This law defines the rights, duties, and responsibilities of a member of the Seimas (Parliament) of the Republic of…

Official translation Official translation SEIMAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA STATUTE 1 17 February 1994 No.I-399 Vilnius

PART 1

STATUS OF THE SEIMAS MEMBER

Chapter 1. The Powers and Oath of the Seimas Member

Article 1The main  rights and  duties of  a member of the

Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania shall be defined by the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and by this Statute, and other rights and duties of a Seimas member shall also be established by other laws of the Republic of Lithuania.

In carrying out his duties, a Seimas member shall act in compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, the interests of the State, and his own consciences, and may not be restricted by any mandates.

Article 2The term  of office  of a  Seimas  member  shall

commence from the day that the newly-elected Seimas convenes for the first sitting. The powers of the previously elected Seimas member shall expire upon commencement of said sitting.

Elected Seimas member shall only acquire all of the rights of a representative of the nation upon taking an oath in the Seimas to be loyal to the Republic of Lithuania. A Seimas member who has not taken an oath shall not be entitled to the rights provided for in Chapter 2 of this Statute, shall not be provided with maintenance and guarantees of his activities under Chapter 3, and shall not receive the salary of a Seimas member.

Article 3The text of the oath of the Seimas member of the

Republic of Lithuania shall read as follows: "I (full name) swear to be faithful to the Republic of Lithuania; swear to respect and observe its Constitution and laws, and to protect the integrity of its territory, swear to the best of my ability to strengthen the independence of Lithuania, and to conscientiously serve my Homeland, democracy, and the well-being of the people of Lithuania.

So help me God!

The oath may be taken omitting the last sentence.

Article 4The  oath   of  the  Seimas  member  shall  be

administered by the Chairperson of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania, or, in the absence of the Chairperson or in the event that the Chairperson is temporarily unable to discharge his or her duties, by the acting judge of the Constitutional Court.

Each Seimas member shall take the oath while standing in front of the person who is administering the oath and reading the oath, holding his or her hand on the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania.

Upon reading the entire text of the oath, each Seimas member shall sign the nominal oath sheet.

Nominal oath sheets shall be handed over to the officer of the Constitutional Court who administered the oath. Upon checking the nominal oath sheets, said officer shall read the list of those Seimas members who have acquired all of the rights of a 2 representative of the nation.

Article 5The  Seimas member who does not take the oath in the

manner prescribed by law, or who take a conditional oath, shall lose the mandate of the Seimas member. The Seimas shall adopt a resolution thereon.

The text of the oath may not be amended or changed with the exception of the omission of the last sentence. The Seimas member who do not comply with this provision, who refuse to sign the nominal oath sheet, or who sign the sheet with a stipulation, shall not be considered to have taken the oath. In such cases, the Seimas member shall lose the mandate pursuant to Article 59 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania.

The Seimas member whose powers were terminated pursuant to the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Lithuania and who has again become a Seimas member must take the oath again.

A Seimas member must take an oath not later than within a month from the first sitting attended by him.

Article 6The duties of a Seimas member, with the exception

of his/her duties in the Seimas, shall be incompatible with any other duties or jobs in State institutions and organisations as well as in business, commercial and other private institutions and enterprises. For the term of office, a Seimas member shall be exempt from the duty to perform national defence service.

A Seimas member may be appointed only as Prime Minister or Minister.

Article 7A Seimas  member shall  have a certificate and a

Seimas member badge which shall be presented to him/her after the oath and which shall be used by him/her during the period of his/her term of office.

Samples of the Seimas member certificate and badge shall be approved by the Seimas Board.

Article 8The  powers   of  a  Seimas  member  shall  be

terminated:

Chapter 2. The Activities of the Seimas Member

Article 9A member  of  the  Seimas  of  the  Republic  of

Lithuania shall have the right to:

The procedure for the implementation of these and other rights shall be established by other Articles of this Statute.

Article 10The Seimas  member must  participate in  Seimas

sittings during votings which were planned in advance. A voting which was announced at least two days prior to the day of the voting shall be considered to have been planned in advance.

Each member of the Seimas, with the exception of the members of the Seimas Board and the Government, must be a member of a committee and must participate in the work thereof, and must also be an alternate member of another committee. The Speaker of the Seimas may not be a member or alternate member of a committee. A single Seimas member may be a member of only one committee.

Article 11While participating  in sittings  of the Seimas

and the committees, Seimas members must adhere to this Statute.

If a Seimas member cannot attend a sitting of the Seimas during which a voting has been planned for in advance, he/ she must inform the secretariat of the sittings thereof, stating the reason for absence.

If a Seimas member cannot attend a sitting of the committee or commission, he/she must inform the chairperson of the committee or commission, and in the chairperson's absence -- the deputy chairperson.

During a session Seimas members must notify the chairperson (in the absence of the chairperson -- the deputy chairperson) of the committee of which they are members of all of their trips beyond the boundaries of the Republic of Lithuania, and during the sittings of the Seimas -- of their trips within the territory of the Republic of Lithuania.

Upon returning from a business trip, a Seimas member must present a report to the Seimas Board or the committee on which he/she is a member concerning the fulfillment of assignments.

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Article 12The Seimas  member must regularly hold meetings

with his/her constituents. He/she shall have the right to invite officials of state institutions and local government bodies and deputies to participate in the meetings.

A Seimas member shall consider proposals, appeals and complaints and, as necessary, shall refer them to appropriate state institutions for consideration.

Officials to whom a Seimas member's appeal was addressed including proposals, appeals and complaints of citizens must consider said appeals within 20 days of the receipt thereof.

Chapter 3. Maintenance and Guarantees of the Activities of Seimas

Members

Article 13Local governments and their executive bodies, as

well as heads of state enterprises, institutions and organisations, must provide Seimas members with conditions enabling them to meet with constituents, must notify them of the time and place of such meetings, and must provide them with other necessary assistance and information.

Respective local governments must allot and maintain permanent premises for Seimas members elected in a single- candidate areas to receive constituents. As necessary, local governments must allot properly arranged premises for Seimas members elected in multi-candidate electoral areas to receive constituents and hold meetings The Seimas member shall have the right to demand to be received without delay at state enterprises, institutions and organisations concerning issues which pertain to his/her activities, as well as the right to be provided with necessary information.

The Seimas member shall have the right to unrestricted access of all enterprises, institutions and organisations. The visitation procedure for enterprises, institutions and organisations whose activities are associated with state secrets shall be established by laws.

Article 14Upon establishing  that civil  rights and  laws

have been violated, a Seimas member shall have the right to directly demand that the violation be corrected, or may address the appropriate institutions and officers. Violations shall be indicated in the minutes taken together with the representatives of law enforcement or control body.

If the legitimate demands of a Seimas member are not carried out, a disciplinary punishment may, according to the procedure established by law, be imposed on the officer who is responsible;

Article 15

Compensation for the work of the Seimas member, as well as expenses related with their parliamentary activities, shall be covered by the State Budget.

The salary of Seimas members and the procedure for payment thereof shall be established by the Seimas. Resolutions of the Seimas concerning changes in the salaries of Seimas members shall become effective only from the day that the newly-elected Seimas convenes for the first sitting.

Seimas members who at the same time hold office at the Seimas shall be paid supplemental salaries, the amount of which shall be established by the Seimas, for their work. The Seimas member may not receive any other salary, with the exception of payment for creative activities. Payments made to Seimas members for creative activities shall include royalties for works of art and literature, for radio and television programmes as well as hourly salaries for educational, scientific and consultative work performed by Seimas members not during the sittings of the Seimas, its committees and commissions.

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Article 16The Seimas  member shall  be entitled  to  have

personal secretary-assistants or joint secretary-assistants with other members of their respective parliamentary groups, whose salaries shall be paid from the State Budget; they are also entitled to have assistants who work on a voluntary basis.

Seimas members shall be allocated additional funds for the reimbursement of office, postal, telephone, telegraph, transportation, and other expenses incurred from parliamentary activities -- the amount and the procedure for payment thereof shall be established by the Seimas Board.

Seimas members who do not have a place of residence in Vilnius or who have the right to state support for the acquisition of a place of residence in Vilnius, shall be provided, free of charge and together with their families, with a place of residence in Vilnius for the term of office. At the same time said members shall retain the right to use rented quarters in their permanent place of residence.

Seimas members who have the right to state support for the acquisition of a place of residence shall retain this right and may remain on the list to acquire state support.

Seimas members shall have the right to use all forms of state transportation within the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, with the exception of taxis, free of charge; they shall also have the right to acquire hotel rooms out of turn.

The Seimas member shall use diplomatic passports on trips abroad and Lithuanian diplomatic missions abroad must provide him with necessary assistance.

Article 17Upon expiration of the term of office and in the

cases specified in paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 8 of this Statute, Seimas members must be provided with the job or office which they held in state institutions, enterprises and organisations prior to the elections, except to be elected to governmental institutions and be a member of the Government, and if such is not possible due to the abolition of former office or the liquidation of the enterprise, institution, or organisation, the Seimas member shall be provided with another equivalent job or office in the same institution, enterprise, or organisation, or, if the Seimas members agrees, in another enterprise, institution, or organisation.

The period of parliamentary activity of Seimas members shall be included in the total length of service.

The election of Seimas members shall not interrupt membership in creative unions or in unions of free professions.

Article 18Persons and officers who prevent a Seimas member

from carrying out his or her powers, or who encroach upon the life health, honor, or dignity of a Seimas member as a representative of the people, shall be liable according to laws.

Chapter 4. Discipline and Immunity of Seimas Members

Article 19It shall be prohibited to use the mandate of the

Seimas member for purposes other than the interests of the Nation, State and the constituents.

This provision violating the activities of the Seimas member must be analysed by the Commission of Ethics and Procedures or a special investigation commission set up for this purpose and for the preparation of findings.

Article 20The Commission  of Ethics  and Procedures shall

analise the reasons for which the Seimas members are not participating during planned voting or voting taking place at a planned time and shall decide whether such reasons are 6 justifiable; The salaries of such Seimas members may be decreased according to the procedure established by the Seimas, and upon the decision of the Commission of Ethics and procedure, their names may be announced in the press.

Article 21If during  a sitting  a Seimas member begins to

argue with Seimas members or other participants in the sitting or creates a disturbance in the hall, he or she may be called to order by the officer presiding over the sitting.

If said persons does not heed the warning of the officer presiding over the sitting, the warning may be recorded in the minutes of the sitting. Warnings recorded in the minutes of the sitting may be immediately administered to the Seimas member as a public threat to colleagues, as assault of a Seimas member or a group thereof, or as dishonesty in voting or violation of the principle of personal voting.

Such warnings shall be administered by the officer presiding over the Seimas sitting or on the motion of the Commission of Ethics and Procedures without debate and by simple majority vote of the Seimas members participating in the sitting. A Seimas member to whom administration of such warning is proposed, shall have the right to explain his or her actions to the Seimas for a maximum of 3 minutes prior to the voting.

Article 22The Seimas  may temporarily  dismiss  a  Seimas

member from the chamber if he or she:

Decisions concerning the expulsion of a Seimas member from the chamber shall be adopted without debate and by simple majority vote of the members of the Seimas participating in the sitting on the proposal of the officer presiding over the sitting or of the Commission of Ethics and Procedures.

The term of temporary expulsion from the chamber shall be established by the Seimas in each case, but may not be more than 2 day of a sitting. If the term is not indicated, it shall be assumed that the Seimas member is expelled until the end of the sitting.

During the period of expulsion from the chamber, the expelled Seimas member may not participate in voting.

If a Seimas member who has been dismissed from the chamber refuses to heed the order, the sitting shall be temporarily interrupted and security officers shall escort said Seimas member to the chamber door. In such a case, the term of expulsion from the chamber may be extended for the period of 5 sittings.

Article 23The  person  of  a  Seimas  member  shall  be

inviolable.

A Seimas member may not be persecuted for his or her voting or speeches in the Seimas, however, legal actions may be instituted against Seimas members according to the general procedure if they are guilty of personal insult or slander.

A Seimas member may not be found criminally responsible, may not be arrested, and may not be subjected to any other restrictions of personal freedom without the consent of the Seimas, except in cases when he or she is caught in the act of committing a crime (in flagranti). In such cases the Prosecutor General must immediately notify the Seimas thereof.

A Seimas member who refuses to give evidence in a criminal case, shall, on the decision of the Seimas, be brought to court 7 to give evidence.

Article 24For  the  consideration  of  motions  of  the

Prosecutor General concerning the deprivation of the inviolability of the person of a Seimas member, an investigatory commission shall be formed according to the procedure provided for in Article 77 of this Statute. When investigating issues concerning the deprivation of the inviolability of the person of a Seimas member, the commission must hear said Seimas member or other Seimas member authorised thereby and a representative from the Prosecutor's Office.

After the investigatory commission has prepared and announced its note and the draft resolution, issues concerning the deprivation of the inviolability of the person of a Seimas member shall be included on the agenda of the next Seimas sitting.

Consideration of this issue, as well as of the submitted resolution, shall be limited only to the interpretation, assessment or definition of facts provided for in the motion.

Discussions concerning draft resolutions shall be attended by the reporter of the commission, the concerned Seimas member or another Seimas member representing him, and no more than two Seimas members who speak out "in favour" and two members who speak out "against" the draft resolution. If the draft resolution provides for the satisfaction of the motion of the Prosecutor General, it may be adopted if more than half of the Seimas members vote in favour of the draft.

Upon the receipt of the consent of the Seimas to institute criminal proceedings against a Seimas member, said Seimas member may not be arrested within the house of the Seimas.

PART 2

STRUCTURE OF THE SEIMAS

Chapter 5. General Issues of Structure

Article 25Sittings of the Seimas shall be presided over by

the Speaker of the Seimas or a Deputy Speaker. There shall be three Deputy Speakers. The competence of the Seimas Speaker and Deputy Speakers shall be defined by the Constitution and this Statute. The drafting of the Seimas documents and consideration of drafts shall be monitored by the Chancellor of the Seimas.

If a member of the Seimas who is elected Speaker or is serving as acting Speaker he or she must suspend all parliamentary group activities.

Article 26The Seimas shall form committees from among its

members for the consideration of draft laws and other issues assigned to its competence by the Constitution. The list of the committees shall be established by this Statute.

A Commission of Ethics and Procedure and an Administrative Commission shall be formed in the Seimas. For resolving short- term issues or issues of narrower scope and for carrying out concrete assignments, the Seimas may, from among its members, form investigative, control, auditing, preparatory, drafting and other ad hoc commissions.

The work of the committees and commissions shall be directed by the respective chairpersons thereof.

Article 27Members of  the Seimas  may form  parliamentary

groups according to the procedure established by this Statute for implementing their political goals. Parliamentary groups shall be headed and represented in the Seimas by Spokespersons or deputy Spokespersons; every member of the Seimas authorised by a parliamentary group may speak out on behalf of the group. The rights of parliamentary group members shall be established by this Statute. 8 Seimas members who have not been registered in parliamentary groups shall be considered as members of one mixed group of Seimas members. The mixed group of Seimas members shall be granted all of the rights of a parliamentary group provided for in this Statute.

Article 28The Seimas  shall have  a Board,  the principle

task whereof shall be to settle organisational issues of the work of the Seimas.

The Board of the Seimas shall consist of the Speaker, three Deputy Speakers, and the Chancellor of the Seimas.

Article 29An Assembly of Spokespersons, comprising of the

members of the Seimas Board and representatives of the parliamentary groups, shall be formed in the Seimas. Each parliamentary group shall appoint one representative for every ten members of the group. Groups consisting of less than ten members shall each appoint one representative to the Assembly of Spokespersons.

The principle task of the Assembly of Spokespersons shall be to consider and approve the work programmes of the Seimas session and the agendas of sittings, to coordinate issues concerning the organisation of the work of the Seimas Committees and groups, and to submit drafts of the decisions of said issues to the Seimas and the Board.

Chapter 6. The Seimas Speaker, Deputy Speakers, Chancellor,

and Board

Article 30The Speaker  of the  Seimas of  the Republic of

Lithuania shall:

Article 31In carrying  out his or her duties, the Speaker                                          9

of the Seimas shall issue decrees.

The Speaker of the Seimas, or, in the absence of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, may voice his or her opinion or the opinion of the Seimas Board on the issue under consideration out of turn, provided that he or she is not presiding over the sitting.

The Speaker of the Seimas, the Deputy Speakers and the Chancellor of the Seimas shall, during a session at least once a month, answer questions submitted in writing beforehand by members of the Seimas concerning the performance of their duties.

Article 32

At the behest of the Speaker of the Seimas, Deputy Speakers shall perform certain functions of the Speaker.

The Seimas Speaker may charge the Deputy Speaker to perform certain functions of the Seimas Chancellor in his or her absence, but for no longer than one week. The Seimas Board may determine the guidelines of the activities of the Deputy Speakers.

In the event that the Speaker of the Seimas is temporarily absent or has fallen ill and by reason thereof is unable to fulfill his or her duties of office, the duties of the Speaker of the Seimas, at the behest of the Seimas, shall be performed by one of the Deputy Speakers for a specified period.

If, in the cases specified in Article 89 of the Constitution, the Speaker of the Seimas is temporarily carrying out the duties of the President of the Republic, and as a result thereof has lost his or her powers in the Seimas, the duties of the Speaker of the Seimas shall be temporarily carried out by a Deputy Speaker at the behest of the Seimas.

Resolutions (preliminary or adopted for a concrete case) concerning the temporary performance of the duties of the Speaker of the Seimas or substituting the Speaker of the Seimas shall be adopted by the Seimas on the motion of the Seimas Speaker.

Article 33The Seimas Chancellor shall

Article 34The sittings  of  the  Seimas  Board  shall  be

convened and presided over by the Speaker of the Seimas.

Other members of the Seimas, as well as permanent representatives of the President of the Republic and the Government, may participate in the sittings of the Board as observers. Other individuals may also be invited to sittings of the Board.

Issues for consideration may be submitted to the Seimas Board by the Board members, committees, parliamentary groups, Administrative commission, Commission of Ethics and Procedure and the Head of Seimas Personnel.

Draft documents of the Seimas Board which are submitted for consideration shall be signed by their initiators and handed over to the Chancellor of the Seimas who shall prepare the agenda of the sitting based thereon.

Article 35Decisions of  the Seimas Board shall be adopted

by ordinary vote and simple majority of those in attendance, provided that the sitting of the Seimas Board is attended by at least three Board members. A tie vote shall be decided by the vote of the Speaker or, in the absence of the Speaker, of the Deputy Speaker who is presiding over the sitting.

The members of the Seimas shall be informed of the decisions of the Seimas Board through the committees and parliamentary groups within three working days from the day on which the decision was adopted during a session or within a week of the beginning of the next session.

Committees and parliamentary groups may submit proposals to the Seimas concerning the consideration of resolutions adopted by the Seimas Board which they disapprove of.

Article 36The Seimas Board shall

Chapter 4. Assembly of Seimas Spokespersons

Article 37During session, the sittings of the Assembly of

Spokespersons shall be organised regularly, usually twice a week at a time specially allocated for this purpose. Extraordinary sittings of the Assembly of Spokespersons shall be organised at the request of the Speaker of the Seimas, the Board, the Chairperson of the Assembly of Spokespersons, or at least 1/3 of the members of the Assembly of Spokespersons. The members of the Assembly of Spokespersons shall be given notice of the time and agenda of extraordinary sittings at least 6 hours prior to the beginning thereof.

Sittings of the Assembly of Spokespersons shall be chaired by the chairperson; the duties of the chairperson, according to the schedule approved by the Assembly of Spokespersons, shall be discharged in turn by the spokespersons of each parliamentary group for one week. The opening sitting of the Assembly of Spokespersons held during the first session shall be presided by the eldest parliamentary group spokesperson.

Article 38During  its   sittings,   the   Assembly   of

Spokespersons shall:

Article 39With the exception of resolutions concerning the

agendas of the forthcoming week- or day-long sittings, the resolutions of the Assembly of Spokespersons shall be consultative with regard to the Seimas and the Seimas Board.

Consultative resolutions of the Assembly of Spokespersons as well as resolutions concerning the organisation of the work of the Assembly itself shall be adopted by simple majority vote of the members of the Seimas taking part in the sitting. Resolutions concerning the draft work programme of the Seimas session, as well as draft agendas of the forthcoming week- or day- long sittings shall be adopted provided that they are opposed by no more than 1/3 of the member of the Assembly of Spokespersons participating in the sitting of the Assembly of Spokespersons. If any item of the agenda is adopted by majority vote, but is opposed by more than 1/3 of the members of the Assembly of Spokespersons, they shall be submitted to the Seimas as recommendations.

Resolutions of the sittings of the Assembly of Spokespersons shall be recorded in the minutes of the sitting, which shall be signed by the chairperson of the sitting of the Assembly of Spokespersons. 12 Questions for consideration ascribed to the competence of the Assembly of Spokespersons may be proposed and submitted to the Seimas Chancellor by the members of the Assembly of Spokespersons, the Government, as well as other members of the Seimas who submit draft laws. The draft agenda of sittings of the Assembly of Spokespersons shall be drawn up by the Chancellor of the Seimas according to such proposals.

Other members of the Seimas as well as permanent representatives of the President and Government may attend sittings of the Assembly of Spokespersons with the right of observers. Other individuals may also be invited to sittings of the Assembly of Spokespersons.

Chapter 8. Parliamentary Groups of the Seimas

Article 40Seimas members  shall form parliamentary groups

voluntarily, not restricted by any mandates. Parliamentary groups may not be established on the basis of professional or internal interests.

A parliamentary group shall consist of at least three Seimas members. A member of the Seimas may be a member of only one parliamentary group.

The spokesperson of the parliamentary group, deputy spokesperson or the member of the parliamentary group authorized by it shall have the right to represent in the Seimas such a part of the Seimas members, established by this Statute, which their parliamentary group forms in the Seimas.

Parliamentary groups shall establish their own working procedure, provided that it does not contradict this Statute.

Parliamentary groups may join into coalitions which may act as one parliamentary group.

Article 41Seimas members who wish to form a parliamentary

group shall present an application signed by them to the Seimas Speaker during the session. The name of the parliamentary group, as well as the names of the spokesperson and deputy spokespersons must be stated in this application.

If a parliamentary group formed by Seimas members complies with the requirements of this Statute, the Seimas Speaker must within one week announce the establishment of this parliamentary group at the Seimas sitting.

The Seimas Speaker shall be notified in writing of any changes in the composition, leadership, or name of a parliamentary group, of the termination of the activities of a parliamentary group or of its breakts -up, as well as of formation of the coalition of the parliamentary groups no later than on the following working day; the Seimas Speaker shall announce such information at the next Seimas sitting.

Article 42Parliamentary groups  or their coalitions which

disagree with the Governmental programme may declare themselves opposition parliamentary groups.

To this effect, opposition parliamentary groups or their coalitions shall proclaim in the Seimas political declarations where the provisions distinguishing them from the parliamentary majority shall be set forth. Opposition parliamentary groups or their coalitions shall announce alternative Governmental programmes.

Opposition parliamentary groups or their coalitions shall be guaranteed all the rights of parliamentary groups or coalitions which are provided for in this Statute. No reason may provide for the restriction of such rights.

The spokesperson of one parliamentary group constituting a part of an opposition coalition may be elected the leader of the 13 opposition coalition; the Seimas shall be given a public notice of such election.

PART 3

COMMITTEES and COMMISSIONS of the SEIMAS

Chapter 9. Seimas Committees and the Procedure for

the Establishment thereof

Article 43Committees of  the Seimas  of the  Republic  of

Lithuania shall be formed during the first session.

At the beginning of each regular session, reports on the work of the committee shall be heard, and, as necessary, changes in the membership of the committee shall be made by adhering to the principle of proportional representation of the majority and the minority ( opposition and other parliamentary groups other than the Seimas majority and mixed parliamentary groups) or committees shall be formed anew.

Article 44Committees shall  be made  up of no less than 7

and no more than 17 members of the Seimas according to the proportional principle of representation. The exact number of members of each committee shall be determined by a decision of the Seimas. Seats in the committees shall be distributed among parliamentary groups during the Assembly of the Spokespersons.

The minority ( the opposition and parliamentary groups other than the Seimas majority and mixed parliamentary groups) shall distribute among themselves seats in the committees, according to the number of seats approved by Assembly of the Spokespersons.

Parliamentary groups, taking into consideration the requests and competence of their members, shall recommend to the committees as many members as they are accorded seats as well as the same number of alternate committee members. Applications of parliamentary groups bearing the signatures of recommended Seimas members shall be submitted to the Seimas Chancellor.

Each parliamentary group shall submit its candidates to the alternate members of the committees having registered them in numerical order.

The members and alternate members of committees shall be approved by the Seimas by voting for the entire list of the members and alternate members of the committee. If the list is not approved, the entire procedure shall begin anew.

Article 45When  a   member  of  a  committee  does  not

participate in a sitting of the committee, all of the said member's rights shall be given to the alternate member of the committee of the same parliamentary group who is the first in the list of alternate members.

The Seimas member who is substituting for a member of his parliamentary group in a given committee may not serve as the chairperson or vice-chairperson of that committee while doing so.

Article 46Committees shall  elect their  chairpersons and

deputy chairpersons. Committee chairpersons and deputy chairpersons shall be approved by the Seimas.

In the event that the Seimas does not approve the proposed candidate, the committee must select another candidate. Usually the committee chairperson and deputy chairperson are elected from the representatives of different parliamentary groups, and the total number of chairpersons and deputy chairpersons of the committees accorded to the majority and the minority must be in proportion to the number of Seimas members belonging to them.

Members of the Seimas Board, members of the Seimas and the Government, and commission chairpersons and deputy chairpersons may not serve as a committee chairpersons or deputy chairpersons.

When a committee is being reorganised, the chairperson and 14 deputy chairperson of the committee shall be reelected. A committee may reelect the chairperson or deputy chairperson at any other time by applying to the Seimas for approval of the new chairperson or deputy chairperson. In the event that the Seimas does not approve the new chairperson or deputy chairperson, the former chairperson shall remain, and the committee may only apply to the Seimas concerning the same issue during the next regular session.

Article 47

For the execution of their main duties, committees may form subcommittees from their members.

Subcommittee must comprise at least 5 members. Subcommittee chairpersons shall be elected by the committee.

The regulations of the subcommittees shall be approved by the committees.

Article 48The following  committees shall be appointed in

the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania:

Chapter 10. Powers and Procedure of the Seimas Committees

Article 49The trends  of activities  of committees of the

Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, as well as their powers and procedure shall be established by this Statute and other laws of the Republic of Lithuania.

Seimas committees shall report and be accountable to the Seimas.

During the time established to discuss and present findings on matters given to them for consideration, committees must perform other tasks assigned to them by the Seimas.

The activities of the committees shall be coordinated by the Chairperson and Chancellor of the Seimas in accordance with the session work programmes and committee work plans.

Article 50The main  powers of the committees with respect

to issues within their competence are:

Article 51In discussing  issues  that  are  within  their

competence, the committees shall have equal rights and responsibilities, and shall be responsible for the timely discussion of certain laws, for the initiation of the preparation of these laws, and the commission of detailed conclusions relative to draft laws.

Issues which are within the competence of several committees may be prepared and discussed by these committees jointly on their own initiative or at the behest of the Seimas or its Board.

For this purpose they may set up joint working groups, hold joint committee sittings which shall be presided over by the chairpersons of these committees in succession.

Committees shall have the right to submit proposals to the Seimas or its Board concerning the passing over of the issues under discussion to another committee for consideration.

Committees shall have the right to present their comments on issues discussed by another committee, as well as to ask another committee to present its conclusions, which must be submitted within 15 days.

Article 52The committees of the Seimas of the Republic of

Lithuania shall work according to committee-approved plans which must be coordinated with the work program of the session of the Seimas. Responsible executers and the terms of implementation shall be indicated in these work plans. Committee work plans and the agenda of the sittings shall be publicly announced and distributed to the Chairperson of the Seimas, the Chancellor, and the subdivisions of the Seimas apparatus.

Committees may confirm the rules of their procedure provided that they do not contradict this statute.

Article 53Committee members  shall have  the right  of  a

decisive vote on all issues within the committee's jurisdiction.

Committee members shall also have the right to propose issues for consideration, and to participate in the preparation and consideration thereof; to propose to invite necessary persons to committee sittings; to submit proposals concerning the inspection of state institutions and the hearing of their information. Committee members shall have the right to get acquainted with all documents and material belonging to the committee and, as necessary, to make use of them in their work.

Article 54The chairperson of the committee shall

At the behest of the chairperson of the committee, a vice- chairperson shall discharge certain functions of the chairperson.

The vice-chairperson shall fill in for the chairperson when the chairperson cannot discharge his or her functions because of temporary absence or illness.

Article 55Committee  sittings  shall  be  organized  as

necessary during sessions, but at least once a week and normally on Wednesdays. Committee sittings shall not be organized during sittings of the Seimas. Between ordinary sessions of the Seimas, there shall normally be one-month adjournments in the work of the committees, although committees may have sitting between sessions as necessary.

Committee sittings shall be called on the initiative of the committee chairperson or of more than one third of the committee members, or upon the instruction of the Seimas or the Board.

Committees may have closed sittings.

Article 56Committee sittings shall be presided over by the

chairperson of the committee or by a deputy chairperson upon the instruction of the chairperson. Prior to the Seimas's approval of a committee chairperson, sittings shall be presided over by the eldest member of the committee. In committee sittings, including closed sittings, members of the Seimas who are not members of the committee may participate with the right of deliberative vote.

The committees may invite to their sittings other members of the Seimas, as well as members of municipal councils, representatives of ministries, other state institutions, public organisations and other necessary persons having coordinated it with heads of these institutions.

Article 57The sittings  of the  Committee shall be deemed                                          17

lawful when more than half of the committee members are present at the sitting.

Committee decisions shall be adopted by open, simple majority vote of the committee members participating in the sitting. In the event of a tie vote, the vote of the chairperson of the committee shall be decisive.

If the committee minority, which consists of at least three Seimas members, expresses a separate opinion concerning an issue discussed by the committee, this opinion must be announced together with the decision of the committee.

Decisions shall be adopted in joint sittings of several committees if each committee expresses their support for the decision.

Committee decisions and conclusions shall be presented to the Seimas in writing.

Article 58For state  institutions, decisions  adopted  by

Committees shall be recommendatory. When sending their recommendations and proposals to state institutions, Committees shall inform the Seimas Board about this and, if necessary - the Government.

Upon receipt of recommendations and proposals of Seimas Committees, state institutions, except courts, shall have to consider them. The Committees must be informed about the results of such consideration and measures which have been taken within 15 days from the receipt of the proposals or within other period of time established by the Committees.

Article 59The Committees  shall have the right to control

due to their competence how laws of the Republic of Lithuania are observed and recommendations and proposals of the Committees are taken into consideration.

They shall also have the right to invite heads or representatives of state institutions, except courts, to their sittings at a time coordinated with them and to hear their information.

If a Committee decides that it is necessary to hear the information of a Government representative, it shall address the Seimas Speaker who informs the Prime Minister about it. In this event, a Government representative shall have to participate in the Committee sitting.

The Committees shall have the right due to their competence to demand and obtain from state institutions, except courts, and officers documents, conclusions in writing, as well as reports and other necessary material.

Article 60The Committee shall make reports during sittings

of the Seimas on issues which it prepared or was the principal Committee while examining them and shall make supplemental reports on issues which were referred to the Committee for examination. For this purpose, the Committee shall appoint, from among their members, speakers or supplementary speakers.

Committee members shall participate in discussions on all other issues according to general procedure.

Concerning issues which were jointly prepared and examined by several committees, committees may either make joint reports and supplementary reports or may present observations and proposals separately.

Article 61For   the   preparation   of   issues   under

consideration committees may, from their members, form preparatory working groups. Included in these working groups may be other Seimas members, representatives of state institutions and public organizations, experts and scholars, upon the consent thereof. Funds for the activities of such groups shall be allotted from an approved estimate of expenditure of the 18 committee. If funds are not sufficient, the committee shall apply to the Seimas Board.

The Committees shall have the right to propose to make contracts with employees who assist in Committee activities, but not exceeding the estimate of expenditure allotted to them.

Chapter 11. Trends of Activities of the Seimas Committees

Article 62The trends  of activities  of the  Committee on

Agriculture shall be:

Article 63The trends  of activities  of the  Committee on

Budget and Finance shall be:

Article 64The trends  of activities  of the  Committee on

Economics shall be:

Article 65The trends  of activities  of the  Committee on

Environmental Protection shall be:

Article 66The trends  of activities  of the  Committee on

National Security shall be:

Article 67The trends  of activities  of the  Committee on

Local Governments shall be:

Article 68The trends  of activities  of the  Committee on

Health, Social Affairs and Labor shall be:

Article 69The trends  of activities  of the  Committee on

Education, Science and Culture shall be:

Article 70The trends  of activities  of the  Committee on

Foreign Affairs shall be:

Article 71The trends of the activities of the Committee on

State and Law shall be:

Article 72The trends  of activities  of the  Committee on

Human and Citizens' Rights and Nationalities Affairs shall be:

Chapter 12. Seimas Commissions

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Article 73A standing  Commission on  Ethics and Procedure

shall be formed in the Seimas to which at least 1/10 of the Seimas members may recommend one representative. Proposals relative to the candidates to that commission shall be submitted in writing to the Chancellor of the Seimas. Upon rejecting the first and second candidate proposed by the same Seimas members, the third shall become a commission member without approval from the Seimas.

The Seimas shall approve the chairperson and deputy chairperson of the Commission on Ethics and Procedure from among its members.

Article 74The trend  of activities  of the  Commission on

Ethics and Procedure shall be:

Article 75In  the   Seimas  a  standing  administrative

commission shall be formed dealing with working and living conditions of the Seimas members and other matters relative thereto.

Administrative commission shall be formed according to the provisions set forth in Article 77 of this Statute.

The Seimas Chancellor shall be on this commission and shall head it ex officio.

Article 76The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, having

acknowledged the necessity to do so, may form research, control, auditing, preparatory, editing, and other temporary commissions to investigate or prepare any given issue or to carry out other assignments of the Seimas.

If a commission's authorization period is not clearly defined during the time of formation, the activities of the commission shall be discontinued by a resolution of the Seimas once the given tasks have been carried out. 23 The Seimas shall also form inter-parliamentary relations groups and parliamentary delegations in international organizations and forums which shall have the same rights thereof.

Article 77In forming  an ad  hoc  commission,  first  the

number of members of the commission shall be established.

Thereafter, the norms for proportional representation of parliamentary groups shall be established, as well as the term for candidacy proposals of commissions members. The minority shall distribute among themselves the number of seats assigned to them. If the compiled list of committee members is not sufficient, committees may each orally propose one additional candidate during the sitting, and after them each Seimas member may do so until the number of candidates is sufficient.

Each of the proposed candidates must give oral consent to participate in the work of the commission. The Seimas shall vote for the entire list of commission members formed in such a way.

If the list is not approved, the procedure shall be repeated.

When candidates are nominated to a commission during a Seimas sitting not according to the norms allocated to parliamentary group, those for whom at least two Seimas members express doubt shall be voted for individually. If the number of candidates nominated to a commission during a sitting is greater than the established number of commission members and all of the nominated candidates agree to work in the commission, there shall be an open-ballot vote with the list of candidates.

In certain cases, the Seimas may establish another procedure for the formation of commissions, although commissions may never be formed by representatives of one parliamentary group or one region.

Article 78If the  term of  office of a commission is more

than six months, a commission chairperson and deputy chairperson shall be elected and approved according to the procedure established for the committees. The chairperson and deputy chairperson of a commission may not be members of the Seimas Board, members of the Government, or chairpersons or deputy chairpersons of any other commission or committee. This restriction is not applicable to inter-parliamentary relations groups or parliamentary delegations.

As a rule, the Seimas Board shall o approve the estimate of expenditure of a commission and to resolve other issues which are related to its activities.

If the Seimas does not resolve otherwise, commissions, during their period of authorization, shall observe the rules of committee procedure. If the authorization period of a commission is longer than six months, it shall have all of the rights and duties of a committee, with the exception of the right to consider candidatures of Seimas officials or propose that they be cancelled.

PART 4

SESSIONS OF THE SEIMAS

Chapter 13. The First Session of the Seimas

Article 79The Seimas  shall be  deemed elected  after the

Central Electoral Commission announces 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 next day after the expiration of the 15-day period. 24 As a rule, the opening sitting of the newly-elected Seimas shall open at 12 o'clock noon in the building of the Seimas.

Article 80The 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.

Three Deputy Speakers and the Chancellor of the Seimas shall thereafter be elected.

Article 81Upon the  commencement of  the first session of

the Seimas, time shall be assigned for the formation of parliamentary groups and the Assembly of Spokespersons.

Thereafter, as a rule, the Seimas, in the following order, shall:

Chapter 14. General Issues of Session Organisation

Article 82The Seimas shall meet biannually in two regular

sessions (spring and autumn). The spring session shall open on March 10 and shall close on June 30. The autumn session shall open on September 10 and close on December 23. 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 without a separate invitation.

Article 83Extraordinary 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 provided for in Articles 142 and 144 of the Constitution, by the President of the Republic. The Seimas Board must notify all of the Seimas members of extraordinary sessions 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 work programme of extraordinary sessions shall be approved by the Seimas. The duration of extraordinary sessions may not exceed 15 days. Between extraordinary sessions the Seimas shall adjourn for at least 10 days.

Article 84Sessions 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 85The 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 25 members.

The Secretariat of Seimas sittings shall:

Chapter 15. Session Work Programmes and Sitting Agendas

Article 86The 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 Seimas sittings 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 President of the Republic and the Government.

The draft of the session work programme shall be considered by the Assembly of Spokespersons 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 Part 2 of Article 39 of this Statute. The draft, along with the amendments and supplements and the recommendations made by the Assembly of Spokespersons, shall be submitted to the Seimas for debate.

At the first session after the election, the Seimas shall, as a rule, consider and approve the work programme at the time specified in Article 81 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 vote at the Seimas according to the same procedure as the articles of laws during their passing.

Article 87In 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 26 submit it to the Assembly of Spokespersons for debate. Proposals shall be submitted by members of the Board, members of the Assembly of Spokespersons, 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 without voting in the agenda 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 19 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 Spokespersons shall decide at its sitting whether or not to approve each item of the presented agenda in accordance with the procedure established in Part 2 of Article 39 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 Spokespersons 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 sitting.

Article 88Draft agenda  of a  week's sittings approved at

the Assembly of Spokespersons shall be put to the vote at the Seimas sitting without preliminary discussion thereon.

The items of the agenda presented as recommendations by the Assembly of Spokespersons as well as the entire draft agenda, provided that it was not approved by vote at the Seimas, may be discussed at sittings of the Seimas. In such a case, proposals may be submitted by the Seimas Board members, committees, parliamentary groups, and the Government.

If, for some reason, the Assembly of Spokespersons 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 Part 2 hereof shall be applied.

Article 89At the  written 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 90In 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 day preceding the sitting. In the event that the draft agenda of a day's sitting is approved at the Assembly of Spokespersons, the agenda shall be considered in accordance with the procedure established in Article 88. In the contrary case, members of the Seimas Board, committees, parliamentary groups and the Government may present additional proposals but on condition they adhere to the approved agenda of a week's sittings. 27

Article 91The Seimas Board, the Assembly of Spokespersons

and the Government shall have the right to propose to include additional issues in the adopted agenda of a week's or a day's sittings. Such a proposal may be adopted provided that it is voted for by the majority of the Seimas members present at the sitting. In the event that such a proposal is not approved, it may be repeatedly presented only the next day.

Article 92

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 week's sittings. On the decision of the Seimas, a discussion may follow such a report.

Chapter 16. Sittings of the Seimas

Article 93The 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 they notify the Secretariat of Seimas sittings thereof no later than before 6 hours; the Secretariat must see to it that translation is provided.

Article 94As a rule, 4 sittings a week -- 2 on Tuesday and

2 on Thursday -- shall be held during the Seimas session, whereas every 3 weeks plenary sittings of the Seimas shall be adjourned for a week.

On Thursday, the evening sitting shall be assigned to the Government, interpellations, as well as to replies to the questions of Seimas members given by Seimas officers, heads of State institutions, with the exception of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court.

On other days of the week and in the week when no plenary sittings are held, sittings of the Seimas Board, the Assembly of Spokespersons, 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.

Article 95The last  half  hour  of  every  day's  evening

sitting shall be assigned for the statements of the Seimas members on urgent issues of electoral areas or state or international problems. Persons desiring to speak shall submit to the Seimas Chancellor a written request during the sitting of the previous days giving a brief characterisation of the issue they would like to speak about. The Secretariat of Seimas sittings shall generalise the requests and present them to the Chancellor.

The Chancellor shall prepare a supplement to the agenda of the sitting specifying those wishing to speak and the problems put forward by them. No discussion shall be held on the statements.

The Seimas may without discussion approve the speaker's proposal to charge an appropriate Seimas committee or commission to investigate the problem.

The agendas of every third Thursday evening sitting shall be drawn up by the parliamentary groups of the opposition. A week before the opening of such sitting 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 96The morning  sitting of  the Seimas  shall as a                                          28

rule be held from 10.00 a.m. and the afternoon sitting -- from 3.00 p.m..

The Seimas members shall be registered at the beginning of every sitting and before the voting planned in advance.

Article 97A sitting  which is  not provided  for  in  the

week's work programme must be held provided that its is requested by the President of the Republic or 1/3 of the Seimas members or 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 no later than 6 hours before the opening of the sitting inform the Seimas members in the manner established by the Seimas Board of the sitting and the issues proposed for discussion.

Article 98Sittings of the Seimas shall be presided over by

the Seimas Speaker or a Deputy Speaker.

The person presiding over the Seimas sitting:

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Article 99As a  rule, the sittings of the Seimas shall be

public. 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 state their opinion during discussions where issues connected with their work are considered. Signatories of the Act "On the Re-establishment of the State of Lithuania" of 11 March 1990, permanent representatives of the President of the Republic and the Government may attend the sittings as observers.

Participation of other persons in the sittings is established in Articles 100 and 101 of this Statute.

On the decision of the Seimas as well as at the request of 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 personnel of the Secretariat of sittings. The Seimas Board, the Government, parliamentary groups and committees shall have the right to propose to hold a closed sitting; a substantiation of the proposal shall be requisite.

Article 100The Seimas  Speaker or  the Seimas  Board  may

invite the most prominent 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 the sittings. Other distinguished guests may invited as observers of the sittings of a session.

Article 101Open 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 102The 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 103All 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.

Speaking during sittings shall be allowed only on the permission of the presiding officer.

Article 104As  a  rule,  one  principal  report  and  one

additional report shall be made on every issue on the agenda. 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 or a committee shall be granted up to 10 minutes; speaking on behalf on a parliamentary group - up to 7 minutes, and speeches said on behalf of the speaker himself shall be given up to 5 minutes.

After reports, during the presentation of the draft, time for answering questions shall be allocated in the manner 30 established in this Statute. 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 105Registration 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 by submitting applications to the Secretariat of sittings.

Article 106Time allotted  for discussion on each issue on

the agenda shall be, as a rule, divided in half to the members of the majority and minority. In the event that representatives either of the majority or the minority do not use up the time allotted to them, the discussion shall be shortened.

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". 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 107The 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 no less than 1/5 of the Seimas members or a representative named by a Committee 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 108During 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.

Speaking on issues concerning procedure, termination of debate, or postponement or rejection of an issue shall have precedence over the issue under consideration. In said cases, members shall be granted the floor for no longer than 2 minutes after the speaker has finished his or her speech. In the cases specified in the Statute, a vote must be taken after such speeches. 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.

31

Article 109Debates 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 without holding a discussion thereon 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 107 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 110In discussing each issue, the Seimas shall take

an unscheduled recess of no less than half an hour and 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, the principal committee, or a parliamentary group so requests and the request is supported by no less than 1/3 Seimas members present at the sitting. 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.

Article 111If 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 17. Voting and Vote Calculation

Article 112Voting 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. 32

Article 113After the  discussion, the  presiding  officer

shall announce the commencement of the voting procedure by word and while adopting a law or other act of the Seimas - by banging the gavel as well. The presiding officer must also inform the Seimas members of the number of votes required for the decision to be adopted.

Walking in the chamber during voting shall be prohibited. No issues shall be discussed until the voting procedure is completed, the floor shall be granted only on the motives and methods of voting, except for the time that the results of the voting by roll call or by ballot are being counted.

Article 114Laws 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, with the exception of special cases provided for in the Constitution and this Statute.

In voting on the resolutions of the Seimas (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 Seimas 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."

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.

Article 115

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 and this requirement is supported by no less than 1/3 of all Seimas members present at the sitting. Such a request may be submitted by the representative 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 116Issues concerning  the election  of the Seimas

Speaker, deputy Speakers, Seimas Chancellor, non-confidence in the Government, the Prime Minister or an individual minister, non-confidence in any officer of the Seimas or dismissal of the head of a state institution appointed by the Seimas shall be voted on only by secret ballot. On the decision of the Seimas, other personnel issues 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. 33 There must be a secret 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 voting booth.

Article 117Voting 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 118A 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, or the removal from his post of an officer.

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 119One 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 120The 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 34 if those who made the proposals do not object.

Article 121Votes may  be explained  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 four Seimas members may explain their votes "for" and no more than four -- "against". In other cases, no more than one Seimas members may explain their votes "for" and no more than one -- "against".

Article 122When 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 123The 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, Spokespersons 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. Upon the decision of the presiding officer or the request of a parliamentary group which is supported by no less than 1/3 of Seimas members present at the sitting, the voting which took place before the declaration of non-confidence may be repeated.

Article 124The 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 125Before another item on the agenda has begun to

be discussed, 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 and the request thereof is supported by no less than 1/3 of Seimas members present at the sitting. This may be requested if the issue put up to vote was not properly and clearly formulated.

Chapter 18. Official Registration and Announcement of Seimas

Documents

Article 126Minutes 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