Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania

Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania STATUTE 11 November 1993 No.I-304 Vilnius PART 9 IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS Article

1. Impeachment proceedings shall be the parliamentary procedure which shall be applied by the Seimas to members of the Seimas as well as to State officials of the highest rank who are specified in Article 74 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania for their actions which discredit the authority of powers, in order to solve the question of the responsibility of such individuals. In the event that a concrete individual is found guilty during this procedure, the person shall be dismissed from his or her post or his or her mandate as a Seimas member shall be abolished. Article
2. Legal action, in accordance with the impeachment proceedings, may be instituted against the President of the Republic, the Chairperson and judges of the Constitutional Court, the Chairperson and judges of the Supreme Court, the Chairperson and judges of the Court of Appeals, and the members of the Seimas. Article
3. There shall be grounds for initiating impeachment proceedings in the event that an individual specified in Article 271 of this Statute has: 1) grossly violated the Constitution; 2) breached an oath; or 3) committed a felony. Only one of the grounds specified in this Article shall suffice to initiate impeachment proceedings. Article
4. The right to request the initiation of impeachment proceedings against a concrete for reasons specified in Article 272 individual shall be granted to , any group of Seimas members consisting of at least one fourth of all of the Seimas members, the President of the Republic and the Judges' Court of Honour if the case concerns the Chairperson or judges of the Constitutional Court or the Court of Appeals. Article
5. Upon establishing that persons referred to in Article 271 of this Statute are suspected of having committed a felony, the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Lithuania shall immediately inform the Seimas thereon and submit appropriate material thereto. In the event that the President of the Republic is suspected of having committed a felony, the Seimas shall carry out preliminary impeachment proceedings provided for in Article 279 of this Statute. Upon hearing the Prosecutor General's report on a felony committed by other persons, the Seimas shall decide whether to give its approval to institute legal action against the concrete person (according to the procedure provided for in Part 1 and Chapter 28 of this Statute) or to initiate preliminary impeachment proceedings. Article
6. While bringing a charge concerning a committed felony, the statutes of limitation provided for in criminal laws shall be applicable. In other cases, no statutes of limitation shall be applicable; however, the committed misdemeanor with which an individual is charged must have been committed while he or she was in office referred to in Article 271 of this Statute. Article
7. Proposal to initiate impeachment proceedings shall be submitted to the Seimas in writing - in the form of a motion, while proposals made by the President of the Republic shall be presented in the form of appeal by indicating the concrete person, the charge formulated against said person, arguments, major facts, and evidence or sources thereof. Article
8. Proposal to initiate impeachment proceedings may only be submitted during sessions of the Seimas. The Seimas Chairperson shall immediately present such proposals to the Seimas members and shall, within at least one week, submit a proposal to the Seimas to consider the issue on a preferential basis. Article
9. Upon hearing a proposal made by the initiators specified in Article 273 or their representative concerning the initiation of impeachment proceedings against a concrete individual, the Seimas shall form a commission to investigate the validity and seriousness of the submitted charges and to prepare the finding concerning the proposal to initiate impeachment proceedings. In its work the commission shall be governed by the provisions provided for in Chapter 32 of this Statute. Article
10. A special investigation commission shall be formed from the Seimas members, representatives of the initiators of the impeachment proceedings, and lawyers who are employed at courts, investigative structures, or prosecutor's office. Professional lawyers must comprise no more than one half of the commission members. While working on the commission, the lawyers shall enjoy equal rights with other members of the commission, but they must strictly comply with the principle of political impartiality. There may be no more than 12 members on the commission. Members of the commission shall be proposed by parliamentary groups and initiators of the impeachment proceedings according to the principles set forth in Article 63 of this Statute which shall be entitled to propose 1/3 of all the commission members. Along with the formation of the commission, the Seimas shall appoint the commission chairperson and deputy chairperson, and shall fix the dates for the execution of investigation. At least one of the heads of the commission must be a professional lawyer. Article
11. Sittings of the special Seimas investigation commission concerned with impeachment proceedings shall normally be closed. Only the chairperson of the commission or a member authorised by the chairperson shall inform the press and other mass media about the course of investigation. Article
12. The commission's sittings shall be recorded in the minutes. Minutes shall be kept by a secretary appointed by the commission, according to the regulations of keeping minutes of court sittings. The minutes of the sitting shall be signed by the chairperson and secretary of the commission. During sittings, explanations as well as arguments of the initiators of impeachment proceedings and defendants (or their representatives) shall be heard, witnesses shall be questioned, the list of whom shall be made up according to the proposals submitted by all the members of the special investigation commission and the defendant, and other evidence shall be accumulated, examined and evaluated; when necessary, experts and specialists shall be invited and discussions shall be held. The defendant's lawyer may also take part in the sittings. Article
13. Witnesses and experts shall be summoned and questioned in accordance with the rules of the criminal code: they shall be warned of their responsibility for avoiding or refusing to give evidence as well as for giving knowingly false evidence; the giving of such warnings shall be confirmed by witnesses' signatures. Minutes concerning the questioning of witnesses shall be recorded and, after a witness has read them, may be supplemented or amended, and then must be signed by the witness. Experts shall present their findings in writing after having signed them. Article 282-
14. If the special investigation commission so proposes, the Seimas may pass a decision to appeal to the Constitutional Court concerning the conclusion whether concrete actions of the Seimas members or state officers against whom impeachment proceedings are initiated are in conformity with the Constitution. Article
15. Upon the conclusion of the investigation, the special investigation commission shall present its findings which shall contain: the essence of the charge, the place, time, means, motives and other essential circumstances of the committed felony; the established facts and evidence, and the explanations of the defendant. In the event that the presented charges have not been proved, it shall be indicated in the findings and the actions of investigation which have been carried out shall be described in brief. Taking into account the results of the investigation, it shall be summarised at the end of the findings whether there are grounds to institute impeachment proceedings in the Seimas or whether such grounds do not exist. At least half of the votes of all the commission members are necessary for the approval of the findings. The results of the voting shall be recorded in the minutes of the sitting. The findings shall be signed by the chairperson or deputy chairperson of the commission. The commission shall prepare a draft resolution on the basis of approved findings. Article
16. Upon coming to the conclusion that there are grounds for initiating impeachment proceedings in the Seimas, the special investigation commission must also formulate concrete charges. This may be done at the end of the commission's findings or in a separate document. The investigation commission shall also decide who on behalf of the committee shall substantiate the charge and carry out other functions of the prosecutor in the Seimas during the impeachment proceedings. The commission may appoint up to 7 prosecutors -- members of the Seimas. The commission shall inform the Seimas of their names and powers in writing. Article
17. The commission shall submit the prepared findings along with a draft Seimas resolution and other documents to the Speaker, who shall submit these documents for the Seimas consideration at its next sitting. Chapter
18. Impeachment Procedure in the Seimas Article
19. In the event that the special investigation commission reaches the conclusion that there are no grounds for the initiation of impeachment proceedings, the Seimas shall consider the validity of motives and arguments which have been formulated in the findings and shall decide whether said findings shall be assented. If the Seimas approves the findings by a majority vote of the Seimas members who attend the sitting, it shall be held that there was no assent to initiate impeachment proceedings. Impeachment proceedings based on the same charges may only be instituted against the same person only after one- year period , and only under the condition that new circumstances have become evident. In the event that the Seimas does not approve the commission's conclusion that there are no grounds for the initiation of impeachment proceedings, the Seimas must decide who shall be charged with the execution of a repeat investigation - the same investigation commission or a new one. Article
20. Upon hearing the findings of the special investigation commission according to which there are grounds to initiate impeachment proceedings, the Seimas shall carry out necessary arrangements and shall adopt the following decisions necessary for the execution of this procedure: 1) shall adopt a resolution to initiate impeachment proceedings in the Seimas against a concrete person; 2) shall establish of the commencement of the impeachment proceedings not later than after 15 days and schedule of sittings; 3) shall adopt a resolution to invite the Chairperson of the Supreme Court or another judge thereof to preside over this procedure; 4) as necessary, shall request the Constitutional Court to provide findings whether concrete actions of a Seimas member or other state official comply with the Constitution; and 5) shall perform other necessary preparatory actions. Article
21. Impeachment proceedings shall start in the Seimas on the fixed date. They shall be presided over by the Chairperson of the Supreme Court or another judge thereof, or the Chairperson of the Constitutional Court or another judge thereof.One more judge of the Supreme Court or Constitutional Court must take part in all sittings, from the first to the last, of the impeachment proceedings, and, as necessary, shall act for the Chairperson of the hearing. Upon announcing the commencement of the impeachment proceedings, the Seimas shall become an impeachment institution in which investigation shall be carried out in compliance with the principles and rules of criminal procedure if this Statute does not provide otherwise. The minutes of the hearing shall be kept by the secretary appointed by the Chairperson according to the rules of recording court hearings. Impeachment proceedings in the Seimas shall be public. They may be broadcast by television and radio. Article
22. Impeachment proceedings in the Seimas shall be comprised of the following major parts: the preparatory part, the court investigation, court disputes, and the defendant's final word concerning the articles of impeachment and voting on the presented charges. Article
23. During the preparatory part of the hearing the essence of the impeachment case under investigation, the defendant, and the prosecutors and their representatives shall be introduced, their rights and duties shall be explained, their requests shall be heard and decisions thereon shall be passed, and the possibilities to continue investigation of the case shall be clarified. Article
24. The court investigation shall be commenced by reading the material of the charge aloud and hearing the defendant's explanations. Then the defendant and witnesses shall be questioned, the findings of the experts shall be heard, and the evidence shall be examined. Prior to the end of the court investigation, the prosecutors shall have the right to define the formulation of the charge and remove technical errors which have been found therein. While defining the formulations of the charge, the formulations must be delivered in writing to the defendant and the chairperson of the hearing, who shall immediately announce them to the Seimas members. Upon receiving the defined formulations of the charge, the defendant or the defendant's defender shall have the right to demand the continuation or renewal of the court investigation. Article
25. Court disputes shall be the speeches and remarks of the prosecutor, the defendant and their representatives. The right to the last remark shall always belong to the defender, and in the event of his or her absence - to the defendant. In the end of court disputes the defendant shall be granted the last word. It shall not be permitted to ask questions or make remarks at that moment. Article
26. Issues concerning procedure shall be settled by the chairperson of the hearing. As necessary, the chairperson may ask the Seimas to voice its opinion or request approval of his or her decisions. Only upon the permission of the chairperson may the members of the Seimas pose questions to the participants of the proceedings. The members of the Seimas shall not be permitted to speak about the essence of the case or to attempt to influence the course of the proceedings in any other manner. However, they may protest the chairperson's refusal to permit questioning or a hasty decision to terminate interrogation, and may reject them by voting. Article
27. The defendant shall have the right to resign from his office or to renounce the mandate of the Seimas member by submitting an application in writing, in any stage of impeachment proceedings but only prior to the beginning of voting. Such applications must be immediately satisfied. In such case, the impeachment proceedings shall be terminated and it shall be made official by a resolution of the Seimas. Article
28. The final part of the legal procedure - voting for the articles of impeachment - shall start after the defendant's final word. Each article of impeachment shall be put on a separate voting card. After the text of the charge, the alternative variants of the response: "I charge" or "I do not charge" shall be made thereon. Prior to distribution, voting cards shall be marked by a special stamp of the chairperson of the hearing. Article
29. A commission for the calculation of votes shall be made in compliance with the requirements set forth in Article 112 of this Statute. Each article of impeachment shall be put to the vote separately. Only the Seimas members shall take part in the voting. Upon calculating the votes, the chairperson of the hearing shall announce the voting results on each article of impeachment separately. Article
30. If 3/5 of all the Seimas members vote for at least one article of impeachment, it shall be considered that the person has been impeached, i.e. the Seimas has found that the person is guilty of the felony with which he or she has been incriminated. Following the report of the commission for the calculation of votes, the chairperson of the hearing shall dictate the following entry of the minutes: "Upon the execution of impeachment proceedings in the Seimas on ... (date), it has been found by a majority vote of all the Seimas members that citizen ............(name, surname and post) ...(entry according to the text of the approved article of impeachment)..., therefore, from this day the .... (date), (said person) shall be removed from his (or her) post (or shall be deprived of the mandate of Seimas member) by the decision of the Seimas. Then the chairperson shall sign this entry and publicly announce it during the Seimas sitting. Article
31. In the event that not a single article of impeachment receives at least 3/5 of the votes of all the Seimas members, it shall be considered that the Seimas has not approved the impeachment. The chairperson of the hearing shall announce this publicly and an appropriate entry thereon shall be made in the minutes of the sitting. In cases where less than 3/5 but more than 1/2 of all the Seimas members voted for the article of impeachment which corresponds to the indications of a criminal offence, it shall be considered that the Seimas has assented to bringing a legal action against a concrete person (with the exception of the President of the Republic). Article
32. The minutes of the Seimas sittings, wherein the impeachment procedure shall be recorded, shall be signed by the chairperson of the hearing and the secretary of the hearing appointed by him or her. Entries of the minutes concerning the voting results shall be equaled to the resolutions of the Seimas. They shall enter into effect from the moment of their announcement and must be executed . Along with the voting results, they may not be appealed against or subjected to review. Article
33. When, according to the procedure of impeachment, the Seimas finds that a concrete person is guilty, he/she shall be considered to have been removed from his or her post or to have been deprived of the mandate of Seimas member. Legal liability may also be incurred on them for committed felonies according to general procedure. Individuals who have resigned from their posts of their own accord or who have renounced mandates of a Seimas member shall lose the right of inviolability established by the Constitution, and shall therefore be subjected to criminal liability according to the general procedure. Ceslovas Jursenas Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania