SEIMAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
RESOLUTION
ON DECLARATION OF A STATE OF EMERGENCY
7 December 2021 No XIV-733
Vilnius
The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania,
having regard to the crisis situation in the country caused by the mass influx of foreigners, which led to the declaration of the national emergency by Resolution No 517 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania of 2 July 2021 regarding the Declaration of a National Emergency and the Appointment of State Commander of National Emergency Operations,
having regard to the fact that the President of the European Commission, in her State of the Union address of 15 September 2021, recognised the instrumentalisation of migrants from third countries as a hybrid attack by the Belarusian regime aimed at destabilising the European Union, and that the European Parliament, in its resolution of 7 October 2021, underlined that the instrumentalisation of human beings for illegal purposes and Belarus’s state-sponsoring of illegal crossings at the EU’s external border is a form of hybrid warfare aimed at intimidating and destabilising the European Union,
having regard to the fact that the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania have already taken measures to manage this emergency by taking decisions, inter alia, to build a physical barrier on the territory of the Republic of Lithuania at the EU's external border with the Republic of Belarus and to grant rights to servicemen who, during the emergency caused by the mass influx of migrants, assist the forces of the State Border Guard Service under the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter: the 'State Border Guard Service') and of the Public Security Service under the Ministry of the Interior to perform their functions in responding to this emergency and mitigating its consequences in the border area of the Republic of Lithuania and in the detention and/or accommodation facilities of persons who have illegally crossed the state border of the Republic of Lithuania with the Republic of Belarus,
having regard to the recent criminal actions and hybrid attacks by the Belarusian regime against the Republic of Poland, their orchestrated and massive nature and the humanitarian crisis of high concern emerging at the EU's external border as a result of those actions and attacks,
having regard to the fact that Resolution No XIV-617 of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania of 9 November 2021 on Declaration of a State of Emergency introduced a state of emergency for a period of one month, however, that the above-mentioned risks remain,
considering that additional measures are necessary in order to avoid the threat to public peace emerging in the country, and
acting pursuant to point 20 of Article 67, the first paragraph of Article 144, Article 145 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and Article 5(2), Article 6(1), Article 7(1) and Article 28 of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on a State of Emergency, resolves:
Article 1.
1. The state of emergency shall be declared on 10 December 2021 at 24.00 (midnight):
1) within the entire border area at the state border of the Republic of Lithuania with the Republic of Belarus and 5 kilometres inland from the border area;
2) in the accommodation facilities for foreigners designated by the institutions of the Republic of Lithuania (within the territory of the Foreigners' Registration Centre in Pabradė, within the territory of the Foreigners' Registration Centre in Medininkai and within the territory of the Foreigners' Registration Centre in Kybartai, in the territory of the Refugees Reception Centre in Rukla and the surrounding area, in Naujininkai shelter camp of the Refugees Reception Centre).
2. The state of emergency shall be declared due to the threat to public peace caused by the mass influx of foreigners, which cannot be eliminated without the application of a proportionate restriction on the exercise of the rights and freedoms referred to in the Constitution and the Law on a State of Emergency and without the application of specific emergency measures.
3. The purpose of the declaration of the state of emergency shall be to address the threat to public peace caused by the mass influx of foreigners by means of the emergency measures laid down in this Resolution.
4. The duration of the state of emergency shall be from the time of the declaration of the state of emergency referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article until 24.00 (midnight) of 14 January 2022.
5. The Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania shall be the institution responsible for managing the emergency or crisis and taking all necessary measures to achieve the objective of the declaration of the state of emergency.
Article 2.
During the state of emergency, the following restrictions shall be imposed on the exercise of the rights and freedoms referred to in Articles 22, 25, 32 and 36 of the Constitution in the areas under the state of emergency as referred to in Article 1(1) of this Resolution:
1) foreigners who have unlawfully entered the territory of the Republic of Lithuania and/or who are present in accommodation facilities designated by institutions of the Republic of Lithuania shall, in accordance with the procedure and under the conditions laid down by the State Border Guard Service, be restricted in their right to receive and disseminate information, the right to correspondence, the right to telephone access and the right to otherwise communicate by means of mobile communication and the internet, if necessary by restricting access to means of communication, unless such persons use these means of communication to apply to state institutions and agencies of the Republic of Lithuania, for legal aid, or to international organisations;
2) persons shall, in accordance with the procedure laid down in this Regulation, be restricted in their right to access, and to declare their place of residence in, the area under the state of emergency as referred to in Article 1(1)(1) of this Resolution;
3) persons shall be restricted in their right to organise and hold gatherings in the areas under the state of emergency.
Article 3.
During the state of emergency, the following emergency measures referred to in Article 28 of the Law on a State of Emergency shall apply:
1) use of the state reserve to address the threat to public peace caused by the mass influx of foreigners;
2) strengthening of the guarding of the state border. Upon the strengthening of the guarding of the state border, persons who intend to cross or have crossed the state border in locations not designated for that purpose, or in locations designated for that purpose, in violation of the procedure for crossing the state border as laid down in legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania, and who are present in the area under the state of emergency shall be refused admission into the territory of the country, if necessary (if they disobey lawful orders or instructions of authorised officers) through the use of deterrent actions and mental coercion or, if such persons, by their actions or items in their possession, represent a genuine and present threat to the life or health of officers or other persons, by means of proportional physical violence and other special measures specified in laws of the Republic of Lithuania to ensure their non-admission into the country’s territory;
3) tightening of the procedures for the stay and supervision of foreigners in the Republic of Lithuania. Foreigners who are present in the accommodation facilities designated by the institutions of the Republic of Lithuania and who are refused admission into the territory of the Republic of Lithuania shall not be allowed to leave the territory of the accommodation facilities, save in exceptional circumstances determined by the State Border Guard Service;
4) ban on access to the border area under the state of emergency. In exceptional cases, the State Border Guard Service may permit access to this area at a reasoned request of the person concerned. The ban shall not apply to and no authorisation shall be required for persons who reside, possess immovable property in this area and hold documentary evidence thereof;
5) ban on changing the place of permanent residence during the state of emergency by declaring it in the area under the state of emergency as referred to in Article 1(1)(1) of this Resolution;
6) ban on gatherings in the areas under the state of emergency;
7) checks of vehicles and persons and their luggage for the purpose of tracing and seizing illicit firearms, ammunition, explosive, radioactive, toxic and other hazardous substances and devices, identifying and detaining offenders, safeguarding public policy and public peace, protecting the life, health and property of residents;
8) the temporary seizure, for the period of the state of emergency, of weapons, their accessories, ammunition and parts of ammunition belonging to persons authorised to hold them, where information is available indicating that they may be used for the commission of criminal acts.
Article 4.
1. During the state of emergency, the Lithuanian Armed Forces shall be used in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Organisation of the National Defence System and Military Service.
2. The Lithuanian Armed Forces shall be used to implement the emergency measures provided for in points 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8 of Article 3 of this Resolution.
3. Servicemen of the Lithuanian Armed Forces implementing emergency measures shall, during the state of emergency in the area under the state of emergency, have the rights laid down in Article 13(2) of the Statute of the Republic of Lithuania on the Use of Military Force.
Speaker of the Seimas Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen