundamental revision. In such case, the full procedure of considering the revised draft law shall be repeated; and 6) whether or not to reject the draft or charge the preparation of a new draft. Upon adopting a decision specified in Pars. 2 or 3, the Seimas may charge the principal Committee or other Committees to examine the draft. Chapter 23a. The Passage of a Draft Law at a Seimas Sitting Article
- If the Committee presents a newly revised version of a draft for adoption, said draft must be distributed among the Seimas members and delivered to the Government at least 2 workdays before the sitting. The Seimas members, parliamentary groups, Committees and the Government must present all proposed amendments and supplements to the draft law with their respective signatures to the Secretariat of the sittings at least 24 hours before the commencement of the sitting whereat the passage of the draft law is planned. The Secretariat of the sittings shall hand the above amendments and supplements over to the principal Committee which is examining the law, shall make copies thereof, and shall distribute them to all of the Seimas members. The Government, Committees and parliamentary groups may submit additional amendments before the commencement of the passage of the law, provided that said amendments have been prepared in writing and may be distributed to all of the members of the Seimas. During the passage of the law, new amendments and supplements shall not be accepted, with the exception of editorial corrections which shall be neither discussed nor put to vote, but shall be submitted in writing to the principal Committee which examined the draft law. Amendments and supplements must be adequately formulated, must correspond to the substance of the draft, and may not exceed one article in volume. Article
- During the passage of a draft law the reporter shall give a brief notification of the amendments made by the Committee and shall discuss the additional proposals and amendments which have been received, naming the persons who submitted them. Thereafter, separate parts of the draft law shall be considered and voted on. The sections, chapters and articles of the draft shall be discussed and voted on according to their sequence, unless the Seimas decides otherwise. The officer presiding over the sitting may put the articles which condition the principles and structure of the draft to vote before voting on other articles. Articles to which no amendments have been submitted and concerning which no proposals have been made to delete completely may be passed without vote, provided that not a single member of the Seimas objects thereto. In other cases, a vote shall be taken on each article, chapter, and section. During passage, the floor may be granted only to the authors of the submitted amendments and supplements (for up to 3 minutes on each proposal), the reporter and additional reporters as well as to members speaking on the motives of voting; the reporters shall be asked no questions. Upon being granted the floor concerning an amendment or supplement, the author thereof may not speak on the motives of voting. Article
- A separate article of the law shall be considered and passed in accordance with the following procedure: 1) the received proposals shall be announced -- either to amend the entire article, to alter some statements of the article, to supplement the article, or to delete the article. Each proposal may be briefly commented on by the reporter or additional reporters ( for a maximum of 3 minutes each); 2) during voting, alternative proposals shall be chosen. When several proposals concerning one article have been received, voting shall be conducted according to the sequence specified in Par.1 hereof, with the exception of the proposal to delete the article, and in the case of the specified sequence -- according to the sequence in which the proposals have been submitted. Amendments to the amendment shall be voted on prior to voting on the principal amendment. Proposals contradicting those previously adopted shall be rejected without voting by the officer presiding over the sitting. When the reporter announces that the principal Committee is adopting the proposal, a vote is not necessary, provided that no members of the Seimas object thereto. Before voting, the person who submitted the proposal may retract it; 3) the entire article shall be put to vote. Proposals to delete the article shall be treated as voting against the article. Additional articles of the draft law which are submitted shall be considered and adopted according to the same procedure as for all the other articles of the draft law. Article
- If the reporter believes that it is necessary to hold one more sitting of the Committee for the coordination of the adopted proposals and so demands, passage may be adjourned after voting on all articles, but for no longer than until the next day of the Seimas sitting. After adjournment, amendments and supplements made by the Committee which may not contradict the content of the adopted articles shall be discussed and put to the vote. During the discussion, other proposals concerning amendments and supplements shall not be accepted. In the event that the articles which condition the principles and structure of the law, as well as separate sections or chapters, are not adopted during voting, the reporter may propose to postpone the voting and to amend the draft prior to voting on the entire draft law. If the Seimas adopts said proposal, the procedure shall be continued from the consideration of the draft law at the principal Committee. During consideration of a draft law, the above alternative may only be used once. Article
- During passage of a law, proposals to reject the draft shall not be accepted. The draft may be rejected only if it does not receive the required number of votes. After all the articles of the law have been considered, the entire draft law shall be put to the vote. If the law is not passed, the Seimas may charge the initiators of the draft or the principal Committee to either work out a new draft or announce a referendum, provided that the required number of signatures of Seimas members have been collected. As necessary, a resolution concerning the enforcement of the law shall be considered and passed, and the law repealing other laws or articles thereof which are not in conformity with the enacted law shall be considered and adopted during the passage of the law. Article 212-
- If the Statute of the Seimas is violated during the passage of a law, the Seimas Speaker, a Committee, a parliamentary group, or the Government may address the Seimas with a justified petition proposing the revocation of the adopted proposal, as long as the law has not yet been signed by the President of the Republic. Should such a petition be received, the Commission on Ethics and Procedures must present its conclusions and proposals to the Seimas within 5 workdays. In the event that the Commission on Ethics and Procedures states that the legislative procedure or any other significant provisions of this Statute have been grossly violated, and that this conditioned the decision of the Seimas, the Seimas shall decide by vote whether to revoke the disputed law or to leave it in effect. Such a vote must be held with the participation of more than a half of the Seimas members. Should the Seimas revoke its former decision concerning the draft, the consideration thereof may be continued from the stage when the violation was committed. Article
- If the draft law or the proposal concerning the passing thereof is rejected at any stage of consideration, it may be submitted again, but no sooner than 6 months thereafter. The rejected drafts shall be returned to the Seimas Chancellor. Chapter 23b. Consideration at Seimas Sittings of Draft Laws which have been Returned by the President of the Republic Article 213-
- If, pursuant to Par. 1 of Article 71 of the Constitution, the President of the Republic returns a draft law which has been passed by the Seimas to the Seimas for repeat consideration, the Seimas Speaker shall notify the Seimas thereof at the next sitting. The Seimas must decide by voting whether to consider the returned law anew, or whether to deem the law as not having been passed. In the latter case, the Seimas may charge one of the Committees to prepare a new draft of the law or form a working group for the above purpose. A discussion may precede voting. Should the decision be made to consider the draft law anew, the Seimas must decide at the same sitting which Committees the returned draft law as well as the amendments and supplements submitted by the President of the Republic shall be referred to for examination. Article 213-
- Consideration of the returned law in the Committees and at the Seimas sitting shall be prepared in accordance with the requirements set forth in Part 5 of this Statute. However, said law may not be considered according to the procedure of special urgency, and constitutional laws may also not be considered according to the procedure of urgency. During the above consideration a decision shall be passed on whether to accept all of the amendments and supplements submitted by the President of the Republic or whether to vote on the entire draft law without amendments. During consideration at the Seimas sitting, the Seimas may pass a resolution to announce a referendum concerning the enactment of the law returned by the President of the Republic, provided that the required number of signatures of Seimas members has been collected. Article 213-
- During passage of the returned law, a vote shall first of all be taken on whether or not to adopt all of the amendments and supplements submitted by the President of the Republic. A law which has been repeatedly considered by the Seimas shall be deemed passed provided that more than half (in the case of a constitutional law -- at least 3/5) of all of the Seimas members voted in favour thereof. If during consideration the Seimas adopts all of the amendments and supplements submitted by the President of the Republic, the repeatedly considered law shall be deemed to have been passed provided that the majority of the Seimas members participating in the sitting (in the case of a constitutional law -- more than half of all the Seimas members) voted in favour thereof. In all cases, 3/5 majority vote of all the Seimas members shall be required for the adoption of amendments to a constitutional laws, and 2/3 majority vote of all the Seimas members shall be required for the adoption of laws concerning amendments to the Constitution. Chapter
- Consideration of Laws according to Procedures of Urgency or Special Urgency Article
- Projects of Seimas resolutions and, should the Seimas so decide, draft laws, shall be considered according to the procedure of urgency. The above procedure shall be used upon the justified proposal of the President of the Republic, the Seimas Board, the competent Committee, parliamentary groups, or the Government. The decision to consider a draft law according to the procedure of urgency may as a rule be adopted during the presentation of a draft law by a majority of voting members, provided that said majority is more than 1/3 of all the Seimas members. Article
- If the urgent procedure of consideration is applied, the time period between the stages of consideration-- consideration in the Committee, consideration in the Seimas sitting, and passage -- shall be shortened. Said time periods must not be shorter than 1 workday or longer than 3 workdays. The Seimas shall establish the concrete terms in each case separately, however, in each case, the draft law under consideration must be distributed to the Seimas members at least 1 day prior to the sitting at which it will be considered or passed. Article
- On the proposal of the Seimas Speaker, the President of the Republic, or the Government, drafts of laws and resolutions of the Seimas may be considered according to the procedure of special urgency. The decision to apply the above procedure shall be adopted by a majority vote of all the Seimas members participating in the sitting, provided that said majority is more than 1/3 of all the Seimas members, and only if no parliamentary groups object thereto. According to the above procedure, if the draft has been distributed to the Seimas members and the requirements prescribed in Chapter 21 of this Statute have been implemented, the procedure of passage may be commenced immediately and the requirements of parts 1 and 2 of Article 208 of the Statute shall not be applied. Chapter
- Amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and Consideration of Constitutional Laws Article
- The following shall be deemed to be constitutional laws: 1) Constitutional amendments. The procedure of their consideration and passage shall be established in Chapter 14 of the Constitution, Article 153, and this Chapter of the Statute of the Seimas; and 2) laws which are directly specified in the Constitution as well as other laws which are included in the list of constitutional laws and which give concrete expression to constitutional norms. The procedure of their consideration and passage shall be defined in Article 69 of the Constitution and in this Chapter of the Statute. Article
- The list of constitutional laws referred to in Par. 2 of Article 220 of the Statute of the Seimas shall be established by the Seimas by a 3/5 majority vote of the Seimas members. Laws which have already been passed may also be included in the list if the Seimas arrives at the conclusion that said laws are, according to their content and significance, constitutional. Drafts of constitutional laws as well as their amendments and supplements must correspond to the requirements set forth in Par. 2 of Article 220 of this Statute. Upon disagreement, legal disputes shall be resolved by the Committee on State and Law. Article
- Consideration of the draft Law on Amendment of the Constitution shall commence in the Seimas only in cases when the draft is submitted by a group of at least 1/4 of the Seimas members or at least 300,000 electors who have expressed their will by putting their signatures under the text of the proposed amendment, with the exception of cases provided for in the Constitution which provide for Constitutional amendment only by referendum. The Constitution may not be amended during a state of emergency or martial law. Article
- Drafts of constitutional amendments and other constitutional laws shall be registered, submitted, considered, and passed according to the procedure established in Chapters 21- 23b of this Statute, with the exception of provisions set forth in this Chapter. Said drafts may not be considered according to the procedures of urgency or special urgency. Before commencing consideration of such a draft at a Seimas sitting, the draft must be considered by the principal Committee which is examining said draft within the 10-day period prior thereto, and distributed to the Seimas members and delivered to the Government within the 7-day period prior thereto. After consideration at the Seimas sitting, the procedure of passing the law shall commence no sooner than 10 days thereafter. The Committee on State and Law shall be the principal Committee examining drafts of laws on amendment of the Constitution. It shall be prohibited to restrict discussions on the constitutional law which is under consideration, with the exception of cases when such a decision is adopted by a 3/5 majority vote of the Seimas members. Article 223-
- Laws on constitutional amendments shall be passed in accordance with the double voting procedure: the draft shall be considered, and voting in the Seimas thereon shall be held, twice, with an adjournment of at least 3 months between voting. A law on amendment of the Constitution shall be deemed to have been passed by the Seimas provided that at least 2/3 of all the Seimas members voted in favour thereof during each voting, and that the same text of the amendment, with the exception of editor's corrections approved by the Seimas by a 2/3 vote, was put to the vote each time. A constitutional amendment which has not been passed may be submitted to the Seimas for repeat consideration no sooner than 1 year thereafter. Article 223-
- Other constitutional laws shall be deemed to have been passed if more than a half of the Seimas members vote in favour thereof. Amendments to said constitutional laws or laws which repeal or amend the laws which have been in effect prior thereto must be passed by a 3/5 majority vote of all the Seimas members by taking a single vote thereon. Chapter
- Adoption of Resolutions Article
- A resolution shall be a non-standard act of the Seimas which shall be adopted when it is required to confirm in writing the opinion of the Seimas on any issue which is of national importance. Other non-standard acts of the Seimas (appeals, declarations, etc.) shall be adopted in the same manner as resolutions. The right of initiative to submit a resolution shall be vested in the President of the Republic, members of the Seimas, Committees, parliamentary groups, and the Government. Proposals to consider a resolution may be submitted during the discussion of the agenda of a week's or a day's sittings. Article
- The text of the draft of a resolution must be presented to the Seimas members at least one day prior to the consideration thereof. During consideration, a representative of the initiators of the draft of the resolution shall be granted the floor and shall answer questions; thereafter, a discussion shall be held according to the general procedure. Article
- After consideration the Seimas shall resolve: 1) to adopt the resolution without amendment. Said proposal may not be adopted if any of the parliamentary groups objects thereto; 2) to edit the draft of the resolution; or 3) to reject the draft of the resolution or to charge the preparation of a new draft. Article
- Should it be decided to edit the draft of the resolution, the Seimas shall assign the date and time of its consideration and shall form a drafting commission. No more than 9 members of the Seimas may be on the commission. The drafting commission must include at least one initiator of the draft of the resolution. Other members of the Seimas shall submit their written proposals to the drafting commission. Article
- After the drafting commission announces the revised text, new proposals may be considered only on the decision of the Seimas. Should the drafting commission reject the proposals which have been submitted in advance, the Seimas shall take a vote on said proposals at the request of the submitters thereof. Upon completion of the voting on alternative proposals, the entire text of the resolution shall be voted on. Chapter
- Approval of State Budget Article
- Upon drawing up the draft State Budget for the following year, the Government shall submit said draft to the Seimas Chancellor by the 15th of October. Upon receipt of the draft, the Chancellor shall forward copies thereof to the Committees and parliamentary groups within 2 workdays. The report of the Government on the draft Budget shall be heard at the next sitting of the Seimas. Thereafter, at least 10 days shall be assigned for consideration of the draft Budget in Committees and parliamentary groups. Sittings of the Seimas shall not be held during the above-specified period. Article
- The Committees shall examine the chapters of the draft State Budget in accordance with their competence, and shall formulate their conclusions and amendments and submit them by the 5th day of November to the Committee on Budget and Finance. Representatives of the Government and the Committee on Budget and Finance shall be invited to the sittings of Committees during which the draft State Budget is to be examined. The Government must furnish the Committees with all the data whereon the draft Budget is based. Article
- At all stages of consideration of the draft State Budget, Committees, parliamentary groups, and individual members of the Seimas may propose an increase in the expenditures provided for in the draft only on condition that they specify the sources of financing said expenditure. It shall not be permitted to propose a decrease in the expenditures included in the draft Budget pursuant to laws, other standard acts adopted by the Seimas, and international obligations of the Republic of Lithuania. Should the Seimas desire to reduce said expenditure, it must first of all amend the appropriate standard acts. Article
- Proposals to increase or reduce the revenue provided for in the draft Budget must be submitted as drafts of laws on the amendment or repeal of taxation laws or other standard acts which regulate State revenue, or as new draft laws. The Seimas shall consider the above drafts according to the general procedure together with the draft State Budget. Article
- Upon receipt of the conclusions of other Committees and of the opinions and proposed amendments of parliamentary groups, the Committee on Budget and Finance shall, together with the representatives of the Government, parliamentary groups, and other Committees, consider the draft State Budget and formulate conclusions thereon. The Committee on Budget and Finance must either adopt the amendments to the Budget Law proposed by another Committee if said amendments are within the competence of the Committee, or reject said amendments, presenting a justified response. All Committees of the Seimas shall also be entitled to submit proposals to amend those chapters of the Budget which are not within their competence. In such an event, the Committee on Budget and Finance shall not be obligated to notify the Committee of the adopted decision. Article
- The draft State Budget must be considered at the Seimas sitting no later than by the 15th of November. At the sitting, a report of the Committee on Budget and Finance shall be heard, and conclusions of other Committees (if said conclusions were not reflected in the report) as well as opinions and commentaries of parliamentary groups and individual Seimas members shall be submitted. Article
- The second deliberation of the draft State Budget shall be conducted within 10 days after the primary deliberation of the draft; at the second deliberation the Government shall present the draft revised in accordance with the received proposals and commentaries. During the sitting, a representative of the Government shall announce which proposals and amendments submitted by Committees, parliamentary groups, and individual members have been included in the draft Budget and which have been rejected, shall give reasons for said rejections, and shall answer questions of the Seimas members. After the discussion, a vote shall be taken on assigning at one of the next Seimas sittings the passage of a law which approves the State Budget. Prior to the commencement of the sitting, new proposals and amendments shall be submitted to the representative of the Government according to the procedure established in Article 208 of this Statute. Should there be a great number of significant comments concerning the draft Budget, said draft may be returned to the Government for revision. No more than 10 days shall be allotted therefor; thereafter, the procedure of second deliberation shall be resumed. Article
- Alternative proposals and amendments which are objected to by the Government but which meet the conditions set forth in Articles 231 and 232 of this Chapter may be adopted only after more than half of all the Seimas members vote in favour thereof. Upon considering the proposals and amendments and adopting decisions thereon, the Seimas must vote on the entire draft State Budget. Article
- In the event that the Seimas rejects the draft State Budget, one more deliberation shall be assigned to be held no sooner than 5 days, and no later than 10 days, after, during which a draft revised in accordance with the comments of the Committees, parliamentary groups, and members of the Seimas shall be presented. The deliberation shall be conducted according to the procedure provided for in Article 235 of this Chapter. Article
- The Budget shall be approved pursuant to the indices established in the Law on Budgeting of the Republic of Lithuania. The appropriations according to the chapters of budget expenditure shall be also be concurrently approved. The appropriations shall be mandatory to all executors of the Budget. Article
- Should the Government resign by reason of non- approval of the State Budget, the draft Budget submitted by the new Government shall be considered and approved according to the procedure provided for in Articles 229-237 of this Statute. The time of consideration shall be fixed by a resolution of the Seimas which shall be adopted no later than on the next day of sittings after the new Government has been granted authorization to act. Article 239-
- In the event of failure to approve the State Budget within the established time limits, the monthly budgetary expenditure in the beginning of the budget year may not exceed 1/12 of the State Budget expenditure of the preceding year. Article
- The Seimas may revise the Budget during the budget year. The Budget shall be revised according to the procedure of budget-making and shall be adopted and approved. As necessary, the Seimas may approve an additional budget. In the event that funds which cannot be allocated from the Government Reserve Fund or additional funds which are obtained during the performance of the Budget are required, the Government shall submit to the Seimas a draft law on supplementary appropriations. The purpose and amount of the required funds as well as the source of the financing thereof shall be specified in the draft. Adhering to the conditions stipulated in Articles 231 and 232 of this Chapter, Committees, parliamentary groups or individual members of the Seimas may propose a draft law on the revision of certain budget expenditure clauses. In the above case, a law shall be passed by a majority vote of the Seimas members participating in the sitting provided that the Government has no objections thereto. Otherwise, the affirmative vote of more than a half of all the Seimas members shall be required for passing the law. Article
- Resolutions of the Seimas concerning the ratification or denunciation of international treaties may be adopted if more than half of all the Seimas members vote in favour thereof. Part 5 of the Statute of the Seimas shall take effect on 1 January
- Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania Ceslovas Jursenas