Official translation

Official translation Official translation REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA LAW ON PETITIONS 7 July 1999, No.VIII-1313 Vilnius CHAPTER ONE GENERAL PROVISIONS Article

1. Scope of the Law
2. This Law shall establish the procedure for implementation of the right of petition guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania.
3. This Law shall not apply when citizens exercise the following rights established by the Constitution: 1) the right of legislative initiative; 2) the right of initiative to announce a referendum; 3) the right to criticise the work of state institutions or state officials.
4. This Law shall not regulate the procedure for consideration of complaints, statements and proposals, which shall be established by other laws and legal acts. Article
5. Definitions
6. “The right of petition” means the right guaranteed by the Constitution to appeal in a prescribed manner to the Seimas, the Government or the municipal government and administrative institutions - the Council and the Mayor (the Board) (hereinafter referred to as municipal government and administrative institutions).
7. “Applicant” means a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania or a foreigner permanently residing in the Republic of Lithuania, or a group of such citizens or foreigners, who has written and presented an application (petition) in the manner prescribed by this Law.
8. “Applicant’s representative” means the person who is the first to sign an application or another person indicated in the application, who must be informed about the consideration of the petition and any adopted decisions and who shall have the right to participate in the consideration of such petition.
9. “Petition” means a petitioner’s written application addressed to the Seimas, the Government or the municipal government and administrative institutions, which contains demands or proposals to resolve the issues specified in Paragraph 1 of Article 3 of this Law, the resolution of which may require that a new legal act be passed, an effective legal act be amended, supplemented or declared invalid, and which the petitions commissions recognise as a petition.
10. “Petitions commissions” means permanent commissions resolving issues related to the recognition of an application as a petition, as well as the acceptance of petitions for consideration, their consideration and the presentation of conclusions regarding the meeting of demands and proposals laid down in the petition. Article
11. Demands and Proposals Laid down in an Application
12. Applicants may demand or propose the resolution of the following issues: 1) the protection or implementation of human rights and freedoms; 2) the reforming of institutions of government and administration; 3) other issues important to the public, self-government or the State.
13. Applications may not contain any demands or proposals the settlement of which would restrict the rights and freedoms of other people, or threaten the independence, territorial integrity, or constitutional order of the State of Lithuania. Article
14. Form and Content of an Application
15. An application shall be presented in writing. An application must contain the following: 1) the applicant’s name, surname, place of residence, and personal number; 2) the institution to which an application is presented; 3) a request to recognise the application as a petition, and the reasons and purposes for the presentation of the application; 4) the applicant’s demands and proposals; 5) the name, surname, personal number, place of residence and, if available, the telephone, and fax numbers of the applicant’s representative.
16. Each application must be signed by an appropriate applicant. In those cases, when an applicant cannot sign the application himself by reason of his physical disability, another person shall sign the application on his behalf, indicating his own name, surname, place of residence, and personal number.
17. Various documents or copies of the documents, the draft of a proposed legal act or any other material may be appended to the application. Article
18. Applicant’s Rights An applicant shall have the right to: 1) renounce an application (petition) at any time. The application (petition) shall be renounced in writing, indicating the data specified in Subparagraph 1 of Paragraph 1 of Article 4; 2) receive information regarding the time and place of the consideration of a petition, adopted decisions or other information provided for in this Law; 3) participate personally or via a representative in meetings of petitions commissions at which the petition is being considered or the joining of several applications in accordance with paragraph 5 of Article 9 of this Law takes place; 4) appeal in accordance with the procedure established by this Law against the petitions commission’s decision not to recognise the application as a petition or to refuse to accept a petition for consideration. Article
19. Petitions Commissions
20. Petitions commissions shall be set up and function in accordance with this Law, their own regulations and other legal acts. Petitions commissions shall be responsible and accountable to the state and municipal government and administrative institutions which have set them up.
21. When carrying out the functions established by this Law, petitions commissions shall have the right to consult specialists (experts), to request that state institutions, institutions of science and studies, or other educational institutions provide conclusions and other necessary material, to invite representatives of state institutions, except courts, to their meetings at a time agreed in advance with the said representatives and to hear their information.
22. The Petitions Commission of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania shall be set up and its regulations shall be approved by the Seimas in accordance with the procedure established by the Seimas Statute.
23. The Petitions Commission of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania shall be set up and its regulations shall be approved by the Government.
24. Municipal petitions commissions shall be set up and their regulations shall be approved by municipal councils.
25. Petitions commissions shall present their conclusions and proposals in writing. CHAPTER TWO THE PRESENTATION OF AN APPLICATION, ITS RECOGNITION AS A PETITION AND THE ACCEPTANCE OF A PETITION FOR CONSIDERATION Article
26. Presentation of an Application
27. An application may be presented in person directly or sent by post. An application shall be presented to whichever of the Seimas, the Government or the municipal government and administrative institutions has competence to consider the demands and proposals. The applicant himself or his representative may present an application.
28. An applicant who does not agree with the decision of the petitions commission or the Seimas, or the Government regarding the demands and proposals put forward in the petition, shall have the right to present a further application in a manner prescribed by this Law, no earlier than one year following the date of receipt of the notification provided for in Article 17 of this Law. Article
29. Registration of an Application
30. All applications shall be registered in a petitions registration book of the institution to which the application has been presented (forwarded).
31. The applicant or his representative shall be immediately, and in any case not later than within 3 working days, informed in writing about the registration of the application, specifying the institution at which the application has been registered, the registration number and the date of registration. Article
32. Recognition of an Application as a Petition and Acceptance of a Petition for Consideration
33. Petitions commissions shall resolve the issue of recognition of an application as a petition having first ascertained that the consideration of the demands and proposals is within the jurisdiction of the institution at which the application has been registered. If the application has been presented to an institution not having appropriate jurisdiction, the petitions commission shall, within 4 working days of a decision on appropriate jurisdiction, refer the application to the competent institution specified in Paragraph 1 of Article 7 and shall inform the applicant or his representative of this fact.
34. An anonymous application shall be rejected without resolving the issues laid down in Paragraph 1 of this Article.
35. An application shall not be recognised as a petition if: 1) it is not in compliance with the requirements of Article 3 of this Law; 2) it is not necessary to pass new legal acts, to amend, supplement or declare invalid any effective legal acts in order to meet the demands and proposals; 3) within one calendar year the same applicant presented to the same institution more than one application containing the same demands and proposals; 4) the applicant does not fully justify the demands and proposals set out in the application or otherwise abuses the right of petition; 5)within one calendar year, the petitions commission has already adopted a decision regarding the same demands and proposals set out in the application; 6) an application is not presented by a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania, a foreigner permanently residing in the Republic of Lithuania, or a group of such citizens or foreigners.
36. Having adopted a reasoned decision not to recognise the application as a petition, the petitions commission shall inform the applicant or his representative of this decision within 5 working days from the adoption of the decision. The application shall be considered by the institution at which it has been registered in accordance with the procedure established by other laws and legal acts or shall be referred it for consideration to other state institutions.
37. Petitions commissions, who have received several applications related to the same demands and proposals, shall have the right to join these applications and consider them as one application.
38. Upon recognition of the application as a petition, the petitions commission shall resolve the issue of acceptance of such petition for consideration.
39. Petitions commissions shall refuse to accept a petition for consideration if the errors specified in Paragraph 8 of this Article have not been eliminated within a fixed period of time. The petitions commissions shall have no right to refuse to consider a petition on the grounds that the applicant or his representative has not indicated a personal number, place of residence, or telephone or fax number in the application.
40. If the application bears no signature or the name, or surname of the applicant is not indicated therein, except when the application is anonymous, the petitions commission shall fix a period of time for eliminating the errors and shall inform the applicant or his representative of it. When the applicant or his representative has eliminated the errors within the fixed period of time, the petitions commission shall not later than within 3 working days adopt a decision to consider a petition. Information about the consideration of a petition shall be announced and published in accordance with the procedure established in Paragraph 10 of this Article.
41. Petitions commissions shall inform the applicant or his representative about the acceptance of a petition for consideration or the refusal to accept such a petition for consideration within 5 working days from the adoption of the decision, without taking into account the participation of the applicant or his representative in the adoption of the decision. In the case specified in Paragraph 5 of Article 9 of this Law, each applicant shall be informed. The decision to refuse to accept a petition for consideration must be justified.
42. Upon having adopted a decision to consider a petition, the petitions commission shall set a place and time of consideration of the petition, and shall publish such information in the appendix of the Valstybės žinios (Official Gazette), the Informaciniai pranešimai (Information announcement). A municipal petitions commission shall announce the place and time of the consideration of a petition in the local press or in a manner prescribed by a municipal council.
43. The petitions commission shall, within 20 working days of the registration of the application, resolve the issue of recognition of the application as a petition and the acceptance of petitions for consideration. If additional documents or conclusions are necessary to resolve the issue of recognition of the application as a petition and the acceptance of petitions for consideration, the length of time shall start on the date of receipt of the last necessary document. Article
44. Complaint about Non-recognition of an Appeal as a Petition and Refusal to Accept a Petition for Consideration
45. No later than 1 month from the date of receipt of the notification about the decision not to recognize the application as a petition or to refuse to accept a petition for consideration, the applicant may lodge a complaint about the decision of the petitions commission to: 1) in the case of a decision taken by the Seimas Petitions Commission - the Seimas; 2) in the case of a decision taken by the Government Petitions Commission - the Government Chancellor; 3) in the case of a decision taken by the municipal petitions commission - the municipal council.
46. A complaint must be filed in writing and signed by the applicants. The complaint must indicate: the applicant’s name, surname and place of residence, the representative’s name, surname and place of residence, and the circumstances proving the illegality or groundlessness of such decision.
47. The received complaint shall be considered no later than within 30 days of receipt thereof and the applicant or his representative shall be informed about the adopted decision.
48. Upon deciding to redress the complaint and having adopted a decision to recognize the application as a petition, the petition shall be referred to the petitions commission to resolve the issue of acceptance of the petition for consideration. Upon deciding to redress the complaint and having adopted a decision to accept a petition for consideration, the petition shall be referred to the petitions commission for consideration. A decision to refuse to redress the complaint shall be final and shall not be subject to appeal. CHAPTER THREE CONSIDERATION OF THE PETITION Article
49. Principles of Consideration of Petitions When considering petitions, the following principles shall be observed: 1) equality before the law - no applicant may be discriminated against and no privileges provided to the applicant owing to his sex, race, nationality, language, descent, social position, belief, conviction or views; 2) openness - petitions shall be considered publicly, except for cases when the secrecy of an individual’s identity or his private life must be protected, or when public consideration of a petition would betray a state, official, professional or commercial secret; 3) prohibition to restrict other persons’ rights or freedoms, or to harm the interests of other persons’, public or state interests; 4) consideration in a collegiate manner - all the petitions shall be considered, and conclusions and decisions shall be adopted in a collegiate manner; 5) promptitude - unnecessary delays in consideration of petitions shall be prohibited. All petitions must be considered within 90 calendar days of the adoption of the decision to accept a petition for consideration; 6) co-operation - petitions commissions and state institutions shall co-operate in seeking to consider the petition properly. When the decision of the issues put forward in a petition is within competence of several institutions, the petition shall be considered by the petitions commission which has the wider competence in respect of territory and subject matter; 7) confidentiality of procedures - procedures of petitions commissions, state and municipal government and administrative institutions or their correspondence with applicants prior to the adoption of a decision may not be made public. Article
50. Consideration of Petitions Presented to the Seimas
51. Petitions presented to the Seimas shall be considered in accordance with the procedure established by this Law, Seimas Statute, and Regulations of the Seimas Petitions Commission.
52. Upon decision of the Seimas Petitions Commission to accept a petition for consideration, the petition shall be considered in detail within a time period set by the petitions commission.
53. Upon having considered the petition, the Seimas Petitions Commission shall, in a manner prescribed by the Seimas Statute, present to the Seimas conclusions related to the meeting of the demands and proposals put forward in the petition. In the event that a conclusion is reached to meet the demands and proposals put forward in the petition, a draft of an appropriate legal act may be prepared or it may be proposed to form a commission or a working group to prepare a draft legal act. Article
54. Consideration of the Petitions Presented to the Government
55. Petitions presented to the Government shall be considered in accordance with the procedure established by this Law, Government Procedure Manual and regulations of the Government Petitions Commission.
56. When the Government Petitions Commission decides to accept a petition for consideration, the petition shall be considered in detail within a time period set by the Petitions Commission.
57. Upon having considered the petition, the Government Petitions Commission shall, in a manner prescribed by the Government Procedure Manual, submit conclusions to the Government regarding the meeting of the demands and proposals put forward in the petition. In the event that a conclusion is reached to meet the demands and proposals put forward in the petition, a draft of an appropriate legal act may be prepared or it may be proposed to form a commission or a working group to prepare a draft legal act, or it shall be proposed to instruct appropriate state institutions to prepare a draft legal act. Article
58. Consideration of the Petitions Presented to a Municipal Government and Administration Institution
59. Petitions presented to a municipal government and administrative institution shall be considered in accordance with the procedure established by this Law, the Law on Local Self-government, the statute of an appropriate municipal council and regulations of an appropriate municipal petitions commission.
60. When the municipal petitions commission decides to accept a petition for consideration, the petition shall be considered in detail within a time period set by the petitions commission.
61. Upon having considered the petition, the municipal petitions commission shall, in a manner prescribed by the Law on Local Self-government and the statute of the appropriate council, submit conclusions to the municipal council regarding the meeting of the demands and proposals put forward in the petition. In the event that a conclusion is reached to meet the demands and proposals put forward in the petition, a draft of an appropriate legal act may be prepared or it may be proposed to form a commission or a working group to prepare a draft legal act, or it shall be proposed to instruct the mayor (board) to prepare a draft legal act. Article
62. Notification about the Consideration of Petitions Upon having considered a petition at the Seimas, the Government or the municipal council, the applicant or his representative shall within 10 working days be informed in writing on the adopted decisions. Article
63. Decisions of the Seimas, the Government or the Municipal Council not Subject to Complaint The decisions of the Seimas, the Government or the municipal council regarding meeting of the demands and proposals put forward in the petitions shall be final and not subject to complaint. Chapter four FINAL PROVISIONS Article
64. Coming into Force of the Law This Law shall come into force on 1 October
65. Article
66. Formation of Petitions Commissions Petitions commissions must be formed by 1 October
67. Petitions commission shall start functioning from 1 October
68. I promulgate this Law passed by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania. PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC VALDAS ADAMKUS