adopted during sittings shall be recorded in the minutes.
\nSupplementary materials (data concerning the registration of Seimas members, results of voting by roll call, statements of Seimas members, etc.) shall be appended to the minutes.
\nMinutes shall be distributed to Committees and parliamentary groups no later than the next workday after the sitting.
\nSeimas members may state their claims concerning the minutes at the end of the first Seimas sitting of the next day. If there 35 are disputable questions, the Seimas shall adopt a decision thereon by simple majority vote of the voting members after a short explanation has been given by the officer who presided over the previous sitting.
\ncompile and publish verbatim records of the Seimas sittings.
\nTheir originals shall not be edited and shall be preserved in the Documentation Department. Tape-recordings of the Seimas sittings shall be preserved in the Documentation Department for a period of at least one month.
\nMembers of the Seimas and other persons who were granted the floor during a sitting shall have the right to check, within a fortnight after the Seimas sitting, the verbatim records of their speeches edited for publication. Upon checking the text against the tape-recording, they may revise the edited version of the verbatim record of their speech provided that they do not change the essence of the speech. If the speaker does not present any claims concerning the text of the verbatim record, it shall be assumed that he or she agrees with the text.
\nIn the event of disputes or misunderstandings concerning the edited text of a verbatim record, a decision thereon shall be adopted by the presiding officer of the respective sitting.
\nbe published; only members of the Seimas shall have access thereto. The Seimas Chancellor shall preserve the verbatim records of closed sittings and shall create conditions for Seimas members to familiarize themselves with said records. A speech of a Seimas member may be publicly quoted or comment on from the verbatim record of a closed sitting only with his or her consent.
\nSeimas Board and Assembly of Spokespersons; no verbatim records shall be taken of the above sittings. Participants in the sitting, issues which are discussed, speakers, adopted resolutions, and voting results shall be listed in the minutes.
\nThe minutes shall be signed by the chairperson of that sitting.
\nSeimas members shall familiarize themselves with said minutes through Committees and parliamentary groups.
\nminutes at their own sittings. Committee and commission resolutions, conclusions, and minutes of sittings shall be signed by the respective chairperson.
\nThe minutes of sittings of committees and commissions are official internal documents which may only be used by members of the Seimas. Other persons may use these minutes only with the consent of the chairperson of the Committee or commission. Upon the completion of the calendar year, the minutes of sittings and other documents of Committees and commissions shall be preserved in the Committees or commission for the period of a year; thereafter they shall be transferred to the Seimas archives.
\nAll documents of ad hoc commissions must be transferred to the Seimas archives within 10 days of the expiration of the authorized period of said commission.
\nsubmitted for public consideration shall be published in the press using State funds. In publishing such drafts, the names of the persons who prepared and initiated them must be indicated.
\nDraft laws given over to be published must be signed by the chairperson of the Committee to which the draft was given for preparation as well as by the Seimas Chancellor.
\n36
\nRepublic to be signed, adopted laws of the Republic of Lithuania and other acts of the Seimas shall, together with the visas of the chairperson of the Committee which prepared the draft and of the Seimas Chancellor, as well as of the officer who presided over the sitting whereat the act was adopted if the sitting was not presided over by the Seimas Speaker, be presented to the Seimas Speaker to be given a visa or to be signed.
\nAdopted laws which have a visa from the Seimas Speaker shall immediately be given to the President of the Republic to be signed.
\nThe Seimas Speaker shall sign acts adopted by the Seimas Board after they have been given a visa by the Seimas Chancellor.
\nUpon signing an act, the Seimas Speaker shall transfer said act to the Seimas Chancellor to be promulgated.
\ndocuments of the Seimas shall be promulgated and shall become effective pursuant to the Law \"On the Procedure for Promulgating and Enforcing the Laws of the Republic of Lithuania and other Legal Acts.\"
\nLaws of the Republic of Lithuania signed by the President of the Republic as well as resolutions of the Seimas shall be sent to the Government, the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the State Controller, and, as necessary, to heads of other State institutions as well as to local governments within 3 working days after their signing.
\nhave two seals with the Lithuanian State emblem - the great seal which is 38 mm in diameter, and the small seal which is 27 mm in diameter. The Seimas Chancellor shall be responsible for the use and preservation of the Seimas seals.
\nThe great seal of the Seimas with the Lithuanian State emblem shall be imprinted on the laws, resolutions and other official documents of the Seimas, as well as on documents, international treaties and other documents signed by the Seimas Speaker which are sent to institutions of State power and government of foreign states.
\nThe small seal of the Seimas with the Lithuanian State emblem shall be imprinted on the identification certificates and other documents signed by the Seimas Speaker, his or her deputies, or the Seimas Chancellor.
\nthe Seimas Chancellor shall have the right to speak on behalf of the Seimas. The Seimas may also authorize heads of delegations to the international organizations who are appointed by the Seimas and a Speaker's Spokesperson for the press appointed by the Seimas Board to speak on behalf of the Seimas.
\nChairpersons of Seimas Committee, their deputies, and authorised Committee members may speak on behalf of their respective Committees.
\nregularly prepare coverage of open sittings of the Seimas. On the resolution of the Seimas, separate sittings shall be broadcast in full on the radio and television at a time acceptable by the Lithuanian Radio and Television. In disputable cases, issues shall be resolved by the Seimas at the request of parliamentary groups.
\nAccredited journalists shall be supplied with documents which are necessary for their job by the Seimas information and analysis service.
\n37
\nSeimas, the Seimas Board, and the Assembly of Spokespersons shall be prepared and announced by the Seimas information and analysis service and shall be signed by the presiding officer.
\nThe state mass media, when publishing or broadcasting coverage of Seimas sittings, shall also announce an official report on these sittings. (Amended 12 October 1993)
\na rule, prepare reports for the mass media on the decisions adopted by the respective committee and shall present said reports to the Seimas information and analysis service. Broad casting or coverage of sittings of the Seimas Board, the Assembly of Spokespersons, Committees, commissions and parliamentary groups shall be made only with the consent of the chief officer of the respective group.
\nSeimas, Committees or parliamentary groups shall be distributed by the Secretariat of the sittings. The documents must be registered at the Secretariat of the sittings and must be signed by at least one member of the Seimas. The procedure for submitting, registering and distributing drafts of laws and other standard acts shall be established in Chapter 19 of this Statute.
\nInformation concerning the activities of the Seimas shall be prepared and, as necessary, presented to the Seimas members by the Seimas information and analysis service.
\nLEGISLATIVE PROCEDURE
\nActs
\nof other acts of the Seimas, as well as the proposals concerning the enactment thereof, shall be submitted to the Seimas for consideration by the institutions and persons who, pursuant to the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, have the right of legislative initiative. Submitted drafts and proposals must be signed by representatives of the initiators thereof.
\nA supporting explanation shall be submitted together with the draft law wherein, as a rule, the following shall be set forth:
\nIf the initiators of the draft law cannot present a supporting explanation, they may apply to the Seimas Chancellor with a request that the Legal Department assist in the drawing up of the explanation or that they be permitted to submit the draft without a supporting explanation.
\nFindings of criminological examinations concerning the possible influence of the adoption of the law on the criminogenic situation shall be submitted together with the draft law. The preparation of the findings of criminological examination shall be organised by the Ministry of Justice at the request of the initiators of the draft.
\nAs a rule, draft laws concerning the amendment, supplement, or repeal of other laws which are requisite upon the enactment of the proposed draft law as well as, if necessary, the draft resolution regarding the procedure of implementing the law, shall be submitted together with the draft law.
\nThe requirements set forth in this Chapter, with the exception of the requirement concerning the supporting explanation, shall apply to the drafts of all laws and standard acts of the Seimas (in this Chapter all of the above drafts shall hereinafter be referred to as draft laws), with the exception of special cases provided for in this Statute.
\nregistered in the register of draft laws and proposals received by the Secretariat of the Seimas sittings. When registering, a standard title page of the draft and a form shall be filled in, all of the persons who prepared or initiated the draft shall be specified, and the documentation presented thereby shall be itemised. The draft shall be indexed in accordance with the classifier of the areas of legislation.
\nDuring the consideration and further preparation of a draft, all new versions thereof as well as the conclusions, amendments and supplements which have been put forward and the names of the persons who submitted them, shall be presented to and registered by the Secretariat of the sittings. All of the above shall be executed as a cover letter of the draft and shall be distributed together with the draft and the supporting explanation.
\nThe Legal Department shall furnish conclusions on the registered draft law, stating whether or not the draft is in conformity with the laws which are already in effect, and whether or not it corresponds to the technical rules of law-making. If the scope of the draft is broad, the Seimas Chancellor shall have the right to extend this term. Together with the above conclusions, the registered draft law shall be handed over to the Seimas Chancellor.
\nThe Seimas Chancellor shall, within 3 days, refer the draft law together with the supporting explanation and conclusions of the Legal Department to the committees, parliamentary groups, the Government and the Office of the President of the Republic and, as necessary, to appropriate local governments. All members of the Seimas shall also be notified of the draft by a special bulletin.
\ntogether with amendments to the Constitution, both drafts may be considered concurrently; however, a vote shall first be taken on the Constitutional amendments in accordance with the procedure for amending the Constitution. Drafts of laws on the amendment, supplement or repeal of other laws requisite upon the adoption of 39 the proposed draft law shall also be discussed together with said draft law.
\nIf several alternative drafts of one law have been received, they shall be concurrently considered prior to and during the discussion at the sitting of the Seimas, and one of said drafts shall be selected.
\nCommittees to make a preliminary analysis of the draft law or to propose that the Government prepare its conclusions. The Seimas Board may also form a special working group of Seimas members, representatives of State institutions, experts, and scientists to prepare a draft law for consideration in the Seimas.
\nreferred for preliminary consideration and for presenting conclusions, must establish:
\nreferred for consideration and which must present conclusions shall present a written evaluation thereof in accordance with the criteria set forth in Article 144 of this Chapter. Refusal to approve a draft must be substantiated.
\nApproval may be expressed in the three ways: without any comments, with specific comments, or on the condition that certain amendments shall be made to the draft. In the last case, concretely formulated amendments may be proposed.
\nDuring a session of the Seimas, the committees must prepare their conclusions within 10 days. The initiators of the draft shall be notified of the conclusions.
\nThe Committee which is performing additional examination of a draft law may also express its opinion at the sitting of the principal committee which is conducting the examination of the draft law upon delegating its representative to the sitting.
\nlaws for consideration in the Seimas if the Seimas Committee on State and Law comes to the conclusion that the laws are not in conformity with the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and no draft amendments to the Constitution have been presented in the established manner. In the event that the same draft law or another draft law of analogous content has been rejected by the Seimas within the last 6 months, the draft shall not be accepted for repeat consideration.
\nDraft laws submitted by entities who are not vested with the right of legislative initiative shall be registered, but shall not be forwarded for consideration; however, competent committees shall be familiarized therewith. 40 In all of the above cases, drafts with a corresponding visa of the Seimas Chancellor shall be returned to the Secretariat of the sittings; at the Secretariat, the draft shall be recorded in the register of rejected draft laws and proposals and shall thereafter be sent to the archives. An announcement to this effect must be made at the Seimas sitting, and the person who presented the draft must be notified thereof.
\nright to recall said draft before it is considered at a sitting of the Seimas. Said persons must immediately notify the Seimas Chancellor of the decision, and the Chancellor must notify the Seimas. In such an case, a copy of the draft law shall be left with the principal Committee and the Legal Department.
\nHowever, in the event that the recalled draft law is officially supported and submitted no later than the next day by another entity vested with the right of legislative initiative, the consideration procedure of such draft shall be continued. The above provision shall not be applied to drafts of laws submitted by the President or Government of the Republic.
\nActs at Sittings of the Seimas
\nrepresentative thereof shall be invited to attend the sitting of the Seimas where the draft is presented. Said representative shall give a brief (maximum of 10 minutes) characterisation of the draft and shall answer questions of the Seimas members.
\nThereafter, the presiding officer shall familiarize the members with the conclusions of the Legal Department and also of the Government, provided that such conclusions have been received, and shall propose that a vote be taken on the proposals.
\nThe Seimas must decide whether or not to include in the work programme of the session the draft laws which have not yet been included therein and to commence the procedure of consideration and commence the procedure of consideration, whether or not to reject the draft, and whether or not to postpone consideration.
\nIf the Seimas decides to commence the procedure of consideration, a decision may be taken on whether to apply the urgency procedure or the special urgency procedure.
\nconsideration of a draft law at the sitting of the Seimas shall be adopted by a simple majority vote of those present and voting, with the exception of decisions to reject a draft, or to announce a draft for public consideration, which shall be adopted provided that at least 1/3 of all the Seimas members vote in favour thereof.
\nApplication for the urgency or special urgency procedures shall be established in Chapter 24 of this Statute.
\ncommenced only concerning drafts which are included in the work programme of the session. The consideration procedure shall consist of the following stages: consideration at the principal Committee, consideration at the sitting of the Seimas, and passage.
\nUpon deciding to commence the procedure of consideration of a draft law, the Seimas must at the same sitting appoint an approximate date of consideration at the sitting of the Seimas (no earlier than after a week, and no later than by the end of the session), and the principal Committee for further consideration or revision of the draft.
\nA decision to propose that a draft law be made available to 41 the public may also be adopted at the sitting.
\nthe implementation of a law, the proposals of the initiators of the draft and the conclusions of the Committee on Budget and Finance and the Government concerning the possible sources of funding must be presented during further consideration of the draft.
\nIf amending the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania is required to enact the draft law, the conclusions of the Committee on State and Law must be presented during further consideration of the draft.
\na referendum on the draft law has been formed, the issue shall be considered at the next Seimas sitting during the Seimas session after it has been confirmed that the required number of signatures has been collected. Representatives of the initiators of the referendum shall be invited to attend the sitting.
\nShould the Seimas establish that the draft of the provisions of the law presented for the referendum is not in conformity with the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, the issue of amending the Constitution must be considered first.
\nIf the Seimas decides to discuss and enact a submitted provisions of the law, the announcement of the referendum may be postponed; however, the referendum must be announced at the sitting at which the Seimas rejects the submitted provisions of the law.
\nCommittee
\nSeimas as the principal committee for the examination of the draft of a law, in respect whereof the consideration procedure has been commenced, must, within one week, discuss at a sitting the preparedness to examine the draft in the committee. For the above purpose, responsible committee members and experts must be assigned, additional conclusions may be requested of other committees and State institutions, and other preliminary decisions may be adopted. If the committee is charged to revise the draft, a working group may be formed for said purpose. As necessary, the Committee may also discuss issues concerning the preparedness to consider the draft at other sittings.
\nto all interested State institutions and, as necessary, to public organisations, so that said institutions and organisations can send their evaluations.
\nAll material which has been received concerning a draft law shall be evaluated and summarized by the principal committee. If it has been resolved in the Seimas to consider the text of the draft presented by the initiators, the principal committee shall be entitled to present alongside its own version for consideration at the Seimas sitting.
\nIf a draft law has been announced to the public for consideration, the received proposals shall be referred to the principal committee.
\nprincipal committee no later than 5 workdays prior to the consideration thereof at a sitting of the Seimas. The time and place of such deliberations must be announced at a sitting of the Seimas.
\nRepresentatives of the initiators of the draft, representatives of the committees which are preparing additional 42 conclusions, and experts shall be invited to the deliberations by the principal committee. Said persons must be granted the floor at the sitting of the committee.
\nRepresentatives of other interested State institutions and public organisations may also be invited to the sitting. Upon the consent of the presiding officer, they, as well as members of other committees present at the sitting, may also be granted the floor.
\nIn the event that the principal committee fails to examine the draft law within the established time period, it must address the Seimas Speaker with a request to prolong the period.
\nduring deliberations in the principal committee:
\nThe adopted decision shall be presented for consideration of the draft at the Seimas sitting.
\nAfter deliberations by the principal committee, the draft which has been submitted by the initiators or revised by the committee shall be forwarded to the Documentation Department for editing. The edited draft shall be coordinated with a representative of the initiators thereof.
\nThe edited text of the draft must be distributed among the Seimas members and delivered to the Government no later than 2 days prior to deliberations at the Seimas sitting. Additional data together with a cover letter shall be distributed among the Seimas members no later than 1 workday prior to above deliberations.
\nThe Seimas Speaker must be notified of the principal committee reporter no later than 2 workdays prior to the consideration of the draft law at the sitting of the Seimas.
\nWhen possible, a recording shall be made during the deliberations in the principal committee, and minutes shall be kept of the speeches which are made.
\nSeimas, the expediency, conception and the basic provisions and principles of the draft law shall be discussed and all the received amendments and supplements shall be presented. At the Seimas sitting, the draft law shall be considered according to the following procedure:
\nUpon adopting a decision specified in Pars. 2 or 3, the Seimas may charge the principal Committee or other Committees to examine the draft additionally.
\nversion of a draft for adoption, said draft must be distributed among the Seimas members and delivered to the Government at least 2 workdays before the sitting.
\nIf there are essential amendments and supplements in the draft, the criminological examination provided for in part 4 of Article 140 must be carried out.
\nThe Seimas members, parliamentary groups, Committees and the Government must present all proposed deletions, amendments and supplements to the draft law with their respective signatures to the Secretariat of the sittings at least 24 hours before the commencement of the sitting whereat the passage of the draft law is planned. The Secretariat of the sittings shall hand the above amendments, supplements and deletions over to the principal Committee which is examining the law, shall make copies thereof, and shall distribute them to all of the Seimas members.
\nAn amendment or supplement must be adequately formulated and conform to the substance of the draft, and may not exceed one article in volume.
\nDuring the passage of the law, new amendments, supplements 44 and deletions shall not be accepted, with the exception of editorial corrections which shall be neither discussed nor put to vote, but which shall be submitted in writing to the principal Committee which examined the draft law.
\nshall give a brief notification of the amendments made by the Committee and shall discuss the additional proposals and amendments which have been received, naming the persons who submitted them.
\nThereafter, separate parts of the draft law shall be considered and voted on. The sections, chapters and articles of the draft shall be discussed and voted on according to their sequence, unless the Seimas decides otherwise. The officer presiding over the sitting may put the articles which condition the principles and structure of the draft to vote before voting on other articles. Articles to which no proposals have been submitted may be passed without vote, provided that not a single member of the Seimas objects thereto. In other cases, a vote shall be taken on each article, chapter, and section.
\nDuring passage, the floor may only be granted to the authors of the submitted amendments and supplements (for up to 3 minutes on each proposal), the reporter, and the members speaking on the motives of voting; the reporter shall not be asked any questions.
\nUpon being granted the floor concerning an amendment or supplement, the author thereof may not speak on the motives of voting.
\nconsidered and passed in accordance with the following procedure:
\nWhen several proposals concerning one article have been received, voting shall be conducted according to the sequence specified in Par.1 hereof, and in the case of the specified sequence -- according to the sequence in which the proposals have been submitted. Amendments or supplements to the amendment shall be voted on prior to voting on the amendment itself. Proposals contradicting those previously adopted shall be rejected without voting by the officer presiding over the sitting. When the reporter announces that the principal Committee is adopting the proposal, a vote is not necessary, provided that no members of the Seimas object thereto. Before voting, the person who submitted the proposal may retract it; and
\nAdditional articles of the draft law which are submitted shall be considered and adopted according to the same procedure as for all the other articles of the draft law.
\nto hold one more sitting of the Committee for the coordination of the adopted proposals and so demands, passage may be adjourned after voting on all articles, but for no longer than until the next day of the Seimas sitting. After adjournment, amendments and supplements made by the Committee which must not contradict the content of the adopted articles shall be discussed and put to the vote. During the discussion, other proposals concerning amendments and supplements shall not be accepted.
\nIn the event that the articles which condition the principles and structure of the law, as well as separate sections or chapters, are not adopted during voting, the reporter may propose to amend the draft prior to voting on the entire draft 45 law. If the Seimas adopts said proposal, the procedure shall be continued from the consideration of the draft law at the principal Committee. During consideration of a draft law, the above alternative may only be used once.
\nWhen voting for articles of the draft law on taxes or other laws which regulate taxes or due to which the State revenue can change immensely, the passage shall be adjourned till the next day of the sitting if the member of the Government, a representative of the Government at the Seimas or a person authorized by the head or member of the Government demands so during the passage of a law.
\nWhen continuing passage of the law, the procedure of adopting the last article before the adjourn shall be repeated.
\nreject the draft shall not be accepted. The draft may be rejected only if it does not receive the required number of votes.
\nAfter all the articles of the law have been considered, the entire draft law shall be put to the vote. If the law is not passed, the Seimas may charge the initiators of the draft or the principal Committee to work out a new draft.
\nAs necessary, a resolution concerning the enforcement of the law shall be considered and passed, and laws on amendment, supplement and repeal of other laws or their articles related to the enacted law shall be considered and adopted during the passage of the law.
\n1/5 of Seimas members may address the Seimas with a justified petition concerning the violations of the Statute of the Seimas, committed, in their opinion during the passage of a law, as long as the law has not yet been signed by the President of the Republic. Should such a petition be received, the Commission on Ethics and Procedures must present its conclusions and proposals to the Seimas within 5 workdays. Until the Commission on Ethics and Procedures presents such conclusions, the Seimas Speaker shall not hand the law over to the President of the Republic for signing.
\nIn the event that the Commission on Ethics and Procedures states that the legislative procedure or any other significant provisions of this Statute have been grossly violated, and that this conditioned the decision of the Seimas, the Seimas shall decide by vote whether to revoke the disputed law or to leave it in effect.
\nShould the Seimas revoke its former decision concerning the draft, the consideration thereof may be continued from the stage when the violation was committed.
\npassing thereof is rejected at any stage of consideration, it may be submitted again, but no sooner than 6 months thereafter.
\nUrgency or Special Urgency
\nSeimas so decide, draft laws, shall be considered according to the procedure of urgency.
\nThe above procedure shall be used upon the justified proposal of the President of the Republic, the Seimas Speaker, the Seimas Board, the principal Committee, parliamentary groups, or the Government. The decision to consider a draft law according to the procedure of urgency may as a rule be adopted during the presentation of a draft law by a majority of voting members, provided that said majority is more than 1/4 of all the Seimas members. 46
\napplied, the time period between the stages of consideration-- consideration in the principal Committee, consideration in the Seimas sitting, and passage -- shall be shortened. Said time periods must not be shorter than 1 workday or longer than 3 workdays. The Seimas shall establish the concrete terms in each case separately, however, in each case, the draft law under consideration must be distributed to the Seimas members at least 1 day prior to the sitting at which it will be considered or passed.
\nRepublic, the Seimas Speaker or the Government, drafts of laws and resolutions of the Seimas may be considered according to the procedure of special urgency. The decision to apply the above procedure shall be adopted by a majority vote of all the Seimas members participating in the sitting, provided that said majority is more than 1/3 of all the Seimas members.
\nAccording to the above procedure, if the draft has been distributed to the Seimas members and the requirements prescribed in Chapter 19 of this Statute have been implemented, the procedure of passage may be commenced immediately and the requirements of parts 1, 2 and 3 of Article 159 of the Statute shall not be applied, however, all amendments must be presented in writing not later than 2 hours prior to the commencement of the passage procedure.
\nbeen Returned by the President of the Republic
\nConstitution, the President of the Republic returns a draft law which has been passed by the Seimas to the Seimas for repeat consideration, the Seimas Speaker shall notify the Seimas thereof at the next sitting.
\nThe Seimas must decide by voting whether to consider the returned law anew, or whether to deem the law as not having been passed. In the latter case, the Seimas may charge one of the Committees to prepare a new draft of the law or form a working group for the above purpose. A discussion may precede voting.
\nShould the decision be made to consider the draft law anew, the Seimas must decide at the same sitting which Committees the returned draft law as well as the amendments and supplements submitted by the President of the Republic shall be referred to for examination.
\nCommittees and at the Seimas sitting shall be prepared in accordance with the requirements set forth in Part 5 of this Statute. However, said law may not be considered according to the procedure of special urgency, and constitutional laws may also not be considered according to the procedure of urgency.
\nDuring the above consideration a decision shall be passed on whether to accept all of the amendments and supplements submitted by the President of the Republic or whether to vote on the entire draft law without amendments.
\nshall first of all be taken on whether to pass the entire law without amendments or whether to adopt all of the amendments and supplements submitted by the President of the Republic.
\nA law which has been repeatedly considered by the Seimas shall be deemed passed provided that more than half (in the case of a constitutional law -- at least 3/5) of all of the Seimas members voted in favour thereof. 47 If during consideration the Seimas adopts all of the amendments and supplements submitted by the President of the Republic, the repeatedly considered law shall be deemed to have been passed provided that the majority of the Seimas members participating in the sitting (in the case of a constitutional law -- more than half of all the Seimas members) voted in favour thereof.
\nLithuania and Consideration of Draft Constitutional Laws
\nconstitutional laws:
\nThe list of constitutional laws shall be established by the Seimas by a 3/5 majority vote of the Seimas members. Laws which have already been passed may also be included in the list if the Seimas arrives at the conclusion that said laws are, according to their content and significance, constitutional.
\nthe Constitution shall commence consideration in the Seimas only in cases when the draft is submitted by a group of at least 1/4 of the Seimas members or at least 300,000 electors who have expressed their will by putting their signatures under the text of the proposed amendment, with the exception of cases provided for in the Constitution which provide for Constitutional amendment only by referendum.
\nThe Constitution may not be amended during a state of emergency or martial law.
\nconstitutional laws shall be registered, submitted, considered, and passed according to the procedure established in Chapters 19- 25 of this Statute, with the exception of provisions set forth in this Chapter. Said drafts may not be considered according to the procedures of urgency or special urgency.
\nBefore commencing consideration of such a draft at a Seimas sitting, the draft must be considered by the principal Committee which is examining said draft within the 10-day period prior thereto, and distributed to the Seimas members and delivered to the Government within the 7-day period prior thereto. After consideration at the Seimas sitting, the procedure of passing the law shall commence no sooner than 10 days thereafter.
\nThe Committee on State and Law shall be the principal Committee examining drafts of laws on amendment of the Constitution.
\nIt shall be prohibited to restrict discussions on the constitutional law which is under consideration, with the exception of cases when such a decision is adopted by a majority vote of at least 1/3 of all of the Seimas members.
\nconsidered and voting in the Seimas thereon shall be held twice, with an adjournment of at least 3 months between voting.
\nA law on amendment of the Constitution shall be deemed to 48 have been passed by the Seimas provided that at least 2/3 of all the Seimas members voted in favour thereof during each voting, and that the same text of the amendment was put to the vote each time.
\nA constitutional amendment which has not been passed may be submitted to the Seimas for repeat consideration no sooner than 1 year thereafter. Other constitutional laws shall be deemed to have been passed if more than a half of the Seimas members vote in favour thereof.
\nAmendments to said constitutional laws or laws which repeal or amend the laws which have been in effect prior thereto must be passed by a 3/5 majority vote of all the Seimas members by taking a single vote thereon.
\nSeimas which shall be adopted when it is required to confirm in writing the opinion of the Seimas on any issue which is of national importance. Other non-standard acts of the Seimas (appeals, declarations, etc.) shall be adopted in the same manner as resolutions.
\nThe right of initiative to submit a resolution shall be vested in the President of the Republic, members of the Seimas, Committees, parliamentary groups. Proposals to consider a resolution may be submitted during the discussion of the agenda of a week's or a day's sittings.
\npresented to the Seimas members at least one day prior to the consideration thereof.
\nDuring consideration, a representative of the initiators of the draft of the resolution shall be granted the floor and shall answer questions; thereafter, a discussion shall be held according to the general procedure.
\nwhether:
\nresolution, the Seimas shall assign the date and time of its consideration and shall form a drafting commission. No more than 9 members of the Seimas may be on the commission. The drafting commission must include at least one initiator of the draft of the resolution. Other members of the Seimas shall submit their written proposals to the drafting commission.
\nrevised text, new proposals may be considered only on the decision of the Seimas.
\nShould the drafting commission reject the proposals which have been submitted in advance, the Seimas shall take a vote on said proposals at the request of the submitters thereof. Upon completion of the voting on alternative proposals, the entire text of the resolution shall be voted on.
\nfollowing year, the Government shall submit said draft to the 49 Seimas Chancellor by the 17th of October. Upon receipt of the draft, the Chancellor shall forward copies thereof to the Committees and parliamentary groups within 2 workdays.
\nThe report of the Government on the draft Budget shall be heard at the next sitting of the Seimas. Thereafter, at least 10 days shall be assigned for consideration of the draft Budget in Committees and parliamentary groups. Sittings of the Seimas shall not be held during the above-specified period.
\nthe draft State Budget in accordance with their competence, and shall formulate their conclusions and amendments and submit them by the 10th of November to the Committee on Budget and Finance.
\nRepresentatives of the Government and the Committee on Budget and Finance shall be invited to the sittings of Committees during which the draft State Budget is to be examined. The Government must furnish the Committees with all the data whereon the draft Budget is based.
\nState Budget, Committees, parliamentary groups, and individual members of the Seimas may propose an increase in the expenditures provided for in the draft only on condition that they specify the sources of financing said expenditure.
\nIt shall not be permitted to propose a decrease in the expenditures included in the draft Budget pursuant to laws, other standard acts adopted by the Seimas, and international obligations of the Republic of Lithuania. Should the Seimas desire to reduce said expenditure, it must first of all amend the appropriate standard acts.
\nCommittees and of the opinions and proposed amendments of parliamentary groups, the Committee on Budget and Finance shall, together with the representatives of the Government, parliamentary groups, and other Committees, consider the draft State Budget and formulate conclusions thereon.
\nThe Committee on Budget and Finance must either adopt the amendments to the Budget Law proposed by another Committee if said amendments are within the competence of the respective Committee, or reject said amendments, presenting a justified response.
\nAll Committees of the Seimas shall also be entitled to submit proposals to amend those chapters of the Budget which are not within their competence. In such an event, the Committee on Budget and Finance shall not be obligated to notify the Committee of the adopted decision.
\nthe Seimas sitting no later than by the 20th of November. At the sitting, a report of the Committee on Budget and Finance shall be heard, and conclusions of other Committees as well as opinions and commentaries of parliamentary groups and individual Seimas members, which have been rejected by the Committee on Budget and Finance shall be submitted.
\nBudget shall be conducted within 10 days after the primary deliberation of the draft; at the second deliberation the Government shall present the draft revised in accordance with the received proposals and commentaries. During the sitting, a representative of the Government shall announce which proposals and amendments submitted by Committees, parliamentary groups, and individual members of the Seimas have been included in the draft Budget and which have been rejected, shall give reasons for said rejections, and shall answer questions of the Seimas members. 50 After the discussion, a vote shall be taken on assigning at one of the next Seimas sittings the passage of a law which approves the State Budget. Prior to the commencement of the sitting, new proposals and amendments shall be submitted to the representative of the Government according to the procedure established in Article 159 of this Statute. Should there be a great number of significant comments concerning the draft Budget, said draft may be returned to the Government for revision. No more than 10 days shall be allotted therefor; thereafter, the procedure of second deliberation shall be resumed.
\nobjected to by the Government but which meet the conditions set forth in Article 183 of this Chapter may be adopted only after more than half of all the Seimas members vote in favour thereof.
\nUpon considering and adopting decisions concerning the proposals and amendments, the Seimas must vote on the entire draft State Budget.
\nThe Budget shall be approved pursuant to the indices established in the Law on Budgeting of the Republic of Lithuania.
\nThe appropriations according to the chapters of budget expenditure shall also be concurrently approved. The appropriations shall be mandatory to all executors of the Budget.
\nState Budget, one more deliberation shall be assigned to be held no sooner than 5 days, and no later than 10 days after, during which a draft revised by the Government in accordance with the comments of the Committees, parliamentary groups, and members of the Seimas shall be presented. The deliberation shall be conducted according to the procedure provided for in Article 186 of this Chapter.
\nShould the Government resign by reason of non-approval of the State Budget, the draft Budget submitted by the new Government shall be considered and approved according to the procedure provided for in Articles 181-187 of this Statute. The time of consideration shall be fixed by a resolution of the Seimas which shall be adopted no later than on the next day of sittings after the new Government has been granted authorization to act.
\nIn the event of failure to approve the State Budget within the established time limits, the monthly budgetary expenditure in the beginning of the budget year may not exceed 1/12 of the State Budget expenditure of the preceding year.
\nbudget year. The Budget shall be revised in the same procedure it is drawn up, adopted and approved. As necessary, the Seimas may approve an additional budget.
\nIn the event that funds which cannot be allocated from the Government Reserve Fund or additional funds which are obtained during the performance of the Budget are required, the Government shall submit to the Seimas a draft law on supplementary appropriations. The purpose and amount of the required funds as well as the source of the financing thereof shall be specified in the draft.
\nAdhering to the conditions stipulated in Article 183 of this Chapter, Committees, parliamentary groups or individual members of the Seimas may propose a draft law on the revision of certain budget expenditure clauses.
\nIn the above case, a law shall be passed by a majority vote of the Seimas members participating in the sitting provided that the Government has no objections thereto. Otherwise, the affirmative vote of more than a half of all the Seimas members shall be required for passing the law.
\nTreaties
\nratification of a international treaty shall be adopted if no less than 2/5 of all of the Seimas members vote in favour thereof, and denunciation of international treaties shall be adopted if no less than 3/5 of all of the Seimas members vote in favour thereof. International treaties concerning the realignment of the state borders of the Republic of Lithuania shall be ratified by 4/5 of all of the Seimas members.
\nELECTION, APPOINTMENT, AND APPROVAL OF OFFICERS
\nto the Seimas Board
\nSeimas Chancellor shall be elected from among the Seimas members at the first session of the Seimas for the entire term during which the Seimas is in office.
\nUpon the resignation, demise, or dismissal by the Seimas of any of the above officers from office, or upon the election or appointment thereof to another office, elections for an officer to fill the post shall be held during the next sitting of the Seimas in accordance with the procedure provided for in this Statute.
\nballot at the first sitting of the Seimas following the elections.
\nCandidates to the office of Seimas Speaker may be nominated by written application by at least 1/10 of the Seimas.
\nCandidates to the offices of deputy of the Seimas Speaker and the Seimas Chancellor shall be nominated by the Seimas Speaker. Said officers shall be elected by secret ballot.
\nmust, prior to the elections, state whether or not they agree to run for election.
\nEach candidate, in alphabetical order, shall be granted the floor for 15 minutes; candidates to the office of Seimas Speaker shall be entitled to 30 minutes; corresponding amounts of time shall be allotted for said persons to answer questions.
\nThereafter, a debate shall commence if the Seimas members so desire.
\nseparately. If more candidates than necessary are nominated for election to one office, voting shall be done by ballot with a list of candidates.
\nA candidate shall be deemed elected if more than half of the voting Seimas members vote for him or her, with the exception of repeat voting as provided for in this Chapter, in which case the candidate who has received a relative majority of votes shall be deemed elected.
\nIn the event that no candidate receives the required majority of votes, or if it is impossible to determine which of the candidates have been elected due to a tie, a repeat vote shall be held.
\nthan two candidates, all of the candidates, with the exception of those who received the lowest number of votes, shall remain on the ballot for repeat balloting. If several candidates have tied for the least number of votes and two or more candidates received more votes, the candidates with the least number of votes shall 52 be removed from the next ballot. Otherwise, all of the candidates shall remain on the next ballot. If the situation remains unchanged after the repeat vote, the election shall be postponed to another day. If two candidates receive the required number of votes, the provisions of Par. 2 hereof shall apply.
\nIf there are two candidates for an empty office during a repeat vote, the Seimas member who received more votes shall be deemed to have been elected. In the event of a tie, a repeat vote shall be held the next day; if no candidate is elected during the repeat vote, a new election shall be held.
\nWhen elections to several unfilled offices are held simultaneously and the number of candidates exceeds the number of offices, the names of all of the candidates who were nominated but not elected shall be entered on the ballots for repeat voting. After the repeat vote, the candidates who received the most votes shall be deemed to have been elected. When necessary, balloting shall be repeated on another day.
\nand the Government Programme
\nIn the cases provided for in the Constitution, the Seimas shall, upon receiving a nomination for the candidature of the Prime Minister from the President of the Republic, give the President of the Republic an opportunity to present the candidate during the next sitting. Upon presenting the candidature of the Prime Minister, the President of the Republic shall not be asked any questions. After the President of the Republic has presented the candidature of the Prime Minister, the candidate shall be granted the floor (for up to 30 minutes); thereafter the candidate shall answer questions posed by the members of the Seimas (for up to 40 minutes).
\nThereafter, the candidature of the Prime Minister shall be referred to parliamentary groups of the Seimas for consideration.
\nParliamentary groups shall have the right to invite the candidate to their sittings for a question and answer session at a time coordinated with the candidate.
\nParliamentary groups must consider the candidature of the Prime Minister within 2 work days.
\nwithin 5 work days from the presentation of the candidature of the Prime Minister in order to adopt a decision concerning the proposed candidacy.
\nDuring this sitting, the conclusions of parliamentary groups shall be heard first. Thereafter, a discussion shall be held, at the end of which the candidate shall be granted the floor (for up to 20 minutes), and shall also be given the opportunity to answer questions posed by members of the Seimas (for up to 30 minutes).
\nOnce the candidate finishes answering questions, a vote shall be taken on whether or not the candidature of the Prime Minister should be approved.
\nThe President of the Republic has the right to revoke the nominated candidature at any time up until the beginning of the vote for approval.
\nbeing appointed, present a Government which has been approved by the President of the Republic to the Seimas and submit the Government programme for consideration. Members of the newly- formed Government must attend the presentation. The Government programme must be distributed among the Seimas members at least 24 hours prior to the sitting.
\nWhen explaining the programme, the Prime Minister may speak for up to 40 minutes. A total of one hour shall be allotted for answering questions. Questions may be posed to the Prime Minister and any of the ministers. 53
\nshall be considered by the Seimas parliamentary groups, while appropriate Seimas Committees shall consider the individual sections thereof.
\nCommittees and parliamentary groups shall have the right to invite the Prime Minister or other minister, at a time coordinated therewith, to answer questions concerning the Government programme.
\nSeimas Committees and parliamentary groups must prepare their conclusions concerning the Government programme within 10 days after it is presented.
\nprogramme during a sitting within 15 days after it is presented.
\nConclusions of the Committees and parliamentary groups shall first be heard at the sitting. Thereafter, a debate shall be held, at the termination of which the Prime Minister shall be granted the floor (for up to 20 minutes); the Prime Minister and ministers shall also be given the opportunity to answer questions posed by the Seimas members one more time (for a total period of up to one hour).
\nThe debate concerning the Government programme may be terminated by majority vote of more than half of the voting members of the Seimas. Such a proposal shall be put to vote without discussion provided that at least one other member of the Seimas expresses support therefor.
\nWhen the question and answer session has been completed, the Seimas must adopt a decision concerning the Government programme.
\nThe wording of the decision shall be presented in the conclusions of the Committees and parliamentary groups. In the event that the Government programme is not approved or is returned to the Government for improvement thereof, a revised version of the Government programme must be presented to the Seimas within 10 days, and the procedure for discussion thereof shall be repeated in the manner established in Articles 198, 199, and 200.
\nauthorisation to act after the Seimas approves its programme by majority vote of the Seimas members present at the sitting.
\nIn the event that the Seimas refuses to approve the programme of the newly-formed Government two times in succession, the Government must resign.
\nchanged, the Government must be regranted authorisation by the Seimas. Otherwise the Government must resign.
\nIf more than half of the ministers have been replaced, the Prime Minister must, within 7 days of the appointment of the last new minister, present the newly appointed ministers, as well as the amendments to the Government programme if amendments have been made, during a sitting of the Seimas in order to be granted new authorisation; in the event that said changes were made between sessions, the Prime Minister must make said presentations during the first 7 days of the next Seimas session.
\nDuring the presentation, the Seimas members may pose questions to the Prime Minister and the newly appointed ministers (for a total of 30 minutes).
\nIn the event that amendments to the Government programme are presented, discussion shall be continued according to the procedure established in Articles 198 and 199 of this Statute.
\nOtherwise, a discussion shall be held immediately after the presentation, whereafter the Seimas may take a vote concerning the granting of authorisation or may decide to refer the issue to the Committees and parliamentary groups for consideration, but for no longer than 7 days. In the latter case, a discussion shall 54 be held after the conclusions of the Committees and parliamentary groups have been presented, and a vote concerning the granting of authorisation shall be taken upon hearing an additional speech by the Prime Minister (not exceeding 15 minutes).
\nOfficers, Constitutional Court Judges, and Supreme Court Judges and their Appointment
\nConstitutional Court and the Supreme Court as well as the chairpersons of these Courts and shall also appoint officers of the State and appoint or form collegiate institutions (in corpore) which are provided for in the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Lithuania. The persons who shall nominate candidates to the above offices shall be established by the Constitution and other appropriate laws.
\nThe Seimas shall also decide whether or not to approve of the candidatures of the judges and officers appointed by the President of the Republic if this is provided for in the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Lithuania.
\nappointed by the Seimas or offices for the appointment whereto approval of the Seimas is required shall be presented at Seimas sittings by the person who nominated said candidate or proposed the composition of a collegiate institution (in corpore). A maximum of 10 minutes shall be allotted for the presentation of individual candidates, whereas a maximum of 20 minutes shall be allotted for the presentation of members of a collegiate institution. The biographical data of the candidates must be distributed to the Seimas members prior to the presentation.
\nInformation concerning candidatures of Constitutional Court and Supreme Court judges must be published in the press at least two weeks before their presentation in the Seimas.
\nSaid candidates, including cases when collegiate institutions (in corpore) are being formed, must attend the Seimas sitting at which they are presented.
\nAfter being presented, candidates to Constitutional Court and Supreme Court judges as well as candidates to heads of State institutions shall be granted the floor (for a maximum of 10 minutes). All candidates must, without exception, answer questions put to them by members of the Seimas: up to 15 minutes shall be allotted to each candidate to the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court judge as well as to every other individual candidate, and up to 30 minutes shall be allotted to all of the candidates to a collegiate institution.
\nconsidered by the Seimas parliamentary groups and appropriate Committees.
\nParliamentary groups and Committees shall have the right to invite candidates, at a time coordinated therewith, to attend their respective sittings in order to pose questions to them.
\nParliamentary groups and Committees must present their conclusions concerning candidatures to the Seimas within 7 days from the presentation of the candidature.
\nsitting of the Seimas within 10 days from their presentation.
\nThis sitting must be attended by the person who presented the candidatures as well as the candidates, including candidates to collegiate institutions (in corpore).
\nThe conclusions of parliamentary groups and Committees shall be heard first. Thereafter a discussion shall be held, during the 55 end whereof members of the Seimas shall be given the opportunity to pose questions to the candidates and the person who presented the candidatures (up to 20 minutes shall be allotted to individual candidates and up to 30 minutes shall be allotted to collegiate institutions). Furthermore, candidates to the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court judges, and heads of State institutions shall be granted the floor (for a maximum of 10 minutes) prior to being questioned.
\nThereafter the Seimas shall take a vote concerning the appointment of judges to the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court and of other officers, the appointment or formation of a collegiate institution (in corpore), or the approval of a candidature appointed by the President of the Republic.
\nthe Constitutional and Supreme Courts shall take an oath in the Seimas to be loyal to the Republic of Lithuania and its Constitution, and to administer justice only in accordance with the laws. The State Controller, Chairman of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania, as well as other newly-appointed officers of the State shall publicly take an oath during a sitting of the Seimas if it is so provided in the laws regulating the activities of their respective State institution.
\ndismissed, resigns, or for some other reason cannot continue to carry out his or her duties, another person must, during a session of the Seimas, be appointed or approved to said post within one month of the beginning of the vacancy or the beginning of the session.
\nSUPERVISORY ACTIVITIES OF THE SEIMAS
\nOfficers to the Seimas
\nGovernment of the Republic of Lithuania, copies of the decrees adopted by the Government must be delivered to the Seimas for distribution among all of the Committees and parliamentary groups.
\nindividual ministers must account to the Seimas for their respective activities. The above shall also apply to heads of other State institutions who are either appointed by the Seimas or for whose appointment the approval of the Seimas is required, with the exception of courts.
\nPersons who are invited shall answer questions posed by the Seimas members, and shall furnish other information concerning their own activities and the activities of the institutions subordinate to them.
\nWhen drawing up the week's work programme of the Seimas, it shall be established which State institution head shall answer the questions and interpellations of the Seimas members that week.
\nGovernment of the Republic of Lithuania shall, as a rule, answer questions of the Seimas members submitted through the Secretariat of the sittings for a period of one hour and no later than 2 workdays prior to the sitting. The list of questions which are planned to be answered and the sequence of their presentation shall be established by the Seimas Speaker and shall be 56 distributed among the Seimas members before the sitting.
\nTime permitting, members of the Seimas may pose questions to the members of the Government participating in the sitting either orally or in writing.
\nother heads of State institutions who are either appointed by the Seimas or whose appointment requires the approval of the Seimas, with the exception of judges, must answer the questions of the Seimas members during a sitting of the Seimas; said questions must be submitted in advance in written form. The procedure for submitting and registering the questions shall be as specified in
\nofficers other questions either orally or in writing.
\nPrime Minister, ministers, or judges; said officials may not be arrested, or their liberty may not be in any other way restricted without the prior consent of the Seimas or, in the period between the sessions of the Seimas, without the prior consent of the President of the Republic.
\nShould a motion be submitted by the Procurator General of the Republic of Lithuania to institute criminal proceedings against the Prime Minister, an individual minister or a judge, a commission of inquiry shall be formed and other acts shall be performed pursuant to Article 24 of this Statute.
\nshall address a written interpellation to members of the Government or any other heads of State institutions who are appointed by the Seimas or whose appointment requires the approval of the Seimas, with the exception of courts, requesting that said officers present information concerning their activities and adopted decisions.
\nOnly a question of national or public significance, in respect whereof a member or group of members of the Seimas have applied to State institutions and have not, in their opinion, been given due consideration or have been given a negative reply, shall be considered as an interpellation. Questions, the national or public significance whereof is recognised by the Seimas or the Seimas Board or a Committee or a parliamentary group, may also be considered as interpellations.
\ninterpellations and hand them over to the Chancellor, who shall notify the Seimas thereof and shall deliver the interpellation to the appropriate officer.
\nPersons who submit interpellations must name the officer whom they are addressing and specify whether they expects an oral or written reply. In the event that the form of reply is not specified, it shall be given in writing, shall be distributed to the Committees and parliamentary groups, and shall not be considered in a sitting of the Seimas.
\nPersons who submit interpellations shall have the right to withdraw them at any time.
\ninterpellation must be given may not be longer than 2 weeks and, during its consideration in the Seimas sitting during a session, no longer than 3 weeks from the day of its lodging.
\nIn the event that the officer to whom the interpellation is addressed cannot reply within the established period, he or she 57 must give a written substantiation thereof and propose a new date, but no later than within one month from the day of the lodging of the interpellation; however, should the interpellators object to the substantiation, the consideration of the interpellation must be held at the fixed date.
\nconsidered at least twice a month at the sittings of the Seimas.
\nShould at least 1/5 of the Seimas members request consideration of an interpellation, the interpellation shall be considered in the mandatory procedure.
\nThe list of interpellations shall be presented to the Seimas members no later than one day before the consideration thereof.
\nThe interpellators (at least one representative thereof) must participate in the consideration of the interpellation. If the interpellator is absent from the sitting, consideration of the interpellation shall be postponed. If the interpellator is absent from the sitting without prior notice, the interpellation shall be annulled.
\nInterpellator may not preside over sittings in which their interpellations are considered.
\nsitting of the Seimas according to the following procedure:
\nIn the event that the interpellators are dissatisfied with the reply to the interpellation, they may submit a draft resolution for consideration in the Seimas; the Seimas shall evaluate the reply and the draft therein.
\nother State Institutions
\nof a State institution who is appointed by the Seimas, with the exception of cases of impeachment proceedings as provided for in the Constitution, must be considered when they are presented by a justified letter from the Seimas Board, a committee, or at least 1/5 of the Seimas members. A committee may not propose to remove the chairman of another committee from office.
\nfrom office shall be filed with the Seimas Speaker; petitions to remove the Seimas Speaker from office shall be lodged with the Seimas Chancellor. Such petitions must be announced in the next sitting of the Seimas.
\nThe same members of the Seimas may not request to remove the same officer from office more than once during a single session.
\noffice is under discussion may not preside over that sitting.
\nDuring discussions concerning the dismissal of an officer of the Seimas or head of a State institution, the first person to be granted the floor shall be the representative of the initiators of the issue concerning removal from office (for up to 10 58 minutes); thereafter, the floor shall be granted to the officer whose removal from office is under consideration (for up to 30 minutes). The latter shall then be given up to 30 minutes to answer questions. The subsequent discussion shall be continued according to the general procedure.
\nofficers or heads of State institutions shall be adopted by majority vote of more than a half of all Seimas members. Said voting shall be done by secret ballot.
\nGovernment
\nthe Seimas members may submit an interpellation to the Prime Minister or an individual minister requesting that said officers elaborate on the motives of the decisions they have adopted.
\nNo signature may be cancelled after the interpellation has been filed with the Seimas Chancellor, who shall immediately register the interpellation and refer it to the appropriate member of the Government.
\nThe same group of the Seimas members may not repeatedly interpellate the same member of the Government during one session.
\nthe Government must deliver a written reply to the Seimas Speaker within two weeks; the Seimas members shall be familiarised with said reply.
\nUpon receiving a reply to an interpellation, the Seimas must consider said reply during a sitting within 5 workdays.
\nof the Seimas according to the following procedure:
\ninterpellations must be presented to the Seimas for consideration no later than on the next day of sittings. The Seimas' approval or disapproval of the reply of the Prime Minister or individual minister may be stated in the draft of the resolution of the Seimas concerning the interpellation.
\nIn the event that non-confidence in the Prime Minister or an individual minister is declared in a draft resolution of the Seimas, said draft may be adopted by majority vote of more than a half of all the Seimas members; said voting shall be done by secret ballot. Should such resolution be adopted, the Government in corpore or the individual minister in whom non-confidence has been declared must resign.
\n59
\nleast 1/5 of the Seimas members may submit a draft of a justified resolution wherein non-confidence in the Government is declared.
\nSuch draft resolution shall be considered in the same manner as an interpellation to the Prime Minister.
\nbe formed for exercising control over the implementation of the decisions of the Seimas, for collecting and presenting to the Seimas information and conclusions required for dealing with a pending problem and adopting a decision thereon, as well as in other cases provided for in this Statute.
\nAd hoc commissions of control or inquiry shall be formed according to the procedure set forth in Article 77 of this Statute and shall consist of at least four members and a chairperson. The chairperson of the commission shall be appointed by the Seimas.
\nFor its work the commission may enlist the specialists of appropriate spheres.
\nThe period of work of the ad hoc commissions of control or inquiry shall be up to 6 months.
\ncommissions of control or inquiry shall be vested in the Seimas Board, Committees, and parliamentary groups, unless in special cases this Statute provides otherwise. The initiators must present to the Seimas a draft resolution concerning the forming of an ad hoc commission of control or inquiry, in which resolution the objective of forming the commission as well as its tasks and powers shall be specified.
\nAs necessary, the Seimas Speaker must notify the Prosecutor- General and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania of the initiative to form an ad hoc commission of control or inquiry. If the Prosecutor-General notifies in writing that criminal proceedings have been instituted in connection with the facts which determined the initiative of forming the commission, such commission shall not be formed; in the event that it has already been formed, its activities must be terminated by a decision of the Seimas.
\nor inquiry shall be closed to all persons, with the exception of those persons who are invited; a list of said persons shall be drawn up according to the requests of the commission members. The information collected by the commission during its work period shall not be made public.
\nAd hoc commissions of control or inquiry shall have the right to request that enterprises, institutions and organisations present the required information concerning their respective activities, that the officers of the law enforcement bodies and the prosecutor's office present documents and give evidence, and that any citizen of the Republic of Lithuania give evidence.
\nand collecting and summarizing the data, the ad hoc commission of control or inquiry shall present their conclusions and the prepared draft resolution to the Seimas.
\nA resolution shall be adopted at the sitting of the Seimas concerning the issue which has been considered by the ad hoc commission of control or inquiry. Non-confidence in the Government, a minister or any other head of State institution appointed by the Seimas may be declared or motions concerning the proposed impeachment proceedings may be presented in the resolution. In the case of non-confidence, the requirements set 60 forth in Articles 222 or 226 of this Statute shall apply in adopting the resolution.
\nperformance shall be exercised by the Committee on Budget and Finance. Other Committees of the Seimas may control the performance of the Budget chapters which are within their competence.
\nThe State Budget performance shall be considered at the sitting of the Seimas at least once every 6 months. In such an event, the Government shall present the State Budget performance statement for consideration.
\nThe Government shall prepare and, by March 31, present to the Seimas Speaker the State Budget performance statement for the previous year. The State Controller must present to the Seimas Chancellor a report on the State Budget performance statement within a month from the date on which the Government presented the statement to the Seimas Speaker.
\nThe Seimas Chancellor shall, within 2 workdays, present copies of the above statement and of the State Controller's report to the Committee on Budget and Finance, as well as to other committees and parliamentary groups.
\nUpon receipt of the State Controller's report, the report of the Government on the State Budget performance statement as well as an additional report of the State Controller shall be heard at the next sitting. Within 3 weeks from the sitting, the Committees shall consider the State Budget performance statement and prepare conclusions.
\nState Controller's report must be considered at the sitting of the Seimas by June 1.
\nA report of the Committee on Budget and Finance as well as the conclusions of other committees shall be heard at the sitting. Upon the completion of discussions, a resolution of the Seimas concerning the performance of the State Budget shall be adopted.
\nIn the event that the statement is not approved, the Seimas shall resolve the issue concerning the restoration of legality of revenues or expenditures. An appropriate resolution shall be drafted for that purpose, and a vote on non-confidence in the Government or an individual member thereof may be taken according to the procedure established in Article 226 of this Statute.
\nIMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS
\nand the Preliminary Investigation
\nparliamentary procedure which shall be applied by the Seimas to members of the Seimas as well as to State officials of the highest rank who are specified in Article 74 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania for their actions which discredit the authority of powers, in order to solve the question of the responsibility of such individuals. In the event that a concrete individual is found guilty during this procedure, the person shall be dismissed from his or her post or his or her mandate as a Seimas member shall be abolished. 61
\nimpeachment proceedings, may be instituted against the President of the Republic, the Chairperson and judges of the Constitutional Court, the Chairperson and judges of the Supreme Court, the Chairperson and judges of the Court of Appeals, and the members of the Seimas.
\nimpeachment proceedings in the event that an individual specified in Article 236 of this Statute has:
\nOnly one of the grounds specified in this Article shall suffice to initiate impeachment proceedings.
\nimpeachment proceedings against a concrete for reasons specified in Article 237 individual shall be granted to, any group of Seimas members consisting of at least 1/4 of all of the Seimas members, the President of the Republic and the Judges' Court of Honour if the case concerns the Chairperson or judges of the Constitutional Court or the Court of Appeals.
\nThe proposal to the Seimas to initiate impeachment proceedings against a concrete person shall not be related to the norms of the Article 239 of this Statute.
\nArticle 236 of this Statute are suspected of having committed a felony, the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Lithuania shall immediately inform the Seimas thereon and submit appropriate material thereto.
\nIn the event that the President of the Republic is suspected of having committed a felony, the Seimas shall carry out preliminary impeachment proceedings provided for in Article 244 of this Statute.
\nUpon hearing the Prosecutor General's report on a felony committed by other persons, the Seimas shall decide whether to give its approval to institute legal action against the concrete person (according to the procedure provided for in this Statute) or to initiate preliminary impeachment proceedings.
\nfelony, the statutes of limitation provided for in criminal laws shall be applicable. In other cases, no statutes of limitation shall be applicable notwithstanding when the misdemeanor has been committed with which an individual is charged with, however, the committed misdemeanor must have been committed while he or she was in office referred to in Article 236 of this Statute.
\nmust be submitted to the Seimas in writing - in the form of a motion, while proposals made by the President of the Republic shall be presented in the form of appeal by indicating the concrete person, the charge formulated against said person, arguments, major facts, and evidence or sources thereof.
\nproceedings is submitted during sessions of the Seimas. The Seimas Speaker or Deputy Speaker shall immediately present such proposals to the Seimas members and shall, no later than within one week during the session or within one week from the beginning of the session, submit a proposal to the Seimas to consider the issue.
\nspecified in Article 238 or their representative concerning the initiation of impeachment proceedings against a concrete 62 individual, the Seimas shall form a commission to investigate the validity and seriousness of the submitted charges and to prepare the finding concerning the proposal to initiate impeachment proceedings. In its work the commission shall be governed by the provisions provided for in Chapter 37 of this Statute.
\nformed from the Seimas members, representatives of the initiators of the impeachment proceedings, and lawyers who are employed at courts, investigative structures, or prosecutor's office. Such lawyers must comprise no more than one half of the commission members. While working on the commission, the lawyers shall enjoy equal rights with other members of the commission, but they must strictly comply with the principle of political impartiality.
\nThere may be no more than 12 members on the commission. Members of the commission shall be proposed by the Seimas majority or the minority and initiators of the impeachment proceedings according to the principles set forth in Article 77 of this Statute which shall be entitled to propose 1/3 of all the commission members.
\nAlong with the formation of the commission, the Seimas shall appoint the commission chairperson and deputy chairperson, and shall fix the dates for the execution of investigation. At least one of the heads of the commission must be a professional lawyer.
\ncommission concerned with impeachment proceedings shall normally be closed. Only the chairperson of the commission or a member authorised by the chairperson shall inform the press and other mass media about the course of investigation.
\nthe minutes. Minutes shall be kept by a secretary appointed by the commission, according to the regulations of keeping minutes of court sittings. The minutes of the sitting shall be signed by the chairperson and secretary of the commission.
\nDuring sittings, explanations as well as arguments of the initiators of impeachment proceedings and defendants (or their representatives) shall be heard, witnesses shall be questioned, the list of whom shall be made up according to the proposals submitted by all the members of the special investigation commission and the defendant, and other evidence shall be accumulated, examined and evaluated; when necessary, experts and specialists shall be invited and discussions shall be held. The defendant's lawyer may also take part in the sittings.
\nquestioned in accordance with the rules of the criminal code: they shall be warned of their responsibility for avoiding or refusing to give evidence as well as for giving knowingly false evidence; the giving of such warnings shall be confirmed by witnesses' signatures. Minutes concerning the questioning of witnesses shall be recorded and, after a witness has read them, may be supplemented or amended, and then must be signed by the witness. Experts shall present their findings in writing after having signed them.
\nmajority vote so proposes, the Seimas may pass a decision to appeal to the Constitutional Court concerning the conclusion whether concrete actions of the Seimas members or state officials against whom impeachment proceedings are initiated are in conformity with the Constitution.
\nspecial investigation commission shall present its findings which shall contain: 63
\nIn the event that the presented charges have not been proved, it shall be indicated in the findings and the actions of investigation which have been carried out shall be described in brief. Taking into account the results of the investigation, it shall be summarised at the end of the findings whether there are grounds to institute impeachment proceedings in the Seimas or whether such grounds do not exist.
\nMore than half of majority votes of all the commission members are necessary for the approval of the findings. The results of the voting shall be recorded in the minutes of the sitting. The findings shall be signed by the chairperson or deputy chairperson of the commission.
\nThe commission shall prepare a draft resolution on the basis of approved findings.
\ngrounds for initiating impeachment proceedings in the Seimas, the special investigation commission must also formulate concrete charges. This may be done at the end of the commission's findings or in a separate document.
\nThe investigation commission shall also decide who on behalf of the committee shall substantiate the charge and carry out other functions of the prosecutor in the Seimas during the impeachment proceedings. The commission may appoint up to 7 prosecutors -- members of the Seimas. The commission shall inform the Seimas of their names and powers in writing.
\nfindings along with a draft Seimas resolution and other documents to the Speaker, who shall submit these documents for the Seimas consideration at its next sitting.
\ncommission reaches the conclusion that there are no grounds for the initiation of impeachment proceedings, the Seimas shall consider the validity of motives and arguments which have been formulated in the findings and shall decide whether said findings shall be assented. If the Seimas approves the findings by a majority vote of the Seimas members who attend the sitting, it shall be held that there was no assent to initiate impeachment proceedings. Impeachment proceedings based on the same charges may only be instituted against the same person only after one- year period , and only under the condition that new circumstances have become evident.
\nIn the event that the Seimas does not approve the commission's conclusion that there are no grounds for the initiation of impeachment proceedings, the Seimas must decide who shall be charged with the execution of a repeat investigation - the same investigation commission or a new one.
\ninvestigation commission according to which there are grounds to initiate impeachment proceedings, the Seimas shall carry out necessary arrangements and shall adopt the following decisions necessary for the execution of this procedure:
\nSeimas on the fixed date. They shall be presided over by the Chairperson of the Supreme Court or another judge thereof, or the Chairperson of the Constitutional Court or another judge thereof.
\nOne more judge of the Supreme Court or Constitutional Court must take part in all sittings, from the first to the last, of the impeachment proceedings, and, as necessary, shall act for the Chairperson of the hearing.
\nUpon announcing the commencement of the impeachment proceedings, the Seimas shall become an impeachment institution in which investigation shall be carried out in compliance with the principles and rules of criminal procedure if this Statute does not provide otherwise.
\nThe minutes of the hearing shall be kept by the secretary appointed by the Chairperson according to the rules of recording court hearings.
\nImpeachment proceedings in the Seimas shall be public. They may be broadcast by television and radio.
\ncomprised of the following major parts: the preparatory part, the court investigation, court disputes, and the defendant's final word concerning the articles of impeachment and voting on the presented charges.
\nessence of the impeachment case under investigation, the defendant, and the prosecutors and their representatives shall be introduced, their rights and duties shall be explained, their requests shall be heard and decisions thereon shall be passed, and the possibilities to continue investigation of the case shall be clarified.
\nreading the material of the charge aloud and hearing the defendant's explanations. Then the defendant and witnesses shall be questioned, the findings of the experts shall be heard, and the evidence shall be examined.
\nPrior to the end of the court investigation, the prosecutors shall have the right to define the formulation of the charge and remove technical errors which have been found therein. While defining the formulations of the charge, the formulations must be delivered in writing to the defendant and the chairperson of the hearing, who shall immediately announce them to the Seimas members. Upon receiving the defined formulations of the charge, the defendant or the defendant's defender shall have the right to demand the continuation or renewal of the court investigation.
\nremarks of the prosecutor, the defendant and their representatives. The right to the final remark shall always belong to the defender, and in the event of his or her absence - 65 to the defendant.
\nIn the end of court disputes the defendant shall be granted the final word. It shall not be permitted to ask questions or make remarks at that moment.
\nthe chairperson of the hearing. As necessary, the chairperson may ask the Seimas to voice its opinion or request approval of his or her decisions. Only upon the permission of the chairperson may the members of the Seimas pose questions to the participants of the proceedings. The members of the Seimas shall not be permitted to speak about the essence of the case or to attempt to influence the course of the proceedings in any other manner. However, they may protest the chairperson's refusal to permit questioning or a hasty decision to terminate interrogation, and may reject them by voting.
\nfrom his office or to renounce the mandate of the Seimas member by submitting an application in writing, in any stage of impeachment proceedings but only prior to the beginning of voting. Such applications must be immediately satisfied. In such case, the impeachment proceedings shall be terminated and it shall be made official by a resolution of the Seimas.
\nfor the articles of impeachment - shall start after the defendant's final word.
\nEach article of impeachment shall be put on a separate voting card. After the text of the charge, the alternative variants of the response: \"I charge\" or \"I do not charge\" shall be made thereon. Prior to distribution, voting cards shall be marked by a special seal of the chairperson of the hearing.
\nbe made in compliance with the requirements set forth in Article 123 of this Statute.
\nEach article of impeachment shall be put to vote separately.
\nOnly the Seimas members shall take part in the voting.
\nUpon calculating the votes, the chairperson of the hearing shall announce the voting results on each article of impeachment separately.
\nleast one article of impeachment, it shall be considered that the person has been impeached, i.e. the Seimas has found that the person is guilty of the felony with which he or she has been incriminated.
\nFollowing the report of the commission for the calculation of votes, the chairperson of the hearing shall dictate the following entry of the minutes: \"Upon the execution of impeachment proceedings in the Seimas on ... (date), it has been found by a majority vote of all the Seimas members that citizen ............(name, surname and post) ...(entry according to the text of the approved article of impeachment)..., therefore, from this day the .... (date), (said person) shall be removed from his (or her) post (or shall be deprived of the mandate of Seimas member) by the decision of the Seimas.
\nThen the chairperson shall sign this entry and publicly announce it during the Seimas sitting.
\nimpeachment receives at least 3/5 of the votes of all the Seimas members, it shall be considered that the Seimas has not approved the impeachment. The chairperson of the hearing shall announce 66 this publicly and an appropriate entry thereon shall be made in the minutes of the sitting.
\nIn cases where less than 3/5 but more than 1/2 of all the Seimas members voted for the article of impeachment which corresponds to the indications of a criminal offence, it shall be considered that the Seimas has assented to bringing a legal action against a concrete person with the exception of the President of the Republic.
\nsigned by the chairperson of the hearing and the secretary of the hearing appointed by him or her.
\nEntries of the minutes concerning the voting results shall be equaled to the resolutions of the Seimas. They shall enter into effect from the moment of their announcement and must be executed . Along with the voting results, they may not be appealed against or subjected to review.
\nimpeachment, the Seimas finds that a concrete person is guilty, he/she shall be considered to have been removed from his or her post or to have been deprived of the mandate of Seimas member.
\nLegal liability may also be incurred on them for committed felonies according to general procedure.
\nIndividuals who have resigned from their posts of their own accord or who have renounced mandates of a Seimas member shall lose the right of inviolability established by the Constitution, and shall therefore be subjected to legal liability according to the general procedure.
\nFINAL PROVISIONS
\nSeimas activities, which are not provided for in this Statute and the laws of the Republic of Lithuania, shall be proposed to decide upon by the chairperson of the Seimas sitting. Such decision shall be adopted without debate by majority vote of the Seimas members who participated in the voting.
\nsupplements of this Statute shall be adopted according to the general procedure and in compliance with the requirements set forth in Part 5 of this Statute.
\nBeginning from 1 January 1995, the Statute of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania and its separate articles may be repealed, supplemented or amended by majority vote of more than half of all the Seimas members.
\nÈESLOVAS JURÐËNAS SPEAKER OF THE SEIMAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA