SEIMAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
S T A T U T E
17 February 1994 No I-399
Vilnius
(As last amended on 28 June 2022 – No XIV-1180)
PART I
STATUS OF A MEMBER OF THE SEIMAS
Chapter I
Powers and the Oath of a Member of the Seimas
Article 1. Mandate of a Member of the Seimas
1. The main rights and duties of a Member of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter: ‘a Member of the Seimas’) shall be defined by the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter: ‘the Constitution’) and this Statute, and his other rights and duties shall also be defined by other laws of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter: ‘laws’).
2. In performing his duties, a Member of the Seimas shall act in compliance with the Constitution, the interests of the State and his own conscience and may not be restricted by any mandate.
Article 2. Beginning of the Powers and Acquisition of the Rights of a Member of the Seimas
1. The powers of Members of the Seimas shall begin on the day that the newly elected Seimas convenes for the first time. The powers of the previously elected Members of the Seimas shall expire upon the commencement of the said sitting.
2. An elected Member of the Seimas shall acquire all of the rights of a representative of the Nation only upon taking the oath of loyalty to the Republic of Lithuania at a Seimas sitting. A Member of the Seimas who has not taken the oath shall not have the rights established in Chapter 2 of this Statute, shall not make use of the resources provided for his activities nor of the guarantees of his activities specified in Chapter 3 of this Statute and shall not receive the salary of a Member of the Seimas.
Article 3. Text of the Oath of a Member of the Seimas
1. The text of the oath of a Member of the Seimas shall read as follows:
“I (forename, surname)
swear to be faithful to the Republic of Lithuania;
to respect and observe its Constitution and laws and to protect the integrity of its territory;
to strengthen to the best of my ability the independence of Lithuania, to conscientiously serve my Homeland, democracy, and the well-being of the people of Lithuania.
So help me God.”
2. The oath may be taken omitting the last sentence.
Article 4. Procedure for Taking the Oath of a Member of the Seimas
1. The oath of a Member of the Seimas shall be administered by the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter: the ‘Constitutional Court’), or, in his absence or in the event that the he is temporarily unable to discharge the duties of his office, by the justice of the Constitutional Court, acting as the President of the Constitutional Court.
2. A Member of the Seimas taking the oath shall stand in front of the person administering the oath and shall read the oath holding his hand on the Constitution.
3. Having read the oath, a Member of the Seimas shall sign the nominal oath sheet.
4. The text of the oath shall not be amended and changed; only the last sentence of the oath may be struck out. A Member of the Seimas who does not comply with this provision, refuses to sign the nominal oath sheet or signs the sheet with a stipulation shall not be considered to have taken the oath.
5. Nominal oath sheets shall be handed over to the President or the justice of the Constitutional Court, who has administered the oath, who shall check them and read the names of the Members of the Seimas who have acquired all of the rights of a representative of the nation.
6. A Member of the Seimas must take the oath anew if, upon termination of his powers, he has again become a Member of the Seimas pursuant to the Constitution and laws.
7. A Member of the Seimas must take the oath at the first sitting of a newly elected Seimas. A Member of the Seimas who is not able to attend the first sitting of a newly elected Seimas due to the especially important justifiable cause shall take the oath at the next Seimas sitting following the disappearance of such especially important justifiable cause. A Member of the Seimas who is elected later shall take the oath at the next Seimas sitting following his election.
Article 5. Consequences in the Event of Failure of a Member of the Seimas to Take the Oath
A Member of the Seimas who fails to take the oath in the manner prescribed by this Statute or who takes a conditional oath shall lose the mandate of a Member of the Seimas under Article 59 of the Constitution. The Seimas shall adopt a resolution thereon.
Article 6. Compatibility of the Duties of a Member of the Seimas
1. The duties of a Member of the Seimas, with the exception of his duties in the Seimas, shall be incompatible with any other duties in state agencies and organisations and with any job in business, commercial and other private agencies or enterprises.
2. For his term of office, a Member of the Seimas shall be exempt from the duty to perform national defence service.
3. A Member of the Seimas may be appointed only as Prime Minister or Minister.
Article 7. Certificate and Badge of a Member of the Seimas
1. A Member of the Seimas shall have a certificate of a Member of the Seimas and a badge of a Member of the Seimas which shall be used by him during his term of office.
2. A certificate shall be presented to a Member of the Seimas after the proclamation of election results, and a badge - after taking the oath.
3. A sample of a badge of a Member of the Seimas shall be approved by the Board of the Seimas.
Article 8. Termination of the Powers of a Member of the Seimas
1. The powers of a Member of the Seimas shall be terminated:
1) upon the expiry of his term of office or when the Seimas elected in pre-term elections convenes for the first time;
2) upon his death;
3) upon his resignation by handing in the written notification of resignation;
4) if he is declared legally incapable by the court;
5) if the Seimas revokes his mandate in accordance with impeachment proceedings;
6) if the elections are deemed invalid or if the Law on Elections to the Seimas is grossly violated;
7) if, following his election as a Member of the European Parliament or a municipal councillor, he does not renounce his mandate as Member of the European Parliament or municipal councillor, or if he takes up or does not give up employment incompatible with the requirements of Article 60(1) of the Constitution or Article 6(1) of this Statute or
8) if he is deprived of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania.
2. A resolution of the Seimas to terminate the powers of a Member of the Seimas on the grounds provided for in point 7 of Article 63 of the Constitution and point 7 of paragraph 1 of this Article shall be adopted by majority vote, i.e. more than half of all the Members of the Seimas.
Chapter II
Activities of A Member of the Seimas
Article 9. Rights of a Member of the Seimas
A Member of the Seimas shall, in the manner prescribed by this Statute, have the right to:
1) vote on all issues being considered at Seimas sittings, committee or commission of which he is a member;
2) elect and be elected to any office in the Seimas;
3) participate in a discussion concerning all issues under consideration and present his motions, observations, amendments, vocally or in writing;
4) submit the text of his speech which has not been made to the chair a sitting for inclusion in the verbatim report of the sitting;
5) propose issues to the Seimas for consideration;
6) prepare and submit to the Seimas for consideration drafts of laws and other legal acts and put forward motions concerning the laws which are to be debated in the Seimas;
7) put questions to rapporteurs and shadow rapporteurs during the Seimas sittings;
8) make statements and remarks, speak on voting motives, and put motions relative to the conduct, procedure of a sitting;
9) obtain, directly or through an assistant, copies of the registered drafts of laws and copies of the laws and other acts passed by the Seimas, decisions and draft decisions of the Speaker of the Seimas, the Board of the Seimas and the Conference of Chairs, drafts of the legal acts prepared by the Government, resolutions passed by other State government and administration institutions, and legal acts of public officials;
10) attend sittings of all Seimas committees and commissions, and Government sittings and, when necessary, attend sittings of State government and administration institutions at which issues submitted by him are discussed, and, upon advance notice, other sittings at which the issues in which he is interested are discussed, except the sittings concerning State secrets, the procedure for the consideration whereof shall be established by law;
11) make inquiries to the Government members, the heads of other state institutions, submit questions to them and to the Seimas officials and
12) together with other Members of the Seimas:
a) submit a draft law on the amendment of the Constitution,
b) initiate impeachment,
c) start no-confidence, interpellation proceedings,
d) convene an extraordinary Seimas session and an extraordinary sitting,
e) appeal to the Constitutional Court,
f) otherwise act in accordance with the provisions of this Statute.
Article 10. Participation of a Member of the Seimas in Work of the Seimas
1. A Member of the Seimas must participate in Seimas sittings.
2. Each Member of the Seimas, with the exception of the Speaker of the Seimas and the Prime Minister, must serve as a member of some committee and participate in the work thereof and he may also serve as a substitute member of another committee.
3. A Member of the Seimas may serve as a member of only one committee, except for the Committee on European Affairs and the Committee for the Future which may consist of the members of other committees.
4. The Speaker of the Seimas and the Prime Minister may not serve as a full or substitute member of a committee.
5. A Member of the Seimas must participate in meetings of the Board of the Seimas, the Conference of Chairs, the Seimas committees, commissions and subcommittees a member of which he is.
6. A Member of the Seimas must participate in meetings of the Commission for Ethics and Procedures upon a written invitation of the Commission Chair. If a Member of the Seimas is unable to participate in that meeting, he must inform in writing the Commission Chair and specify the reasons for failure to participate. The Commission for Ethics and Procedures may consider violations of ethics by a Member of the Seimas, matters relating to the adjustment of private and public interests even without the attendance of the invited Member of the Seimas, if such is his request and he submits explanations thereto or repeatedly fails to attend a Commission without an important justifiable reason.
Article 11. Attendance of Members of the Seimas at Sittings and their Business Trips Abroad
1. It shall be deemed that a Member of the Seimas has attended a Seimas sitting if he has registered at more than half of votings on adoption of a legal act, which were scheduled in advance and held at the scheduled time, and has registered in all Seimas sittings of that day. It shall be deemed that a Member of the Seimas has attended a Seimas committee or Seimas commission meeting if he registered against his signature in the annex to the minutes of the meeting, except for the cases referred to in Article 53(8) and (11) and Article 18613(1) of this Statute.
2. If a Member of the Seimas is unable to attend a Seimas sitting, a Seimas committee or commission meeting, he must, in advance or if not possible in advance – not later than within one week, notify respectively the Secretariat of Seimas Sittings, the committee or commission chair specifying the reasons of non-attendance.
3. Important, justifiable reasons for non-attendance at Seimas sittings and at Seimas committee or commission meetings shall include temporary working incapacity, business trip, child-rearing leave of a Member of the Seimas or other important circumstances, and non-attendance at sittings or meetings with the approval of the Board of the Seimas. If a Member of the Seimas fails to inform that he will not attend a sitting or meeting or to indicate the reasons for non-attendance, it shall be deemed that a sitting or meeting has been missed without an important justifiable reason.
4. The Secretariat of Seimas Sittings shall record notifications of the Members of the Seimas concerning non-attendance at Seimas sittings, and the secretariats of the Seimas committees and commissions - about non-attendance of the Members of the Seimas at meetings of the committees and commissions. Such information together with the documents justifying the non-attendance at a sitting or meeting and the conclusions of the chairs of the committees or commissions must be furnished to the Commission for Ethics and Procedures before the 10th of the next month.
5. The Commission for Ethics and Procedures shall decide whether or not the reasons for non-attendance at a Seimas meeting are important and justifiable, the chairs of the Seimas committees and commission decide whether or not the reasons for non-attendance at a committee or commission meeting are important and justifiable. Disputes whether or not the reasons for non-attendance at a committee or commission meeting are important and justifiable shall be solved by the Commission for Ethics and Procedures, taking into account the conclusions of the chairs of the appropriate committees and commissions and the explanations of a Member of the Seimas.
6. The chair of the Commission for Ethics and Procedures shall announce the preceding month’s data on the non-attendance of Members of the Seimas at Seimas sittings and meetings of the Seimas committees and commissions, summarised before the 20th of each month, to the Board of the Seimas and put it on the website of the Seimas.
7. If the Board of the Seimas sends not fewer that two Members of the Seimas on a business trip to participate in the same event, these Members of the Seimas shall compose a group and the Board of the Seimas shall appoint a leader of the group.
8. A Member of the Seimas who has been sent on a business trip alone or who alone has gone on a trip abroad to which the Board of the Seimas has given its consent, or a leader of a group of Members of the Seimas must, not later than within ten days of returning from the business trip abroad or the trip abroad to which the Board of the Seimas has given its consent, submit a report on the fulfilment of the assignments in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Board of the Seimas.
9. If the Board of the Seimas sends a Member of the Seimas on a business trip as a member of the delegation accompanying the President of the Republic of Lithuania or the delegation led by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania, in such cases a Member of the Seimas is not obliged to write a report on the fulfilment of the assignments. A copy of the activity report of the delegation which comprised the Member of the Seimas shall be submitted to the Seimas by an institution which formed the delegation.
10. The provisions of paragraphs 2 and 4 of this Article shall not apply to the member of the Board of the Seimas and to the Members of the Seimas holding the office of the Prime Minister or a Minister.
Article 12. Work of a Member of the Seimas with Voters
1. A Member of the Seimas must hold regular meetings with voters and inform them about his activities. He shall have the right to invite officials of State and municipal institutions and agencies, municipal officials and municipal councillors to participate in the meetings.
2. A Member of the Seimas shall examine proposals, requests and complaints and, when necessary, shall refer them to state institutions for consideration.
3. Complaints of voters which fall within the remit of a Seimas ombudsman may be referred to a Seimas ombudsman for investigation. They shall be addressed in accordance with the procedure established by the Law on Seimas Ombudsmen.
4. All officials and heads of enterprises, agencies and organisations to whom an appeal of a Member of the Seimas is addressed or to whom proposals, requests and complaints of voters have been referred by a Member of the Seimas must consider them and reply to a Member of the Seimas not later than within 20 days of the receipt thereof.
Article 121. Specific features of Activities of Members of the Seimas in the Event of a Declared Emergency due to the Threat of the Spread of a Communicable Disease or in the event of a Declared Lockdown
1. In the event of a national-level emergency being declared due to the threat of the spread of a communicable disease, or in the event of a lockdown being declared in the cases and according to the procedure laid down by the Law on the Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases in Humans, Members of the Seimas may enter the buildings of the Seimas in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Board of the Seimas, after presenting to the Office of the Seimas for the purposes of prevention and control of communicable diseases in the Seimas a document confirming that they have been checked, in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Government, to ensure that they are free from the communicable disease for which a national-level emergency and/or a lockdown have/has been declared, or that they qualify for the exemptions laid down by legal acts, where such health check may be waived.
2. If a Member of the Seimas is unable to attend a sitting of the Seimas or a meeting of a Seimas committee or commission held in the building of the Seimas because he fails to submit the document referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, it shall be deemed that the sitting/meeting has been missed without a valid and justified reason.
3. When a national-level emergency due to the threat of the spread of a communicable disease or a lockdown has been declared, Members of the Seimas may physically attend closed-door meetings as part of their duty to meet with voters, as set out in Article 12(1) of this Statute, provided that they are in possession of a document confirming that they have been checked, in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Government, to ensure that they are free from the communicable disease for which a national-level emergency and/or a lockdown have/has been declared, or that they qualify for the exemptions laid down by legal acts, where such health check may be waived.
Chapter III
PROVISION OF conditions and Guarantees necessary
for the activities of A Member of the Seimas
Article 13. Duties of Local Authorities, Diplomatic Missions and Consular Posts of the Republic of Lithuania to Provide Conditions for the Activities of Members of the Seimas
1. Local authorities and their executive bodies and heads of state enterprises, agencies and organisations, must provide a Member of the Seimas with conditions enabling him to meet with voters, announce of the time and place of such meetings and provide him with other necessary assistance and information.
2. Local authorities must allot and maintain permanent premises for Members of the Seimas elected in single-candidate electoral areas to receive voters.
3. Local authorities must allot properly arranged premises for Members of the Seimas elected in multi-candidate electoral areas to receive voters and hold meetings.
4. The diplomatic missions and consular posts of the Republic of Lithuania must allot premises for a Member of the Seimas elected in the single-member constituency of Lithuanians abroad to receive voters in accordance with a timetable agreed in advance between the Member of the Seimas and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Article 14. Visits of Members of the Seimas to Enterprises, Agencies and Organisations
1. A Member of the Seimas shall have the right to demand to be received without delay at enterprises, agencies and organisations concerning issues which pertain to his activities and the right to be provided with necessary information.
2. A Member of the Seimas shall have the right to unrestricted access to all enterprises, agencies and organisations. The procedure for visiting enterprises, agencies and organisations whose activities are associated with the protection of State secrets and the procedure for the protection of the information considered a State secret which has been acquired by a Member of the Seimas shall be established by law.
Article 15. Salary of a Member of the Seimas
1. Compensation for the work of a Member of the Seimas and for the expenses related to his parliamentary activities shall be covered from the state budget.
2. The salary of a Member of the Seimas and the procedure for payment thereof shall be established by the Seimas. The law concerning changes in the amount of salaries of Members of the Seimas shall become effective only from the day that the next newly-elected Seimas convenes for the first time.
3. For their work Members of the Seimas-officials and the leader of the Seimas Opposition shall be paid salaries the amount of which shall be established by law.
4. A Member of the Seimas may not receive any other payment, with the exception of payment for creative activities. Payments made to a Member of the Seimas for creative activities shall comprise royalties for the works of art and the performance thereof, for articles and books, for the material for radio and television programmes, provided that a Member of the Seimas is not related to the agency, enterprise or organisation paying him for creative activities by labour, official or similar relations which may be the cause of conflict of private and public interests.
Article 151. Reduction in the Salary of a Member of the Seimas
1. For a Member of the Seimas who failed to attend without an important justifying reason more than half of the Seimas sittings in which voting on the adoption of legal acts was scheduled in advance and took place at the scheduled time, his salary of that month shall be reduced by one third. On the basis of the conclusions of the Commission for Ethics and Procedures, the salary shall be reduced on the decision of the Board of the Seimas. The sum by which the salary of that Member of the Seimas is reduced shall be deducted from his salary for the next month.
2. A decision of the Board of the Seimas concerning the reduction in the salary may be appealed against to the Seimas within 15 days of the taking of such decision. An appeal shall be filed with the Speaker of the Seimas. The Seimas shall pass a protocol resolution on the said appeal.
3. If a Member of the Seimas is placed under arrest in accordance with the procedure established by law, the salary and the funds for reimbursement of the expenses related to his parliamentary activities shall not be paid for the whole period of arrest. When a pre-trial investigation concerning the Member of the Seimas or criminal proceedings, in which the Member of the Seimas is the accused, are terminated because of the absence of a criminal offence or a criminal act, or failure to gather information sufficient to substantiate his guilt for committing of a criminal act, or an exculpatory court judgment is adopted in respect of the Member of the Seimas, he shall, not later than within 5 working days, be paid the whole amount of salary which he has not received because of the arrest during the term of office.
4. If by a court judgment, a Member of the Seimas is sentenced to arrest, fixed term deprivation of liberty or life imprisonment, the salary of the Member of the Seimas and the funds for reimbursement of the expenses related to his parliamentary activities shall not be paid to him for the whole period of serving such sentence. Upon the revocation of the judgment, the Member of the Seimas shall, not later than within five working days, be paid the whole sum of salary which he has not received during the term of office when he was punished by arrest or deprivation of liberty.
Article 152. Use of Official Vehicles
1. The Speaker of Seimas shall be entitled, by virtue of his position, to an official chauffeur-driven car.
2. The procedure for using official vehicles shall be laid down by the Board of the Seimas, on the recommendation of the Secretary General of the Seimas.
Article 153. Funds for Reimbursement of Expenses Related to Parliamentary Activities
1. The sum in the amount of 0.8 average monthly earnings shall be each month allocated subject to accounting to the Speaker of the Seimas to cover representation expenses.
2. The sum in the amount of 0.4 average monthly earnings shall be each month allocated subject to accounting to the Deputy Speakers of the Seimas to cover representation expenses.
3. The sum in the amount of 0.8 average monthly earnings shall be each month allocated subject to accounting to Members of the Seimas to cover expenses related to their parliamentary activities.
4. Municipalities shall, free of charge (the municipality shall pay for cold and hot water, electricity, gas, thermal energy and other public utilities), provide furnished premises with the telephone for a Member of the Seimas and his civil servant of political (personal) confidence for continual use in the municipality (municipalities) located within the constituency chosen by the Member of the Seimas, for the duration of the term of office of the Member of the Seimas – the space of the premises must be not less than 12 m2 and meet the sanitary and hygiene requirements. The Member of the Seimas shall himself pay his telephone bills.
5. The use of official telephones by the Seimas leaders, the chairs of the Committee on European Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Affairs and their deputies, the leader of the Opposition, the chairs of the political groups and their deputies shall be compensated in the amount of 0.32 of the average monthly earnings, the use of official telephones by the chairs of other committees and commissions and their deputies, the chairs of the subcommittees – in the amount of 0.16 of the average monthly earnings.
6. A Member of the Seimas, with the exception of the Speaker of the Seimas, shall himself pay for telephone calls which exceed the fixed amount. The Finance Department of the Office of the Seimas shall have the right to deduct without suit from the next salary of the Member of the Seimas a sum by which the fixed amount is exceeded if the Member of the Seimas does not reimburse the expenses of his telephone calls within the set time limit.
7. The following sum shall be allocated for a period of one year for activities of a political group:
1) the sum in the amount of 0.8 average monthly earnings to cover representation, postal, telephone expenses as well as other expenses related to activities of the political group and an additional amount, taking into consideration the size of the political group, so that each member of the political group is allocated the sum in the amount of 0.32 of the average monthly earnings. If the size of the political group changes, the additional amount allocated to it shall be adjusted on a monthly basis;
2) the sum in the amount of 1 average monthly earnings to cover expenses related to to legislation and expert examination and an additional amount, taking into consideration the size of the political group, so that each member of the political group is allocated the sum in the amount of 0.5 of the average monthly earnings. If the size of the political group changes, the additional amount allocated to it shall be adjusted on a monthly basis.
8. The Board of the Seimas shall lay down the procedure for allocating, using and accounting for the funds of Members of the Seimas to cover expenses related to parliamentary activities as well as the funds specified in point 2 of paragraph 7 of this Article.
Article 154. Provision of Living Quarters for Members of the Seimas and Provision of Living Quarters in the Seimas Hotel
1. For the term of office of a Member of the Seimas, he shall, upon his application and by the decision of the Secretary General of the Seimas, be provided living quarters in the Seimas hotel for residing with his family members, if so requested by the Member of the Seimas. The first to be provided with living quarters shall be Members of the Seimas who do not have and within the last five years before the date of filing of an application did not have by the right of ownership the living quarters within the territory of the municipality of Vilnius city and not farther than within 25 kilometres from the administrative limits of the municipality of Vilnius city.
2. Expenses related to residing in the Seimas hotel (for cold and hot water, electricity, gas, thermal energy and other public utilities) shall, in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Board of the Seimas, be reimbursed to the Members of the Seimas, with the exception of the Members of the Seimas who have and, within the last five years of filing of an application, have had by the right of ownership the living quarters within the territory of the municipality of Vilnius city and not farther than within 25 kilometres from the administrative limits of the municipality of Vilnius city. The distance to a place of residence shall be determined by shortest public roads of national and local significance, according to the administrative limits of the municipality of Vilnius city, established on the day of filing of an application to provide living quarters.
3. Other Members of the Seimas living in the Seimas hotel shall pay for cold and hot water, electricity, gas, thermal energy and public utilities according to the fixed rates.
4. The Finance Department of the Office of the Seimas shall deduct without suit from the next salary of the Member of the Seimas the fees for these services, calculated but failed to be paid within the given time.
5. Upon the expiry of the powers of Member of the Seimas, a former Member of the Seimas and his family members who live with him must within 30 days move out of the occupied premises and to fully pay for their life in the Seimas hotel.
6. If there are no appropriate accommodation in the Seimas hotel adapted to the special needs of a Member of the Seimas with special needs, the rental price of residential accommodation adapted to the special needs of the said Member of the Seimas, as well as expenses for cold and hot water, electricity, gas, thermal energy and public utilities shall, by the decision of the Board of the Seimas, be reimbursed up to a maximum of 0.8 average monthly earnings per month.
7. Living quarters the Seimas hotel which have not been provided to Members of the Seimas, if no application for living quarters in the Seimas hotel have been received from Members of the Seimas, may be provided by decision of the Secretary General of the Seimas and in accordance with the procedure and under the conditions laid down by the Board of the Seimas to persons who have been victims of the war (hereinafter: ‘victims’) for temporary use free of charge.
8. Expenses related to residing in the Seimas hotel (for cold and hot water, electricity, gas, thermal energy and other public utilities) shall be reimbursed in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Board of the Seimas.
Article 155. Guarantees after the Ceasing of the Powers of a Member of the Seimas
1. When the powers of Member of the Seimas cease in the cases provided for in points 1 and 6 of Article 63 of the Constitution, a Member of the Seimas shall, in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Law on Civil Service, be entitled to return to the post previously occupied by him.
2. When the powers of Member of the Seimas cease in the cases provided for in points 1 and 4 of Article 63 of the Constitution, he shall be paid a severance pay. He shall be paid a severance pay equal to the amount of as many average monthly salaries of Member of the Seimas as many years continuously lasted his term of office in the Seimas, but not less than two nor more than six average monthly salaries of Member of the Seimas. If the term of office of Member of the Seimas is less than one year, then a period of more than six months shall be regarded in this Article as a full year of the term of office. A severance pay shall not be paid, if a Member of the Seimas, whose powers expired in the case provided for in point 1 of Article 63 of the Constitution, is re-elected.
3. When the powers of Member of the Seimas cease in the case provided for in point 2 of Article 63 of the Constitution, a pay in the amount specified in paragraph 2 of this Article shall be paid to his family members.
Article 156. Working Time and Rest Time of a Member of the Seimas
Functioning of the Seimas shall be continuous. The Board of the Seimas shall fix working time of Member of the Seimas during Seimas sessions. A Member of the Seimas shall independently plan time between Seimas sessions, if he does not participate in meetings of the Seimas committees and commissions.
Article 16. Civil Servants of Political (Personal) Confidence and Public Consultants of the Speaker of the Seimas and Members of the Seimas
1. Civil servants of political (personal) confidence of the Speaker of the Seimas shall help the Speaker of the Seimas to formulate political provisions and priorities, to take decisions and to implement them.
2. Civil servants of political (personal) confidence of a Member of the Seimas shall help the Member of the Seimas to carry out parliamentary activity. Three posts of a civil servant of political (personal) confidence of a Member of the Seimas shall be allocated to each Member of the Seimas. The post of an adviser to a Member of the Seimas and/or the post of an assistant of a Member of the Seimas may be allocated according to the choice of a Member of the Seimas. With the approval of the Board of the Seimas, an additional post of an assistant of a Member of the Seimas may be allocated to a Member of the Seimas with special needs.
3. During their term of office, the Speaker of the Seimas and Members of the Seimas may have public consultants.
4. A civil servant of political (personal) confidence of a Member of the Seimas shall organise the work and distribute the working time in agreement with the Member of the Seimas, within the limits of the working time established for his post and observing the requirements for maximum working time and minimum rest periods.
Article 161. Civil Servants of Political (Personal) Confidence and Public Consultants of Political Groups
1. Civil servants of political (personal) confidence of a political group – assistants to political groups shall help a political group with its activities.
2. The Board of the Seimas shall fix a number of civil servant of political (personal) confidence posts for each political group by taking into account the number of political group members. Each political group shall be allocated at least one assistant to a political group post
3. During the period of its mandate, a political group may have public consultants.
Article 17. Liability for Preventing a Member of the Seimas from Exercising his Powers
1. Persons and officials who prevent a Member of the Seimas from exercising his powers, who encroach upon the life, health, honour, or dignity of a Member of the Seimas as a representative of the Nation, shall be held liable under law.
2. A disciplinary penalty may be imposed according to the procedure established by law on an official guilty for failure to carry out the legitimate demands of a Member of the Seimas; he may be removed from office.
Chapter IV
Discipline and Immunity of A Member of the Seimas. OBLIGATION OF
A MEMBER OF THE SEIMAS TO AVOID THE CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Article 18. Obligation of a Member of the Seimas to Avoid the Conflict of Interest
1. It shall be prohibited to misuse the mandate of a Member of the Seimas, i.e. to use it for purposes other than the interests of the Nation, State and voters. A Member of the Seimas must respect and act in compliance with the Constitution and laws.
2. While executing the duties of a Member of the Seimas, each Member of the Seimas must avoid the conflict of interest in accordance with the procedure laid down by this Statute and by means of measures provided for in the Law on the Adjustment of Public and Private Interests, acting in such a way as to avoid suspicions that such a conflict exists or may arise. In the event of the conflict of interest, a Member of the Seimas must act in compliance with this Statute and recommendations of the Commission for Ethics and Procedures or the Chief Official Ethics Commission. A Member of the Seimas must do his utmost that his integrity should not raise doubts among the public and that the public be given a possibility to ascertain the integrity of the Member of the Seimas.
3. A Member of the Seimas shall be prohibited from taking part in the preparation, consideration or adoption of decisions, or from otherwise influencing or attempting to influence these decisions, or from performing any other official duties (hereinafter: ‘to perform official duties’) in so far as they relate to his private interests.
4. Before taking up the official duties referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article, a Member of the Seimas must inform the chair of a sitting and other persons present at the sitting about his private interests which may give rise to a conflict of interest, declare his self-exclusion and not participate by any form when continuing to perform his official duties.
5. The Commission for Ethics and Procedures or an investigation commission set up for this purpose must investigate the activities of a Member of the Seimas which violate the provisions of this Article and present the investigation conclusion to the Seimas.
6. By a reasoned decision of a Seimas committee, commission or any other division of the Seimas and in compliance with the criteria set out in the recommendation of the Chief Official Ethics Commission, the self-exclusion declared by a Member of the Seimas may not be accepted and the Member of the Seimas may be obligated to continue performing his official duties. The information regarding the decision not to accept the self-exclusion declared by the Member of the Seimas shall be immediately, but not later than within five working days of the adoption of the said decision, submitted to the Commission for Ethics and Procedures.
7. If after the examination of the activities of a Member of the Seimas, the Commission for Ethics and Procedures or an investigation commission set up for this purpose submits to the Seimas the conclusion that the Member of the Seimas has failed to meet the requirements referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Article or that the decision not to accept the self-exclusion declared by the Member of the Seimas does not satisfy the criteria indicated in the recommendation of the Chief Official Ethics Commission, the procedure for preparing, considering or adopting a decision (issue) may, by a resolution of the Seimas, be recommenced from the stage when the infringement was committed.
8. If it appears that during the passage of a law, the provisions of this Article concerning the avoidance of the conflict of interest have been violated, the provisions laid down in Article 160 of this Statute may be applied.
Article 181. Declaration of Private Interests of a Member of the Seimas and Supervision thereof
1. Each Member of the Seimas must declare his private interests in accordance with procedure laid down in the Law on the Adjustment of Public and Private Interests.
2. The Chief Official Ethics Commission shall ensure the accessibility declarations of private interests of Members of the Seimas and data of the Conflict of Interest Risk Management Information System to the Seimas Commission for Ethics and Procedures.
3. The Seimas Commission for Ethics and Procedures, having scrutinised the declarations of private interests of Members of the Seimas, shall submit to the Members of the Seimas written recommendations aimed at avoiding the conflict of interest. The Members of the Seimas may make such recommendations publicly known at their own discretion. The recommendations referred to in this paragraph may be of general scope for all Members of the Seimas or of an individual nature, i.e. addressed to a separate Member of the Seimas or for a specific situation.
Article 19. Repealed
Article 20. Warning to a Member of the Seimas
1. If during a sitting a Member of the Seimas begins to argue with Members of the Seimas or other participants of the sitting or makes noise in the Plenary Chamber, the chair of the sitting may call to order the Member of the Seimas.
2. If the said Member of the Seimas does not heed the warning of the chair of the sitting, the warning may be recorded in the minutes of the sitting. A warning to a Member of the Seimas for a public threat to colleagues, for an insult of a Member of the Seimas or a group thereof, for dishonest voting may be immediately recorded in the minutes.
3. The warning which is recorded in the minutes of the sitting shall be administered on the recommendation of the chair of the Seimas sitting or the Commission for Ethics and Procedures, without debate and by a simple majority of the Members of the Seimas participating in the voting.
4. A Member of the Seimas to whom administration of such warning is proposed, shall have the right to explain himself to the Seimas for a maximum of 3 minutes prior to the voting.
Article 21. Removal of a Member of the Seimas from a Sitting
1. The Seimas may temporarily exclude a Member of the Seimas from the Plenary Chamber until the end of the sitting of that day, if he:
1) continues, after being called to order, to interrupt the business of the Seimas;
2) during a sitting, calls for the use of the coercion or uses it personally;
3) publicly insults or threatens the President of the Republic, the Seimas, the Speaker of the Seimas, the Members of the Seimas, the Government, or the Prime Minister, or threatens them during a sitting;
4) disgraces the name of a Member of the Seimas with his actions.
2. In the cases referred to in paragraph 1of this Article, decisions concerning the exclusion of a Member of the Seimas from the Plenary Chamber shall be adopted without debate by a simple majority of the Members of the Seimas participating in the voting, on the recommendation of the chair of the sitting or the Commission for Ethics and Procedures.
3. If a Member of the Seimas who has been temporarily removed from a sitting refuses to heed the demand of the chair of the sitting to leave the Plenary Chamber, the sitting shall be temporarily interrupted and security officers shall escort the Member of the Seimas concerned from the Plenary Chamber.
4. The Member of the Seimas who is removed from Seimas sittings shall not receive a salary for the days when the Seimas sittings from which he is removed are held.
Article 22. Immunity of a Member of the Seimas
1. The person of a Member of the Seimas shall be inviolable.
2. A Member of the Seimas may not be persecuted for his voting or speeches in the Seimas, i.e. at the Seimas sittings, Seimas committees, commissions and political groups, however, he may, for personal insult or slander, be held liable in accordance with the general procedure.
3. Criminal proceedings may not be instituted against a Member of the Seimas, he may not be arrested, and may not be subjected to any other restrictions of personal freedom without the consent of the Seimas, except in cases when he is caught in the act of committing a crime (in flagrante delicto). In such cases the Prosecutor General must immediately notify the Seimas thereof.
Article 23. Waiver of the Immunity of a Member of the Seimas
1. Upon hearing the report of the Prosecutor General concerning prosecution, arrest or any other restriction of freedom of a Member of the Seimas, the Seimas sitting shall be adjourned for the period of not less than one hour and not more than two hours. After the adjournment the Seimas shall decide whether or not to form an investigation commission for the consent to prosecute, arrest or otherwise restrict the freedom of a Member of the Seimas.
2. If the Seimas decides to form an investigation commission for the consent to prosecute, arrest or otherwise restrict the freedom of a Member of the Seimas, then the commission shall be formed according to the procedure provided for in Article 71 of this Statute. When investigating the issue concerning the waiver of immunity of a Member of the Seimas, the commission must invite to its meeting the said Member of the Seimas whose issue is under consideration and hear him or another Member of the Seimas authorised by him as well as a representative of the Prosecutor’s Office. If the invited Member of the Seimas or another Member of the Seimas authorised by him fails to come to the commission meeting without a valid reason or he refuses to provide explanations to the commission, the commission shall have the right to adopt a decision in the absence of the Member of the Seimas or another Member of the Seimas authorised by him. Valid reasons why the Member of the Seimas or another Member of the Seimas authorised by him does not come to the commission’s meeting shall be the reasons laid down in the Code of Criminal Procedure, prescribing compulsory appearance of the participants at the proceedings.
3. When the investigation commission prepares and announces its conclusion, the issue concerning the waiver of immunity of the person of a Member of the Seimas shall be included on the agenda of the next Seimas sitting.
4. Consideration of the issue concerning the waiver of immunity of the person of a Member of the Seimas should be limited to the interpretation, assessment or revision of the facts provided for in the motion of the Prosecutor General. The discussion concerning the waiver of immunity shall be attended by the rapporteur of the investigation commission, the Member of the Seimas the issue of the waiver of whose personal immunity is under consideration or another Member of the Seimas authorised by him, and no more than two Members of the Seimas who speak in favour and two Members of the Seimas who speak against. If it is proposed in the investigation commission’s conclusion to grant the motion of the Prosecutor General, a resolution of the Seimas regarding the consent to prosecute, arrest or otherwise restrict freedom of the said Member of the Seimas may be adopted when more than half of all the Members of the Seimas vote in favour of that resolution. If it is proposed in the investigation commission’s conclusion to deny the motion of the Prosecutor General, a resolution of the Seimas regarding the refusal to prosecute, arrest or otherwise restrict freedom of the said Member of the Seimas may be adopted if more than half of all the Members of the Seimas attending the sitting vote in favour of that resolution.
5. If the Seimas does not accept the proposal introduced in the investigation commission’s conclusion to deny the motion of the Prosecutor General, the Members of the Seimas shall immediately vote on whether or not to give consent to prosecute, arrest or otherwise restrict freedom of the Member of the Seimas concerned.
6. If the Seimas has adopted a resolution regarding the consent to prosecute, arrest or otherwise restrict freedom of a Member of the Seimas, the impeachment procedure on the grounds laid down in Article 228(2)(3) of this Statute may be initiated against that Member of the Seimas only upon resolving the issue of criminal liability, i.e. provided that an acquittal has become effective or a judgment of conviction has been pronounced, or the criminal proceedings have been terminated, except for the case specified in Article 228(6) of this Statute. The impeachment proceedings shall be carried out in accordance with the procedure established in Part VIII of this Statute.
PART II
STRUCTURE OF THE SEIMAS
Chapter V
General Issues of Structure
Article 24. Seimas Leaders
1. Seimas sittings shall be chaired by the Speaker of the Seimas or his deputy.
2. There shall not be more than seven Deputy Speakers of the Seimas.
3. The remit of the Speaker of the Seimas and his deputies shall be defined by the Constitution and this Statute.
4. On the recommendation of the Speaker of the Seimas, one of his deputies shall be appointed the first Deputy Speaker of the Seimas.
5. A Member of the Seimas who is elected Speaker of the Seimas or is temporarily acting as Speaker of the Seimas must suspend his activities in a political group of the Members of the Seimas.
Article 25. Committees and Commissions of the Seimas
1. The Seimas shall set up committees from among its members for the consideration of draft laws and other issues assigned to its remit by the Constitution. The list of the committees shall be established by this Statute.
2. The Commission for Ethics and Procedures, the Petitions Commission, the Commission for Parliamentary Scrutiny of Criminal Intelligence, the Commission for the Cause of Freedom and the National Historical Memory, the Commission for the Rights of People with Disabilities, as well as other standing commissions shall be set up in the Seimas.
3. In order to resolve short-term issues or issues of narrower scope, and for carrying out specific assignments, the Seimas may, from among its members, set up investigation, control, auditing, preparatory, drafting and other ad hoc commissions.
4. The Board of the Seimas may also set up preparatory and drafting ad hoc commissions; the Conference of Chairs may also set up coordination commissions.
5. The work of the committees and commissions shall be directed by the respective chairs thereof.
Article 26. Political Groups, a Group of Non-attached Members of the Seimas and Provisional Groups of Members of the Seimas
1. Members of the Seimas may form themselves into political groups according to the procedure established by this Statute for implementing their political goals. This Statute shall establish the rights of the political groups of the Members of the Seimas.
2. A political group of the Members of the Seimas shall be headed and represented in the Seimas by its Chair or Deputy Chair; each Member of the Seimas authorised by a political group may speak out on behalf of the political group.
3. At least two Members of the Seimas who have not been registered in political groups shall be considered as members of a group of the non-attached Members of the Seimas. A group of the non-attached Members of the Seimas consisting of at least seven Members of the Seimas shall enjoy all of the rights of a political group provided for in this Statute. If a group of the non-attached Members of the Seimas consist of less than seven Members of the Seimas, it shall enjoy the rights of a political group provided for in this Statute, except for the rights specified in paragraphs 5 and 7 of Article 153, paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 161 and Article 192(4) of this Statute.
4. The Members of the Seimas may form provisional groups in the procedure established by this Statute.
Article 27. Board of the Seimas
1. The Board of the Seimas shall function in the Seimas, the principal task whereof shall be to settle organisational issues of the work of the Seimas and give advice to the Speaker of the Seimas, if he requests so.
2. The Board of the Seimas shall consist of the Speaker of the Seimas, his deputies and the Leader of the Opposition in the Seimas. The composition of the Board of the Seimas shall be approved by the resolution of the Seimas.
Article 28. Conference of Chairs
1. The Seimas shall have a Conference of Chairs comprising the members of the Board of the Seimas and the representatives of the political groups.
2. Each political group shall appoint one representative for every ten members of the group to the Conference of Chairs.
3. In addition, each political group shall appoint to the Conference of Chairs one representative for the remaining segment of fewer than ten members of the political group, provided that the said segment of fewer than ten members shall comprise more than five Members of the Seimas.
4. Political groups consisting of fewer than ten members shall each appoint one representative to the Conference of Chairs.
5. The principal task of the Conference of Chairs shall be to consider and approve work programmes of the Seimas session and agendas of sittings, to coordinate issues concerning the organisation of the work of the committees and political groups of the Seimas, and to submit drafts of the decisions on said issues to the Seimas and the Board, and give advice to the Speaker of the Seimas.
Chapter VI
SPEAKER OF THE SEIMAS, Deputy SPEAKERS OF THE SEIMAS
and Board OF THE SEIMAS
Article 29. Powers of the Speaker of the Seimas
The Speaker of the Seimas shall:
1) direct the work of the Seimas and represent the Seimas;
2) within ten days of the adoption of a law by the Seimas, certify with his signature the authenticity of the text and refer it to the President of the Republic to sign;, within ten days sign the Statute of the Seimas and amendments thereto; within three days sign the laws which have not been signed by the President of the Republic and not been returned to the Seimas for repeat consideration within ten days of the submission thereof, and proclaim them;
3) within ten days of the adoption, sign the resolutions of the Seimas and other acts passed by the Seimas;
4) within 24 hours sign the minutes of Seimas sittings and the decisions of the Board of the Seimas, provided he has chaired them;
5) temporarily act as President of the Republic or temporarily deputise for President of the Republic in the cases specified in Article 89 of the Constitution;
6) have the right to convene an extraordinary Seimas sitting or an extraordinary session in the cases laid down in Article 89(1) of the Constitution;
7) propose to the Seimas candidates for the posts of Deputy Speakers of the Seimas;
8) propose to the Seimas candidatures to justices of the Constitutional Court in accordance with the procedure established by the Constitution;
9) propose to the Seimas the candidatures of the Seimas ombudsmen and the head of the Seimas Ombudsmen’s Office for appointment and release from duties/dismissal;
10) propose candidatures to the Seimas for appointment and release from duies/dismissal to the posts of heads and deputy heads of state institutions in the cases provided by the Constitution and laws;
11) chair Seimas sittings and the Board of the Seimas or charge one of his Deputies to carry out this function;
12) submit drafts of the work programmes of a session and draft agendas of week- or day-long sittings to the Conference of Chairs or charge one of his Deputies to carry out this function;
13) submit draft agendas of meetings of the Board of the Seimas or charge one of his Deputies to carry out this function; and
14) exercise other powers provided for in this Statute.
2. While exercising his powers, the Speaker of the Seimas shall issue directives.
3. The Speaker of the Seimas and, in his absence, his Deputy may, provided he does not chair a sitting, voice his own opinion out of turn or the opinion of the Board of the Seimas on any issue under consideration at the Seimas sittings.
4. During a session of the Seimas, the Speaker of the Seimas, his Deputies shall, once per session, usually at a Seimas sitting answer questions concerning their activities, which are beforehand submitted in writing by the Members of the Seimas. At an invitation of a political group, answers to questions beforehand submitted in writing by members of the political group may be provided orally at a meeting of the political group.
Article 291. Temporary Acting for the President of the Republic
1. The Speaker of the Seimas shall temporarily act for the President of the Republic in the following cases, specified in Article 89(1) of the Constitution:
1) when the President of the Republic dies;
2) when the President of the Republic resigns;
3) when the Seimas removes the President of the Republic from office according to impeachment proceedings;
4) when the Seimas resolves that the President of the Republic is unable to discharge his duties due to the state of health.
2. When temporarily acting for the President of the Republic, the Speaker of the Seimas shall, for that period of time, lose his powers in the Seimas; all powers of the President of the Republic shall be temporarily passed over to the Speaker of the Seimas. The Speaker of the Seimas shall act for the President of the Republic until a newly elected President of the Republic takes the oath in the manner prescribed by law. The Seimas shall appoint one of the Deputy Speakers of the Seimas to temporarily act for the Speaker of the Seimas during that period of time.
3. When the Seimas receives a transcript of the entry of the act of civil status, issued in the manner prescribed by law, attesting the death of the President of the Republic, or a decree of the President of the Republic on the resignation of the President of the Republic enters into force, an extraordinary sitting of the Seimas shall be immediately convened during the session, or an extraordinary session shall be convened during the period between the sessions, for the adoption of a Seimas resolution specified in paragraph 7 of this Article.
4. Upon receiving a conclusion of the medical commission, approved in accordance with the procedure established in Article 29(3) of this Statute, regarding the state of health of the President of the Republic, the Seimas may appeal to the Constitutional Court with the resolution adopted by a majority vote of more than half of all the Members of the Seimas, requesting to present a conclusion whether, according to the state of his health, the President of the Republic is able to discharge his duties.
5. Upon receiving a conclusion of the Constitutional Court specified in paragraph 4 of this Article, the Seimas shall consider it at a regular or extraordinary Seimas sitting during the session, or at an extraordinary session during the period between the sessions. Having resolved by a 3/5 majority vote of all the Members of the Seimas that the President of the Republic is unable to discharge his duties due to the state of health, the Seimas shall adopt a resolution specified in paragraph 7 of this Article.
6. Following the adoption of the resolution on the removal of the President of the Republic from office according to impeachment proceedings, the Seimas shall adopt a resolution specified in paragraph 7 of this Article at the same or an extraordinary sitting.
7. In the cases established in this Article, the resolution adopted by the Seimas shall indicate the circumstances on which the Seimas resolution is based, the appointment of the Speaker of the Seimas to temporarily act for the President of the Republic, and the appointment of a Deputy Speaker of the Seimas to temporarily act for the Speaker of the Seimas. The Seimas resolution shall be announced in the manner prescribed by legal acts and broadcast through the mass media.
Article 292. Temporary Deputising for the President of the Republic
1. The Speaker of the Seimas shall temporarily deputise for the President of the Republic in the following cases, specified in Article 89(2) of the Constitution:
1) when the President of the Republic is temporarily abroad and therefore unable to discharge the duties of his office;
2) when the President of the Republic has fallen ill and by reason thereof is temporarily unable to discharge the duties of his office.
2. The Speaker of the Seimas shall temporarily deputise for the President of the Republic after the entry into force of a decree of the President of the Republic whereby the Speaker of the Seimas is appointed to temporarily deputise for the President of the Republic due to the latter’s temporary absence beyond the boundaries of the country or his illness.
3. In the cases referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article the Seimas shall adopt a resolution regarding the temporary deputising for the President of the Republic. No discussions shall be held at a Seimas sitting on the issue of the necessity to adopt a Seimas resolution. A Seimas resolution shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.
4. In the cases referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the Speaker of the Seimas shall retain the powers of the Speaker of the Seimas.
5. When the circumstances specified in paragraph 1 of this Article are no longer present, the Speaker of the Seimas shall cease to deputise for the President of the Republic.
Article 293. Setting up a Commission of Doctors
1. When solving an issue whether the President of the Republic is able to carry out the duties of his office due to the state of health, the Seimas, shall, be its resolution, approve a commission of doctors consisting of at least five members, which shall present to the Seimas the conclusion regarding the state of health of the President of the Republic. Candidatures of Commission members shall be nominated to the Seimas by the Seimas Board.
2. The Commission indicated in paragraph 1 of this Article must be approved not later than within 24 hours and its conclusion must be presented to the Seimas within the shortest possible period of time.
Article 30. Powers of the Deputy Speakers of the Seimas
1. The Deputy Speakers of the Seimas shall carry out the functions assigned to them by the Speaker of the Seimas.
2. The Deputy Speakers of the Seimas shall within 24 hours sign the minutes of Seimas sittings and the decision of the Board of the Seimas, provided they have chaired those sittings upon the Speaker’s of the Seimas charge.
3. In the event that the Speaker of the Seimas is temporarily away or has been taken ill and is unable because of that to execute his duties, the first Deputy Speaker of the Seimas or another Deputy Speaker of the Seimas, at the behest of the Seimas, shall deputise for him during such period.
4. In the cases specified in Article 291 of this Statute, the Deputy Speaker of the Seimas whom the Seimas appointed to temporarily act as Speaker of the Seimas shall carry out such duties until the Speaker of the Seimas will start again to execute his duties.
5. The resolution (preliminary or adopted for a concrete case) concerning the temporary performance of the duties of the Speaker of the Seimas or deputising for him shall be adopted by the Seimas on the motion of the Speaker of the Seimas.
Article 31. Secretary General of the Seimas
1. The Secretary General of the Seimas shall be a civil servant - head of the institution who shall be responsible and accountable to the Seimas and the Board of the Seimas.
2. The Secretary General of the Seimas shall be the head of the Office of the Seimas. The Secretary General of the Seimas shall, in the manner prescribed by law, be appointed to office for the period of five years and released from duties/dismissed from office by the Seimas on the recommendation of the Speaker of the Seimas.
3. A Member of the Seimas may not be Secretary General of the Seimas.
4. The position of Secretary General of the Seimas shall be incompatible with participation in the activities of political parties or political organisations.
5. The Secretary General of the Seimas shall:
1) supervise the drafting of documents of the Seimas and the Board of the Seimas;
2) supervise the consideration of issues, inquiries and interpellations submitted to the Government members and heads of other state institutions and furnish related information to Members of the Seimas;
3) consider the issues raised by the Members of the Seimas concerning the functioning of the Office of the Seimas; ensure the implementation of the decisions of the Board of the Seimas;
4) ensure the preparation of a draft work programme of a session, draft agendas for week- and day-long sittings, draft agendas of the Conference of Chairs and the material related to all the issues subject to consideration which are prepared by the Speaker of the Seimas and his Deputies;
5) endorse official documents prior to their being submitted to the Speaker of the Seimas for signature and, within his remit, sign official documents;
6) be responsible for the use and keeping of the Seimas Seals bearing the State Emblem;
7) regularly submit to the Seimas summarised data concerning proposals, wishes and letters addressed by voters to the Seimas;
8) together with the representatives of the political groups, arrange the seats in the Plenary Chamber for the members of the political groups and for those Members of the Seimas who do not belong to any political group and allocate premises for meetings of the political groups;
9) in the manner prescribed by law, appoint to office and release from duties/dismiss civil servants of the Office of the Seimas;
10) approve regulations, rules of procedure, employees’ job descriptions and instructions for clerical work of the divisions of the Office of the Seimas;
11) carry out the functions of the manager of budget appropriations for the Office of the Seimas;
12) carry out other functions laid down in this Statute and the Regulations of the Office of the Seimas.
Article 32. Powers of the Board of the Seimas
The Board of the Seimas shall:
1) approve and submit to the Ministry of Finance draft estimates of programmes and expenditures of the Office of the Seimas;
2) on the advice of the committees, consider and send the Members of the Seimas on business trips with written tasks of the Seimas, the Board, and committees; approve reports on such trips;
3) by the advice of the committees or political groups, consider and approve trips of the Members of the Seimas during a session which are not financed from the funds of the Seimas;
4) when necessary, consider draft work programmes of a Seimas session and draft agendas of week- or day-long sittings, and submit a conclusion to the Conference of Chairs or the Seimas;
5) call unscheduled sittings of the Seimas, fix a time for such sittings;
6) approve a preliminary sitting calendar of a Seimas session;
7) when necessary, establish to which institutions or persons the lead committee must refer a draft law for conclusions;
8) when necessary, adopt a decision to relieve the lead committee of the obligations set forth in Article 147 of this Statute;
9) when necessary, form working groups for drafting laws and carrying out the assignments of the Seimas or the Board of the Seimas;
10) assist in organising the joint work of the committees on issues which fall within the remit of several committees;
11) approve the structure of the Office of the Seimas and the largest possible number of posts of civil servants and employees in the Office of the Seimas and the institutions accountable to the Seimas who are working under employment contracts and receiving salaries from the state budget or the state monetary funds;
12) approve the regulations and rules of procedure of the Office of the Seimas;
13) appeal to the Minister of Health regarding the nomination of candidatures for a commission of doctors, which is approved by the Seimas, when the Seimas considers whether the President of the Republic is able to carry out the duties of his office for health reasons,
14) settle other issues related to the organisation of the activities of the Seimas which are not ascribed to other institutions or officials of the Seimas by virtue of this Statute.
Article 33. Meetings of the Board of the Seimas
1. Meetings of the Board of the Seimas shall be convened and chaired by the Speaker of the Seimas or the Deputy Speaker of the Seimas authorised by him.
2. Other Members of the Seimas as well as permanent representatives of the President of the Republic and the Government may participate in the meetings of the Board of the Seimas as observers. Other individuals may also be invited to meetings of the Board of the Seimas.
3. Issues for consideration may be submitted to the Board by the Board members, committees, commissions, political groups, and the Secretary General of the Seimas.
4. Draft documents of the Board of the Seimas which are submitted for consideration and which are signed by their initiators shall be handed over to the Speaker of the Seimas or the Deputy Speaker of the Seimas authorised by him who prepares a meeting’s agenda based thereon. Agendas of meetings of the Board of the Seimas shall be published on the website of the Seimas.
5. The Speaker of the Seimas or the Deputy Speaker of the Seimas authorised by him, if necessary, on his own initiative or upon receipt of a request from a member of the Board of the Seimas to attend a meeting of the Board of the Seimas remotely, shall take a decision to hold the meeting of the Board of the Seimas remotely. The decision to hold the meeting of the Board of the Seimas remotely shall be immediately communicated electronically to the members of the Board of the Seimas and to other participants of the meeting. Other members of the Board of the Seimas and other participants of the meeting may, at their choice, attend this remotely held meeting of the Board of the Seimas either remotely or by coming to the meeting room of the Board of the Seimas. The meeting of the Board of the Seimas shall be held remotely mutatis mutandis in accordance with the requirements set out in Articles 18612(3) and 18613 of this Statute. The provisions of Article 18614 on the specific features of dealing with disputes shall apply in this case.
6. The request referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article may be submitted to the Speaker of the Seimas or to the Deputy Speaker of the Seimas authorised by him at least 24 hours before the beginning of the meeting of the Board of the Seimas. The Member of the Board of the Seimas must also notify the Secretariat of the Speaker of the Seimas about the submission of the request.
7. The provisions of paragraph 5 of this Article shall not apply when a closed meeting of the Board of the Seimas is held and classified information specified in the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on State Secrets and Official Secrets is presented.
8. In cases of exceptional urgency a meeting of the Board of the Seimas with regard to a business trip abroad or a trip abroad of a Member of the Seimas may be organised by way of inquiry.
9. Meetings of the Board of the Seimas, with the exception of closed meetings and meetings referred to in paragraph 8 of this Article, shall be broadcast on the website of the Seimas and the video recordings of these meetings of the Board of the Seimas shall be rendered public in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Board of the Seimas. Audio recordings shall be made of meetings of the Board of the Seimas, with the exception of the cases where meetings are held in the manner referred to in paragraph 8 of this Article. Audio recordings of meetings of the Board of the Seimas shall be recorded on the computer media and transmitted to the Seimas archive in accordance with the procedure laid down by legal acts.
Article 34. Decisions of the Board of the Seimas
1. Decisions of the Board of the Seimas shall be adopted by open vote and a simple majority of those in attendance, provided that a meeting of the Board of the Seimas is attended by at least half of the Board members. If voting in the Board of the Seimas results in a tie, the Speaker of the Seimas or, in his absence, his deputy who chairs the meeting shall have the casting vote.
2. In the cases referred to in Article 33(5) and (8) and Article 18613(1) of this Statute, decisions of the Board of the Seimas may be taken electronically by a majority of the members of the Board of the Seimas. If voting by the members of the Board of the Seimas results in a tie, the Speaker of the Seimas or, when he does not attend the meeting organised in the manner referred to in Article 33(5) and (8) and Article 18613(1) of this Statute, the Deputy Speaker of the Seimas who chairs the meeting shall have the casting vote.
3. The Members of the Seimas shall be informed through the committees and political groups of the decisions of the Board of the Seimas not later than within three working days of the adoption of the decision.
4. Committees and political groups may appeal against the decisions of the Board of the Seimas to the Seimas, if it is considered that the said decisions violate or restrict the rights of a Member of the Seimas, a political group or a committee, or have been adopted exceeding the powers assigned to the Board. Such complaints shall be considered and resolved by the Seimas, upon hearing the conclusions of the Commission for Ethics and Procedures.
Chapter VII
Conference of CHAIRS OF THE Seimas
Article 35. Meetings of the Conference of Chairs of the Seimas
1. During a session, meetings of the Conference of Chairs of the Seimas (hereinafter: the ‘Conference of Chairs’) shall be held regularly at a time specially allocated for this purpose.
2. Extraordinary meetings of the Conference of Chairs shall be convened at the request of the Speaker of the Seimas, the Board of the Seimas, the chair of the Conference of Chairs, or at least 1/3 of the members of the Conference of Chairs. The members of the Conference of Chairs shall be given notice of the time and agenda of extraordinary meetings at least six hours prior to the beginning thereof. This requirement shall not apply when extraordinary meetings of the Conference of Chairs are convened during the adjournments of Seimas sittings. In this case, the announcement of an extraordinary meeting of the Conference of Chairs shall be made at a Seimas sitting.
3. Meetings of the Conference of Chairs shall be presided over by the chair whose duties, according to the schedule approved by the Conference of Chairs, shall be executed in turn by the chairs of each political group for one week. An opening meeting of the Conference of Chairs held during the first session shall be chaired by the oldest chair of a political group.
4. When a member of the Conference of Chairs submits a request to the Secretariat of Seimas Sittings to attend a meeting of the Conference of Chairs remotely, the meeting of the Conference of Chairs shall be held remotely. This fact shall be communicated immediately by electronic means to the members of the Conference of Chairs and other participants of the meeting. Other members of the Conference of Chairs and other participants of the meeting may, at their choice, attend this remotely held meeting either remotely or by coming to the meeting room of the Conference of Chairs. The meeting of the Conference of Chairs shall be held remotely mutatis mutandis in accordance with the requirements set out in Article 18612(3) and Article 18613 of this Statute. The provisions of Article 18614 on the specific features of dealing with disputes shall apply in this case.
5. The request referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article may be submitted at least 24 hours before the beginning of a meeting of the Conference of Chairs, and the request to held an extraordinary meeting of the Conference of Chairs remotely may be submitted at least 4 hours before the beginning of the extraordinary meeting of the Conference of Chairs.
6. Issues for consideration by the Conference of Chairs, which are within its remit, may be proposed and submitted to the Speaker of the Seimas or the Deputy Speaker of the Seimas authorised by him by the members of the Conference of Chairs, the Government and by other Members of the Seimas who submit draft laws. A draft agenda of a meeting of the Conference of Chairs shall be drawn up according to these proposals by the Speaker of the Seimas or the Deputy Speaker of the Seimas authorised by him. Agendas of meetings of the Conference of Chairs shall be published on the website of the Seimas.
7. Other Members of the Seimas, permanent representatives of the President of the Republic and the Government may attend meetings of the Conference of Chairs as observers.
8. Meetings of the Conference of Chairs shall be open for representatives of the mass media. Meetings of the Conference of Chairs shall be broadcast on the website of the Seimas and the video recordings of meetings of the Conference of Chairs shall be rendered public in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Board of the Seimas. Audio recordings of meetings of the Conference of Chairs shall be recorded on the computer media and transmitted to the Seimas archive in accordance with the procedure laid down by legal acts.
Article 36. Powers of the Conference of Chairs
During its meetings, the Conference of Chairs shall:
1) consider draft estimates of programmes and expenditures of the Office of the Seimas and submit these together with its own proposals and remarks to the Board of the Seimas;
2) consider and resolve discrepancies which arise within the work programme of a Seimas session;
3) consider and approve the drafts of agendas of week- or day-long sittings;
4) consider and coordinate proposals regarding the appointment of a lead committee or additional appointment of committees for consideration of a draft law and regarding the setting of a preliminary date of a debate on a draft law at a Seimas sitting;
5) consider and coordinate rising differences concerning other issues of the organisation of the work of the Seimas;
6) repealed;
7) submit recommendations to the Board of the Seimas concerning the resolution of issues which are assigned to its remit;
8) perform the function of a coordinating (conciliatory) committee in the event of principal disagreements concerning key issues considered in the Seimas;
9) when necessary, establish to which institutions or persons the lead committee must refer a draft law for conclusions;
10) when necessary, adopt a decision to relieve the lead committee of the duties set forth in Article 147 of this Statute.
Article 37. Decisions of the Conference of Chairs
1. With the exception of decisions concerning the agendas of week- or day-long sittings and the decisions specified in points 8 and 9 of Article 36 of this Statute, the decisions of the Conference of Chairs shall be consultative with regard to the Seimas and the Board of the Seimas.
2. Consultative decisions of the Conference of Chairs and the decisions concerning the organisation of the work of the Conference itself shall be adopted by a simple majority vote of the members of the Conference of Chairs of the Seimas taking part in the meeting.
3. Decisions concerning drafts of the work programme of a Seimas session, agendas of week- or day- long sittings shall be adopted provided that they are opposed by no more than 1/3 of the members of the Conference of Chairs participating in the meeting of the Conference of Chairs.
4. If any item of the agenda is adopted by majority vote, but is opposed by more than 1/3 of the members of the Conference of Chairs, they shall be submitted to the Seimas as recommendations.
5. Decisions of the Conference of Chairs shall be recorded in the minutes of the meetings, which shall be signed by the chair of the meeting of the Conference of Chairs.
Chapter VIII
Political groups and Provisional Groups of the Seimas
Article 38. Right to Form Political Groups and Order of Business of the Political Groups
1. The Members of the Seimas shall form political groups voluntarily, not restricted by any mandates. Political groups may not be established on the basis of professional or local interests.
2. A political group shall consist of at least seven Members of the Seimas. Each Member of the Seimas may be a member of only one political group.
3. The chair of a political group, his deputy or the member of a political group authorised by it shall have the right to represent in the Seimas such a part of the Members of the Seimas, established by this Statute, which their political group forms in the Seimas.
4. Political groups shall establish their own order of business, provided that it does not contradict this Statute.
5. Political groups may join into coalitions, which may act as one political group.
Article 39. Announcement of the And of Political Groups
1. The Members of the Seimas who formed a political group shall present an application signed by them to the Speaker of the Seimas during the session. The name of a political group and the names of the chair and deputy chairs must be stated in this application.
2. If a political group formed by the Members of the Seimas complies with the requirements of this Statute, the Speaker of the Seimas must, within one week, announce the establishment of this political group at a Seimas sitting.
3. The Speaker of the Seimas shall be notified in writing of any changes in the name, composition or leadership of a political group, the termination of the activities of a political group or its disbandment, and the formation of a coalition of the political groups no later than on the following working day. The Speaker of the Seimas shall announce such information at the next Seimas sitting.
Article 40. Majority and Minority of the Seimas
1. The political groups of the Seimas whose total number of the members is more than half of the Members of the Seimas and which have signed a joint action declaration or coalition Government agreement shall be considered the majority of the Seimas.
2. Opposition and other political groups which do not belong to the majority of the Seimas and the group of the non-attached Members of the Seimas (and in the case where only one Member of the Seimas does not belong to any political group of the Seimas and therefore a group of the non-attached Members of the Seimas is not formed, that Member of the Seimas who has not been registered in any political group) shall be considered the minority of the Seimas.
Article 41. Opposition Political Groups
1. Political groups of the Members of the Seimas or their coalitions which disagree with the Government programme may declare themselves Opposition political groups.
2. The political groups or their coalitions which proclaim in the Seimas the political declarations wherein the provisions distinguishing them from the majority of the Seimas are laid down shall be considered Opposition political groups.
3. Opposition political groups or their coalitions shall announce alternative Government programmes.
4. Opposition political groups and their coalitions shall be guaranteed all the rights of political groups and coalitions which are provided for in the Statute of the Seimas. No reason may provide for the restriction of such rights.
5. If an Opposition political group or their coalition has more than ½ of the Members of the Seimas belonging to the minority of the Seimas, the chair of such political group or the head of the coalition shall be named the leader of the Seimas Opposition. The Opposition leader shall enjoy additional rights of an Opposition leader provided for in this Statute.
6. Proposals of the political groups for state institutions shall be consultative. State institutions, except courts, must discuss them and reply in writing.
Article 42. Provisional Groups
1. Members of the Seimas may form provisional groups for the implementation of common interests concerning a specific matter.
2. Such a group shall be considered to be formed when an application is submitted to the Speaker of the Seimas, signed by no less than five Members of the Seimas.
3. When considering this specific matter, the provisional group of the Members of the Seimas shall make use of the rights of a political group, which are specified in Articles 104, 108, and 109 of this Statute.
PART III
COMMITTEES AND COMMISSIONS OF THE SEIMAS
Chapter IX
Procedure for APPOINTING
THE COMMITTEES OF the Seimas
Article 43. List of the Committees of the Seimas
The following committees shall be set up in the Seimas:
1) Committee on Environment Protection;
2) Committee for the Future;
3) Committee on Audit;
4) Committee on Budget and Finance;
5) Committee on Economics;
6) Committee on European Affairs;
7) Committee on Rural Affairs;
8) Committee on Culture;
9) Committee on National Security and Defence;
10) Committee on Social Affairs and Labour;
11) Committee on Health Affairs;
12) Committee on Education and Science;
13) Committee on Legal Affairs;
14) Committee on Foreign Affairs;
15) Committee on State Administration and Local Authorities;
16) Committee on Human Rights.
Article 44. Setting-up of the Committees of the Seimas
1. Seimas committees shall be set up during the first session, except for the case specified in paragraph 2 of this Article.
2. The Committee on European Affairs shall be set up in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 441 of this Statute. The Committee for the Future shall be set up in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 442 of this Statute.
3. Upon receipt of a draft resolution submitted by the Speaker of the Seimas, at each next regular session changes in the composition of the committees shall be approved by adhering to the principle of proportional representation of the political groups, a new committee shall be set up or committees shall be set up anew.
4. Committees shall be composed of no less than 7 and no more than 13 Members of the Seimas (with the exception of the Committee on European Affairs and the Committee for the Future) according to the principle of proportional representation of the political groups. The specific number of members of each committee shall be determined by a resolution of the Seimas.
5. The Conference of Chairs shall then approve the norms of representation of the political groups and the group of the non-attached Members of the Seimas in all committees in compliance with the principle of their proportional representation. Where a group of the non-attached Members of the Seimas is not formed, the participation of a Members of the Seimas who has not registered in any political group in the work of the committees shall be decided by the Conference of Chairs, taking into account the request of that Member of the Seimas.
6. The political groups and the group of the non-attached Members of the Seimas shall distribute among themselves seats in the committees, according to the number of seats approved by the Conference of Chairs.
7. The Members of the Seimas who have permission to handle or have access to classified information may be members of the Committee on National Defence and Security.
8. Political groups, taking into consideration the requests and remit of their members, shall recommend to the committees as many members as they are accorded seats. In the event that the wish of a Member of the Seimas to become a member of a particular committee, expressed in his application, does not comply with the principle of proportional representation of political groups, the Seimas may adopt a resolution to appoint a Member of the Seimas to a committee other than the one indicated in his application. Applications of the political groups bearing the signatures of the recommended Members of the Seimas shall be submitted to the Speaker of the Seimas who must, within two weeks, present the composition of committees to the Seimas for approval.
9. The number of substitute members of a committee shall not be restricted. Each political group shall submit their candidatures, having registered them in numerical order.
10. The composition of the committees and substitute members of the committees shall be approved by the Seimas by voting for the entire list of the full and substitute members of the committees. In the event of failure to approve the said list, the entire procedure shall begin anew.
Article 441. Setting-up of the Committee on European Affairs
1. The Committee on European Affairs shall be composed of not less than 15 and not more than 25 Members of the Seimas in accordance with the principle of proportional representation of the Seimas political groups. With the view to ensuring the representation of each committee, the political groups shall delegate representatives from committee chairs or deputy chairs, chairs or deputy chairs of the political groups, and members of the political groups responsible for European Union matters. The specific number of the Committee members and composition of the Committee shall be approved by a Seimas resolution. Members of the Seimas serving on other committees may be members of the Committee on European Affairs.
2. The Deputy Speaker of the Seimas in charge of European Union affairs shall be appointed Chair of the Committee on European Affairs. The Seimas shall determine the number of deputy chairs of the Committee on European Affairs.
Article 442. Setting-up of the Committee for the Future
The Committee for the Future shall be composed in accordance with the principle of proportional representation of the Seimas political groups. With the view to ensuring the representation of each committee, the political groups shall delegate to the Committee for the Future their representatives usually from the committee chairs or deputy chairs, chairs or deputy chairs of the political groups. The specific number of the members of the Committee for the Future and its composition shall be approved by a Seimas resolution.
Article 45. Powers of a Substitute Member of a Seimas Committee
1. When a committee member is not present at a meeting of the committee, all the rights of the said member shall be vested in a Member of the Seimas of the same political group who attends that meeting and who is designated by the absent committee member as his substitute from the list of substitute committee members approved by the Seimas; the chair of the committee shall be notified about this in writing or electronically.
2. While substituting for a member of his political group in a given committee, a Member of the Seimas may not serve as the chair or deputy chair of that committee.
Article 46. Elections of the Chair and Deputy chair of a Seimas Committee
1. The Committee shall, with the exception of the cases provided for in Article 441 of this Statute, elect a chair and a deputy chair.
2. The Conference of Chairs of the Seimas shall approve proposals for Seimas committees concerning the political groups whose representatives should be elected chair and deputy chair of a Seimas committee.
3. The chair and deputy chair of a committee shall be elected from the representatives of different political groups, and the total number of chairs and deputy chairs of the committees accorded to the Seimas political groups must be in proportion to the number of the Members of the Seimas belonging to them.
4. The chair and deputy chair of a committee shall be approved by the Seimas. If the Seimas does not approve the presented candidate, the committee must select another candidate.
5. The seats of the chair and deputy chair of a committee may not be taken by a member of the Board of the Seimas (except for the Committee on European Affairs and the Committee for the Future), a Member of the Seimas who is a Government member and the chair or deputy chair of a Seimas commission.
6. A representative of the Opposition political group or their coalition which has more than ½ of the Members of the Seimas belonging to the minority of the Seimas shall be elected chair or deputy Chair of the Committee on the Budget and Finance and the Committee on Audit. The Chair of the Committee on the Budget and Finance shall have two deputies.
7. The chair and deputy chair of a committee shall be re-elected when the committee is formed anew.
8. A committee may re-elect the chair or deputy chair at any other time and must also apply to the Seimas for approval of a new chair or deputy chair. In the event that the Seimas does not approve the new chair or deputy chair, the former chair or deputy chair shall remain, and the committee may apply to the Seimas concerning the same issue only during the next regular session.
Article 47. Seimas Subcommittees
1. For the execution of their main fields of activities, committees may form subcommittees from their members.
2. A subcommittee shall be responsible and accountable to the committee concerned.
3. A subcommittee must comprise at least five members.
4. A subcommittee chair shall be elected by the committee and approved by the Seimas.
5. The number of chairs of subcommittees accorded to the Seimas political groups must be in proportion to the number of the Members of the Seimas belonging to them.
6. The regulations of subcommittees shall be approved by committees.
Chapter X
Powers and ORDER OF BUSINESS of the Seimas Committees
Article 48. Order of Business of Committees of the Seimas
1. The remit of committees of the Seimas, their powers and the order of business shall be established by this Statute and laws.
2. Committees of the Seimas shall be responsible and accountable to the Seimas. Reports on the work done by the committees may be, when necessary, heard at the beginning of each regular session, except for the first session of a newly-elected Seimas.
3. Committees must, within the set time limit, discuss and present a conclusion on the issues referred to them for consideration and perform other tasks assigned to them by the Seimas.
4. Committees shall be responsible for the timely establishment of the need for appropriate laws and other legal acts; the initiation, within their remit, of the preparation thereof; and requesting comprehensive conclusions on the drafts thereof.
5. Committees of the Seimas shall work in accordance with the work programme of a Seimas session and carry out individual assignments of the Seimas adhering to the time limits set out by the Seimas or the relevant legal acts for carrying out the assignments. The committees may, taking into consideration the work programme of a Seimas session, approve their own work plans. Agendas of meetings of the committees shall be published on the website of the Seimas.
6. Activities of committees shall be coordinate by the Speaker of the Seimas and the Board of the Seimas in accordance with the work programmes of Seimas sessions.
7. Committees may themselves approve the rules of procedure which are not in contravention of this Statute.
8. In order to prepare issues which are subject to consideration, committees may form preparatory working groups from among their members. The above groups may include other Members of the Seimas upon their consent and representatives of state and municipal institutions and agencies, non-governmental organisations, higher education and research institutions, experts in particular fields, and other persons. A lobbyist may not be a member of a preparatory working group.
Article 49. Powers of Committees of the Seimas
1. The powers of committees of the Seimas with respect to issues falling within their remit shall be:
1) to debate drafts of laws, other legal acts subject to the adoption by the Seimas and related amendments and proposals and to prepare conclusions with respect thereto;
2) to prepare, on their own initiative or on the assignment of the Seimas, drafts of laws and other legal acts subject to the adoption by the Seimas;
3) to consider, within their remit, candidates for heads of state institutions who are appointed by the Seimas or for the appointment whereof the approval of the Seimas is necessary and candidates for deputy heads, also to consider the dismissal from office of the said officials and to submit a conclusion to the Seimas;
4) to consider proposals regarding the establishment or disbandment of ministries and other state institutions; to draw up and submit to the Seimas conclusions, proposals and/or recommendations regarding activities of the institutions related to the remit of the committee;
5) to hear, while exercising parliamentary scrutiny, information and reports of ministries and other state institutions on the implementation of laws of the Republic of Lithuania and other legal acts adopted by the Seimas; when necessary, to submit conclusions, proposals and/or recommendations of the committee to state and municipal institutions; to control compliance with laws and implementation of resolutions of the Seimas, respect of the time limits for implementing them as set out in these legal acts, to monitor and evaluate the implementation of proposals and/or recommendations of the committee; to exercise parliamentary scrutiny of specific issues and to present conclusions, proposals and/or recommendations of the committee to the Seimas and, if necessary, to other state and municipal institutions on their own initiative or on the assignment of the Seimas; to receive, in accordance with the procedure laid down by legal acts, from state and municipal institutions relevant data, documents and other material necessary when exercising parliamentary scrutiny; to hear annual activity reports of state institutions accountable to the Seimas and, if necessary, to present conclusions, proposals and/or recommendations of the committee to the Seimas and/or other state and municipal institutions;
6) to consider the Government programme; to consider implementing measures of the Government programme, each year's priorities for action and anticipated results in the areas of management assigned to the ministers and to submit their conclusions, proposals and/or recommendations to the Seimas on their own initiative or on the assignment of the Seimas; to consider a Government's annual report on activities and to submit their conclusions to the Seimas;
7) to consider a draft law of the Republic of Lithuania on the approval of financial indicators of the state budget and municipal budgets and a state set of consolidated financial statements;
valid as of 1 January 2023:
7) to consider a draft law of the Republic of Lithuania on the approval of financial indicators of the state budget and municipal budgets and a state set of annual statements;
8) to analyse and control the economic efficiency of the funds of the state budget of the current year, consider and submit conclusions and proposals on the items and programmes of a draft state budget for the next year, presented by the Government, within the remit of a committee, to evaluate targeting of the programmes and feasibility of appropriations earmarked for them;
9) to consider reports and opinions issued by the National Audit Office of Lithuania;
10) to consider received appeals;
11) to present proposals regarding a draft work programme of the Seimas session, when necessary, to draw up a work plan of a committee;
12) to participate in maintaining international and inter-parliamentary relations of the Seimas in accordance with the long-term priorities for international cooperation of the Seimas, as proposed by the Committee on Foreign Affairs and approved by the Board of the Seimas;
13) to submit to the Board of the Seimas proposals and demonstration of the need for funds to be allocated for the committee;
14) to participate in the preparation and coordination of a position of the Republic of Lithuania on the proposal to adopt legal acts of the European Union (within the meaning of Article 1801(4) of this Statute), to consider proposals to adopt legal acts of the European Union and other documents of the European Union (within the meaning of Article 1801(4) and (5) of this Statute) and, when necessary, to submit conclusions thereon to the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Seimas;
15) to submit, where necessary, conclusions to the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Seimas regarding the potential non-compliance of draft legislative acts (within the meaning of Article 1801(3)) with the principle of subsidiarity;
16) to cooperate with the European Parliament and other institutions of the European Union and with the committees of the national parliaments of the European Union Member States and other states;
17) to consider candidates among officials who are nominated by the Republic of Lithuania to positions in the institutions of the European Union and whose nomination requires the approval of the Seimas;
18) to examine and consider other issues and, where necessary, to submit conclusions, proposals and/or recommendations of a committee to the Seimas, other state and municipal institutions;
19) carry out assignments of the Seimas.
2. If a committee decides that it is necessary to hear the information of a Government member or an official of any other state institution (except courts), the chair of the committee shall notify the Government member or the head of the appropriate state institution thereof. In this event, the Government member or another official must, not later than within two weeks (unless otherwise requested by the committee), participate in a committee meeting at which a relevant issue, put on the agenda in advance, is considered.
3. When carrying our parliamentary scrutiny on the assignment of the Seimas, the committees shall act in compliance with the rules governing the operation of ad hoc control or investigation commissions of the Seimas, as set forth in Articles 75 and 76 of this Statute, and shall enjoy the same powers.
Article 50. Procedure of Cooperation between the Seimas Committees
1. In discussing issues within their remit, the committees shall have equal rights and obligations.
2. Issues which fall within the remit of several committees may be prepared and discussed by these committees jointly on their own initiative or on the instruction of the Seimas or its Board. For this purpose they may set up joint working groups and hold joint committee meetings, which shall be presided over by the chairs of these committees in succession.
3. The committee shall have the right to submit a proposal to the Seimas or the Board of the Seimas concerning the passing over of the issues under discussion to another committee for consideration.
4. The committee shall have the right to present its opinion on the issue discussed by another committee, and to ask another committee to present its conclusions, which must be submitted within 15 days.
5. While considering a draft law, the supplementary committee appointed by the Seimas must present its conclusions to the lead committee and the Seimas.
Article 51. Rights of a Member of a Seimas Committee
1. A committee member shall have the right of a decisive vote on all the issues under consideration in the committee. He shall have the right to propose issues for consideration and to participate in the preparation and consideration thereof, to propose to invite necessary persons to committee meetings, to submit proposals concerning the inspection of state institutions and the hearing of their information.
2. A committee member shall have the right to get access to all documents and other material received by the committee and, as necessary, to make use of them in his work.
Article 52. Powers of a Chair and Deputy chair of a Seimas Committee
1. The chair of a committee shall:
1) convene committee meetings and see that necessary documents and other material be prepared for them;
2) taking into account the work programme of a Seimas session, decisions of the committee, decisions of the Seimas or the Board of the Seimas or proposals of the initiators of the committee meetings, prepare a draft agenda of a committee meeting;
3) give assignments to the committee members according to the issues included in the work programme of a Seimas session and falling within the remit of the committee or to the issues designated by a separate assignment of the Seimas or to the decisions of the committee and provide them with the material and documents relating to the activities of the committee;
4) organise the committee members to work in preparatory commissions and working groups with the view to considering and resolving the issues included in the work programme of a Seimas session and falling within the remit of the committee as well as the issues designated by a separate assignment of the Seimas;
5) invite necessary persons to participate in committee meetings;
6) preside over committee meetings;
7) sign the resolutions, conclusions and minutes of the meetings of the committee, and the draft laws prepared and edited by the committee, which are submitted to the Seimas for debate, and endorse the adopted and amended laws and other acts of the Seimas prepared by the committee;
8) represent the committee in its work with other state institutions and public organisations;
9) organise the implementation of the resolutions of the committee;
10) regularly notify the committee members about the received draft laws, new assignments for the committee, the execution of the decisions of the committee, consideration of its recommendations, and work in representing the committee;
11) each month notify the Commission for Ethics and Procedures about the members who do not attend committee meetings and who do not fulfil the assignments set forth in point 3 of paragraph 1 of this Article;
12) coordinate the activities of the subcommittees of the committee.
2. On the instruction of the chair of the committee, a deputy chair shall discharge certain functions of the chair. If the chair of the committee is away or has fallen ill and is therefore temporarily unable to fulfil the duties of office, he shall be deputised for by his deputy for the period of his absence, and in case the latter is absent too - by the committee member who is authorised by the chair.
Article 53. Meetings of the Seimas Committees
1. During a session, regular committee meetings shall be organised not less frequently than once a week. During a Seimas sitting, committee meetings shall be organised only with the consent of the Seimas. Between ordinary Seimas sessions, there shall normally be a one-month adjournment in the work of the committees.
2. Regular and extraordinary committee meetings shall be held upon the proposal of the committee chairs. Extraordinary committee meetings shall be also held at the request of more than one third of the committee members or on the instruction of the Seimas or the Board of the Seimas. A preliminary agenda of a regular committee meeting shall be usually approved during the preceding committee meeting. During an extraordinary meeting, only the issues submitted by the initiators of a committee meeting shall be considered.
3. Committees may have closed meetings, when the information related to a state or commercial secret or other information the use and furnishing whereof are restricted by law is provided during the deliberation. A decision to hold a closed meeting is adopted by a majority vote of the committee members.
4. Committee meetings and decisions adopted thereat shall be deemed valid when more than half of the committee members are present at the meeting. Committee meetings shall be presided over by the committee chair or by a deputy committee chair on the instruction of the chair. Prior to the Seimas’ approval of a committee chair, meetings shall be chaired by the oldest member of the committee.
5. In committee meetings, including closed meetings, Members of the Seimas who are not members of those committees may participate in an advisory capacity.
6. Committees may invite to their meetings other Members of the Seimas and municipal councillors, representatives of ministries, other state institutions, parties, public organisations, and educational institutions, specialists, scientists and other persons deemed necessary, having coordinated it with heads of these institutions or organisations.
7. Committee meetings shall be open for representatives of the mass media, with the exception of closed meetings.
8. A committee chair, if necessary, on his own initiative or upon receipt of a request from a committee member to attend a committee meeting remotely, shall take a decision to hold the committee meeting remotely. The decision to hold the committee meeting remotely shall be communicated immediately by electronic means to the committee members and to other participants of the meeting. Other committee members and other participants of the meeting may, at their choice, attend this remotely held committee meeting either remotely or by coming to the meeting room of the committee. The committee meeting shall be held remotely mutatis mutandis in accordance with the requirements set out in Articles 18612(3) and 18613 of this Statute. The provisions of Article 18614 on the specific features of dealing with disputes shall apply in this case.
9. The request referred to in paragraph 8 of this Article may be submitted to the committee chair at least 24 hours before the beginning of the committee meeting. The committee member must also notify the Office of the committee about the submission of the request.
10. The provisions of paragraph 8 of this Article shall not apply and a committee meeting may not be held remotely in the case of a closed meeting where the classified information specified in the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on State Secrets and Official Secrets is presented.
11. In urgent cases, a committee meeting with regard to a business trip abroad or a trip abroad of a Member of the Seimas may also be organised by way of inquiry.
12. Committee meetings, with the exception of closed meetings and the meetings referred to in paragraph 11 of this Article, shall be broadcast on the website of the Seimas and the video recordings of such meetings shall be rendered public in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Board of the Seimas.
Article 54. Hearings in the Seimas Committees
1. A committee may decide to organise special hearings in the committee for preliminary discussion of a draft law and proposals and amendments submitted in regard thereto when the committee exercises parliamentary scrutiny and for the drawing-up of draft conclusions concerning the issue under consideration.
2. Experts, representatives of interested institutions and groups of the population, and persons having the right of legislative initiative shall participate in hearings of the committee in which the proposals and amendments concerning the legal act under consideration shall be discussed. Decisions shall not be adopted during hearings.
3. For the organisation of such hearings and preparation of conclusions concerning the draft, a committee must appoint two responsible committee members (usually, one from the Seimas majority and one from the Seimas minority) and decide on the experts, interested persons and public officials to be invited to the hearings.
4. A schedule and agendas of hearings shall be publicly announced.
5. On a decision of a committee or at the request of the chair of the committee, closed hearings may also be held.
Article 55. Decisions of Seimas Committees
1. Committee decisions shall be adopted by open, simple majority vote of the committee members participating in a meeting. In the event of a tie vote, the vote of the committee chair shall be decisive.
2. When a member of a committee requests that voting on his proposal be conducted, the chair of the committee meeting must put the said proposal to a vote.
3. If the minority of the committee members, which consists of at least three Members of the Seimas, expresses a separate opinion concerning the issue discussed by the committee, this opinion must be announced together with the decision of the committee.
4. Decisions shall be adopted at joint meetings of several committees if each committee expresses its support for the decisions.
5. Committee decisions and conclusions shall be presented to the Seimas in writing.
6. Decisions adopted by committees shall have advisory effect for state institutions. When sending recommendations and proposals to the state institutions, the committees shall inform the Speaker of the Seimas and, if necessary, the Government of this.
7. Upon receipt of recommendations and proposals of Seimas committees, state institutions, except courts, must consider them. The committees must be informed about the results of such consideration and measures which have been taken within 15 days of receipt of the proposals or any other period of time established by the committees.
Article 56. Repealed
Article 57. Seimas Committee Conclusions, Reports and Participation in the Seimas Discussions
1. A committee shall prepare conclusions and make reports during the Seimas sittings on issues which it prepared, whose parliamentary scrutiny it exercised or which it examined as the lead committee and shall prepare supplementary conclusions and make supplementary reports on the issues which were referred to the committee for additional examination.
2. Committee conclusions shall be a comprehensive description of consideration at a committee. They shall contain information on the proposals and amendments received during the consideration, experts who took part therein, amendments to the draft proposed by the committee or the conclusions made by the committee on the issue considered. The Board of the Seimas shall establish the requirements for the committee conclusions and the form thereof.
3. Committee members shall participate in discussions on all other issues according to the general procedure.
Article 571. Reports of the Seimas Committees on the Major Issues of State and Public Life
1. At each regular session, with the exception of the first session of the newly elected Seimas, committees may, when considering a draft work programme of a Seimas session, submit to the Seimas for approval subjects, in accordance with the committee’s remit, of reports on the major issues of state and public life proposed by them for consideration.
2. When necessary, at any time the committees or the Board of the Seimas may submit a proposal to prepare an additional committee report on an issue of national importance the subject of which was not approved at the beginning of the session.
3. When the subject of a report is approved by a resolution of the Seimas, the Seimas shall instruct the committee to prepare such a report and set the time limit for drawing up the report.
4. The Committee shall appoint at least two committee members responsible for preparing a report on the major issues of state and public life (one from the majority of the Seimas and the minority of the Seimas). The final text of the report shall be decided by the committee as a whole.
5. Reports on the most major issues of state and public life shall be presented during Seimas sittings. In the report, the committee shall make proposals for amendments to the legal acts necessary to resolve the matter in question.
6. The Board of the Seimas shall approve the form of committee’s report on the major issues of state and public life.
Chapter XI
REMIT of Seimas Committees
Article 58. Remit of the Committee on Environment Protection
The remit of the Committee on Environment Protection shall be:
1) to draw up and consider drafts of laws and other legal acts, and proposals on the issues pertaining to environmental quality, sustainable development, climate change, natural resources: use and protection of forests, land, biodiversity, soil, water, protected areas, the use of renewable and alternative energy sources, territorial planning, construction and housing, urban planning and architecture, landscape, community economy and assessment of the impact on the environment;
2) to coordinate the work of interested state institutions and other organisations in the process of drafting laws on the matters falling within the remit of the Committee;
3) to examine, from an environmental point of view, drafts of laws and other legal acts referred to the Committee;
4) to prepare and consider proposals concerning the formation of Lithuania’s environmental protection policy;
5) to exercise parliamentary scrutiny on the matters falling within the remit of the Committee;
6) to consider international legal acts regarding environmental protection and to present proposals and conclusions to the Seimas.
Article 581. Remit of the Committee for the Future
The remit of the Committee for the Future shall be:
1) to prepare and consider draft of laws and other legal acts regulating the modelling of future development of society and the State, development of innovation and technological progress, emigration and re-emigration processes and their impact on the development of society, modernisation of the State and strategic reforms, as well,as to submit and consider proposals on these issues;
2) to discuss and submit to the Seimas reports, conclusions and proposals on issues relating to strategic directions of the Lithuania’s development and projections for future developments and factors influencing future development and development models of the State, as well as on the promotion of the development of economic, innovation and technological progress, building and implementation of a long-term strategic vision for the development of the State, modelling of future developments and formulation of reform policies;
3) to submit proposals for the commissioning of studies relating to projections and strategic modelling of future development of the State;
4) to coordinate the work of public institutions and agencies as well as other organisations in preparing drafts of laws and other legal acts on the matters falling within the remit of the Committee;
5) to submit conclusions on the compatibility of drafts of laws and other legal acts and the legal acts defining a long-term strategy for the development of the State and their impact on future development of the State and society;
6) to analyse foreign, international legislation and practices related to modelling of the development of innovation and technological progress, formulating and implementation of strategic models and future scenarios of the development of the State, impact of innovation and technological progress on the development of society and the State, as well as to submit proposals and conclusions to the Seimas;
7) to examine the use of funds allocated to activities related to the matters falling within the remit of the Committee in each programme of the budget appropriation manager and to assess the appropriateness and effectiveness of their use;
8) to exercise parliamentary scrutiny on the matters falling within the remit of the Committee, to hear information and reports of ministries, other state institutions and agencies regarding the implementation of laws and other legal acts adopted by the Seimas relating to the matters falling within the remit of the Committee.
Article 59. Remit of the Committee on the Budget and Finance
The remit of the Committee on the Budget and Finance shall be:
1) to consider the draft state budget of the Republic of Lithuania presented by the Government to the Seimas for approval and to submit a review of the conclusions of all the committees;
2) to exercise general and continuous control of the budgetary policy implementation and the state budget execution;
3) to prepare, together with other committees, conclusions regarding a national set of financial statements, a state set of consolidated statements;
valid as of 1 January 2023:
3) to prepare, together with other committees, conclusions regarding a national set of annual statements, a state set of annual statements;
4) to prepare and consider drafts of laws and other legal acts and proposals regarding the budget, taxes, public debt, banks, financial markets and financial services, fiscal policy issues and to present conclusions thereon;
5) to prepare and present conclusions concerning draft laws affecting the revenue and expenditure of the state budget;
6) to discuss and present conclusions and proposals regarding draft laws on taxes, monetary and resource funds, the procedure for financing agencies and organisations maintained from the budget, financial indicators of municipal budgets, budget allocations for the implementation of various programmes and for the maintenance of the Office of the Seimas;
7) to exercise parliamentary scrutiny of the use of state property and activities of the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Lithuania and to present proposals and recommendations relative thereto;
8) to consider reports and opinions of the National Audit Office of Lithuania submitted to the Seimas and/or the Seimas Committee on the Budget and Finance;
9) to present proposals on parliamentary assignments to the National Audit Office of Lithuania to perform public audit not foreseen in the annual activity plan of the National Audit Office of Lithuania;
10) to analyse legal acts adopted by international financial institutions as well as institutional practices, to present proposals and conclusions regarding them to the Seimas;
11) to examine the use of the financial support of the European Union;
12) to analyse activities of banks and other financial market participants operating in Lithuania as well as conditions of these activities.
Article 591. Remit of the Committee on Audit
The remit of the Committee on Audit shall be:
1) to consider reports and opinions submitted by the National Audit Office of Lithuania to the Seimas and to exercise parliamentary scrutiny of the implementation of public audit recommendations contained in the public audit reports;
valid as of 1 January 2023:
1) to consider reports and opinions of public audit conducted by the National Audit Office of Lithuania and submitted to the Seimas and/or the Seimas Committees, and to exercise parliamentary scrutiny of the implementation of public audit recommendations contained in the public audit reports;
2) to prepare and consider draft resolutions of the Seimas concerning the implementation of public audit recommendations contained in the public audit reports;
3) to coordinate activities of the Seimas Committees and Commissions when considering reports and opinions submitted by the National Audit Office of Lithuania, presenting conclusions regarding them and exercising parliamentary scrutiny of the implementation of public audit recommendations contained in the public audit reports;
4) to exercise parliamentary scrutiny of the efficiency of the implementation of the functions of the National Audit Office of Lithuania, the state enterprise Turto bankas and the Public Procurement Office, to present proposals and recommendations relating to the improvement of their activities, and to participate in the preparation of draft laws pertaining thereto;
5) to consider an auditor’s opinion and a financial statement audit report, an annual report, results of an external assessment of activities of the National Audit Office of Lithuania submitted by the Auditor General to the Seimas together with a set of financial statements, to present conclusions and proposals regarding provisions of a draft state budget relating to conformity to the needs of the National Audit Office of Lithuania of state budget appropriations proposed to the National Audit Office of Lithuania;
6) to consider and present conclusions on a national set of financial statements, a set of consolidated statements of the State, a set of consolidated statements of the State Social Insurance Fund Board, a set of consolidated statements of the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund and other state resource funds the estimates of which are approved by the Seimas, sets of annual reports as well as public audit opinions and public audit reports thereon submitted by the National Audit Office of Lithuania;
valid as of 1 January 2023:
6) to consider and submit conclusions on a national set of annual statements, a state set of annual statements, a set of annual statements of the state social funds, a set of annual statements of the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund and a set of annual statements of the Pension Annuity Fund, as well as opinions the National Audit Office of Lithuania regarding these sets;
7) to consider, together with other Seimas committees, whether the managers of appropriations use state budget appropriations and the State property rationally and efficiently;
8) to debate and put forward proposals on the implementation of the State investment programme;
9) to debate draft laws referred to the Committee, to prepare conclusions thereon and to examine issues of accounting, reporting, external and internal audits, management, use and disposal of state property;
10) to prepare and debate drafts of resolutions of the Seimas on the assignment to the National Audit Office of Lithuania to perform public audit not foreseen in the annual activity plan of the National Audit Office of Lithuania;
11) to provide the National Audit Office of Lithuania with aggregate information of all committees and commissions about the most risky areas of the public sector in which it is expedient to initiate public audit;
12) to consider an annual report of the European Court of Auditors, to present conclusions thereon to the Seimas and the Seimas Committee on European Affairs;
13) to evaluate the opinion of the National Audit Office of Lithuania on the structural adjustment target set out by the Draft Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Approval of Financial Indicators of the State Budget and Municipal Budgets for a Given Year and on the need for additional measures (in monetary terms) to implement this target, and to submit its opinion and proposals to the Committee on the Budget and Finance (and upon the recommendation of the Seimas – to the Seimas itself).
Article 60. Remit of the Committee on Economics
The remit of the Committee on Economics shall be:
1) to prepare and consider drafts of laws and other legislative acts pending the adoption by the Seimas and proposals on the state regulation of Lithuania’s economy in the fields of energy, transport (air, waterway, railway, and road transport), safe traffic and transport infrastructure, logistics, investments, industry, trade, services, business and tourism, on the management, use, disposal and privatisation of the state property, public procurement and free economic zones;
2) to prepare and consider drafts of laws and other legislative acts pending the adoption by the Seimas and proposals on the legal regulation of activities of economic entities (setting up, registration, activities, reorganisation, competition, bankruptcy of enterprises), partnership of state and private capital (concessions), the legal regulation of activities of public establishments;
3) to consider drafts of laws and other legislative acts pending the adoption by the Seimas, where such drafts are referred to the Committee by the Seimas, and to prepare and submit conclusions thereon;
4) to submit conclusions and proposals on the long-term strategy of the development of Lithuania’s economy, formation of the general economic (macroeconomic), economic competitiveness, economic sectors, small and medium-sized enterprises, investment policy;
5) to consider and submit proposals on the matters falling within the remit of the Committee and relating to a draft law on the approval of financial indices of state and municipal budgets of the Republic of Lithuania presented by the Government and to the state investment programme provided for in the said draft;
6) to consider and submit proposals, with regard to the matter falling within the remit of the Committee, on state monetary funds the estimates of which are approved by the Seimas and on sets of annual statements;
7) to exercise parliamentary scrutiny of activities of institutions engaged in administration and control of the economy (the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Ministry of Economy and the agencies of the fields of their administration, the Competition Council, the Privatisation Commission, the National Control Commission for Prices and Energy, the State Nuclear Power Safety Inspectorate, the State Tobacco and Alcohol Control Service under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, and the Public Procurement Office under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania) and to submit proposals and recommendations concerning the improvement of the activities thereof;
8) to examine the use of the appropriations allocated for the programmes and investment projects implemented by the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Ministry of Economy and the agencies of the fields of their administration, the Competition Council, the Privatisation Commission, the National Control Commission for Prices and Energy, the State Nuclear Power Safety Inspectorate, the State Tobacco and Alcohol Control Service under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, and the Public Procurement Office under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania;
9) to coordinate the activities of interested institutions of state administration and other organisations in the course of preparation of drafts of laws and other legal acts pending the adoption by the Seimas on the matters falling within the remit of the Committee;
10) to cooperate on the matters falling within the remit of the Committee with economic entities, associations and other institutions representing them and employees;
11) to prepare and consider drafts of laws and other legal acts regulating the design of the sustainable development of the information society and the digital economy, development of innovations and technological advancement and their influence on social development, technology modernisation of the State, strategic reforms of innovations and technologies, management and modernisation of communications, management and safety of information resources and communications infrastructure, to consider and submit proposals related to these issues;
12) to consider and submit to the Seimas the conclusions and proposals regarding the design of the sustainable development of the information society and the digital economy, promotion of the development of innovations and technological advancement and formulation of reform policy, administration and modernisation of communications, formation of information security policy, development and implementation of a long-term strategic vision of development of innovations and technological advancement of the State;
13) to coordinate activities of state institutions and agencies and other organisations when preparing drafts of laws and other legal acts on the matters falling within the Committee’s remit;
14) to analyse international legal acts and international practice related to the design of development of innovations and technological advancement, the design of the sustainable development of communications, the information society and the digital economy, ensuring of information security, to submit proposals and conclusions to the Seimas;
15) to review the use of the funds allocated for the operational activities falling within the remit of the Committee in each programme of the manager of budget appropriations and to evaluate the expediency and effectiveness of budget funds and investments;
16) to submit conclusions regarding the compliance of drafts of laws and other legal acts prepared by the Seimas Committees to the national strategies of the development of the information society, the digital economy, innovations and technological advancement;
17) to exercise parliamentary scrutiny on the matters falling within the remit of the Committee, to hear information and reports of the ministries, other state institutions and agencies on the implementation of the laws and other legislative acts adopted by the Seimas and related to the matters falling within the remit of the Committee.
Article 61. Remit of the Committee on European Affairs
The remit of the Committee on European Affairs shall be:
1) to consider, within its remit, major matters falling within the remit of the Seimas and pertaining to the membership of the Republic of Lithuania in the European Union and to submit conclusions related thereto;
2) to help ensure parliamentary scrutiny of the sovereignty of the Republic of Lithuania and the implementation of its rights and duties as a member of the European Union;
3) to help ensure an appropriate representation of the interests of the Republic of Lithuania in the European Union;
4) to help the Seimas exercise parliamentary scrutiny of the activities of the Government and other institutions related to planning and performance of actions for the implementation of strategies of the European Union, to the implementation of important regional projects of European integration (especially those related to infrastructure), to the use of the structural funds, and to the issues concerning the participation of Lithuania in the activities of institutions of the European Union;
5) to supervise timely and proper adoption, during the legislative procedure, of laws implementing legal acts of the European Union;
6) to coordinate the activities of Seimas committees and commissions when considering European Union issues and presenting conclusions thereon;
7) to cooperate, within its remit, with the European Parliament and other institutions of the European Union, and with the committees on European affairs of the national parliaments of the European Union Member States and other European states;
8) to represent the Seimas in the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs (COSAC);
9) to participate, within its remit, in the process of the preparation and evaluation of a position of the Republic of Lithuania concerning proposals to adopt legal acts of the European Union (within the meaning of Article 1801(4)), to present, where necessary, an opinion of the Seimas regarding the position of the Republic of Lithuania to the Government and to evaluate the presentation of this position in the institutions of the European Union;
10) to consider, within its remit, other documents of the European Union (as they are defined in Article 1801(5), where necessary, to present conclusions and proposals concerning these documents;
11) to submit, within its remit and where necessary, conclusions to the Seimas regarding a potential non-compliance of draft legislative acts (within the meaning of Article 1801(3)) with the principle of subsidiarity;
12) to organise at a Seimas sitting discussions about key issues on the agenda of the European Union;
13) to perform other functions related to the provision of information to the public regarding the European Union.
Article 611. Repealed
Article 62. Remit of the Committee on Rural Affairs
The remit of the Committee on Rural Affairs shall be:
1) to draft laws and other legal acts regulating the activities of agriculture and food industry and to present conclusions on the drafts referred to the Committee for consideration;
2) to draw up and consider proposals on the formation of Lithuania’s agricultural and rural policy, the setting of the fields of agricultural science and training, and the drafting of necessary legal acts;
3) to discuss and present conclusions concerning the draft laws and programmes submitted by the Government, items in the draft state budget pertaining to the issues of agriculture and food industry, and social problems of rural residents;
4) to carry out an examination of draft laws regulating Lithuania’s economy in terms of agricultural and rural policy and to submit recommendations and conclusions;
5) to exercise parliamentary scrutiny of agricultural and food industry institutions;
6) to coordinate the work of interested state institutions and other departments, agencies and organisations involved in rural affairs in the process of drafting laws regulating the activities of the agricultural and food industry sector.
Article 621. Remit of the Committee on Culture
The remit of the Committee on Culture:
1) to consider and submit proposals concerning the formulation of the national cultural and public information policy;
2) to prepare proposals and drafts of laws, resolutions and other legal acts pending the adoption by the Seimas regulating the fields of culture and provision of information of to the public;
3) to consider and submit conclusions regarding drafts of laws, resolutions and other legal acts pending the adoption by the Seimas related to cultural issues, as well as other drafts evaluating their compliance with the national cultural policy;
4) to prepare proposals and recommendations for the Government and local authorities with regard to the matters falling within the remit of the Committee;
5) to take care of the support for persons and organisations operating in the field of culture;
6) to coordinate activities of interested state institutions and other organizations in preparation of drafts of laws, other legal acts pending the adoption by the Seimas and regarding the matters falling within the remit of the Committee;
7) to exercise parliamentary scrutiny of the Ministry of Culture and cultural institutions, to hear information and reports of the ministries, institutions and agencies providing information to the public and other state institutions and agencies with regard to the implementation of laws and other legal acts adopted by the Seimas related to the matters falling within the remit of the Committee;
8) to examine the use of the appropriations of the state budget of the Republic of Lithuania allocated for culture and provision of information to the public and to evaluate the efficiency of the use thereof.
Article 63. Remit of the Committee on National Security and Defence
The remit of the Committee on National Security and Defence shall be:
1) to consider and draft laws and other legal acts on the issues pertaining to national defence, State security, civil defence, State border protection, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Special Investigations Service;
2) to coordinate the work of the interested state institutions in drafting laws and other legal acts on the matters falling within the remit of the Committee, and in the fields related to the implementation of the Law on the Basics of National Security;
3) to consider and present proposals concerning the formation of the defence policy of the public and the State and creation and improvement of appropriate structures;
4) to exercise parliamentary scrutiny of national defence, State security, civil defence, State border protection, and the Special Investigations Service under the Ministry of the Interior, to present proposals and recommendations on the improvement of their activities;
5) to discuss proposals and present conclusions relating to the appointment of a military attaché, representatives in military missions of the Republic of Lithuania to foreign states;
6) to submit to the Seimas conclusions regarding the validity of the imposition of temporary direct rule within the territory of a municipality during a state of war or, in the cases specified in the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Temporary Direct Rule on the Municipal Territory, a proposal to impose temporary direct rule within the territory of a municipality during a state of war.
Article 64. Remit of the Committee on Social Affairs and Labour
The remit of the Committee on Social Affairs and Labour shall be:
1) to consider and present proposals for developing a national family and social policy;
2) to consider the draft budget of the State Social Insurance Fund presented by the Government for approval and to submit conclusions during its consideration in the Seimas concurrently with the consideration of the draft Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Approval of Financial Indicators of the State Budget and Municipal Budgets;
3) to exercise general and continuous control of the execution of the budget of the State Social Insurance Fund;
4) to consider and present proposals on a set of consolidated statements of the State Social Insurance Fund;
valid as of 1 January 2023:
4) to consider and present proposals on a set of annual statements of the state social funds and a set of annual statements of the Pension Annuity Fund;
5) to draft laws and other legal acts and proposals on the issues of family policy, social security and labour;
6) to prepare and present conclusions on the laws which influence the real income, social provision and standard of living of the population;
7) to draft laws regulating family support, employment, labour relations, social care and acquisition of apartments by the population and to present conclusions on drafts of those laws and other legal acts referred to the committee for consideration;
8) to coordinate the work of interested state institutions and other organisations in drafting laws on the matters falling within the remit of the Committee;
9) to exercise parliamentary scrutiny of social security institutions, and to submit proposals and recommendations for the improvement of the activities thereof.
Article 65. Remit of the Committee on Health Affairs
The remit of the Committee on Health Affairs shall be:
1) to draft laws regulating health care of the population, public health and health promotion activities and to present conclusions relative to the drafts of the said laws and other acts referred to the Committee for consideration;
2) to coordinate the work of interested state institutions and other organisations in drafting laws on the matters falling within the remit of the Committee;
3) to consider and present proposals for developing State health policy;
4) to exercise parliamentary scrutiny of health system institutions and other institutions related to the solution of individual and public health problems and to submit proposals and recommendations for the improvement of the activities thereof;
5) to control the implementation of the health care reform and the process of development of the Lithuanian national health system;
6) to consider the draft budget of the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund presented by the Government for approval and to submit conclusions during its consideration in the Seimas concurrently with the consideration of the draft Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Approval of Financial Indicators of the State Budget and Municipal Budgets;
7) to exercise continuous control of the execution of the budget of the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund;
8) to consider and present proposals on a set of consolidated statements of the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund.
valid as of 1 January 2023:
8) to consider and present proposals on a set of annual statements of the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund.
Article 66. Remit of the Committee on Education and Science
The remit of the Committee on Education and Science shall be:
1) to consider and present proposals concerning the formulation of the state policy of education, science, information technologies, nation’s historical memory and the state language;
2) to prepare and consider proposals and drafts of laws, resolutions and other legal acts pending the adoption by the Seimas and regulating education, science, information technologies, nation’s historical memory and the use of the state language;
3) to consider and submit conclusions on drafts of laws, resolutions and other legal acts pending the adoption by the Seimas and related to the issues of education, science, information technologies, nation’s historical memory and the state language as well as other drafts, evaluating their conformity with the state policy regarding the said issues;
4) to prepare proposals and recommendations for the Government and local authorities concerning education, science, nation’s historical memory and the state language;
5) to exercise parliamentary scrutiny of the Ministry of Education and Science, educational, scientific, information technologies, nation’s historical memory institutions, to hear information and reports of the ministries, other state institutions and agencies regarding the implementation laws and other legal acts adopted by the Seimas and related to the matters falling within the remit of the Committee;
6) to examine the use of the appropriations of the state budget of the Republic of Lithuania allocated for the fields within the remit of the Committee and to evaluate the efficiency of the use thereof.
Article 67. Remit of the Committee on Legal Affairs
The remit of the Committee on Legal Affairs shall be:
1) to consider and make proposals for developing State legal policy;
2) to prepare and help carry out a reform of the legal system;
3) to consider and present conclusions concerning drafts of proposed supplements and amendments of the Constitution and to preliminarily ascertain whether draft laws under discussion are in conformity with the Constitution;
4) repealed;
5) to prepare draft laws and proposals related to the enhancement of the effectiveness of law enforcement and to crime control and to coordinate the preparation of such drafts;
6) to consider and present conclusions and proposals concerning reforms of the system of law enforcement;
7) to present legal conclusions concerning drafts of laws and other legal acts prepared by other committees;
8) to consider and submit to the Seimas an opinion concerning candidates for justices and President of the Constitutional Court and judges and President of the Supreme Court, judges of other courts, prosecutors who are appointed by the Seimas or whose nomination requires the consent of the Seimas and concerning the release of judges and prosecutors from duties as well as the temporary transfer to another court of judges who are temporarily transferred to another court by the Seimas to another court or whose temporary transfer to another court requires the consent of the Seimas;
9) to exercise parliamentary scrutiny of the activities of law enforcement institutions, with the exception of courts, and to prepare conclusions and proposals related thereto;
10) to prepare and present conclusions and recommendations to the Seimas concerning the activities of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of the Interior, the Prosecutor’s Office and other law enforcement institutions;
11) according to the rulings of the Constitutional Court concerning contradiction of laws and other acts of the Seimas to the Constitution, to prepare drafts of amendments of the said laws and other acts passed by the Seimas or to submit proposals to other committees to prepare such drafts;
12) to hear information of the Government’s representative at the European Court of Human Rights on the implementation of decisions of the European Court of Human Rights; where appropriate, to make proposals with regard to measures necessary to implement decisions of the European Court of Human Rights.
Article 68. Remit of the Committee on Foreign Affairs
The remit of the Committee on Foreign Affairs shall be:
1) to prepare conclusions concerning the ratification and denouncement of international treaties of the Republic of Lithuania and other issues of foreign policy which are considered by the Seimas;
2) to prepare and consider drafts of laws and other legal acts related to foreign affairs and to submit conclusions thereon;
3) to exercise parliamentary scrutiny of the ministries and other government agencies which carry out foreign policy, submit proposals and recommendations regarding the improvement of their activities; to consider and submit proposals concerning for developing and implementing State foreign policy;
4) taking into account the foreign policy priorities, to coordinate issues of international cooperation of the Seimas, to discuss the representation of the Seimas in international parliamentary organisations and assemblies, to submit recommendations concerning activities of Seimas delegations to international parliamentary organisations and assemblies, to coordinate the setting-up and activities of Seimas groups for inter-parliamentary relations, to submit recommendations and proposals to them, to hear and evaluate activity reports of the Seimas delegations to international parliamentary organisations and assemblies and the Seimas groups for inter-paliamentary relations at least once a year starting from the date of their setting-up;
5) to exercise control of state institutions which present information about Lithuania meant for foreign countries, prepare conclusions and proposals relative thereto;
6) to maintain and develop, in conjunction with State and public organisations, the relations with Lithuanian emigrants and their organisations and with the Lithuanians autochthons residing outside the Republic of Lithuania;
7) to consider, in conjunction with other committees, the problems related to the regulation of migration and submit proposals and conclusions thereon;
8) to consider and submit recommendations and proposals to the Government concerning the establishment of diplomatic relations of the Republic of Lithuania and the opening of Lithuanian missions abroad;
9) to consider in advance proposals of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, submit conclusions and recommendations related to the appointment of diplomatic representatives of the Republic of Lithuania in foreign states and international organisations and the recalling of the said representatives;
10) to participate, within its remit, in the process of the preparation and evaluation of a position of the Republic of Lithuania concerning proposals to adopt legal acts of the European Union (within the meaning of Article 1801(4)), to present, where necessary, an opinion of the Seimas regarding the position of the Republic of Lithuania to the Government and to evaluate the presentation of this position in the institutions of the European Union;
11) to consider, within its remit, other documents of the European Union (as they are defined in Article 1801(5)),where necessary, to present conclusions and proposals regarding these documents;
12) to submit, within its remit and where necessary, conclusions to the Seimas regarding potential non-compliance of draft legislative acts (within the meaning of Article 1801(3)) with the principle of subsidiarity.
Article 69. Remit of the Committee on State Administration and Local Authorities
The remit of the Committee on State Administration and Local Authorities shall be:
1) to prepare, on the instruction of the Seimas or on its own initiative, drafts of legal acts on the issues of State government and public administration, shaping of regional policy, reform of territorial structures, and the organisation, financing and economic independence of the work of local self-government;
2) to consider drafts of laws and other legal acts, prepare conclusions and proposals related to them, on the issues of the reform of State government, public administration and local self-government, administrative division of the territory of the State, regulation of the legal relations of civil service and local self-government;
3) to consider the Government programme provisions pertaining to the reform of state government, public administration and local self-government;
4) to consider, within the remit of the Committee, and to present to the Seimas conclusions concerning candidates for heads of public authorities and other political officials who are appointed by the Seimas;
5) to consider chapters of a draft law on the approval of financial indicators of the state budget and municipal budgets and to prepare conclusions related to the implementation of the state budget and municipal budgets in conjunction with other committees;
6) to approve proposals, as submitted to the Seimas by the Government, on the administrative division of the territory of the State and the defining of territorial boundaries of individual municipalities and counties;
7) to submit to the Seimas conclusions regarding the validity of the imposition of temporary direct rule within the territory of a municipality, a proposal to impose temporary direct rule within the territory of a municipality in cases provided for in the Law on Temporary Direct Rule on the Municipal Territory, a proposal for setting the date of a new election to municipal councils;
8) to discuss the matters falling within the remit of the Committee which have been referred to it on the instruction of the Seimas, the Board or the Speaker of the Seimas;
9) to consider proposals of the Association of Local Authorities of Lithuania on drafts of laws and other legal acts of the Seimas which are under preparation regarding the issues of local self-government development;
10) to hear, when exercising parliamentary scrutiny, the reports and information of institutions of State government and local self-government pertaining to the implementation of laws of the Republic of Lithuania and other acts adopted by the Seimas in respect of the matters falling within the remit of the Committee and to submit proposals and recommendations related to the matter in question to the Seimas, the Government and the Association of Local Authorities of Lithuania.
Article 70. Remit of the Committee on Human Rights
The remit of the Committee on Human Rights shall be:
1) to consider and submit proposals regarding the development of a state policy of human rights and freedoms;
2) to prepare and consider drafts of laws and other legal acts and proposals in the area of the safeguarding of human rights and freedoms;
3) to present recommendations and proposals to ministries, state institutions and other organisations, as well as to Seimas committees on the issues falling within the remit of the Committee;
4) to submit, in the prescribed manner, proposals to the Board of the Seimas and, within the remit established in this Statute, to the lead committee concerning the number of positions of the staff and funding of the Seimas Ombudsmen’s Office and other institutions accountable to the Seimas which ensure the protection of human rights and freedoms;
5) to consider at the Committee complaints, opinions and proposals concerning the work of the Seimas ombudsmen and other institutions accountable to the Seimas which ensure the protection of human rights and freedoms, without violating the statutory principles of autonomy and independence of officials;
6) to prepare, where necessary, a draft resolution on the vote of no-confidence in the Seimas ombudsman or any other official appointed by the Seimas who ensures the protection of human rights and freedoms and to submit it to the Seimas for consideration; to consider and submit to the Seimas conclusions regarding draft resolutions which are prepared by other committees;
7) to consider the material submitted by the Seimas ombudsman concerning a breach of law made by ministers and other officials accountable to the Seimas and to submit its conclusions to the Seimas for consideration;
8) to consider and prepare drafts of laws and other legal acts as well as proposals related to the affairs of Lithuanians residing abroad;
9) to exercise parliamentary scrutiny of the institutions, except courts, which settle issues pertaining to the safeguarding of human rights and freedoms;
10) to cooperate, on issues falling within the remit of the Committee, with organisations and institutions functioning in the area of the safeguarding of human rights and freedoms;
11) to consider proposals of individuals, organisations and institutions on issues falling within the remit of the Committee.
Chapter XII
SEIMAS COMMISSION, OFFICE OF THE SEIMAS, SEIMAS DELEGATIONS TO INTERNATIONAL PARLIAMENTARY ORGANISATIONS AND ASSEMBLIESY AND SEIMAS GROUPS FOR INTER-PARLIAMENTARY RELATIONS
Article 71. Formation of Commissions
1. Having acknowledged the necessity, the Seimas may form a standing commission to examine special problems or form temporary investigation, control, revision, preparatory, editorial and other commissions to examine and prepare or fulfil other assignments of the Seimas.
2. If the term of office of a commission is not clearly indicated at the time of its formation, the activity of the commission shall be terminated by decision of the Seimas upon completion of the assigned tasks.
3. The number of commission members shall be established first, when forming the commission. The requirements of proportional representation of the Seimas political groups and the term to be proposed for candidates for commission membership shall be established subsequently.
4. Should the submitted list of candidates for commission membership prove to be insufficient, the political groups may each verbally suggest an additional candidate during a meeting, after which each Member of the Seimas may do likewise, until the required number of candidates is attained.
5. Each of the recommended candidates must agree verbally and, if not present at the meeting, submit a written agreement to work in the commission. The Seimas shall vote on the list of candidates thus obtained. Should it fail to be approved, the procedure shall be repeated.
6. When candidates for commission membership are proposed during a Seimas sitting and not according to designated norms and even if at least two Members of the Seimas express doubt regarding any of the candidates, he shall be voted on individually. If more candidates are recommended for commission membership during a Seimas sitting than the established number of candidates and all of the proposed candidates agree to work on the commission, an open-ballot vote shall be taken with the list of candidates included on the ballots.
7. Commissions may not be comprised of representatives of one political group or one committee; the right of the majority and minority of the Seimas to be represented in ad hoc commissions must also be guaranteed.
8. Decisions of the Seimas on the issues specified in this Article shall, after being submitted, be considered and adopted at the same sitting, unless the Seimas decides otherwise.
Article 72. Procedure for Forming Ad Hoc Control or Investigation Commissions
1. Ad hoc control or investigation commissions shall be formed for the purpose of control of implementation of the decisions of the Seimas, collection and presentation of information and conclusions required to analyse the problem at hand and in other instances stipulated in this Statute.
2. Ad hoc control or investigation commissions shall be formed of at least five persons in accordance with the procedure established in Article 71 of this Statute.
3. An ad hoc control or investigation commission may involve the participation of experts in various areas.
Article 73. Initiative to Form an Ad Hoc Control or Investigation Commission
1. The Board of the Seimas, committees, political groups and a group of at least one-fourth of the Members of the Seimas shall have the right of initiative to form ad hoc control or investigation commissions, unless this Statute stipulates otherwise in certain instances.
2. Initiators must submit to the Seimas a draft proposal of a decision on formation of an ad hoc control or investigation commission, which shall indicate the aim of formation of such a commission, its tasks and powers.
3. If a group of at least one-fourth of the Members of the Seimas submits a written demand to form an ad hoc control or investigation commission, the Seimas must decide on formation of such commission at its next sitting.
Article 731. Change in the Composition of Commissions
1. The composition of an ad hoc commission shall be changed as follows:
1) upon the termination of the powers of a Member of the Seimas who is a member of this commission;
2) upon the receipt of a reasoned recommendation from the political group which has recommended a member of the ad hoc commission;
3) upon the declaration by a member of the ad hoc commission of his self-exclusion because the performance of his duties in the commission relates to his private interests which may give rise to a conflict of interest and the ad hoc commission has not taken a decision not to accept his self-exclusion in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 18(6) of this Statute;
4) upon the establishment by the Commission for Ethics and Procedures or the investigation commission formed for this purpose that, while participating in the work of the ad hoc commission, a Member of the Seimas has not complied with the requirements to avoid conflicts of interest laid down in the Law on the Adjustment of Public and Private Interests and Article 18 of this Statute;
5) if a member of the ad hoc commission has not been issued an authorisation to handle or familiarise with classified information or has lost it where the commission’s activities involve the use of classified information.
2. The composition of ad hoc commissions may also be changed for other constitutionally justified reasons.
3. If an ad hoc commission has been formed in accordance with the predefined requirements of proportional representation of the Seimas political groups, a new candidate for membership of the commission must be proposed immediately.
4. In the event of a change in the composition of an ad hoc commission, the requirements of proportional representation of the Seimas political groups defined during the formation of this commission must be respected. The composition of an ad hoc commission which has not been formed in accordance with the predefined requirements of proportional representation shall be changed mutatis mutandis pursuant to the procedure laid down in Article 71(4), (5), (6) and (7) of this Statute.
5. If it is necessary to define new requirements of proportional representation of the Seimas political groups, ad hoc commissions must be formed anew.
6. Changes in the composition of standing commissions of the Seimas shall be approved in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 44(3) of this Statute.
7. Decisions of the Seimas on the issues referred to in this Article shall, after being submitted, be considered and adopted at the same sitting, unless the Seimas decides otherwise.
Article 74. Order of Business of Commissions
1. The chair or deputy chair of a standing commission shall be elected and approved according to the procedure established for committees. A member of the Board of the Seimas or a Government member as well as the chair or deputy chair of another committee or commission may not be the chair or deputy chair of such commission. The Seimas shall appoint chair of an ad hoc commission in accordance with the procedure laid down in paragraph 8 of Article 71 of this Statute.
2. The Board of the Seimas shall usually approve the estimate of a commission’s expenses and other issues relevant to its activity.
3. Unless the Seimas decides otherwise, during the course of their powers commissions shall follow the rules of procedure of committees.
4. A standing commission shall enjoy all the rights and obligations of committees.
5. Having completed its work, an ad hoc commission shall submit to the Seimas the draft or conclusion which it has prepared or edited and which the Seimas shall approve by passing a resolution.
6. Ad hoc control and investigation commissions shall act in accordance with the order of business established by Articles 75-76 of this Statute.
Article 75. Powers and Order of Business of an Ad Hoc Control or Investigation Commission
1. If an issue is being examined which is relevant to a State secret, the meetings of an ad hoc control or investigation commission shall be closed to all persons except those who have been invited, a list of whom shall be compiled in accordance with the commission member’s wishes. In other instances, the ad hoc control or investigation commission may hold closed meetings only with the prior agreement of the Seimas.
2. The data collected in the course of work by an ad hoc control or investigation commission and related to a State secret shall not be published.
3. The law shall establish the powers of ad hoc control or investigation commissions.
Article 76. Decisions of an Ad Hoc Control and Investigation Commission
1. Having completed an assigned task, an ad hoc control or investigation commission shall submit to the Seimas the collected and summarised data, conclusions and a prepared draft decision.
2. A resolution shall be passed at the Seimas sitting regarding the issue examined by an ad hoc control or investigation commission.
3. A Seimas resolution may communicate a vote of no-confidence in the Government, a minister or head of another state institution who is appointed by the Seimas or may present conclusions regarding the proposed impeachment process.
4. In the event of a vote of no-confidence, the requirements of Articles 218 or 222 of this Statute shall be applied in order to pass a resolution.
Article 77. Formation of the Commission for Ethics and Procedures
1. A standing Commission for Ethics and Procedures shall be set up in the Seimas. Such Commission shall be set up from eleven Members of the Seimas in accordance with the principle of proportional representation of the Seimas political groups. The Members of the Seimas belonging to the majority of the Seimas shall propose to the Commission for Ethics and Procedures five candidates from the Members of the Seimas who do not belong to the majority of the Seimas. The Members of the Seimas who belong to the minority of the Seimas shall propose to the Commission for Ethics and Procedures the remaining six Members of the Seimas from the Members of the Seimas who belong to the majority of the Seimas.
2. The Seimas shall approve a chair and deputy chair of the Commission for Ethics and Procedures from the members of this Commission. Only a Member of the Seimas who belongs to the minority of the Seimas may become Chair of the Commission for Ethics and Procedures. Only a Member of the Seimas who belongs to the majority of the Seimas may become deputy Chair of the Commission for Ethics and Procedures.
3. Decisions of the Commission for Ethics and Procedures shall be taken by a simple majority of the Commission members attending the meeting. If voting by the Commission members attending the meeting results in a tie, the Commission Chair shall have the casting vote.
Article 78. Activity Fields and Powers of the Commission for Ethics and Procedures
1. Remit of the Commission for Ethics and Procedures shall be:
1) to prepare drafts of and proposals for legal acts which are related to the activities and ethics of the Members of the Seimas;
2) to assist, actin in compliance with the provisions of the Code of Conduct for State Politicians, the Seimas, the divisions of the Seimas and the Members of the Seimas in developing democracy, coordinating various points of view and beliefs, striving for moral harmony and amicable relations between the Members of the Seimas;
3) to supervise the observance of the Statute of the Seimas and other legal acts regulating the activities of the Members of the Seimas; to examine, on a proposal of the Speaker of the Seimas, his deputies, chairs of committees and commissions, other Members of the Seimas or on its own initiative violations of these legal acts or ethics; to consider conflicts arising between the Members of the Seimas; and where necessary, to present conclusions to the Seimas, the Speaker of the Seimas, or the Board of the Seimas;
4) to examine and present conclusions concerning procedural disputes at the request of the Seimas, the Speaker of the Seimas, the Board of the Seimas, the chair of a Seimas sitting, a political group;
5) to examine information presented by the law enforcement bodies of the Republic of Lithuania concerning personal activities of the Members of the Seimas contradicting laws and to present conclusions to the Seimas thereon;
6) to control whether the funds allocated from the state budget to cover Members of the Seimas’ expenses related to their parliamentary activities are used for their intended purpose;
7) to analyse the reasons for which Members of the Seimas have failed to attend Seimas sittings and meetings of the Seimas committees and commissions and to publish information on the Seimas website concerning the sittings missed without a justified reason and assignments which have not been carried out;
8) to examine the letters and proposals of voters, state agencies and public organisations on the issues concerning the activities of the Members of the Seimas;
9) to check whether the Members of the Seimas declare their private interests properly and timely;
10) to prepare, based upon annual declarations of private interests of Members of the Seimas or at a request of a Member of the Seimas, written recommendations for the Member of the Seimas regarding the measures to be taken by the Member of the Seimas in order to coordinate his activity with the Law on the Adjustment of Public and Private Interests and requirements of Article 18 of this Statute;
11) at its own initiative or on the receipt of a statement to the effect that a certain Member of the Seimas does not fulfil the requirements of the Law on the Adjustment of Public and Private Interests and of Article 18 of this Statute, may conduct an investigation into the activities of said Member of the Seimas. The Speaker of the Seimas, the person who submitted the statement, the Member of the Seimas whose activity was investigated and the Chief Official Ethics Commission shall be notified of the received statements, a decision to conduct an investigation and the results of the investigation. Should it be established in the course of the investigation that the Member of the Seimas failed to fulfil the requirements of the Law on the Adjustment of Public and Private Interests and of Article 18 of this Statute, the Seimas shall be immediately informed thereof;
12) to deliberate an appeal of every Member of the Seimas regarding violation of his rights defined by this Statute and to furnish a justified reply;
13) to control on an on-going basis the compliance of the Members of the Seimas with the requirements set out in Article 60(1) and (3) of the Constitution, Article 6(1) and Article 15(4) of this Statute and, on the assignment of the Seimas, to investigate activities of the Members of the Seimas;
14) to initiate an investigation into a potential violation by a Member of the Seimas of the requirements set out in Article 60(1) and (3) of the Constitution, Article 6(1) and Article 15(4) of this Statute.
2. If upon initiating an investigation it is suspected that the Member of the Seimas has violated the requirements set out in Article 60(1) and (3) of the Constitution, Article 6(1) and Article 15(4) of this Statute, the Commission for Ethics and Procedures shall propose to the Seimas to entrust it with the assignment to conduct an investigation of the activities of the Member of the Seimas or to set up an ad hoc investigation commission. Having conducted the investigation into the activities of the Member of the Seimas on the assignment of the Seimas and having established that the Member of the Seimas has violated the requirements set out in Article 60(1) and (3) of the Constitution, Article 6(1) and Article 15(4) of this Statute, the Commission for Ethics and Procedures shall, together with the conclusion of the conducted investigation, submit to the Seimas a draft resolution concerning the cessation of the powers of the Member of the Seimas on the grounds provided for in point 7 of Article 63 of the Constitution and Article 8(1)(7) of this Statute.
3. If in the course of the investigation into the activities of the Member of the Seimas suspicions are raised that the Member of the Seimas might have grossly violated the Constitution and/or breached the oath, the Commission for Ethics and Procedures shall, by a majority vote of not less than 4/5 of all the Commission members, propose to the Seimas to initiate impeachment proceedings against that Member of the Seimas.
4. If in the course of the investigation into the activities of the Member of the Seimas suspicions are raised that the Member of the Seimas might have committed a crime, the Commission for Ethics and Procedures shall, at the next Seimas sitting, give a notice thereof to the Seimas and, without delay, in writing to the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Lithuania.
5. In the cases set out in point 14 of paragraph 1 and paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of this Article, the provisions of Articles 233-236 of this Statute shall mutatis mutandis apply to the order of business of the Commission for Ethics and Procedures.
Article 79. Office of the Seimas
1. The Office of the Seimas shall ensure the activities of the Seimas and resolve Members of the Seimas’ household issues. The Office of the Seimas shall function in compliance with the regulations approved by the Board of the Seimas.
2. The Office of the Seimas shall be a state agency. It shall have the rights of a legal person, a settlement account with the bank, and seal with the State Emblem of Lithuania.
3. The Office of the Seimas shall, in a manner prescribed by law, manage, use and dispose of the State property in trust.
4. The Office of the Seimas shall be headed by the Secretary General of the Seimas.
5. In its activities, the Office of the Seimas shall observe the Constitution, laws and other legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 80. Petitions Commission and Deliberation of Petitions in the Seimas
1. A standing Petitions Commission of the Seimas shall be formed for the purpose of examining in the Seimas petitions of Lithuanian citizens.
2. The Petitions Commission shall be formed in accordance with provisions of Article 71 of this Statute.
3. The Petitions Commission shall examine petitions addressed to the Seimas, by the citizen of the Republic of Lithuania.
4. A special law and the regulations of the Petitions Commission shall determine the procedure for submitting and examining of petitions.
5. Complaints addressed to the Seimas regarding the decisions of the Petitions Commission of the Seimas shall be presented by the chair of the Petitions Commission in the course of a Seimas sitting. The Seimas shall adopt a reasoned Seimas resolution pertaining to the issue the draft whereof is submitted by the chair of the Petitions Commission.
Article 801. Setting-up of the Commission for the Parliamentary Scrutiny of Criminal Intelligence and Its Objectives
1. The Commission for the Parliamentary Scrutiny of Criminal Intelligence shall be set up according to the procedure established in Article 71 of the Seimas Statute, by the resolution of the Seimas, preserving the principle of proportional representation of the political groups. The Commission shall consist of seven Members of the Seimas and shall be a standing commission.
2. The objectives and rights of the Commission for the Parliamentary Scrutiny of Criminal Intelligence, decisions adopted by it and the rights and duties of its members shall be established by the Law on Criminal Intelligence.
Article 802. Repealed
Article 803. Setting-up of the Commission for the Cause of Freedom and the National Historical Memory and Its Remit
1. The standing Commission for the Cause of Freedom and the National Historical Memory shall be set up according to the procedure established in Article 71 of this Statute, by the resolution of the Seimas, and preserving the principle of proportional representation of the political groups.
2. Remit of the Commission for the Cause of Freedom and the National Historical Memory shall be as follows:
1) to consider and submit to the Seimas and the Government proposals and/or conclusions on the priorities for maintaining and promoting the national historical memory and the implementation of these priorities as well as on the declaration of years of remembrance;
2) to consider and submit to the Seimas and the Government proposals concerning the rights of the participants of the resistance to the 20th-century occupation regimes – fights for freedom (armed and unarmed resistance) and the victims of the occupation regimes and the aggression carried out by the USSR (after the restoration of the independence of Lithuania) as well as the implementation of these rights;
3) to initiate commemoration of the major historical events of Lithuania and promotion of historical figures and historical dates;
4) to initiate and/or organise seminars, conferences and other events on the issues of promotion of the cause of freedom as well as of national historical memory, to take actively part in this type of events held by other institutions.
3. The Commission for the Cause of Freedom and the National Historical Memory shall present its annual activity report to the Seimas.
Article 804. Setting-up of the Commission for the Rights of People with Disabilities and Its Remit
1. The standing Commission for the Rights of People with Disabilities shall be set up according to the procedure established in Article 71 of this Statute, by the resolution of the Seimas, and preserving the principle of proportional representation of the political groups.
2. The remit of the Commission for the Rights of People with Disabilities shall be as follows:
1) to prepare and submit to the Seimas for consideration drafts of laws and other legal acts as well as to make proposals on the issues concerning the enforcement of the rights of people with disabilities and persons raising, providing care or providing nursing care for persons with disabilities;
2) to exercise parliamentary scrutiny on the issues concerning the rights of people with disabilities and persons raising, providing caring or providing nursing care for persons with disabilities and the protection of such rights, as well as on other matters falling within the remit of the Commission;
3) to coordinate effective cooperation of state government institutions and other organisations on the protection of the rights of people with disabilities and persons raising, providing care or providing nursing care for persons with disabilities;
4) to foster, and to participate in the support of, international and inter-parliamentary relations of the Seimas with other Member States of the European Union and international organisations on the issues concerning the enforcement and the protection of the rights of people with disabilities and persons raising, providing care or providing nursing care for persons with disabilities;
5) carry out regulatory monitoring on the matters falling within the remit of the Commission.
Article 81. Seimas Delegations to International Parliamentary Organisations and Assemblies
1. The Seimas shall, having regard to the long-term priorities for international cooperation of the Seimas adopted by the Board of the Seimas and the recommendations of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, take part in activities of international parliamentary organisations and assemblies by being represented by Seimas delegations to international parliamentary organisations and assemblies. Seimas delegations to international parliamentary organisations and assemblies shall, as a general rule, be set up at the first session of the Seimas.
2. The Seimas shall, having regard to the documents regulating activities of international parliamentary organisations and assemblies, approve by a resolution the composition of Seimas delegations to international parliamentary organisations and assemblies in accordance with the requirements of proportional representation of the Seimas political groups.
3. The heads and deputy heads of Seimas delegations to international parliamentary organisations and assemblies shall, giving priority to the principle of balanced representation of the majority and the minority of the Seimas, be approved by the Seimas on the recommendation from the Speaker of the Seimas, taking into account the proposals made by the Conference of Chairs for the representatives of the Seimas political groups recommended to serve as the heads and deputy heads of the Seimas delegations to international parliamentary organisations and assemblies.
4. Meetings of Seimas delegations to international parliamentary organisations and assemblies shall be convened and chaired by the head or deputy head of the delegation concerned.
5. When necessary, the Committee on Foreign Affairs shall hear from the head or deputy head of a Seimas delegation to an international parliamentary organisation or assembly information on the issues discussed at a session or any other major meeting of the international parliamentary organisation or assembly, and/or make proposals and recommendations thereon.
6. Once a year, the head of a Seimas delegation to an international parliamentary organisation or assembly shall present a report on the activities of the Semas delegation to the international parliamentary organisation or assembly at a meeting of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Article 811. Seimas Groups for Inter-parliamentary Relations
1. In order to strengthen bilateral or multilateral relations with parliaments elected in democratic elections of the foreign countries with which Lithuania has established diplomatic relations, Seimas groups for inter-parliamentary relations shall be set up at the Seimas.
2. Seimas groups for inter-parliamentary relations shall be initiated by free choice of the Members of the Seimas.
3. The Speaker of the Seimas shall, after receiving a motion of the initiators for the setting-up of of a Seimas group for inter-parliamentary relations, refer this motion to the Committee on Foreign Affairs for consideration. Following the approval by the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the motion of the initiators for the setting-up of the Seimas group for inter-parliamentary relations, the chair of a Seimas sitting shall inform the Members of the Seimas during the Seimas sitting of the setting-up of the Seimas group for inter-parliamentary relations, its head and deputy head/deputy heads. Once the chair of the Seimas sitting announces about the existence of the Seimas group for inter-parliamentary relations, it shall be deemed to have been registered.
4. If the Committee on Foreign Affairs opposes a motion of the initiators for the setting up of a Seimas group for inter-parliamentary relations, the Speaker of the Seimas shall submit such a decision of the Committee on Foreign Affairs to the Seimas for consideration. If the Seimas opposes by a majority of all the Members of the Seimas the said decision of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Speaker of the Seimas shall communicate to the Members of the Seimas the information referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article relating to the Seimas group for interparliamentary relations concerned.
5. The Speaker of the Seimas shall inform the parliament of the state concerned of the existence of the Seimas group for interparliamentary relations, its head President and deputy head/deputy heads.
6. Taking into account the recommendations of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the intensity of the work of a specific Seimas group for interparliamentary relations as well as the importance of economic, political or moral aspects, the Board of the Seimas shall support the activities of the Seimas groups for interparliamentary relations by providing funding for the reception of guests invited by the Seimas groups for iterparliamentary relations or for visits by members of the Seimas groups for iterparliamentary relations in accordance with the invitations of the groups of other countries for inter-parliamentary relations.
7. Activities of Seimas groups for interparliamentary relations shall be coordinated by the Committee on Foreign Affairs. The head of a Seimas group for interparliamentary relations shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs once a year a written report on the activities of the Seimas Interparliamentary Contact Group and, at the request of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, present it. At a meeting of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the head of the Seimas group for interparliamentary relations may present other relevant information and/or make recommendations and proposals regarding the activities of the Seimas group for interparliamentary relations.
PART IV
SESSIONS OF THE SEIMAS
Chapter XIII
First Session of the Seimas
Article 82. Convening of the First Session of the Seimas
1. The Seimas shall be deemed elected after the Central Electoral Commission announces that at least three-fifths of Members of the Seimas have been elected.
2. The opening sitting of the newly elected Seimas must be held no later than 15 days after the election of the Seimas and shall be convened by the President of the Republic.
3. If the opening sitting of the Seimas is not convened by the President of the Republic, the Members of the Seimas shall themselves convene on the day after the expiry of the 15-day period.
Article 83. Opening Sitting of the Newly Elected Seimas
1. As a rule, the opening sitting of the newly elected Seimas shall open at twelve o’clock in the Seimas premises.
2. The opening sitting of the Seimas shall be opened by the oldest Member of the Seimas. In the event that he or she is unable or refuses to open the sitting, it shall be opened by the next oldest Member of the Seimas. He or she shall take the chair until the Speaker of the Seimas is elected.
3. This shall be followed by election of Deputy Speakers of the Seimas.
4. The youngest Member of the Seimas shall be appointed to the first vote-tallying group.
Article 84. Order of Business of the Seimas upon Commencement of the Opening Session
1. Upon the commencement of the opening session of the Seimas, time shall be assigned for the formation of political groups and the Conference of Chairs.
2. Thereafter, as a rule, the Seimas, in the following order, shall:
1) approve or reject the candidate for Prime Minister nominated by the President of the Republic;
2) form the committees of the Seimas and approve their respective chair;
3) consider the Government programme submitted by the Prime Minister and decide whether or not to approve it;
4) draw up a work programme for the session in accordance with the procedure established by this Statute.
Chapter XIV
GENERAL ISSUES OF SESSION ORGANISATION
Article 85. Seimas Sessions
1. The Seimas shall meet biannually in two regular spring and autumn sessions.
2. The spring session shall open on 10 March and shall close on 30 June.
3. The autumn session shall open on 10 September and close on 23 December.
4. The Seimas may resolve to prolong a session. A decision of the Seimas to prolong the session shall, after being submitted, be considered and adopted at the same sitting, unless the Seimas decides otherwise.
5. If the day of the opening of a session is a non-working day, only one sitting shall be held on that day.
6. The Members of the Seimas shall convene in ordinary sessions without a separate invitation.
7. In Seimas sittings, sessions shall open and close with the Lithuanian National Anthem.
Article 86. Convening of Extraordinary Sessions
1. Extraordinary sessions shall be convened by the Speaker of the Seimas on the written proposal of at least one-third of all Members of the Seimas or, in cases provided for in Articles 142 and 144 of the Constitution, by the President of the Republic.
2. In the cases provided for in Article 89(1) of the Constitution, the Speaker of the Seimas shall have the right to convene an extraordinary session. It shall be convened not later than within 24 hours from the emergence of the circumstances provided for in Article 89(1) of the Constitution. A Seimas sitting may be commenced only if there is a proposal signed by at least 1/3 of the Members of the Seimas.
3. In the cases provided for in Article 101(2) of the Constitution, the Speaker of the Seimas shall have the right to convene an extraordinary session. It shall be convened no later than seven days after the emergence of the circumstances provided for Article 101(2) of the Constitution. A Seimas sitting may be commenced only if there is a proposal signed by at least 1/3 of the Members of the Seimas.
4. The Board of the Seimas must notify all of the Members of the Seimas about an extraordinary session at least two days prior to the opening of the session, except for urgent cases.
5. Only issues submitted by the initiators thereof shall be considered at an extraordinary session. The work programme of an extraordinary session shall be approved by the Seimas. The work programme of the extraordinary session shall not be discussed at the committees. A draft resolution of the Seimas on the adoption of the work programme of the extraordinary session of the Seimas shall, after its submission, be considered and adopted at the same sitting.
6. The duration of extraordinary sessions may not exceed 15 days. Between extraordinary sessions the Seimas shall adjourn for at least ten days, except for urgent cases.
Article 87. Venue of Seimas Sittings
1. Sessions of the Seimas shall be held in the Seimas premises in Vilnius.
2. In the event that the Seimas cannot convene in the Seimas premises, the Speaker of the Seimas or the Board of the Seimas may temporarily assign another place for sittings to be held. All the Members of the Seimas must be notified of such a decision.
3. Having convened in a place designated by the Board of the Seimas for a sitting, the Seimas shall hear the information of the Speaker of the Seimas or the Board of the Seimas concerning the reasons which compelled them to change the venue of the sitting.
Article 88. Secretariat of Seimas Sittings
1. The Secretariat of Seimas Sittings shall be a division of the Office of the Seimas which shall provide services during Seimas sittings and the Conference of Chairs and shall fulfil the related assignments of the Speaker and Deputy Speakers of the Seimas.
2. The Secretariat of Seimas Sittings shall:
1) register all submitted drafts of laws and other legal acts subject to the adoption by the Seimas as well as their updated versions, conlusions and proposals;
2) accept proposals of the President of the Republic, the Government, Seimas Committees, Members of the Seimas concerning a work programme of a session and refer them to the Speaker of the Seimas;
3) be responsible for timely presentation of material required for a sitting to the chair of the Seimas sitting, Members of the Seimas, Seimas Committees, political groups, the President of the Republic and the Government;
4) register all the Members of the Seimas participating in a sitting, receive applications of the Members of the Seimas concerning their inability to take part in the sitting during the voting scheduled beforehand, and inform the Commission for Ethics and Procedures thereof;
5) accept requests of the Members of the Seimas to put questions to a reporter, to participate in discussions, to advance an opinion on reasons for voting, and refer them to the chair of the sitting;
6) register questions and interpellations of the Members of the Seimas addressed to the members of the Government, heads of the state institutions, and transfer them to appropriate officials;
7) assist the chair of a sitting in ensuring that Seimas sittings be conducted in compliance with the requirements of the Seimas Statute;
8) attend to adequate technical preparation and service of the sittings and arrange for the interpretation of sittings;
9) provide information on sittings to the Members of the Seimas, Seimas Committees, political groups, the President of the Republic and the Government, divisions of the Office of the Seimas;
10) carry out other assignments of the Speaker and Deputy Speakers of the Seimas and the Secretary General of the Seimas.
Chapter XV
SESSION WORK PROGRAMMES AND SITTING AGENDAS
Article 89. Session Work Programme
1. The preparation of sessions, with the exception of the first session, shall be organised by the Speaker of the Seimas. Together with his deputies, he shall, not later than two working days before the opening of a session, prepare drafts of the work programme of the session and of the agenda of sittings held during the first week.
2. The draft of the work programme of a Seimas session shall be published on the website of the Seimas.
3. The Seimas committees responsible for the issues included in the programme and the date on which an issue is planned to be presented at a Seimas sitting shall be specified in the draft work programme of the session.
4. The draft of the work programme of a Seimas session shall be considered by the Conference of Chairs upon receiving the written proposals of the President of the Republic and the Government. The Conference of Chairs may amend and supplement the draft in accordance with the procedure established in Article 37 of this Statute.
5. A draft resolution on the approval of the work programme of a Seimas session, along with the amendments and supplements and the recommendations made by the Conference of Chairs, shall be registered at the Secretariat of Seimas Sittings.
6. When a resolution of the Seimas on the approval of the work programme of a Seimas session is submitted, debated and adopted at a Seimas sitting, the provisions of this Statute relating to the submission, debating and adoption of draft resolutions of the Seimas shall apply to the extent that they do not conflict with the provisions of this Statute.
7. The Speaker of the Seimas or the Deputy Speaker of the Seimas authorised by the Speaker of the Seimas shall submit a draft resolution of the Seimas on the adoption of the work programme of a Seimas session to the Seimas for deliberation. During the submission of the draft resolution of the Seimas on the approval of the work programme of a Seimas session, the Prime Minister shall present the proposals submitted by the Government on the work programme of a Seimas session. This shall be followed by presentation by the representatives of the political groups of the Seimas of their proposals regarding the work programme of a Seimas session.
8. A draft resolution of the Seimas on the adoption of the work programme of a session of the Seimas shall be considered by all the committees in the capacity of additional committees within the remit of the committees as laid down in this Statute. The committees shall submit their conclusions on the said draft to the Seimas no later than within seven days after its submission at the Seimas sitting.
9. After a draft resolution of the Seimas on the adoption of the work programme of a session of the Seimas has been considered at the committee meetings, the Speaker of the Seimas or the Deputy Speaker of the Seimas authorised by the Speaker of the Seimas shall register with the Secretariat of Seimas Sittings the improved draft resolution together with the proposals submitted by the committees. Conflicting committee proposals as well as proposals registered by Members of the Seimas shall be debated and put to the vote at a Seimas sitting in accordance with the same procedure as is applicable at a Seimas sitting to the deliberation of draft laws in respect of amendments.
10. Individual items of a resolution of the Seimas on the adoption of the work programme of a session of the Seimas shall be debated and put to the vote at the Seimas in accordance with the same procedure as is applicable to the adoption of laws on an article-by-article basis.
11. A draft resolution of the Seimas on the adoption of the work programme of a session of the Seimas shall be debated and adopted at the same sitting, unless the Seimas decides otherwise.
12. At the first session following the new election to the Seimas, the Seimas shall, as a rule, debate and approve the work programme at the time specified in Article 84 of this Statute. Other sessions of the Seimas shall open with the discussion and approval of the work programme.
13. The Seimas may later revise the work programme of a Seimas session in accordance with the procedure laid down in this Statute. Drafts of resolutions of the Seimas to amend the work programme of the Seimas session shall, after being submitted, be debated and adopted at the same sitting, unless the Seimas decides otherwise.
Article 90. Preparation of a Weekly Agenda of Sittings
1. In accordance with the approved work programme of the session, the Speaker of the Seimas, together with the Seimas Deputy Speakers, shall draft a detailed agenda of sittings for a week and submit it to the Conference of Chairs for debate. Proposals shall be submitted by the members of the Conference of Chairs, committees, other Members of the Seimas, and the Government.
2. The time of the sittings, the issues under discussion, the registration number of a draft, the stage of debate, and the rapporteurs and shadow rapporteurs must be specified in the agenda. The Seimas must be informed also of the proposals which were not adopted.
3. If any of the issues on the agenda of a specific week are not discussed within that week, these issues shall be included without voting in the agenda of the following week.
4. With the exception of cases specified in this Statute, issues which are included in drafts of laws, resolutions or other acts in accordance with the requirements set forth in Chapter 19 of this Statute shall be entered in the weekly agenda.
5. The Conference of Chairs shall decide at its sitting whether or not to approve each item of the presented agenda in accordance with the procedure established in Article 37 of this Statute.
6. If the Conference of Chairs proposes to the Seimas to include in a weekly agenda of sittings an issue which has not been included in a work programme of a Seimas session, this issue shall be included in the weekly agenda of Seimas sittings by a separate protocol resolution of the Seimas. In this case, there shall be no need to modify the work programme of the Seimas session.
7. If a decision is passed to work one day a week, the Conference of Chairs may simultaneously present the agenda of the next day of sittings. In such a case, requirements applicable to the agenda’s preparation, adoption and amendment shall be the same as those which apply to the preparation, adoption and amendment of the weekly agenda of sittings.
Article 91. Approval of a Weekly Agenda of Sittings
1. A draft weekly agenda of sittings approved at the Conference of Chairs shall be put to the vote at a Seimas sitting without preliminary discussion thereon, except for the case indicated in Article 90(6) of this Statute. In the case indicated in Article 90(6) of this Statute, voting shall first take place on the inclusion of issues which have not been included in a work programme of a Seimas session in a weekly agenda of Seimas sittings, followed by the voting on the approval of the entire agenda.
2. The items of the agenda presented as recommendations by the Conference of Chairs and the full draft agenda, provided that it was not approved by vote at the Seimas, may be discussed at Seimas sittings. In such a case, proposals may be submitted by the Members of the Board of the Seimas, committees, political groups and the Government.
3. If, for some reason, the Conference of Chairs could not approve the draft weekly agenda sittings, it may be submitted to a Seimas sitting by the Speaker of the Seimas. In such a case, the procedure established in paragraph 2 of this Article shall apply.
Article 92. Mandatory Inclusion of Issues on the Agenda
1. At the written request of a group of at least one-third of the Members of the Seimas, inclusion of an issue in the session work programme or in the weekly agenda or in the agenda of the next day shall be mandatory, provided that the issue has been prepared and relevant provisions for its discussion have been made in accordance with the procedure established in this Statute. No more than one and a half hours shall be assigned for debating such issues unless the Seimas decides to extend the discussion period.
2. Should the President of the Republic request so, the issues and reports recommended by him shall be included in the agenda of the sitting on a mandatory basis (without a vote).
3. The Government shall have the right to request inclusion of a Government report concerning an important issue on the agenda of a Seimas sitting. Under a decision of the Seimas, a discussion may follow the report.
4. At the written request of more than one-tenth of all of the Members of the Seimas, inclusion of the discussion concerning an especially important matter in the agenda of the next day shall be mandatory. No more than 30 minutes shall be assigned for the discussion, unless the Seimas decides to extend this discussion. Following the discussion, the Seimas may instruct one of the committees or commissions to examine that matter. Only one such discussion may be held per sitting.
Article 93. Daily Agenda of Sittings
1. The Speaker of the Seimas shall, together with his deputies, draw up, on the basis of the approved weekly agenda of sittings, a detailed draft daily agenda of the sittings in which the rapporteur and the period of debate and/or voting on every issue must be specified separately. The time for one or two such periods shall be allotted during morning and evening sittings of the Seimas.
2. The abovementioned draft agenda shall be considered and adopted at the Seimas on the day preceding the sitting.
3. If the draft daily agenda of a sitting is approved at the Conference of Chairs, it shall not be discussed at the Seimas sitting and the Seimas shall immediately vote on the approval of the agenda.
4. If the draft daily agenda of a sitting is not approved at the Conference of Chairs, additional proposals may be presented by members of the Board of the Seimas, committees, political groups, and the Government, provided that the approved weekly agenda of sittings is complied with.
Article 94. Inclusion of Additional Issues on the Agenda and Removal of Issues from the Agenda
1. The Board of the Seimas, the Conference of Chairs, the Government and Seimas political group shall have the right to propose at a Seimas sitting to include additional issues in the adopted weekly or daily agenda of sittings or to remove issues from these agendas.
2. A proposal to include additional issues in the agenda or to remove issues from the agenda may be adopted if the majority of the Members of the Seimas present at the sitting votes for the proposal.
3. If the proposal to include additional issues in the agenda or to remove issues from the agenda is not approved, it may be resubmitted on the next day at the earliest.
Chapter XVI
SEIMAS SITTINGS
Article 95. Language of the Seimas Sittings
Seimas sittings shall be held in the Lithuanian language. Guests, experts or witnesses who do not speak the language shall have the right to speak in any other language, provided they notify the Secretariat of Seimas Sittings thereof no later than six hours in advance; the Secretariat must see to it that interpretation is provided.
Article 96. Frequency of Seimas Sittings
1. As a rule, four sittings a week – two on Tuesday and two on Thursday – shall be held during the Seimas session, with a week-long adjournment of Seimas sittings every three weeks.
2. On other days of the week and in the week when no Seimas sittings are held, meetings of the Board of the Seimas, the Conference of Chairs, political groups, committees and commissions and meetings of the Members of the Seimas with electors or representatives of local authorities shall be held.
3. A preliminary sitting calendar of a Seimas session shall be approved by the Board of the Seimas.
Article 97. Agenda of Seimas Sittings
1. The last 10 minutes of every day’s morning sitting shall be allotted to Members of the Seimas for making statements on urgent state issues.
2. Those wishing to speak must register prior to the point in time allotted for this issue in the agenda.
3. No discussion shall be held on the opinions expressed by Members of the Seimas. The Seimas may without discussion approve the proposal of a Member of the Seimas to assign examine of an issue to an appropriate Seimas committee or commission. The Seimas committee or commission must start examining this issue not later than within a week.
4. Thirty minutes of an evening Seimas sitting on Tuesday shall be usually given to the Parliamentary Question Time (half an hour long), i.e. to replies of individual Government Members, Seimas officials, heads of the state institutions appointed by the Seimas, except justices of the Constitutional Court and judges of the Supreme Court, and to replies of heads of other state institutions to the inquiries of Members of the Seimas, while a segment of a morning Seimas sitting on Thursday is usually allotted to the Parliamentary Question Time (an hour long).
5. Agendas of every third Thursday evening sitting shall be drawn up by the political groups of the Opposition. Taking into consideration the principle of proportional representation of the political groups of the Opposition, the Board of the Seimas shall appoint, prior to the beginning of a regular Seimas session, a political group or a coalition of the political groups responsible for the agendas of such sittings. In this case the agendas shall not be approved at a Seimas sitting and must be submitted along with the draft weekly agenda of Seimas sittings.
6. Every Thursday, except the Thursdays indicated in paragraph 5 of this Article, some time shall be allotted at the end of an evening Seimas sitting for deliberation of the drafts registered by Members of the Seimas. Such drafts shall be included in the agenda in the order in which they are registered. A Member of the Seimas may request the Seimas to postpone the deliberation of the draft registered by him.
Article 98. Seimas Sitting Hours and Registration of Members of the Seimas
1. As a rule, a morning sitting of the Seimas shall be held from 10.00 am and an afternoon sitting shall be held from 2.00 pm.
2. Members of the Seimas shall be registered at the beginning of every sitting and before the voting planned in advance.
3. Based upon a decision of the chair of a Seimas sitting or at the request of a political group which is supported by at least a half of the Members of the Seimas participating in the sitting, the Seimas sitting may be extended by not more than one hour, provided that the Seimas has failed to consider all issues on the approved agenda.
Article 99. Extraordinary Seimas Sitting
1. An extraordinary Seimas sitting must be held when it is requested in writing by the President of the Republic, at least one-third of the Members of the Seimas, the Board of the Seimas, and in the cases provided for in Article 89(1) of the Constitution – by the Speaker of the Seimas.
2. Only the issues submitted by the persons on whose initiative the sitting is held shall be considered at such a sitting.
3. The Board of the Seimas shall, not less than six hours before the opening of an extraordinary sitting, inform the Members of the Seimas about the sitting and issues proposed for discussion either during an ordinary meeting or in the mass media.
Article 100. Chair of a Seimas Sitting
1. Seimas sittings shall be chaired by the Speaker of the Seimas or Deputy Speaker of the Seimas.
2. The chair of a Seimas sitting:
1) shall, orally and by banging the gavel, announce the opening and closing of the sitting and, as necessary, may also announce an adjournment not provided for in the agenda;
2) shall attend to the order of business of Seimas sittings, supervise compliance with this Statute during the sittings, and control the performance of duties of the group of tellers and the Secretariat of Seimas Sittings;
3) shall not take part in discussions and may not in any other way influence the Members of the Seimas as regards the decisions pending the adoption;
4) shall give the floor to the Members of the Seimas, direct a debate and may pose questions to the Members of the Seimas in order to specify the essence of proposals;
5) shall watch over the duration of speeches and, if the time limit is exceeded, shall warn the rapporteur and may interrupt him after the second warning;
6) may extend the time of a speech delivered on an urgent issue provided that the Seimas does not object;
7) may warn the rapporteur or interrupt him after the second warning if the rapporteur is speaking not to the point;
8) may also give the floor to other persons provided that the Seimas does not object;
9) shall phrase questions to be put to the vote on the basis of results of the debate; pursuant to this Statute, establish the voting procedure, announce the beginning of voting and, in accordance with the information presented by the group of tellers or electronic voting machines, announce the results of the voting;
10) shall call to order the Members of the Seimas if they do not adhere to the Statute and make noise in the Plenary Chamber and publicly insult the President of the Republic, the Seimas, the Speaker, the Members of the Seimas, the Government, the Prime Minister or ministers and may submit proposals concerning the recording of the warnings in the minutes or examination thereof in the Commission for Ethics and Procedures or exclusion of the Member of the Seimas from the Plenary Chamber;
11) shall take a decision to exclude from the Plenary Chamber the invited persons or the correspondents if they interfere with the sitting;
12) shall, when adopting decisions, announce at the request of the Members of the Seimas the article of the Statute in compliance with which he is acting; and
13) shall sign an official report on the Seimas sitting, the minutes of the sitting and endorse the laws and other acts passed at the sitting.
Article 101. Open and Closed Seimas Sittings
1. As a rule, Seimas sittings shall be open.
2. On a decision of the Seimas and at the request of the Speaker of the Seimas, the President of the Republic or the Prime Minister, a closed sitting may be held by way of exception and may be attended, in addition to the Members of the Seimas, only by persons specially invited to the sitting and, as necessary, by the personnel of the Secretariat of Seimas Sittings.
3. The Board of the Seimas, the Government, political groups and committees shall have the right, on a duly justified basis, to propose to hold a closed sitting.
4. Without consent by the Seimas, neither the Members of the Seimas nor other participants of a closed sitting shall have the right to disseminate information regarding the content of the closed sitting.
Article 102. Guests and Observers of Seimas Sittings
1. The Speaker of the Seimas or the Board of the Seimas may invite to speak at sittings the most prominent guests of the Republic of Lithuania: heads of foreign states, members of governments, heads of parliamentary delegations and international organisations, and chairs of organisations of Lithuanian emigrants.
2. Other distinguished guests may be invited as observers of the sittings of a session.
3. The President of the Republic, members of the Government, the justices of the Constitutional Court, the President of the Supreme Court and heads of the state institutions formed by the Seimas may attend the sittings without a special invitation and state their opinion during discussions where issues related to their work are considered. An entry regarding their participation shall be made in the minutes of a sitting.
4. Open sittings of the Seimas shall be public. They may be attended by all persons having permits to enter the Seimas premises. The Board of the Seimas shall establish the procedure for observing sittings in the Plenary Chamber.
5. Only Members of the Seimas, employees of the Secretariat of Seimas Sittings and persons who have been given the floor may stay on the ground floor of the Plenary Chamber.
Article 103. Meeting of the Members of the Seimas
1. The Seimas may convene a meeting of all the Members of the Seimas for preliminary discussion of issues; the rules of this Statute shall not be valid at such meetings. No decisions shall be adopted by the Seimas at such meetings.
2. The Members of the Seimas shall elect a chair of a meeting and may establish provisional rules of procedure of the meeting.
Article 104. Reports, Speeches and Replies to Questions
1. All reports shall be read at Seimas sittings from the rostrum.
2. In the cases set forth in Article 106 of this Statute, the Members of the Seimas may speak from their seats or into the microphones installed in the Plenary Chamber.
3. Speaking during sittings shall be allowed only on the permission of the chair of the sitting.
4. As a rule, one principal report and one additional report shall be made on every issue under consideration.
5. The duration of a report shall be fixed by the chair of the sitting in coordination with the person delivering the report. Usually, reports should not exceed 30 minutes.
6. Additional reports shall be allotted up to fifteen minutes; closing statements and speaking in a debate on behalf of the Government or a committee shall be allotted up to ten minutes; speaking on behalf of a political group - up to seven minutes, and speeches delivered on behalf of the rapporteur himself shall be given up to five minutes. If, prior to the start of a debate at the Seimas a decision is adopted to limit the duration of the debate, the time allotted to political groups shall be divided in proportion to the size of the political groups and the chairs of the political groups shall inform the chair of the sitting as to the member of the political group who will speak and the duration of his speech.
7. During the presentation of a draft, a report shall be allotted ten minutes and replies to the questions of the Members of the Seimas – up to ten minutes.
8. A reply to a single question may not exceed three minutes, whereas the question itself may not take longer than one minute.
9. Only one question shall be permitted at a time. A person shall be allowed to ask a second question only when it is his turn again.
10. On the decision of the Seimas, sessions of questions and replies may be terminated before the fixed time, provided that at least one other Member of the Seimas supports such a proposal.
Article 105. Procedure of Organising Discussion
1. Registration of persons wishing to take the floor shall begin an hour before the first sitting of the day when an issue is to be discussed and shall close by the commencement of the discussion of the issue. Upon completion of registration, the chair of the sitting must announce the list of persons participating in the discussion. Registration for speaking shall be carried out by submitting applications to the Secretariat of Seimas Sittings.
2. Speakers shall be given the floor during discussions in the order in which they have registered to speak. The chair of the sitting may change the order for the purpose of ensuring proportional representation of political groups and committees and for presenting arguments “for” and “against”.
3. A speaker may waive his right to take the floor. If the speaker leaves the Plenary Chamber without giving prior notice to the chair of the sitting and is not present when called upon to speak, he shall be deemed to have waived his right to take the floor. The Members of the Seimas may not transfer to each other the speaking time allotted to them.
Article 106. Speeches Regarding Procedure and Other Issues
1. During debates, the Members of the Seimas shall have the right to take the floor not more than once for every item on the agenda.
2. Questions, remarks, and speeches concerning the reasons or procedure for voting, issues related to the termination of discussion, and proposals to reject or postpone the issue under consideration shall constitute an exception.
3. In the abovementioned cases, no advance registration shall be required. However, every Member of the Seimas shall have the right to pose a question, speak or make a remark only once on each given issue on the agenda, and concerning the reasons for voting – once before each voting.
4. Remarks shall be made in response to another person’s speech or asking for an explanation. The chair of the sitting shall decide whether to give the floor to make a remark.
5. Speeches on termination of the procedure, discussion, postponement of deliberation of an issue or rejection of a draft and remarks shall have precedence over the issue under consideration. In the abovementioned cases, members shall be given the floor for no longer than two minutes after the speaker has finished speaking. In the cases specified in the Statute, such speeches may be followed by vote.
6. If the speaker speaks on an issue other than the one for which he was given the floor, the chair of the sitting may revoke his right to speak.
Article 107. Debates on Reasons for Voting
1. Members of the Seimas may speak on reasons for voting after the chair of the sitting announces the issue on which vote will be taken and asks whether there are any persons present who wish to speak on reasons for voting. The duration of speech may not exceed two minutes.
2. When the Seimas votes on an issue in its entirety or the adoption of a draft law, not more than four Members of the Seimas may take the floor in favour of and not more than four Members of the Seimas against the reasons of voting. The chair of the sitting shall give priority to chairs of political groups and those speaking on behalf of political groups.
3. In other instances, only one Member of the Seimas may take the floor in favour of and one Member of the Seimas against the reasons of voting.
Article 108. Termination and Limitation of Discussions
1. Discussions shall be terminated on the decision of the Seimas, except when this Statute provides for a different procedure for termination of discussions.
2. Proposals to terminate a discussion may be submitted after at least two speakers have been given the floor and may be put to the vote without holding a discussion thereon, provided that at least one more Member of the Seimas supports the proposal. Prior to voting, the chair of the sitting must announce how many persons registered for speaking and how many have already spoken.
3. Upon resolving to terminate the discussion, the chair of the sitting must give the floor to one more Member of the Seimas whose turn it is to speak and to any person who are entitled to be given the floor pursuant to paragraph 4 of this Article. In addition, the speaker may be given the floor for final statement.
4. During the discussion, the President of the Republic, the Speaker of the Seimas, the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Seimas Opposition shall have the right to take the floor one time out of turn.
5. If members of the Government and one representative of a political group or of a committee notify the Secretariat of Seimas Sittings about their wish to be given the floor prior to termination of a discussion, they shall retain the right to take the floor even if it is resolved to terminate the discussion.
6. The Seimas may limit in advance the general duration of discussion on each issue or the number of speakers. In such cases, proposals to terminate a discussion shall not be accepted.
7. If an opposition political group objects to termination of discussion and if its proposal is supported by one-third of the Members of the Seimas participating in the sitting, the discussion shall be continued.
Article 109. Adjournment of a Debate on an Issue and Postponement of the Debate
1. In discussing each issue and prior to the commencement of voting, the Seimas shall take an unscheduled adjournment of no less than half an hour and no more than an hour or the debate on the issue may be postponed to the next sitting if the chair of the sitting, the lead committee or a political group so requests and the request is supported by at least one-third of the Members of the Seimas present at the sitting, or if an opposition political group so requests and the request is supported by at least one-fifth of the Members of the Seimas present at the sitting.
2. In discussing an issue, such adjournments and postponements of debates may only be done twice. Only one unscheduled adjournment of a debate on the same issue may be taken during the same sitting.
3. If the Statute was expressly violated during a debate on an issue, the committee which prepared the draft of the law or other legal act, a political group, or the Commission for Ethics and Procedures shall have the right to request that the debate on the issue be postponed, but for no longer than one week.
Article 110. Speech of a Member of the Seimas on a Personal Issue
1. If the conduct or words of a Member of the Seimas are presented in a distorted manner by other speakers, he shall have the right to request that the chair of the sitting give him the floor to speak on a personal issue for up to two minutes.
2. If the chair of the sitting rejects the request, the Member of the Seimas shall have the right to request that the issue of whether or not he should be given the floor to speak on a personal question be put to the vote.
3. The Member of the Seimas shall be given the floor to speak on a personal issue at the end of the debate on the issue.
Chapter XVII
VOTING AND VOTE COUNTING
Article 111. Voting Methods and Procedure
1. Open ballot voting shall be conducted on issues debated at Seimas sittings, except for the cases stipulated by this Statute.
2. Laws and resolutions of the Seimas shall be adopted using the electronic vote counting system. Voting shall also take place on individual provisions of an issue under consideration, individual articles or stipulations of a law, protocol decisions and work programme of the session, agenda of sittings and other issues. Data regarding the vote of each Member of the Seimas shall be public. On the decision of the chair of the sitting, these issues may be voted upon by show of hands.
3. Individual instructions approved by the Board of the Seimas shall establish how to use the electronic vote counting system.
4. The Members of the Seimas shall vote in person. The right to vote may not be transferred to other persons.
Article 112. Voting Procedure
1. The chair of the sitting shall announce the commencement of voting procedure.
2. The chair of the sitting must inform the Members of the Seimas how many votes are needed to adopt a decision.
3. The Members of the Seimas must stay in their seats during the voting.
4. No issues shall be debated until completion of the voting procedure. The floor is given only to speak on reasons for voting and mode of voting, except the period during which results of roll call voting or voting by ballot are being counted.
Article 113. Decision Taking
1. Laws of the Republic of Lithuania, Seimas resolutions and other Seimas decisions are adopted by a simple (i.e., more than half) majority of the Members of the Seimas present at the sitting, with the exception of specific cases stipulated by the Constitution and this Statute. Laws shall be adopted when not less than half of all Members of the Seimas attend a Seimas sitting.
2. Save as otherwise provided for in this Statute, decisions on protocol resolutions of the Seimas (resolutions included in the minutes), individual provisions of an issue being debated, individual articles or statements of a law, issues of order of business of a session shall be adopted by a majority of the votes cast by the Members of the Seimas; these decisions may also be adopted without a vote (by consensus) i.e., when the question by the chair of the sitting: ‘Are there any against?’ is followed by no reply, he announces: ‘Adopted.’
3. At every sitting the chair of the sitting must, prior to the first voting and also prior to voting on an entire law or adoption of any other legal act, check the number of Members of the Seimas attending the sitting.
4. If before any voting the chair of the sitting or any political group fails to request to check the number of Members of the Seimas attending the sitting, this may not be questioned later. The last count established at the sitting shall be considered the number of the Members of the Seimas attending the sitting.
Article 114. Roll Call Voting
1. Roll call voting shall be permitted in adopting Lithuanian Republic laws, Seimas resolutions or other acts, except for issues regarding individuals, provided that one of the political groups so requests and at least one-third of the Members of the Seimas attending the sitting supports such request.
2. Such a request may be submitted by the representative of a political group only upon conclusion of a debate on an issue and prior to voting on the entire draft.
3. In such a case, ballot papers for roll call voting shall be distributed to the Members of the Seimas prior to the commencement of voting; upon receipt of the ballot papers, the Members of the Seimas shall sign the record of issued ballot papers.
4. The chair of the sitting shall announce the time of commencement and completion of roll call voting. Respective information shall be announced throughout the premises of the Seimas.
5. Prior to the commencement of roll call voting, the chair of any political group may request a postponement of the voting. In this case, the chair of the sitting shall indicate the precise duration of the postponement; this voting must take place not later than by the end of the next day of sittings. Such mode of postponement of voting may be applied only once.
6. Upon announcing commencement of voting, every Member of the Seimas shall fill in the ballot paper, sign it, and hand it over to the tellers’ group.
7. Ballot papers shall be no longer issued and accepted upon the expiry of the time set for voting.
8. Upon counting the votes, the chair of the sitting shall announce the vote of each Member of the Seimas.
Article 115. Voting by Secret Ballot
1. When electing Speaker of the Seimas, Deputy Speakers of the Seimas, resolving an issue related to no-confidence in the Government, the Prime Minister or an individual minister, no-confidence in any official of the Seimas or dismissal of the head of a state institution appointed by the Seimas on the grounds of no-confidence, and when a vote is taken on the wording of charges during impeachment proceedings Members of the Seimas shall vote solely by secret ballot.
2. Moreover, voting by secret ballot shall be conducted when resolving issues concerning appointment of justices of the Constitutional Court and the President of the Constitutional Court, appointment and release of judges of the Supreme Court, the President of the Supreme Court and chairs of the divisions of the Supreme Court (except where they are released from duties of their own will, upon the expiry of the term of powers or upon reaching the pensionable age established by law, upon election to another office, or upon transfer, with their consent, to another place of work), release from duties of state officials indicated in the Constitution and laws on the grounds of no-confidence, appointment of heads of state institutions accountable to the Seimas, and issues concerning the consent to appointment or release of judges of the Court of Appeal, the President of the Court of Appeal and chairs of the divisions of the Court of Appeal (except where they are released from duties of their own will, upon the expiry of the term of powers or upon reaching the pensionable age established by law, upon election to another office or upon transfer, with their consent, to another place of work).
3. On the decision of the Seimas, other issues regarding individuals may also be voted on by secret ballot.
4. Voting by secret ballot shall be conducted during the adjournment in the Seimas sitting.
5. Ballot papers shall be stamped and issued by the tellers’ group. Upon receiving their ballot papers, the Members of the Seimas shall sign the record of issued ballot papers.
6. There must be a secret voting booth and a ballot box in the premises where voting is held. The ballot box must be placed so that, in order to access it, the Members of the Seimas would first have to enter the secret voting booth.
Article 116. Voting by Open Ballot
1. Voting shall be conducted by open ballot when it is necessary to elect several candidates to posts from a larger number of candidates and when it has not been resolved to vote by secret ballot.
2. In voting by open ballot, the procedure for voting and establishing the results shall be the same as in voting by secret ballot, except that secret voting booths shall not be used and ballot papers shall be filled out in the Plenary Chamber.
3. It shall not be necessary to sign the ballot papers.
Article 117. Ballot Papers
1. A standard ballot paper for voting by secret and open ballot shall be approved by the Seimas prior to voting.
2. Issues concerning the dismissal of an official or declaration of no-confidence in the official shall be voted on using ballot papers with the following words: ‘Confidence’ and ‘No-confidence’ or ‘To dismiss’ and ‘Not to dismiss’.
3. One ballot paper shall be used to vote on either the recalling of a single official or the declaration of no-confidence in a collegial institution or one of its members, or the dismissal of a single official.
4. One ballot paper may contain the surnames, in alphabetical order, of candidates to the same position.
5. In all cases, a ballot paper must have a heading clearly indicating the issue being voted on.
6. The Member of the Seimas casting his vote shall cross out on the ballot paper the surname of the candidates against whom he is voting or the statements which he does not support.
7. Ballot papers which are not of the approved form or which are unstamped and ballot papers containing more surnames than the number of officials being elected or more than one alternative statement shall be deemed invalid.
8. Surnames and statements additionally entered on ballot papers shall not be counted.
9. The record of counting of votes by ballot papers shall be signed by the chair of the tellers’ group and the chair of the sitting.
10. Ballot papers shall be preserved in the Seimas Archives until the end of the term of office of the Seimas.
Article 118. Putting Issues to the Vote
1. Voting may be held on one statement or two alternative statements. In the first instance, the vote shall be expressed by “For”, “Against” or “I abstain”. In the second instance, the vote shall be expressed by “For the first statement” or “For the second statement”.
2. Alternative statements shall be voted upon in the order in which they were submitted for a debate. If there are more than two statements, the chair of the sitting must group them by topic so that they are all decided upon in several rounds of voting for one or two statements.
3. The statement which collects the most votes shall be adopted provided the necessary majority of votes is collected; otherwise, it shall again be put to the vote to confirm the decision.
4. If this fails to be accomplished, the Members of the Seimas may either propose a compromise or postpone the issue.
5. On his own initiative or at the request of at least two Members of the Seimas, the chair of the sitting shall split the issue put to the vote into two.
6. The decision to postpone an issue shall be voted on before voting on the subject matter of the issue.
7. Numbers shall be voted on in the ascending order. If necessary, the chair of the sitting may change the order of voting, unless the Members of the Seimas who submitted the proposals object.
Article 119. Tellers’ Group
1. When the electronic vote counting system is not used, the tellers’ group shall organise the voting and count the votes.
2. The tellers’ group shall also assist the chair of the sitting in checking the number of the Members of the Seimas present in the Plenary Chamber and in reviewing registration thereof.
3. Members of the tellers’ group shall vote according to the general procedure.
4. The Seimas shall appoint the tellers’ group in an alphabetical order for the period of one month upon the proposal of the chair of the sitting. The group may not consist exclusively of the members of one political group.
5. The Members of the Board of the Seimas, chairs of committees and commissions, chairs of political groups, and members of the Government shall not be assigned to the tellers’ group.
6. The tellers’ group shall elect a chair from among its members.
7. The Seimas may declare no-confidence in the tellers’ group or one of its members by a majority of votes cast by the Members of the Seimas present at the sitting. In such an event, a new group or a new group member shall be appointed.
8. On a decision of the chair of the sitting or at the request of a political group which is supported by no less than 1/3 of the Members of the Seimas present at the sitting, the voting which took place before the declaration of no-confidence may be repeated.
Article 120. Announcement of Voting Results
Voting results shall be announced by the chair of the sitting based on the information provided by the tellers’ group or by the indicators of the electronic voting counting system.
Article 121. Repeat Voting and Adjournment
1. Before a debate on another issue on the agenda begins, voting carried by show of hands or by using the electronic vote counting system may be repeated if doubts arise regarding vote counting accuracy and if so requested by the Speaker of the Seimas, chair of the sitting or at least five Members of the Seimas present at the sitting. The decision to repeat the voting shall be adopted by the chair of the sitting.
2. The tellers’ group shall also have the right to request that voting be repeated if it admits that it miscalculated votes.
3. Voting for the submitted proposal shall also be repeated when resulting in a tie. If after a repeat voting the result remains the same, the chair of the sitting shall announce an adjournment of voting for at least one hour.
4. If a manifest infringement of individual voting is established, the vote shall be repeated at the request of the chair of the sitting or a political group, even after a debate of another issue on the agenda starts.
5. The chair of any political group may request the adjournment of a repeat vote, prior to its commencement. In this case, the chair of the sitting shall adjourn the voting for not less than 15 minutes and not more than 30 minutes.
6. Voting on issues concerning the proceedings of a sitting may not be adjourned.
7. Voting on issues under deliberation may only be adjourned once.
Chapter XVIII
OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND PUBLICATION OF SEIMAS DOCUMENTS
Article 122. Minutes of Seimas Sittings
1. Minutes of Seimas sittings shall be drawn up and published by the Document Department of the Office of the Seimas and signed by the chair (chairs) of the sitting. Minutes of closed sittings shall not be published and shall be stored in accordance with the procedure established by the Board of the Seimas.
2. Minutes of a Seimas sitting shall contain debated issues, speakers, adopted resolutions and voting results. Full texts of adopted protocol resolutions shall be recorded in the minutes of a Seimas sitting.
3. Additional information (data concerning the registration of the Members of the Seimas, roll call voting results and results of voting on the adoption of legal acts, statements of the Members of the Seimas, etc.) shall be appended to the minutes of a Seimas sitting.
4. Minutes of a Seimas sitting shall be published on the website of the Seimas no later than the next working day after the sitting.
5. The Members of the Seimas may state their complaints regarding the minutes of a Seimas sitting at the end of the morning sitting held on the next day of the Seimas sittings. If there are disputable issues, the Seimas shall adopt a decision thereon by a simple majority of votes cast by the Members of the Seimas after a brief explanation by the chair of the sitting.
Article 123. Verbatim Reports of Seimas Sittings
1. The Document Department of the Office of the Seimas shall draw up and publish verbatim reports of Seimas sittings. Original copies of the verbatim reports shall be stored in the Document Department and subsequently transferred to the Seimas Archives in accordance with the procedure laid down by law. Verbatim reports shall be recorded in a computer medium.
2. Members of the Seimas and other persons who were given the floor during a Seimas sitting shall have the right to check, within two days after the Seimas sitting, the prepared verbatim reports of their speeches. Upon checking the text against audio recordings, they may revise the edited version of the verbatim report of their speeches provided this does not change the essence of the speech. If the speaker does not present any complaints concerning the text of the verbatim report of the Seimas sitting, it shall be assumed that he agrees with the text.
3. In the event of disputes or misunderstandings concerning the prepared text of the verbatim report of a Seimas sitting, a decision thereon shall be adopted by the chair of the respective sitting.
4. Verbatim reports of closed Seimas sittings shall not be published and shall be kept in accordance with the procedure established by the Board of the Seimas.
5. Verbatim reports of Seimas sittings shall be published on the website of the Seimas no later than within 24 hours from the sitting during which the speech was given. Verbatim reports of Seimas sittings shall be printed in a special publication and shall be publicly available.
Article 124. Minutes of Meetings of the Board of the Seimas and the Conference of Chairs
1. Minutes shall be taken at meetings of the Board of the Seimas and the Conference of Chairs; no verbatim reports shall be drawn up of these meetings.
2. Minutes shall contain the names of participants in a meeting, debated issues, speakers, adopted resolutions and voting results.
3. Minutes shall be signed by the chair of a respective meeting.
4. Committees and political groups shall make these minutes available to the Members of the Seimas.
Article 125. Minutes of Meetings of Seimas Committees and Commissions
1. Seimas committees and commissions shall take minutes of their respective meetings according to the rules established by the Board of the Seimas.
2. Committee and commission resolutions, conclusions and minutes of the meetings shall be signed by committee and commission chairs.
3. Minutes of committee and commission meetings, except those of closed meetings, shall be public.
4. Upon the completion of the calendar year, the minutes of meetings and other documents of committees and commissions shall be transferred to the Seimas Archives according to the procedure established by the Board of the Seimas.
5. All documents of an ad hoc commission must be transferred to the Seimas Archives within ten days of the expiry of the term of office of the commission.
Article 126. Submission of Draft Laws for Public Comments
1. Draft laws submitted for public comments shall be made available on the website of the Seimas.
2. When submitting drafts for public comments, the names of the persons in charge of drafting and initiators thereof must be indicated.
3. Draft laws submitted for public comments must be signed by the chair of the lead committee.
Article 127. Endorsement and Signing of Acts Adopted by the Seimas
1. Adopted laws of the Republic of Lithuania, prior to their forwarding to the President of the Republic for signature, and other acts of the Seimas, prior to their submission to the Speaker of the Seimas for endorsement or signature within seven days of their adoption, shall be submitted endorsed by the chair of the lead committee, the rapporteur who participated in the adoption and the authors of the adopted amendments.
2. Adopted laws bearing an endorsement of the Speaker of the Seimas shall be forwarded within 24 hours to the President of the Republic for signature.
3. Acts adopted by the Board of the Seimas shall be signed by the Speaker of the Seimas or the Deputy Speaker of the Seimas empowered by him.
4. Repealed.
Article 128. Publication and Entry into Force of Legal Acts Adopted by the Seimas
Laws and other legal acts adopted by the Seimas shall be published and shall enter into force in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Law on Legislative Framework.
Article 129. Seals of the Seimas
1. The Seimas shall have the great seal, which is 38 mm in diameter, and the lesser seal, which is 27 mm in diameter, each displaying the Lithuanian State Emblem.
2. The Secretary General of the Seimas shall be responsible for the use and keeping of the Seimas seals.
3. The great seal of the Seimas with the Lithuanian State Emblem shall be affixed on laws, resolutions and other official documents of the Seimas and on documents, international treaties and other documents signed by the Speaker of the Seimas and communicated to institutions of state government and administration of foreign states.
4. The lesser seal of the Seimas with the Lithuanian State Emblem shall be affixed on certificates of employment and other documents signed by the Speaker, Deputy Speakers and the Secretary General of the Seimas.
Article 130. Right to Speak on Behalf of the Seimas, Seimas Committees and Seimas Commissions
1. The Speaker and Deputy Speakers of the Seimas shall have the right to speak on behalf of the Seimas.
2. The Seimas may authorise heads of Seimas delegations to international parliamentary organisations and assemblies and the Seimas spokesperson to speak on behalf of the Seimas.
3. Chairs of Seimas committees or commissions, their deputies or authorised committee members may speak on behalf of their respective committees or commissions.
Article 131. Broadcasting of Seimas Sittings
1. Seimas sittings shall be broadcast on the website of the Seimas in accordance with procedure laid down by the Board of the Seimas.
2. The procedure of coverage and broadcasting of Seimas sittings by the Lithuanian Radio and Television shall be established by an agreement between the Board of the Seimas and the Lithuanian Radio and Television.
Article 132. Press Conferences
1. The Public Information and Media Division of the Seimas shall organise press conferences of Members of the Seimas.
2. As a rule, press conferences of the Members of the Seimas who represent the opposition political groups shall be held at least twice a week.
3. The Office of the Seimas shall supply the journalists accredited with the Seimas with work-related documents.
Article 133 Official Reports on Seimas Activity
Official reports on activities of the Seimas, the Board, Conference of Chairs, committees and commissions of the Seimas shall be prepared and published according to the procedure established by the Board of the Seimas.
Article 134. Information about Seimas Activities
In order to raise public awareness, information about Seimas activities shall be published on the website of the Seimas.
Article 1341. Legislative research
1. The Research Unit of the Information and Communication Department of the Office of of the Seimas shall prepare and make available to Members of the Seimas, committees, commissions and working groups set up by the Seimas analytical and information material necessary for legislative and other parliamentary activities.
2. After being prepared by the Research Unit of the Information and Communication Department of the Office of the Seimas at the request of Members of the Seimas, committees, commissions and working groups set up by the Seimas, analytical and information material relating to drafts of legal acts registered at the Seimas shall be published in the Legal Acts Information System by decision of the Members of the Seimas, committees, commissions and working groups set up by the Seimas who requested it.
PART V
LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURE
Chapter XIX
Registration of Drafts of Laws and
other Seimas Acts
Article 135. Requirements for a Draft Submitted for Registration
1. Drafts of laws and other legal acts subject to the adoption by the Seimas as well as proposals concerning the legislation thereof shall be submitted to the Seimas by the institutions and persons who, pursuant to the Constitution, have the right of legislative initiative.
2. A draft of or proposal for a law or any other legal act which is subject to the adoption by the Seimas and which is submitted to the Seimas for consideration must be signed by the initiators thereof. When a draft law is submitted to the Seimas by citizens of the Republic of Lithuania in accordance with the right granted to them by the Constitution, it shall be signed by the representatives authorised by the initiators; the draft shall be accompanied by citizens’ signatures collected in accordance with the procedure established by the law.
3. A draft law submitted to the Seimas, with the exception of a draft law submitted by the citizens of the Republic of Lithuania implementing the right granted by the Constitution, shall be accompanied by an explanatory note which must indicate the following:
1) the reasons leading to the preparation of the draft, the objectives and goals of the prepared draft;
2) initiators of (institution, persons or representatives authorised by the citizens) and persons in charge of drafting of a law;
3) the current legal framework regulating the issues considered in the draft law;
4) envisaged legal regulation provisions and expected positive results;
5) assessment results of the planned legal regulation impact (provided such an assessment must be carried out during the preparation of the draft law and its results are not presented in a separate document), potential negative consequences of the enacted law and the measures which should be taken to avoid these consequences;
6) effect of the enacted law on crime and corruption;
7) effect of the implementation of the law on business conditions and business development;
8) whether the draft law is not in conflict with strategic-level planning documents;
9) incorporation of the law into the legal system, the legal acts which must be adopted, the legal acts currently in force which must be amended or repealed upon adoption of the submitted draft;
10) the compliance of the draft law with the requirements of the Law on the State Language, the Law on Legislative Framework and the assessment of the definitions used in the draft and the terms referring to the definitions in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Law on the Term Bank and the legal acts implementing this Law;
11) the conformity of the draft law with the provisions of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the European Union documents;
12) those who should adopt secondary legislation, if necessary for the implementation of the law, and the time limits for adoption thereof;
13) the amount of funds of state, municipal budgets and other state-established foundations to be spent or saved in respect of the implementation of a law (estimates to be supplied for the next year and subsequent three years);
14) the evaluation and conclusions of professionals obtained during the drafting of the law;
15) key words of the draft law which are necessary for the inclusion of this draft in the search engine, including the concepts and domains of the Thesaurus Eurovoc;
16) other justifications and explanations which the initiators feel are necessary.
4. Initiators of drafts of laws or any other legal act subject to the adoption by the Seimas shall attach to an explanatory note the following:
1) a comparative version of a submitted draft of amendments of a law or any other legal act subject to the adoption by the Seimas, which shows the essence of the amendments proposed by the draft, with the exception of the cases where the submitted draft is of a new edition of a law or any other legal act subject to the adoption by the Seimas;
2) a table of equivalence which presents the equivalence between the legal acts of the European union which are being implemented and a draft law on the article-by-article basis, where the legal norms of the European Union are being implemented by this draft law.
3) assessment results of the planned legal regulation impact, where such an assessment must be carried out during the preparation of the draft of a law or any other legal act subject to the adoption by the Seimas and its results are not presented in the explanatory note.
5. A draft law, where necessary, shall be accompanied by a draft law on the implementation procedure of this law. The draft law shall be accompanied by other draft legal acts subject to the adoption by the Seimas which amend or repeal the legal acts currently in force and which must be adopted after the enactment of the submitted draft.
6. The requirements of Part V, with the exception of those regarding an explanatory note, shall apply to all drafts of laws and other regulatory acts of the Seimas (hereinafter in this Chapter: ‘draft laws’), except in specific instances stipulated by this Statute.
7. A draft law amending a law may be presented at a Seimas sitting not earlier than after six months following the enactment of that law. This requirement shall not apply when implementing rulings of the Constitutional Court in accordance with the procedure laid down by Article 1812 of this Statute or when a draft law amending the law is submitted by the Government or at least 1/5 of all Members of the Seimas.
Article 136. Registration of a Draft Law and Subsequent Activities
1. All submitted draft laws and proposals, documents accompanying the draft shall be registered with the Secretariat of Seimas Sittings and published on the website of the Seimas.
2. With respect to a registered draft law, the Legal Department of the Office of the Seimas shall, not later than within seven working days of the receipt thereof, submit conclusions on conformity of the draft with the Constitution, laws, legislation principles and technical rules of law-making and on conformity of the accompanying documents to the requirements of this Statute. If this is a large draft, the Director of the Legal Department of the Office of the Seimas may apply to the Conference of Chairs for the extension of the deadline for submitting conclusions.
3. A draft law submitted by Members of the Seimas, the President of the Republic or citizens shall be transferred to the Ministry of Justice so the latter would present conclusions on conformity of that draft with the European Union law. The Ministry of Justice must present its conclusions within ten working days of receipt of the draft.
4. All new versions of a draft prepared during the deliberations on it at the Seimas, received conclusions and proposals regarding the draft law shall be submitted to the Secretariat of Seimas Sittings which registers them and indicates those who have submitted them.
Article 137. Concurrent Consideration of Several Draft Laws. Alternative Drafts
1. In the event that a draft law is submitted together with amendments to the Constitution, both drafts may be considered concurrently; however, a vote shall first be taken on the amendments to the Constitution in accordance with the procedure for amending the Constitution.
2. Drafts of laws amending or repealing other laws which must be adopted upon the enactment of the proposed draft law shall also be considered concurrently.
3. If several alternative drafts of a law have been received, they shall be considered concurrently during the discussion in the Seimas committee and at the Seimas sitting, and one of these drafts shall be selected.
4. If several draft laws amending the same or different articles of the same law have been submitted, all of them shall be presented and considered at a Seimas sitting, and the committee assigned by the Seimas as the lead committee may join them and submit a joint draft to the Seimas for consideration.
Article 138. Preliminary Conclusions on a Draft Law by the Seimas Committee, the Government and Other Institutions
1. The Speaker of the Seimas, the Board of the Seimas may refer a draft law to one of the committees to make a preliminary analysis and to prepare conclusions.
2. If the Legal Department presents conclusions that a draft is not in compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, the Committee on Legal Affairs must undertake preliminary consideration of this draft.
3. As necessary, the Speaker of the Seimas and the Board of the Seimas may, on their own initiative or on the recommendation of the committee, request that the Government and other institutions present to the Seimas their conclusions concerning the draft under consideration.
4. In this and other cases, the Government shall present conclusions to the Seimas within four weeks.
Article 139. Circumstances under which a Draft Law is not Submitted for Deliberation by the Seimas
1. If the Committee on Legal Affairs comes to the conclusion that a draft law is not in conformity with the Constitution and no draft amendments to the Constitution have been presented in accordance with the established procedure, the Speaker of the Seimas shall present this conclusion for consideration in the Seimas. If the Seimas does not consent to the conclusion of the Committee on Legal Affairs that the draft law is not in conformity with the Constitution by a majority of the votes cast by all Members of the Seimas, a draft of an appropriate law may be considered even without the draft amendments to the Constitution.
2. In the event that the same draft law or another draft law of similar content was rejected by the Seimas within the last six months, such a draft shall not be accepted for repeat consideration.
3. The Speaker of the Seimas must, disregarding all of the requirements listed in this Article, submit to the Seimas for consideration a draft law submitted by the citizens of the Republic of Lithuania who are implementing the right granted to them by the Constitution.
Article 140. Initiators’ Right to Recall a Draft Law
1. The initiators of a draft law shall have the right to recall this draft before it is considered at a Seimas sitting. The said persons must immediately give a written notice of the decision to the Secretariat of Seimas Sittings.
2. However, in the event that the draft law recalled by the initiators is, no later than the next day, officially supported and submitted by another entity vested with the right of legislative initiative, the consideration procedure of such draft shall be continued. The above provision shall not apply to draft laws submitted by the President of the Republic or the Government.
Article 1401. Withdrawal of the Signature of a Member of the Seimas
1. A Member of the Seimas may withdraw in writing his signature with regard to a draft law. The Member of the Seimas shall inform in writing the Secretariat of Plenary Sittings about his decision to withdraw the signature.
2. Where the signature of a Member of the Seimas is withdrawn with less than 24 hours remaining before the submission of a draft law included on an agenda of sittings of the Seimas according to Articles 73, 92 or Article 135(7) of this Statute, the signature shall not be counted, however, the right of initiative related to the draft law or its deliberation shall be deemed to have been exercised.
Chapter XX
Presentation of Draft Laws and
other Acts OF THE SEIMAS at Seimas sittings
Article 141. Procedure of Submission of a Draft
1. A draft law or any other act of the Seimas shall be submitted at a Seimas sitting by the initiator of the draft or his representative (a representative of the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, a minister or vice minister authorised by the Government, or a representative of citizens), who shall briefly describe the draft (up to ten minutes) and shall answer questions of the Members of the Seimas (up to ten minutes).
2. The Chair of the sitting shall ask if there are any Members of the Seimas wishing to speak on the reasons for voting. If there are any, this shall be done in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 107 of this Statute. The voting on the submitted draft shall take place during the voting period set out in the agenda of the Seimas sitting.
Article 142. Drafts Presented by Citizens
A draft law submitted by citizens must be presented at a Seimas sitting no later than one week after the registration thereof during a session of the Seimas and, if registered between Seimas sessions, during the first sitting of the next session.
Article 143. Decisions on a Submitted Draft
1. The Seimas shall adopt one of the following decisions concerning a submitted draft of a law or any other act of the Seimas:
1) to commence the procedure of consideration of the draft;
2) to adjourn the procedure of submission of the draft and to specify the actions to be taken by the initiators prior to repeated submission of the draft to the Seimas;
3) to reject the draft specifying the grounds for rejection.
2. If the Seimas decides to commence the procedure of consideration, a decision may be taken on submission of this draft for public comments.
3. All decisions on the presentation and consideration of a draft law at the Seimas sitting shall be adopted by a simple majority of votes cast by those voting, with the exception of decisions to reject a draft or to submit the draft for public comments, which will be adopted by the majority of at least 1/4 of all the Members of the Seimas.
4. If the Seimas decides to commence the procedure of consideration, a decision may be taken on application of an urgency procedure or a special urgency procedure.
5. Application for the urgency procedure or the special urgency procedure shall be established in Chapter XXIV of this Statute.
Article 144. Activities Following a Decision to Commence the Procedure of Consideration of a Draft
1. The procedure of consideration of a draft shall consist of the following: consideration at the lead committee, debate at the Seimas sitting, and adoption of the draft.
2. Upon deciding to commence the procedure of consideration of a draft, the Seimas must at the same sitting set an approximate date of debate at a Seimas sitting, the lead committee and additional committees for further consideration or improvement of the draft. A proposal concerning the date of the preliminary debate of the draft at a Seimas sitting, the lead committee and additional committees shall be discussed and submitted for approval to the Seimas by the Conference of Chairs.
Article 145. Conclusions Regarding a Draft Law
1. In the event that funding related to the adjustment of the state budget is required for the implementation of a law, proposals of the initiators of the draft law and the conclusions of the Committee on the Budget and Finance and the Government concerning the possible sources of funding must be presented, concurrently presenting and considering a draft law amending the law on the approval of financial indicators of the state budget and municipal budgets. Government conclusions must be also presented with regard to drafts of tax laws which establish new taxes, new tax rates, tax credits, sanctions for infringements of tax laws or which change in essence the procedure for charging certain taxes or the principles of legal regulation and application of taxation.
2. The lead committee shall have the right to apply to public research institutes, higher education institutions requesting to submit, not later than within ten working days and within their remit, conclusions of the assessment of an impact on envisaged legal regulation with regard to a draft law, if:
1) the draft law provides for the regulation of previously unregulated public relations or substantially amends the legal regulation; and
2) initiators of the draft law, due to the lack of necessary specific and/or scientific knowledge, have not provided in their explanatory note the comprehensive assessment of the impact of the envisaged legal regulation on the area of that regulation, on the persons or groups of persons to which the envisaged regulation will apply.
3. The lead committee must apply for the conclusions referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article if such initiative is supported by the signatures or votes at a Seimas sitting by not less than 1/5 of the Seimas members.
4. When applying for the conclusions referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, the lead committee shall formulate questions on an impact of a draft law on the economy, competition, public finances, social environment, public administration, legal system, human rights, criminogenic situation, extent of corruption, environment, administrative burden, regional development, regulated professions and other areas of legal relations. Questions answered in the explanatory note referred to in Article 135(3) of this Statute or in the conclusions referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 136, paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of Article 138 of this Statute may not be formulated.
5. If the entities to which the lead committee has applied for an opinion on the assessment of an impact of envisaged legal regulation may not, within their remit, answer the formulated questions, the lead committee shall, not later than within three working days after the expiry of the time limit set for the submission of the conclusions of the assessment of the impact of envisaged legal regulation, take a decision to initiate a public invitation to experts for the submission of conclusions of the assessment of an impact of legal regulation envisaged in a draft law. The lead committee shall lay down in the decision the requirements relating to the qualifications of the experts and the time limit for submitting conclusions. The invitation to experts for the submission of their conclusions of the assessment of an impact of legal regulation envisaged in a draft law shall published on the website of the Seimas. Following this invitation, experts meeting the set requirements shall have the right to submit conclusions of the assessment of an impact on legal regulation envisaged in a draft law providing answers to all or part of the questions formulated in accordance with the procedure laid down in paragraph 4 of this Article. Together with their conclusions, experts shall provide the documents confirming that they meet the set qualification requirements.
6. Upon receipt of the conclusions referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, and where the decision referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article has been adopted, after the expiry of the time limit set for the submission of conclusions of the assessment of an impact on legal regulation envisaged in a draft law, the procedure for considering the draft legal act shall continue.
7. Conclusions of the assessment of an impact on envisaged legal regulation referred to in paragraph 2 and /or 5 of this Article shall be a document accompanying the legal act which is presented during consideration in the committees and at a Seimas sitting.
Article 146. Draft Laws Submitted for a Referendum
If an initiative group for the calling of a referendum on the provisions of a law is formed, the issue shall be considered at the next Seimas sitting during the Seimas session after it is confirmed that the required number of signatures has been collected. Representatives of the initiators of the referendum shall be invited to attend the sitting.
Chapter XXI
Consideration of Draft Laws in the LEAD Committee
Article 147. Preparedness of the Lead Committee to Consider a Draft Law
1. The committee which has been appointed by the Seimas as a lead committee for the consideration of a draft law, in respect whereof the consideration procedure has been commenced, must, within one week, discuss at a sitting the preparedness to consider the draft in the committee.
2. To this end, the committee shall assign responsible committee members - persons in charge of drafting the committee’s conclusions (as a rule, one from the Seimas majority, one from the Seimas minority), shall stipulate which experts’ opinions need to be heard, may request additional conclusions from other committees or state institutions, shall specify time limits for submission of comments, proposals and amendments by other interested persons to the committee, the deadline for submission to the committee of a first draft of conclusions by the persons in charge of drafting the committee’s conclusions, shall take other preliminary decisions.
3. Persons having the right of legislative initiative may submit comments and proposals not less than two hours prior to the lead committee’s meeting at which the consideration of the draft of the committee’s conclusions will commence.
4. If the lead committee decides to return the draft law to the initiators for improvement, persons having the right of legislative initiative may submit comments and proposals regarding the improved draft law according to the same procedure.
5. If the committee decides to improve the draft law, a working group may be formed for this purpose.
6. As necessary, the committee may consider issues concerning the preparedness to consider the draft also at other sittings.
7. The lead committee must, according to the procedure established by the Board of the Seimas, publish on the website of the Seimas the information regarding the time limit designated for submission of proposals and comments by interested persons and the access to the text of the draft law. The lead committee must forward the draft law to interested state institutions and, where necessary, to public organisations, local authorities, and political parties for them to send their evaluations. The Board of the Seimas or the Conference of Chairs may specify the institutions or persons to whom the draft must be forwarded or may relieve the lead committee of the lead committee’s obligations defined in this paragraph.
8. The entire material received concerning the draft law shall be evaluated and summarised by the lead committee.
9. If the draft law has been submitted for public comments, the proposals received shall be referred to the lead committee.
Article 148. Hearings during Consideration of a Draft Law in the Committee
1. Following the expiry of the time limit for submitting comments and proposals on a draft law, all of the comments received from interested persons and experts may be considered in the lead committee’s hearings to which all persons who submitted comments and proposals shall be invited. Hearings shall be organised by persons in charge of drafting the committee’s conclusions. Results of consideration shall be recorded in the draft of conclusions.
2. After the consideration of the comments and proposals of interested persons is completed in hearings and if many comments, proposals and amendments are received from persons who have the right of legislative initiative, there may be hearings designated by the committee to consider the comments and proposals regarding the draft law submitted by additional Seimas committees designated by the Seimas, Members of the Seimas, the Government and the President of the Republic. These comments and proposals may be presented by the authors thereof not less than two hours before the meeting of this committee.
3. It shall be possible not to hold hearings during consideration of the draft law in the committee if the amendments and comments are few in number; however, in this case all the authors of amendments and comments must be invited to attend the committee’s meeting in which the draft law is being considered under Article 149 of this Statute.
Article 149. Consideration of a Draft Law at a Meeting of the Lead Committee
1. A draft law and a draft of the committee’s conclusions must be considered by the lead committee no later than four working days prior to the debate thereon at a Seimas sitting. The time and venue of such consideration must be made publicly known to the Members of the Seimas, Government and the Office of the President of the Republic at least two working days prior to the committee’s meeting. A draft of the committee’s conclusions must specify the amendments and proposals received from additional committees, experts, interested persons and persons having the right of legislative initiative and the comments and proposals which are taken into account and which are not and why and the proposals regarding amendment of the draft law.
2. Only those proposals and comments regarding the draft law by persons having the right of legislative initiative which were submitted not later than two hours prior to the committee’s meeting shall be considered at the committee’s meeting.
3. Representatives of the initiators of the draft, representatives of the additional committees preparing conclusions, experts confirmed by the committee and persons having the right of legislative initiative who submitted amendments to the draft law shall be invited to participate in the consideration by the lead committee. These persons must be given the floor at the committee’s meeting.
4. Other Members of the Seimas present at the committee’s meeting shall be given the floor to speak about the draft under consideration.
5. Representatives of other interested state institutions, local authorities, political parties and organisations and public organisations may also be invited to the meeting. With the consent of the chair of the meeting, they may also be given the floor.
6. In the event that the lead committee fails to examine the draft law within the set time limit, it must request the Conference of Chairs to extend the time limit.
Article 150. Decisions of the Lead Committee
1. During consideration in the lead committee one of the following decisions must be adopted and presented for consideration of the draft at the Seimas sitting:
1) to approve a draft law submitted by the initiators or a draft law improved by the committee and the committee’s conclusions;
2) to approve or to reject the amendments of the draft law received from persons having the right of legislative initiative (approved amendments shall be included in the draft law improved by the committee; all of the amendments received from these persons shall be included in the committee’s conclusions);
3) to adjourn the consideration in the committee and to return the draft law and the draft of conclusions for improvement by persons in charge of drafting the conclusions who are to implement the actions indicated by the committee;
4) to submit the draft for public comments;
5) to return the draft to its initiators for improvement;
6) to reject the draft.
2. If the lead committee adopts a decision to return the draft to initiators for improvement or to reject the draft, this committee must nevertheless submit its conclusions to the Seimas.
3. If the committee was given several alternative drafts, during one of the upcoming meetings the committee shall decide on the alternative draft to be approved and shall begin the consideration thereof in the committee.
4. After consideration in the lead committee, the draft supported by the said committee shall be forwarded to the Document Department of the Office of the Seimas for editing. The edited text of the draft shall be coordinated with representatives of the initiators thereof and of the lead committee (persons in charge of drafting of the conclusions).
5. When possible, audio recording shall be made during the consideration at the lead committee.
6. If during consideration of the draft in the lead committee, at least three committee members disagree with the decision of the majority, they may present a separate opinion to the Seimas which must be included in the committee's conclusions and discussed as alternative during the debate at the Seimas sitting.
Chapter XXII
DEBATE oN Draft Laws at Seimas Sittings
Article 151. Procedure of Debate on a Draft Law at a Seimas Sitting
1. A draft law and conclusions of the committee registered with the Secretariat of Seimas Sittings shall be published on the website of the Seimas no later than 72 hours before the commencement of the Seimas sitting at which this draft is due to be debated.
2. During the debate at a Seimas sitting, the expediency, conception, basic provisions and principles of the draft law shall be discussed and the amendments and supplements received from persons having the right of legislative initiative and also amendments regarding the draft law approved by the committee which were submitted by the President of the Republic, the Government or a Member of the Seimas at least 48 hours prior to the time stipulated in the Seimas agenda for commencement of consideration of the draft law. During the debate of the draft law at the Seimas sitting, a Seimas decision shall be adopted with respect to the amendments and supplements.
3. At a Seimas sitting, a draft law shall be debated in the following sequence:
1) a report drawn up by the lead committee which considered the draft law and presenting conclusions concerning the results of consideration of the draft in the lead committee;
2) a vote, if the lead committee proposes to return the draft to its initiators or to reject it. If the Seimas does not approve the lead committee’s proposal, the Seimas may appoint another lead committee or set up a special Seimas commission to improve the draft law. In this case, the commission shall perform the functions of a lead committee and act in accordance with the order of business of such committee. If a decision is adopted to appoint another lead committee or special commission to improve the draft, a Seimas protocol resolution must be concurrently adopted containing principal provisions as to what the lead committee or special commission must correct in the draft. A Member of the Seimas presenting a proposal to refer the draft to another lead committee for improvement must submit a draft of this protocol resolution;
3) reports by representatives of initiators of alternative drafts, if any;
4) additional reports by other committees;
5) a general discussion on the basic provisions of the draft law – statements of the Government, other committees, political groups, and individual Members of the Seimas;
6) following a general discussion, if the authors of an alternative draft disagree with the lead committee’s decision not to approve the alternative draft, a vote to approve the committee’s decision;
7) following a general discussion, another vote to approve the draft law approved by the lead committee if requested by a Member of the Seimas;
8) an adjournment of the Seimas sitting, if the Seimas does not approve the draft submitted by the lead committee or if the Seimas decides to approve an alternate draft which has not been approved by the lead committee; the draft shall be returned to the same lead committee for improvement or the Seimas may appoint another lead committee or a special Seimas commission to be set up for editing the draft. In this case, the commission shall perform the functions of a lead committee and act in accordance with the order of business of such committee;
9) decisions debated and adopted with respect to the amendments and supplements of the draft law which were presented during the consideration in the lead committee by persons having the right of legislative initiative and which have not been approved by the lead committee;
10) decisions debated and adopted with respect to the amendments and supplements of the draft law which were presented by the President of the Republic, the Government or a Member of the Seimas at least 48 hours prior to the debate on the draft at the Seimas sitting, if the amendment or supplement submitted by him is supported by at least ten Members of the Seimas.
4. The time allotted to the general discussions on the agenda of the Seimas sitting shall be proportionately divided among representatives of Seimas political groups. If the representatives of the Seimas political groups have not fully used the time allotted for discussion, the discussion shall be completed prior to the expiry of the allotted time.
5. Where there are Members of the Seimas wishing to speak on the reasons for voting, they shall speak in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 107 of this Statute. The voting referred to in this Article shall take place during the voting period set out in the agenda of the Seimas sitting.
Article 152. Presentation and Adoption of Amendments of a Draft Law during the Debate at the Seimas Sitting
1. The President of the Republic, the Government or a Member of the Seimas must forward all of the proposed amendments, deletions and supplements to the draft law to the Secretariat of Seimas Sittings at least 48 hours prior to the time established in the agenda of the sitting for commencement of the debate on the draft law.
2. The Secretariat of Seimas Sittings shall register amendments of a draft law and publish them on the website of the Seimas. The conclusions of the lead committee shall also be registered and published on the website of the Seimas. Such conclusions must indicate other amendments or supplements submitted by persons having the right of legislative initiative in the course of the consideration of the draft in the lead committee as well as those of the mentioned amendments or supplements which have not been approved in the course of the consideration in the committee.
3. If new amendments, supplements and deletions were received according to the procedure established in paragraph 1 of this Article, but not considered by the lead committee, a meeting of the lead committee must be held prior to the debate on the draft law at a Seimas sitting to consider the received proposals.
4. New amendments, supplements and deletions may not be presented and accepted during the debate on the draft at a Seimas sitting, except for editorial amendments which are not debated and voted on, but submitted in writing to the lead committee considering the draft law.
5. The amendments and supplements of the Members of the Seimas which have been presented in accordance with the procedure in paragraph 1 of this Article shall not be presented by the chair of the sitting for consideration and voting if supported by less than ten Members of the Seimas after the chair of the sitting announces them during the sitting.
6. During the debate on amendments and supplements at a Seimas sitting, the floor shall be given only to authors of the amendments and supplements (up to two minutes for each proposal, except the proposals referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article), to the rapporteur and the persons speaking on the reasons for voting; the rapporteur shall not be questioned.
7. Having spoken on the amendment or supplement, the author may not speak on reasons for voting.
8. Amendments of an individual article of a law shall be debated and adopted according to the following procedure:
1) the rapporteur shall read the received written proposals to amend an entire article, to amend certain statements, to supplement the article and to delete certain statements of the article; he also may briefly comment on each of them (up to two minutes);
2) decisions on the submitted proposals shall be adopted by voting. When there are several proposals regarding the same article, the vote shall be taken in the order of the proposals indicated in point 1 of this paragraph and in the indicated order – according to the procedure of the submission of the proposals. Supplements to or amendments of an amendment shall be voted on prior to voting on the amendment itself;
3) the person who has submitted a proposal may withdraw it prior to the voting;
4) the chair of the sitting shall not submit for voting the proposals contradicting those adopted earlier;
5) when a rapporteur informs that the lead committee has considered and adopted the proposal, it is possible not to vote on it, unless Members of the Seimas oppose this;
6) the article shall be voted on in its entirety.
9. Presented additional articles of draft laws shall be debated on and adopted according to the same procedure as the remaining amendments or supplements of the draft law.
Article 153. Seimas Decisions Following a Debate on a Draft Law at a Seimas Sitting
Following the debate, the Seimas shall decide:
1) whether to approve the draft law submitted by the committee with the amendments adopted during the Seimas sitting and to set the date of adoption of the law not earlier than after two working days;
2) whether to submit the draft for public comments. In this case, the procedure shall be repeated starting with the consideration of the draft in the lead committee;
3) whether to return the draft for improvement to the lead committee. If such a decision is adopted, the Seimas shall concurrently adopt a protocol resolution specifying the principal provisions regarding amendments of the draft to be made by the lead committee. A Member of the Seimas who has presented the proposal to return the draft to the lead committee for improvement must submit the draft of this protocol resolution. In this case, the procedure shall be repeated starting with the consideration of the draft in the lead committee. Such a decision may only be adopted once in the course of the debate on the draft;
4) whether to adjourn the debate on the draft, if the debate has not been completed during the same sitting or if it becomes apparent that the Members of the Seimas require additional information for the debate on the draft, or according to the procedure laid down by Article 109 of this Statute;
5) whether to return the draft to the initiators for considerable improvement. In this case, the procedure of the debate on the draft law shall be repeated starting with the submission thereof at the Seimas sitting;
6) whether to reject the draft and, if necessary, to assign the preparation of a new draft.
2. If the Seimas, after the debate, decides to approve the draft and, before the date of its adoption at a Seimas sitting, the Seimas debates and approves another draft amending the same law, the Seimas may propose to the committee concerned that the two drafts be merged into a single draft of the law and submit it to the Seimas for adoption.
Article 154. Additional Adjournments during a Debate on a Draft Law
1. If the rapporteur requests and considers an additional meeting of the lead committee to be necessary in order to coordinate the adopted amendments and supplements, an adjournment may be made following the vote on all of the amendments and supplements, but not to later than the next day of Seimas sittings.
2. The amendments and supplements made by the committee, which may not contradict the essence of the amendments already adopted, shall be debated after the adjournment and voted on. In the course of this debate other proposals for amendments and supplements shall not be accepted.
3. If the amendments repealing the articles decisive of the principles and structure of the law and individual chapters or sections were adopted in the course of the debate on the draft law by the Seimas, the rapporteur may, before the end of the debate on the draft at a Seimas sitting, propose an adjournment of the draft for improvement.
4. If the Seimas accepts this proposal, the procedure shall be repeated starting with the consideration of the draft law in the lead committee. This possibility may be availed only once in the course of the debate on the draft law.
Chapter XXIII
ADOPTION OF A DRAFT LAW AT A SEIMAS SITTING
Article 155. Submission of Amendments of a Draft Law
1. The lead committee must submit to the Seimas for adoption a draft law newly edited by the Document Department of the Office of the Seimas. The Legal Department of the Office of the Seimas shall also submit conclusions regarding this draft. Drafts must be forwarded to these Departments at least four working days prior to the adoption thereof.
2. The edited draft law and the conclusions of the Legal Department of the Office of the Seimas must be registered with the Secretariat of Seimas Sittings and published on the website of the Seimas at least three working days before the Seimas sitting.
3. At the time of adoption only those amendments, supplements and deletions shall be considered which are supported by at least one-fifth of the Members of the Seimas during the sitting after the chair of the sitting announces them. All proposed amendments, supplements and deletions of the draft law must be submitted by the persons having the right of legislative initiative to the Secretariat of Seimas sitting at least 48 hours before the time indicated in the agenda of the sitting for commencement of the procedure of adoption of the law.
4. The Secretariat of Seimas Sittings shall register the amendments, supplements and deletions and publish them on the website of the Seimas. The lead committee must evaluate the received amendments, supplements and deletions and the conclusions of the Legal Department thereon prior to the adoption of the draft law.
5. If new amendments, supplements and deletions were received according to the procedure established in paragraph 3 of this Article, but not previously considered by the lead committee, an adjournment of at least 24 hours for consideration of these proposals in the lead committee shall be made in the adoption of the draft.
6. During the adoption of the law, new amendments, supplements or deletions which do not meet the requirements of paragraph 4 of this Article shall not be accepted.
Article 156. Time and Procedure of Adoption of a Draft Law
1. During a regular session, draft laws shall be usually adopted on Thursdays, at a morning sitting.
2. During the adoption of the law, the rapporteur shall briefly discuss the received additional proposals and amendments, indicating the persons who submitted them.
3. Subsequently, individual sections of the draft law shall be put to the vote. Unless the Seimas decides otherwise, the draft shall be adopted on an article-by-article basis.
4. The chair of the sitting shall put to the vote the articles decisive of the principles and structure of the draft law first.
5. The articles for which there are no proposals may be adopted in their entirety by consensus, unless any Member of the Seimas objects to this. Only those articles for which there are proposals or to which Members of the Seimas object shall be put to the vote individually.
6. New amendments, supplements and deletions submitted in accordance with the procedure established in Article 155(4) of this Statute shall not be put to the vote by the chair of the sitting if they are supported by less than 1/5 of the Members of the Seimas after the chair of the sitting announces them.
7. During the adoption of the law, the floor shall be given only to authors of the submitted amendments and supplements (up to two minutes regarding each proposal, except for the proposals mentioned in paragraph 5 of this Article), the rapporteur and those speaking on the reasons for voting; the rapporteur shall not be questioned.
8. When voting on the adoption of a draft, the reasons for voting shall be given in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 107 of this Statute. Having spoken on the amendment or supplement, its author may not speak on the reasons for voting.
9. Voting on the adoption of proposals, articles debated during the adoption of a draft law as well as on the adoption of the draft law as a whole shall take place during the voting period set out in the agenda of the Seimas sitting.
Article 157. Adoption of an Individual Article of a Draft Law
1. An individual article of the draft law shall be considered and adopted in accordance with the following procedure:
1) the rapporteur shall read the received written proposals to amend an entire article, to amend certain statements of the article, to supplement the article and to delete certain statements of the article; he also may briefly comment on each of them (up to two minutes);
2) decisions on the submitted proposals shall be adopted by voting. When there are several proposals regarding the same article, the vote shall be taken in the order of the proposals indicated in point 1 of this paragraph and in the indicated order – according to the procedure of the submission of the proposals. Supplements to or amendments of an amendment shall be voted on prior to voting on the amendment itself;
3) the person who has submitted a proposal may withdraw it prior to the voting;
4) the chair of the sitting shall not submit for voting the proposals contradicting those adopted earlier or the proposals identical to those rejected earlier;
5) when the rapporteur informs that the lead committee has considered and adopted the proposal, it is possible not to vote on it, unless Members of the Seimas object to this;
6) the article shall be voted on in its entirety.
2. Submitted additional articles of draft laws shall be debated on and adopted according to the same procedure as the rest of the draft law.
3. It shall be possible to abstain from voting on articles for which no proposals have been submitted if there are no Members of the Seimas who object.
Article 158. Adjournments during Adoption of a Draft Law
1.If the rapporteur requests and considers an additional meeting of the lead committee to be necessary in order to coordinate the adopted proposals, an adjournment may be made following the vote on all articles, but not to later than the next day of Seimas sittings.
2. After the adjournment, amendments and supplements made by the committee which must not contradict the content of the adopted articles shall be debated and put to the vote. In the course of this debate, other proposals concerning amendments and supplements shall not be accepted.
3. If the articles decisive of the principles and structure of the law were not adopted in the course of the debate on the draft law by the Seimas, the rapporteur may, before the end of the debate on the draft at a Seimas sitting, propose an adjournment of the draft for improvement.
4. If the Seimas accepts this proposal, the procedure shall be repeated starting with the consideration of the draft law in the lead committee. This possibility may be availed only once in the course of the debate on the draft law.
5. If, in the course of adoption of the draft law, while voting on articles of the draft law on taxes or articles of other laws which regulate taxes or which may substantially affect state revenue, a member of the Government, a person authorised by the Government so requests, the adoption of the law shall be adjourned till the next day of Seimas sittings. When continuing adoption of the draft law, the procedure of adoption of the last article prior to the adjournment shall be repeated.
6. If during the debate on the draft law, it is amended in such a manner that its provisions may be not in compliance with the European Union law, the lead committee may request the Ministry of Justice to submit new conclusions.
7. During the adoption of the law and prior to a vote on the draft law in its entirety, an adjournment must be made if there are no proposals submitted and debated on at the Seimas regarding drafts of a law or a resolution on implementation of the law and laws amending, supplementing or repealing other laws or articles thereof related to the law being adopted, where the Seimas has resolved that these legal acts must be adopted.
Article 159. Voting on a Draft Law in its Entirety
1. Proposals to reject a draft shall not be accepted in the course of adoption of a law. The draft shall be considered rejected if the number of votes cast for it is less than required.
2. After all the articles of the draft law have been debated on, the draft law shall be put to the vote in its entirety.
3. If the draft law is not adopted, the Seimas may assign drafting of a new law to the initiators of the draft or the lead committee.
4. As necessary, a law or a resolution concerning the implementation of the law and laws amending, supplementing or repealing other laws or articles thereof related to the law being adopted shall be debated on and adopted during the adoption of the law.
Article 160. Withholding of the Signing of the Law
1. Before the adopted law is submitted to the President of the Republic for signature, the Speaker of the Seimas, a committee or no less than one-fifth of Members of the Seimas may submit to the Seimas a reasoned motion concerning the violations of the Statute of the Seimas committed, in their opinion, during the adoption of the law.
2. If such a motion is received, the Commission for Ethics and Procedures must present its conclusions and proposals to the Seimas within five working days.
3. Until the Commission for Ethics and Procedures presents such conclusions, the Speaker of the Seimas shall not forward the law to the President of the Republic for signature.
4. In the event that the Commission for Ethics and Procedures states that the legislative procedure or any other significant provisions of this Statute were grossly violated and this conditioned the decision of the Seimas, or the Commission for Ethics and Procedures has not submitted its conclusions in accordance with the procedure laid down in paragraph 2 of this Article, the Seimas shall decide by vote whether to repeal the disputed law or to leave it in effect.
5. If in this case the Seimas repeals the disputed law, the debate on the draft thereof shall usually be repeated from the stage at which the violation was committed.
Article 161. Submission of a Rejected Draft
If the draft law is rejected at any stage of debates, it may be submitted repeatedly, but no earlier than six months after the rejection of the draft.
Chapter XXIV
DEBATE ON A DRAFT LAW SUBJECT TO
URGENCY AND SPECIAL URGENCY PROCEDURES
Article 162. Proposal for a Debate Subject to Urgency Procedure
1. Debates on drafts of Seimas resolutions and, if the Seimas so decides, on drafts of laws shall be subject to urgency procedure, unless the Statute of the Seimas stipulates another procedure of debates on such resolutions.
2. The President of the Republic, the Speaker of the Seimas or his Deputy deputising for the Speaker of the Seimas, the Leader of the Opposition, the lead committee, a political group or the Government shall have the right to propose the above procedure on a reasoned motion. The urgency procedure for debating draft laws may be applied on the motion of the subjects referred to in this paragraph only in exceptional cases where due to the current political, social, economic or other circumstances there is an urgent need for the establishment of a new legal regulation or amendment of the legal regulation in force in order to safeguard important public and national interests or to protect other constitutional values.
3. A decision to hold a debate on a draft law subject to urgency procedure may be adopted during the submission of or debate on the draft at a Seimas sitting by a majority of votes cast by Members of the Seimas, provided that the majority comprises more than one-fifth of all the Members of the Seimas.
4. A draft law or a draft resolution of the Seimas proposed for a debate subject to urgency procedure must be edited by the Document Department prior to its debate at a Seimas sitting.
Article 163. Debate Subject to Urgency Procedure
1. Where urgency procedure applies, the time period between the stages of a debate on a draft (consideration in the lead committee, debate at the Seimas sitting and adoption) shall be shortened; other time limits established in this Statute and related to legislation shall also be shortened.
2. These time periods referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article must not be shorter than 24 hours.
3. The Seimas shall set the specific time limits in each individual case; however, a draft being debated on must be registered with the Secretariat of Seimas Sittings and published on the website of the Seimas under any circumstances at least 24 hours prior to the sitting at which it will be adopted.
Article 164. Debate Subject to Special Urgency Procedure
1. Debates on draft laws and draft resolutions of the Seimas may be subject to special urgency procedure on a reasoned motion of the President of the Republic, the Speaker of the Seimas or his Deputy deputising for the Speaker of the Seimas or the Government. The special urgency procedure for debating draft laws and draft resolutions of the Seimas may be applied on the motion of the subjects referred to in this paragraph only in the cases where it is necessary to safeguard without delay vital public and national interests, i.e. when introducing or upon the introduction a state of emergency or martial law as well as when lifting it, when declaring or upon the declaration of mobilisation, when declaring demobilisation, taking a decision to use armed forces in the event of an armed attack and/or where it is necessary to urgently fulfil international obligations, during a natural disaster, in other extreme circumstances or in the event of a threat to national or public security that requires extremely urgent decisions of the Seimas.
2. A decision to hold a debate on a draft law subject to special urgency procedure shall be adopted at a Seimas sitting by a majority of votes cast by Members of the Seimas, provided that the majority comprises more than one-fourth of all the Members of the Seimas.
3. A decision to hold a debate subject to special urgency procedure may be taken during the submission of or consideration on the draft at a Seimas sitting.
4. The requirements of Article 155 of the Statute shall not apply to the debate on a draft subject to special urgency procedure and the procedure of adoption following the submission may begin not earlier than after a three-hour interval. During such interval the amendments proposed by the persons having the right of legislative initiative, conclusions of the Legal Department of the Office of the Seimas concerning these amendments shall be submitted in writing and the draft shall be edited by the Document Department of the Office of the Seimas. Amendments submitted by the persons having the right of legislative initiative shall be submitted in writing not later than one hour prior to the commencement of the adoption of the draft.
5. In some cases, a lead committee may be assigned for consideration of a draft.
Chapter XXV
DEBATE ON THE LAW
RETURNED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
Article 165. Decisions of the Seimas Regarding a Law Returned by the President of the Republic
1. If, pursuant to Article 71(1) of the Constitution, the President of the Republic returns a draft law adopted by the Seimas for repeat consideration by the Seimas, the Speaker of the Seimas shall notify the Seimas thereof at the next sitting.
2. No later than the next day of sittings the Seimas must decide by voting whether to debate on the returned law anew or to consider the law not adopted.
3. In the latter case, the Seimas may assign to one of the committees the preparation of a new draft of the law or setting-up of a working group for the above purpose. Voting may be preceded only by speaking on the reasons for voting (two in favour, two against).
4. If it is decided to debate on the draft law anew, the Seimas must, at the same sitting, set the date of debate. The debate must be held not later than within a week.
Article 166. Debate on a Returned Law
1. Debate on the returned law shall involve hearing of the reports by the lead committee and additional committees and a joint discussion shall be held.
2. After the debate, adoption of the law repeatedly debated on by the Seimas shall be held at the same sitting of the Seimas.
Article 167. Adoption of the Returned Law
1. During adoption of the returned law, a vote shall first be taken whether to adopt the entire law without amendments.
2. A law repeatedly debated on by the Seimas shall be deemed adopted if more than half (in the case of a constitutional law - at least three-fifths) of all the Members of the Seimas voted in favour thereof.
3. If the law without amendments is not adopted, a vote shall be taken whether to adopt the law with all of the amendments and supplements submitted by the President of the Republic.
4. In this case, the law repeatedly debated on shall be deemed adopted if the majority of the Members of the Seimas participating in the sitting voted in favour thereof and in the case of a constitutional law - more than half of all the Members of the Seimas.
Chapter XXVI
AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION
Article 168. Application of Chapter XXVI
1. This Chapter shall apply to drafts of laws amending, supplementing and repealing the Constitution, constitutional laws and constitutional acts as the constituent part of the Constitution which are specified in Article 150 of the Constitution (hereinafter: ‘amending the Constitution’).
2. Drafts of laws amending the Constitution shall be registered, submitted, debated on and adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Chapters XIX-XXV of the Statute, unless otherwise provided for in this Chapter.
Article 169. Right of Initiative to Amend the Constitution
1. The right of initiative to amend the Constitution in the Seimas shall be enjoyed by a group of at least one-fourth of the Members of the Seimas or at least 300 000 of citizens of the Republic of Lithuania having the right to vote. The will of initiators of constitutional amendment regarding the initiative to amend the Constitution must be expressed clearly and unambiguously (without insertions, deletions, inscriptions or reservations).
2. If a Member of the Seimas who has signed a draft law amending the Constitution makes an insertion in the draft, deletes or enters words in the text of the draft or indicates a reservation in the text of the draft or, not less than 24 hours before the submission of the draft to a Seimas sitting, withdraws his signature by submitting a document to the Secretariat of Seimas Sittings, the signature of the Member of the Seimas shall not be counted. If the number of signatures left makes up less than one-fourth of all signatures of the Members of the Seimas, it shall be considered that the right of initiative to amend the Constitution has not been exercised.
3. The procedure for exercising the right of initiative to amend the Constitution of 300 000 citizens of the Republic of Lithuania having the right to vote shall be laid down by law.
4. Chapter I “The State of Lithuania” and Chapter XIV “Alteration of the Constitution” of the Constitution may be amended only by referendum. The procedure for calling and executing a referendum shall be laid down by law.
5. The Constitution may not be amended during a state of emergency or martial law.
Article 170. Specific Features of Submission and Debate of Draft Laws Amending the Constitution
1. The Seimas must consider a draft law amending the Constitution initiated at the Seimas by 300 000 citizens of the Republic of Lithuania in accordance with the procedure laid down by the law. This draft shall be submitted at a Seimas sitting by a member of the initiative group of citizens or any other person authorised by the initiative group not later than within a week following the registration of the draft during the Seimas session and where the draft is registered between the Seimas sessions – at the first sitting of the next Seimas session.
2. Following the submission at a Seimas sitting, draft laws amending the Constitution shall be submitted for public comments in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 126 of this Statute.
3. Draft laws amending the Constitution may not be debated on and adopted according to urgency or special urgency procedure.
4. The Committee on Legal Affairs shall be the lead committee considering draft laws amending the Constitution. The committees appointed by the Seimas as additional for consideration of a draft law amending the Constitution must take their decision regarding this draft not less than a month prior to the consideration of this draft in the Committee on Legal Affairs.
5. The Committee on Legal Affairs must consider a draft law amending the Constitution not later than ten days prior to the debate on this draft at a Seimas sitting. A decision taken by the Committee on Legal Affairs with regard to the draft law amending the Constitution must be distributed to the Members of the Seimas not later than seven days before the debate on the draft at a Seimas sitting; the decision must be also forwarded to the President of the Republic and the Government.
6. During the consideration of a draft law amending the Constitution at the Committee on Legal Affairs, one of the following decisions must be taken, which will be presented for deliberation during the debate on the said draft law amending the Constitution at a Seimas sitting:
1) to approve the draft law amending the Constitution that has been submitted by the initiators as well as the Committee’s conclusions;
2) to approve the draft law amending the Constitution that has been improved by the Committee as well as the Committee’s conclusions. The improved draft law amending Constitution may include only non-essential amendments, which do not change the draft law amending the Constitution in principal, and/or editorial amendments and/or amendments dictated by technical rules of law-making;
3) to reject the draft law amending the Constitution;
4) to return the draft law amending the Constitution to the initiators for improvement and to recommend to them, pursuant to the provisions of Article 169 of this Statute, to register a new draft law amending the Constitution.
7. It shall be prohibited to restrict discussions on a draft law amending the Constitution when debating on it at a Seimas sitting, with the exception of the cases where such a decision is taken by a majority of votes cast by at least one-third of all of the Members of the Seimas.
8. The proposals of the Members of the Seimas regarding a draft law amending the Constitution which would amend the draft law in such a way that the purpose of the draft law amending the Constitution is distorted or the scope of the proposed constitutional legal regulation is altered, also the proposals where different measures of constitutional legal regulation for achieving the objectives of the said draft law are offered or amendment of any other provision of the Constitution are recommended shall not be considered and no vote shall be taken thereon.
9. Editorial comments and proposals of the Members of the Seimas regarding the text of a draft law amending the Constitution and/or their comments and proposals related to technical rules of law-making with regard to the text of the draft law amending the Constitution and submitted after the approval by the Seimas of the draft by a majority of votes cast by not less than two-thirds of all the Members of the Seimas when voting for it for the first time shall not be debated and voted on when the Seimas debates and votes on the draft law amending the Constitution for the second time.
Article 171. Procedure of Adoption of Draft Laws Amending the Constitution
1. The procedure of adoption of draft laws amending the Constitution shall be commenced not earlier than ten days after the debate on them at a Seimas sitting.
2. During the adoption, draft laws amending the Constitution shall be voted on twice at Seimas sittings, with an adjournment of at least three months between the first and the second voting.
3. A draft law amending the Constitution shall be deemed adopted by the Seimas provided that at least two-thirds of all the Members of the Seimas vote in favour thereof during each voting and that the same text of the draft law amending the Constitution is put to the vote each time.
4. A draft law amending the Constitution which has not been adopted may be submitted to the Seimas for repeat debate no sooner than after one year.
Chapter XXVI1
CONSTITUTIONAL LAWS
Article 1711. Constitutional Laws and the List of Constitutional Laws
1. The following shall be deemed to be constitutional laws:
1) constitutional laws directly specified in the Constitution;
2) the Constitutional Law on the List of Constitutional Laws and the constitutional laws entered on the list.
2. Constitutional laws must conform to the Constitution.
3. The Constitutional Law on the List of Constitutional Laws may include constitutional laws regulating especially significant social relationships and ensuring their stability.
4. Laws amending, supplementing or repealing the provisions of the Constitution, the constitutional laws and constitutional acts specified in Article 150 of the Constitution and the constitutional laws specified directly in the Constitution shall not be included on the list of constitutional laws.
5. Draft laws amending, supplementing or repealing constitutional laws (hereinafter in this Chapter: ‘draft constitutional laws’) shall be registered, submitted, debated on and adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Chapters XIX-XXV, unless otherwise provided for in this Chapter.
Article 1712. Right of Initiative of Constitutional Laws
The right of initiative of constitutional laws in the Seimas shall be enjoyed by Members of the Seimas, the President of the Republic and the Government. Moreover, this right shall be enjoyed by 50 000 citizens of the Republic of Lithuania having the right to vote.
Article 1713. Specific Features of Submission of and Debate on Draft Constitutional Laws
1. The Seimas must debate on a draft constitutional law initiated at the Seimas by 50 000 citizens of the Republic of Lithuania in accordance with the procedure laid down by the law. This draft shall be submitted at a Seimas sitting by a member of the initiative group of citizens or any other person authorised by the initiative group not later than within a week following the registration of the draft during the Seimas session and where the draft is registered between the Seimas sessions – at the first sitting of the next Seimas session.
2. Following the submission at a Seimas sitting, draft constitutional laws shall be submitted for public comments in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 126 of this Statute.
3. Draft constitutional laws may not be debated on and adopted according to urgency or special urgency procedure
4. The Committee on Legal Affairs shall be the lead committee considering draft constitutional laws. The committees appointed by the Seimas as additional for consideration of a draft constitutional law must take their decision regarding this draft not less a month prior to the consideration of this draft at the Committee on Legal Affairs.
5. The Committee on Legal Affairs must consider a draft constitutional law not later than ten days prior to the debate on this draft at a Seimas sitting. The conclusions of the Committee on Legal Affairs as well as the draft constitutional law and its comparative version (in case of the approval of the draft) shall be registered with the Secretariat of Seimas Sittings and published on the website of the Seimas.
6. It shall be prohibited to restrict discussions on a draft constitutional law when debating on it at a Seimas sitting, with the exception of the cases where such a decision is taken by a majority of votes cast by at least one-third of all of the Members of the Seimas.
Article 1714. Procedure of Adoption of Draft Constitutional Laws
1. The procedure of adoption of draft constitutional laws shall be commenced not earlier than ten days after the debate on them at a Seimas sitting.
2. A draft constitutional law shall be deemed adopted if more than half of all the Members of the Seimas vote in favour thereof.
3. A draft constitutional law amending or supplementing a constitutional law shall be deemed adopted if at least three-fifths of all the Members of the Seimas vote in favour thereof.
4. Constitutional laws, except the constitutional laws specified directly in the Constitution, may be repealed only by simultaneously striking them off the list of constitutional laws. In this event, draft constitutional laws shall be debated and voted on at the same time. A constitutional law shall be repealed and stricken off the list of constitutional laws if at least three-fifths of all the Members of the Seimas vote in favour thereof.
5. A constitutional law of the list of constitutional laws shall be adopted, amended, supplemented or repealed if at least three-fifths of all the Members of the Seimas vote in favour thereof.
6. A draft constitutional law which has not been adopted may be submitted to the Seimas for repeat debate no sooner than after nine months. This requirement shall not apply when implementing resolutions of the Constitutional Court in accordance with the procedure laid down by Article 1812 of this Statute.
Chapter XXVII
CONTROL OF THE BUDGETARY POLICY AND
APPROVAL OF THE BUDGET
Article 1715. Establishment of a Medium-Term Objective
1. A medium-term objective for a period not exceeding three years shall be established in pursuance of the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Implementation of the Fiscal Treaty.
2. The Government shall, not later than until 1 March, submit to the Seimas a draft resolution of the Seimas on the establishment of a medium-term objective.
3. The Committee on the Budget and Finance shall be the lead committee to consider the draft concerning the establishment of a medium-term objective.
4. When considering the draft resolution of the Seimas on the establishment of a medium-term objective referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article at a Seimas siting, a report of the Committee on the Budget and Finance shall be heard.
5. The draft resolution of the Seimas on the establishment of a medium-term objective shall be adopted not later than until 15 March by a simple majority vote of the Members of the Seimas participating at a Seimas sitting, provided that not less than half of all the Members of the Seimas attend that Seimas sitting.
Article 1716. Establishment of a Structural Adjustment Target
1. A structural adjustment target shall be established in pursuance of the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Implementation of the Fiscal Treaty.
2. The Government shall draw up and, not later than until 30 May, submit to the Seimas a draft resolution of the Seimas on the establishment of a structural adjustment target, with the exception of the year when a structural adjustment target is not established in pursuance of the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Lithuania.
3. The Committee on the Budget and Finance shall be the lead committee to consider the draft concerning the establishment of a structural adjustment target.
4. The National Audit Office of Lithuania shall, within 15 working days after the submission of the draft resolution of the Seimas on the establishment of a structural adjustment target to the Seimas, present its opinion concerning the draft resolution of the Seimas on the establishment of a structural adjustment target.
5. The Committee on the Budget and Finance shall consider the draft resolution of the Seimas on the establishment of a structural adjustment target taking into consideration the opinion of the National Audit Office of Lithuania regarding this draft, and shall submit its own conclusions to the Seimas.
6. The draft resolution of the Seimas on the establishment of a structural adjustment target must be considered and adopted not later than until 30 June at a Seimas sitting.
7. A report of the Committee on the Budget and Finance as well as conclusions of other committees.
8. The draft resolution of the Seimas on the establishment of a structural adjustment target shall be adopted following the debate by a simple majority vote of the Members of the Seimas participating at a Seimas sitting, provided that not less than half of all the Members of the Seimas attend that Seimas sitting.
9. A structural adjustment target shall not be established in the year when the exceptional circumstances, defined in the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Implementation of the Fiscal Treaty, are established. In this case, the Government or an institution authorized by it shall, at least quarterly, publish the economic development scenario, and the National Audit Office of Lithuania shall, within seven working days after the publication of each such scenario, present to the Seimas an opinion on the compliance of the current or foreseeable situation with the definition of exceptional circumstances and on the approval of the economic development scenario.
10. The Committee on the Budget and Finance shall discuss the situation of exceptional circumstances taking into consideration the economic development scenario referred to in paragraph 9 of this Article and the opinion of the National Audit Office of Lithuania thereon.
11. After publication of the economic development scenario referred to in paragraph 9 of this Article, a report of the representatives of the Government on the prepared economic development scenario shall be heard at the next meeting of the Committee on the Budget and Finance.
Article 1717. Hearing of the Economic Development Scenario and the Stability Programme of Lithuania
1. The National Audit Office of Lithuania shall, within seven working days of the publication of the economic development scenario, present to the Seimas an opinion on the approval of the economic development scenario. At one of the closer meetings of the Committee on Budgets and Finance and the Committee on Audit, reports of Government representatives about the prepared economic development scenario and the opinion of the National Audit Office of Lithuania on it shall be heard.
2. The National Audit Office of Lithuania shall, within seven working days of the publication of the Stability Programme of Lithuania for a given year, present to the Seimas an evaluation report of this Programme. At one of the closer meetings of the Committee on Budgets and Finance and the Committee on Audit, reports of Government representatives about the Stability Programme of Lithuania for a given year and an evaluation report of this Programme presented by the National Audit Office of Lithuania shall be heard.
Article 172. Submission of a Draft State Budget
1. A draft state budget shall be drawn up in accordance with the procedure established by the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Budget Structure and in adherence to the rules set out in the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Implementation of the Fiscal Treaty.
2. Upon drawing up a draft state budget for the next year, the Government shall submit the draft to the Seimas by 17 October, together with the data on which this draft is based.
3. The National Audit Office of Lithuania shall, not later than within 15 working days from the submission of a draft state budget, present an opinion to the Seimas concerning a specific structural adjustment target set out in a draft law of the Republic of Lithuania on approval of financial indicators of the state budget and municipal budgets for a given year as well as the need of additional measures (in monetary terms) necessary for the implementation of this target. The Committee on Budget and Finance and the Committee on Audit shall discuss this opinion of the National Audit Office of Lithuania. Other committees, when considering the draft state budget, shall have regard to this opinion of the National Audit Office of Lithuania.
4. The Government shall, not later than within ten working days from the submission of the draft state budget, submit to the Seimas the information specified in paragraph 2 of Article 19 of the Law on the Budget Structure. When discussing the draft state budget, the committees shall have regard to this information.
5. The Bank of Lithuania shall, not later than within 15 working days from the submission of the state budget to the Seimas, present conclusions how the fulfilment of the tasks of the annual improvement of the government sector balance indicator affects the confidence in the stability of the financial system and the price stability, focusing on an external equilibrium of economy and a long-term sustainability of government finances. When discussing the draft state budget, the committees shall have regard to the above-mentioned conclusions presented by the Bank of Lithuania.
6. Repealed.
7. The report of the Government on the draft state budget shall be heard at the next sitting of the Seimas.
8. Thereafter, at least 15 days shall be assigned for consideration of the draft state budget in committees and political groups. During that period, Seimas sittings shall not be held.
9. Following the submission of the draft state budget at the above-mentioned Seimas sitting, the Committee on the Budget and Finance shall, in accordance with the procedure established by the Board of the Seimas, publish on the website of the Seimas the time limit for submitting to the committee proposals and comments of interested persons regarding the draft state budget.
10. The Committee on the Budget and Finance shall forward the received proposals and comments to relevant committees of the Seimas within their remit, for their consideration according to the procedure established by this Statute.
11. The draft state budget shall not be debated on and adopted according to urgency or special urgency procedure, except in cases when it is necessary to achieve the objectives of imposing a state of emergency or to carry out state defence, or to perform other vital state functions during mobilisation or war. When adopting a decision to debate on the draft state budget according to urgency or special urgency procedure, the Seimas may establish other terms, which are shorter than those established in paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 of this Article, for the submission of conclusions and information; other terms of legislation established in this Statute shall be established in accordance with the procedure laid down in Chapter XXIV of this Statute.
Article 173. Consideration of the Draft State Budget in Committees
1. The committees, with the exception of the Committee on Audit, shall consider the classification chapters of a draft state budget within their remit and shall formulate their conclusions and proposals and submit them by 10 November to the Committee on the Budget and Finance. The Committee on Audit shall consider and evaluate the compliance of state budget appropriations foreseeable for the National Audit Office of Lithuania with the needs of the National Audit Office of Lithuania and an the opinion of the National Audit Office of Lithuania on the structural adjustment target which is defined in a draft law of the Republic of Lithuania on the approval of financial indicators of the state budget and municipal budgets for a given year as well as additional measures (in monetary terms) necessary for the implementation of this target, and shall submit its conclusion and proposals thereon to the Committee on the Budget and Finance by 20 November and on the assignment of the Seimas – also to the Seimas by the deadline set by it.
2. Representatives of the Government, other state institutions and the Committee on the Budget and Finance shall be invited to the meetings of committees during which the draft state budget is to be considered.
3. The Government and other state institutions must submit to the committees the data on which the draft state budget is based.
Article 174. Proposals on the Draft State Budget
1. At all stages of consideration of the draft state budget, committees, political groups, and individual Members of the Seimas may propose an increase in the expenditure provided for in the draft only on condition that they specify the sources of financing of the expenditure.
2. It shall not be permitted to propose a decrease in the expenditure included in the draft state budget pursuant to the law, other regulations adopted by the Seimas and international obligations of the Republic of Lithuania.
3. In order to reduce the abovementioned expenditure, the Seimas must first of all amend the appropriate regulations.
Article 175. Consideration of the Draft State Budget in the Seimas Committee on the Budget and Finance
1. Having received the conclusions of the Government concerning the recommendations of the European Commission, conclusions of other committees and the opinions, offered comments and proposals of political groups, the Committee on the Budget and Finance shall, together with the representatives of the Government, political groups and other committees, consider the draft state budget and formulate conclusions thereon.
2. The Committee on the Budget and Finance must either adopt the amendments to the law on the State Budget proposed by another committee if these amendments are within the remit of the respective committee or reject the amendments, presenting a reasoned reply.
3. Any committee of the Seimas shall be entitled to submit proposals to amend those chapters of the state budget which are not within its remit. In this case, the Committee on the Budget and Finance shall not be obliged to provide a reasoned reply to the committee whether it has accepted the amendments proposed by that committee.
Article 176. First Debate on the Draft State Budget in the Seimas
1. The draft state budget must be debated on at the Seimas sitting no later than by 25 November.
2. At the sitting, a report of the Committee on the Budget and Finance shall be heard and conclusions of other committees and opinions and comments of political groups and individual Members of the Seimas which have been rejected by the Committee on the Budget and Finance shall be submitted.
Article 177. Second Debate on the Draft State Budget in the Seimas
1. The second debate on the draft state budget shall be scheduled not later than within 15 days after its first debate. During the second debate the Government shall present the draft revised in accordance with the received proposals and comments.
2. In the year when a regular election to the Seimas is held, the second debate on the state budget at a sitting of the newly elected Seimas shall be scheduled not earlier than 18 December.
3. In the cases of an early election to the Seimas and where the newly elected Seimas convenes only after the procedure of debate of the state budget at the Seimas has started, the provisions of paragraph 2 of this Article shall apply mutatis mutandis.
4. During a sitting of the Seimas, a representative of the Government shall announce what has been amended in the state budget with regard to the recommendations of the European Commission, which proposals submitted by committees, political groups and individual Members of the Seimas have been included in the draft state budget and which have been rejected, shall justify those rejections and shall answer questions of the Members of the Seimas.
5. After the discussion, a vote shall be taken on assigning of the date of adoption of a Law on the Approval of Financial Indicators of the State Budget and Municipal Budgets at one of the upcoming Seimas sittings.
6. Prior to the commencement of the sitting referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article, new proposals and amendments shall be submitted to the representative of the Government in accordance with the procedure established in Article 152 of this Statute.
7. If there is a large number of comments material to the draft state budget, the draft may be returned to the Government for revision. No more than ten days shall be allotted for this purpose; the procedure of second debate shall be subsequently resumed.
Article 178. Approval of the State Budget
1. Alternative proposals and amendments which are objected to by the Government but which meet the conditions set out in Article 174 of this Chapter may be adopted only after more than half of all the Members of the Seimas vote in favour thereof.
2. Upon debating and adopting decisions concerning the proposals and amendments, the Seimas must vote on the draft state budget in its entirety.
3. The state budget shall be approved pursuant to the indices established in the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Budget Structure.
4. The appropriations according to the classification chapters of the budget shall also be concurrently approved. The appropriations shall be mandatory to all executors of the Budget.
Article 179. Additional Debate upon Rejection of the Draft State Budget
1. In the event that the Seimas rejects the draft state budget, one more debate shall be assigned to be held no sooner than after five days and no later than after ten days, during which a draft revised by the Government in accordance with the comments of the committees, political groups and Members of the Seimas shall be presented.
2. The debate shall be conducted according to the procedure provided for in Article 177 of this Chapter.
3. If the state budget is not approved within the set time limit, 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.
Article 180. Amendment of the State Budget
1. The Seimas may amend the state budget during the budget year. The state budget shall be amended in the same procedure it is drawn up, adopted and approved. When amending the state budget, it shall be possible not to adhere to the time limits specified in Article 172(2) and (8), Article 173(1), Article 176(1), Article 177(1) and (7), and Article 179(1) of this Chapter.
2. Repealed.
3. As necessary, the Seimas may approve an additional budget.
4. If funds which cannot be allocated from the Government Reserve Fund are required, the Government shall submit to the Seimas a draft law amending the Law on the State Budget. The purpose and amount of the required funds and the source of the financing thereof shall be specified in the draft.
5. A law amending the state budget shall be adopted by a majority of votes cast by the Members of the Seimas participating in the sitting, unless the Government objects thereto.
6. Otherwise, the affirmative vote of more than a half of all the Members of the Seimas shall be required for adopting the law.
CHAPTER XXVII1
DEBATE ON AND ADDRESSING EUROPEAN UNION MATTERS
Article 1801. Debate on European Union Matters
1. The Seimas shall debate on and address European Union matters in accordance with the procedure established in this Chapter.
2. For the purposes of this Chapter, ‘specialised committee’ shall mean any Seimas committee, except the Committee on European Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
3. For the purposes of this Chapter, ‘draft legislative acts’ shall mean proposals from the European Commission, initiatives from a group of Member States of the European Union, initiatives from the European Parliament, requests from the Court of Justice of the European Union, recommendations from the European Central Bank and requests from the European Investment Bank for the adoption of a legislative act to which the provisions of Protocol No 2 on the Application of the Principles of Subsidiarity and Proportionality annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union apply.
4. For the purposes of this Chapter, ‘proposals to adopt legal acts of the European Union’ shall cover drafts of acts adopted in accordance with the legislative and non-legislative procedure and amended drafts of these acts regulating the areas which, pursuant to the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, fall within the remit of the Seimas and with regard to which a position of the Republic of Lithuania is being prepared or updated.
5. For the purposes of this Chapter, ‘other documents of the European Union’ shall mean consultation documents of the European Union and strategic instruments of legislative planning or policy, in particular:
1) European Commission’s annual work programme;
2) European Commission’s Annual Growth Survey;
3) draft annual budget of the European Union;
4) Multiannual Financial Framework;
5) white and green papers;
6) annual report of the Court of Auditors;
7) annual report of the European Police Office (Europol);
8) Eurojust’s annual report;
9) other documents, including the documents with regard to which the Government addresses the Seimas in pursuance of the requirements of Article 18018 of this Statute.
6. Legal acts of the European Union adopted in the cases provided for in the Treaty on European Union and in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union shall be approved in accordance with the procedure laid down by Chapter XXVIII of this Statute.
Article 1802. Remit of the Committee on European Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Affairs when Deliberating on European Union Matters
1. The Committee on European Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Affairs shall deliberate on European Union matters which are within the remit of the Seimas and, if necessary, present an opinion or conclusion of the committee on behalf of the Seimas.
2. The Committee on European Affairs shall:
1) deliberate, where necessary, whether draft legislative acts comply with the principle of subsidiarity as laid down in Article 1806 of this Statute, except for the areas within the remit of the Committee on Foreign Affairs according to paragraph 3 of this Article;
2) consider other documents of the European Union and, when necessary, present conclusions regarding these documents;
3) consider proposals to adopt legal acts of the European Union and other documents of the European Union and, where necessary, present an opinion of the Seimas to the Government and/or institutions of the European Union, except for the areas within the remit of the Committee on Foreign Affairs according to paragraph 3 of this Article;
4) consider Government addresses according to Article 18018 and present, where necessary, conclusions regarding them;
3. The Committee on Foreign Affairs shall consider and, where necessary, present an opinion of the Seimas or present conclusions of the Committee regarding:
1) proposals to adopt legal acts of the European Union as well as regarding other documents of the European Union related to the issues of the common foreign and security policy and the common security and defence policy of the European Union;
2) issues concerning the enlargement of the European Union;
3) certain aspects of external relations of the European Union related to the common commercial policy and cooperation with the World Trade Organization;
4) Government opinion whether the proposal to adopt a legal act of the European Union according to the areas specified in Article 1806 of the Statute complies with the principle of subsidiarity.
4. By decision of the Speaker of the Seimas, the Chair of the Committee on European Affairs or the Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the issues subject to debate may be referred to the Seimas for debate at a Seimas sitting.
5. Where necessary, joint meetings of the Committee on European Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Affairs shall be convened.
6. When necessary, the Chair of the Committee on European Affairs and the Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs shall inform the Speaker of the Seimas about the deliberation on European Union matters.
Article 1803. Informing the Seimas about European Union Matters
1. The Government shall immediately inform the Seimas in writing about proposals to adopt legal acts of the European Union and other documents of the European Union.
2. The Seimas committees and their members may at any time request the Government to present additional information about the proposals to adopt legal acts of the European Union or other documents of the European Union debated on in the institutions of the European Union, the Government, and working groups for European Union matters.
3. Where the Government establishes that in order to implement the proposal to adopt a legal act of the European Union it will be necessary to adopt a law, it shall notify the Seimas thereof as soon as possible.
4. The permanent representative of the Seimas to the European Union shall regularly inform the Seimas, the Seimas committees, and the Board of the Seimas about activities of the institutions of the European Parliament, especially about the debate on highly relevant and relevant proposals to adopt legal acts of the European Union and the debate on other documents of the European Union.
5. Confidential information, especially that received from the COREU and ESDP-NET communication networks, shall be furnished to the Seimas according to the procedure established by the law.
Article 1804. Identification of Priorities
1. After the receipt by the Seimas of an annual work programme of the European Commission, it shall be registered with the Committee on European Affairs and forwarded to the Seimas committees. The specialised committees of the Seimas shall, not later than within one month from the forwarding of the annual work programme of the European Commission, deliberate on it within their respective remit and submit to the Committee on European Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Affairs their reasoned conclusions regarding the relevance to Lithuania of the proposals presented in this programme.
2. Taking into consideration the relevance to Lithuania of a proposal provided for in the work programme of the European Commission, the committees shall assign it to one of the following three categories:
1) highly relevant;
2) relevant;
3) moderately relevant.
3. After receiving the conclusions of the specialised committees, the Committee on European Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Affairs shall summarise them at a joint meeting and communicate their joint conclusion to the Government, the specialised committees, the Permanent Representative of the Seimas to the European Union and the institutions of the European Union.
4. The Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs, having decided that a proposal to adopt a legal act of the European Union or that any other document of the European Union not contained in an annual work programme of the European Commission is highly relevant or relevant, may assign such proposal or document to the categories specified in points 1 and 2 of paragraph 2 of this Article.
5. When submitting the positions concerning the proposals to adopt legal acts of the European Union, the Government may propose to the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs to change the assignment of a legal act of the European Union to the categories specified in paragraph 2 of this Article and, when submitting the positions concerning the proposals to adopt legal acts of the European Union not contained in an annual work programme of the European Commission, the Government may propose to the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs to assign them to the categories specified in points 1 and 2 of paragraph 2 of this Article.
Article 1805. Deliberation on Proposals to Adopt Legal Acts of the European Union and on Other Documents of the European Union
1. Proposals to adopt legal acts of the European Union as well as other documents of the European Union received by the Seimas shall be registered with the Committee on European Affairs. The documents of the European Union related to the areas indicated in Article 1802(3) of this Statute shall be forwarded to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
2. Proposals to adopt legal acts of the European Union as well as other documents of the European Union shall, by a decision of the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs be forwarded to the specialised committees according to their remit.
3. Proposals to adopt legal acts of the European Union as well as other documents of the European Union may be deliberated on at the specialised committees, the Committee on European Affairs and Committee on Foreign Affairs prior to the submission of a position of the Republic of Lithuania pursuant to Article 1807 of this Statute. A decision concerning the entry of such proposals or documents on the agenda of a committee meeting shall be made by the committee chair or they shall be included on the agenda at the written request of at least one-third of the committee members. In this case, the deliberation on the proposals to adopt legal acts of the European Union as well as other documents of the European Union shall be held in accordance with the procedure established in Articles 18010, 18011 and 18015.
4. The proposals with respect to which the Seimas may make known its opposition within six months in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Treaty on European Union or in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union shall be considered by the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs within their remit, by evaluating conclusions of the specialised committees. On a recommendation of the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Seimas may adopt a resolution regarding a proposal provided for in this paragraph. In this case, the conclusions of the specialised committees and the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs shall be presented during a Seimas sitting. The Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs shall, within their remit, be responsible for notifying the European Council, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament and national parliaments of the Member States of the European Union of the Seimas resolution as soon as possible.
Article 1806. Control of the Principle of Subsidiarity
1. Specialised committees shall, within their remit, be directly responsible for proper and timely control of the principle of subsidiarity.
2. Where necessary, a specialised committee shall submit to the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs (with respect to the areas indicated in Article 1802(3) of this Statute) a conclusion on whether a draft legislative act complies with the principle of subsidiarity usually not later than within five weeks from the receipt of this draft legislative act or within ten working days from the receipt of the opinion of the Government (presented in accordance with the procedure established in Article 1807(3) of this Statute) on the compliance of the draft legislative act with the principle of subsidiarity. At the request of the specialised committee, the Legal Department of the Office of the Seimas shall prepare conclusions on whether the draft legislative act complies with the principle of subsidiarity.
3. The Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs shall, within its remit on its own (its chair’s) initiative and upon receiving the request of the Speaker of the Seimas, the conclusions of the specialised committee submitted pursuant to paragraph 2 of this Article, the appeal of the political group, the Government’s opinion, presented in accordance with the procedure established in Article 1807(3) of this Statute, on whether a draft legislative act complies with the principle of subsidiarity, consider the issue of compliance of the draft legislative act with the principle of subsidiarity at a Committee meeting usually within one week. Such meeting shall also be attended by the representatives of specialised committees and the Legal Department of the Office of the Seimas that presented the conclusions on whether the draft legislative act complies with the principle of subsidiarity.
4. Upon deciding that a draft legislative act possibly does not comply with the principle of subsidiarity, the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs shall refer its conclusion together with a draft Seimas resolution regarding a reasoned opinion on the non-compliance of the draft legislative act with the principle of subsidiarity for debate at a Seimas sitting.
5. The conclusion of the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs concerning potential non-compliance of a draft legislative act with the principle of subsidiarity must be debated on at a Seimas sitting not later than within one week from registration of the said conclusion at the Secretariat of Seimas Sittings, but, if possible, not later than one week prior to the expiry of an eight-week period from the date of transmission of the draft legislative act to national parliaments of the Member States of the European Union in the official languages of the European Union.
6. A draft Seimas resolution presented by the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs regarding a reasoned opinion on the non-compliance of a draft legislative act with the principle of subsidiarity shall be debated on at a Seimas sitting in accordance with special urgency procedure. The conclusions of specialised committees and the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs on potential non-compliance of the draft legislative act with the principle of subsidiarity shall be presented during that sitting.
7. A Seimas resolution regarding a reasoned opinion on the non-compliance of a draft legislative act with the principle of subsidiarity shall be forwarded to the Government and the Permanent Representative of the Seimas to the European Union. This Seimas resolution shall be published in the Register of Legal Acts, unless the Seimas decides otherwise.
8. The Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs shall, within their remit, be responsible for giving a notice about the Seimas resolution referred to in paragraph 7 of this Article to the Presidents of the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission and national parliaments of other Member States of the European Union as soon as possible, but not later than within one week from the adoption of the resolution.
Article 1807. Submission of a Position of the Republic of Lithuania
1. An institution responsible for the preparation of a position of the Republic of Lithuania concerning a proposal to adopt a legal act of the European Union or concerning another document of the European Union (hereinafter: ‘position of the Republic of Lithuania’) shall submit the position to the Seimas immediately after its preparation, but not later than three days prior to the debate on this position at the institutions of the European Union. The Information System of the Lithuanian Membership in the EU (hereinafter: 'LINESIS') must record all the changes made in the position of the Republic of Lithuania throughout the whole period of preparation thereof.
2. A position of the Republic of Lithuania shall specify:
1) the title and number of a proposal to adopt a legal act of the European Union or another document of the European Union;
2) a reasoned opinion on whether or not the draft legislative act complies with the principle of subsidiarity;
3) the essence of the proposal to adopt a legal act of the European Union or another document of the European Union and the progress of debate thereon;
4) existing legal regulation in the Republic of Lithuania;
5) assessment of an impact according to the methodology, as approved by the Government, for the assessment of an impact of envisaged legal regulation;
6) the proposed position and the progress of debate thereon; minimum necessary result of negotiations; specific provisions to be discussed; specific wording of the speech; names of state institutions and agencies with which the position has been coordinated;
7) positions of other Member States of the European Union;
8) proposals to amend legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania;
9) enclosed additional information;
10) the person directly in charge of drafting the position (name and surname, institution, job title, telephone number, e-mail address);
11) the head of the subdivision of the institution responsible for the preparation of the position (name and surname, institution, job title, telephone number, e-mail address).
3. The responsible institution shall, within 15 working days from the receipt of the document from the institution of the European Union, submit a position of the Republic of Lithuania to the Seimas concerning highly relevant and relevant proposals to adopt legal acts of the European Union and/or concerning draft legislative acts of the European Union.
4. Where necessary, the chair of a specialised committee, the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs may appoint or, if the position of the Republic of Lithuania or the proposal to adopt a legal act of the European Union with the position information is marked as highly relevant or relevant, must appoint committee members responsible for the participation in the process of preparation and coordination of the position of the Republic of Lithuania.
5. At the request of the Government, the Committee on European Affairs and/or the Committee on Foreign Affairs shall consider the issues specified in this Article in accordance with the procedure established in Article 18018 of this Statute.
Article 1808. Hearings Concerning a Proposal to Adopt a Legal Act of the European Union
1. The specialised committees, the Committee on European Affairs, and the Committee on Foreign Affairs may, where necessary, hold hearings concerning proposals to adopt legal acts of the European Union, a position of the Republic of Lithuania or other issues related to European Union matters and falling within the remit of the committees.
2. Hearings referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be held in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 54 of this Statute.
Article 1809. Communication of an Opinion of the Seimas
1. The Committee on European Affairs and/or the Committee on Foreign Affairs may communicate an opinion of the Seimas on proposals to adopt legal acts of the European Union as well as/or other documents of the European Union to the Prime Minister going to a meeting of the European Council and to the ministers going to meetings of the Council of the European Union.
2. When making a decision on an opinion of the Seimas, the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs shall evaluate the conclusions communicated by specialised committees.
3. A position of the Republic of Lithuania may be deliberated on at meetings of the Committee on European Affairs and/or the Committee on Foreign Affairs even without the conclusions of a specialised committee if, on the decision of the Speaker of the Seimas, the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs or at the request of the Government, this position needs to be deliberated on in accordance with an urgency procedure. In this case representatives of specialised committees must be invited to the above meeting.
4. On a decision of the Speaker of the Seimas or on a proposal of one of the chairs of the committees specified in paragraph 1, particularly urgent issues may be debated on at a closed sitting of the Seimas. In this case the Seimas may adopt a recommendation. The recommendation shall not be published in the Register of Legal Acts.
5. Unless a specialised committee, the Committee on European Affairs and/or the Committee on Foreign Affairs decides otherwise with three days left before the meeting of the European Council or the Council of the European Union, it shall be deemed that the Seimas approves of the position submitted by the Government, regarding the issues which are assigned to moderately relevant pursuant to Article 1804 of this Statute.
Article 18010. Deliberation on A Position of the Republic of Lithuania in Specialised Committees
1. Having decided to present a conclusion on the position of the Republic of Lithuania, a specialised committee shall deliberate on this position in the committee.
2. Specialised committees shall give priority to European Union matters.
3. For the purpose of deliberating on a position of the Republic of Lithuania, a specialised committee shall appoint responsible members of the specialised committee – persons in charge of drafting committee conclusions. Moreover, the committee shall stipulate which experts’ opinions need to be heard, may request conclusions and additional information from other specialised committees and state institutions, conclusions of the Legal Department of the Office of the Seimas regarding a potential impact of the proposal to adopt a legal act of the European Union on the legal regulation of the Republic of Lithuania. The committee shall decide on the deadline for submission of comments and proposals to it, the deadline for submission of the draft of conclusions of persons in charge of drafting the conclusions to the committee, and the deadline for taking of other preparatory decisions.
4. The members of a specialised committee, the Government and the Office of the President of the Republic must be notified about the time and venue of deliberation on a position of the Republic of Lithuania at the specialised committee not later than two working days prior to the meeting of the specialised committee.
5. A representative of the institution responsible for the preparation of a position of the Republic of Lithuania or the head or a representative of the working group for the preparation of the position of the Republic of Lithuania, other representatives of the Government and its institutions, experts approved by the committee, and representatives of the Committee on European Affairs and/or the Committee on Foreign Affairs may be invited to the meeting of the specialised committee.
6. Meetings of a specialised committee or the parts thereof shall be closed when deliberating on a position of the Republic of Lithuania. Confidentiality must be ensured during the preparation for the deliberation and during the deliberation on the position of the Republic of Lithuania.
7. Deliberation in a committee on a proposal to adopt a legal act of the European Union shall be open to the public. Representatives of various non-governmental organisations, public groups and other interested representatives may be invited to such committee meeting or its part.
8. In urgent cases, it shall be possible not to comply with the requirements laid down in paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 of this Article on a decision of the chair of a specialised committee.
9. In cases of exceptional urgency, a position of the Republic of Lithuania may, on a decision of the chair of a specialised committee, be deliberated on in the specialised committee by questioning the committee members, without holding an official meeting.
Article 18011. Submission of Conclusions of Specialised Committees on a Position of the Republic of Lithuania
1. Having deliberated on a position of the Republic of Lithuania, a specialised committee must decide the following:
1) to approve of the position;
2) to propose amendments and review of the position.
2. A conclusion of the specialised committee regarding the position of the Republic of Lithuania shall, as a rule within one working day before a meeting of the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs, be forwarded within their remit to the Chair of the Committee on European Affairs or the Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
3. If, when deliberating on a position of the Republic of Lithuania in a specialised committee, at least three committee members do not agree with the decision of the majority, they may present their separate opinion. This opinion must be included in the specialised committee's conclusions and discussed as alternative in the Committee on European Affairs, the Committee on Foreign Affairs or a Seimas sitting.
Article 18012. Repeated Coordination of Conclusions in a Specialised Committee and Referring of Coordination of a Position of the Republic of Lithuania to the Committee on European Affairs and/or the Committee on Foreign Affairs
1. A specialised committee may hold repeat deliberation on the submitted position of the Republic of Lithuania in accordance with the procedure established in Articles 18010and 18011 of this Statute.
2. In the event of substantial disagreement between specialised committees or persons in charge of drafting a position of the Republic of Lithuania and a specialised committee, the specialised committee shall address the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Article 18013. Coordination of a Position of the Republic of Lithuania in the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs
1. A position of the Republic of Lithuania referred to the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs pursuant to Article 18012(2) of this Statute shall be deliberated on by these committees in accordance with the procedure established in Articles 18010 and 18011 of this Statute.
2. In the meetings of the Committee on Foreign Affairs where the decisions regarding the issues specified in Article 1802(3) of this Statute are made, the opinion of the President of the Republic may be presented by the President himself or a person authorised by him.
Article 18014. Omission to Submit Proposals of the Seimas
Except the cases when an opinion of the Seimas is presented, if the Committee on European Affairs, the Committee on Foreign Affairs or a specialised committee does not submit proposals concerning a position of the Republic of Lithuania within 15 working days from the communication of the position of the Republic of Lithuania in the LINESIS, but not later than three working days before the submission of the position in the meetings of the Council of the European Union, its working groups or committees, it shall be deemed that the Seimas approves of the position.
Article 18015. Deliberation on a Position of the Republic of Lithuania in the Committee on European Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Affairs
1. A position of the Republic of Lithuania shall be deliberated on in the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the following manner:
1) the Prime Minister or a minister presents the position of the Republic of Lithuania in the committee meeting and answers the questions of the committee members;
2) the chair of the meeting presents the conclusions of specialised committees;
3) the discussion on the substantive provisions of the position of the Republic of Lithuania is held.
2. After deliberating on a position of the Republic of Lithuania, the committee shall decide by consensus whether it should, on behalf of the Seimas, state its opinion about the position. In the event of a failure to reach mutual agreement on this issue, voting by open ballot shall be taken.
3. If the committee decides to state its opinion, the chair of the meeting shall propose the wording of the opinion. The opinion shall be adopted by voting.
4. The committee's opinion on behalf of the Seimas shall be communicated orally or in writing to the Prime Minister and/or a minister and entered in the minutes of the committee meeting.
Article 18016. Parliamentary Reservation
1. Parliamentary reservation shall be a statement of the Government or its representative in the institutions of the European Union that the Republic of Lithuania will not present its position on the proposal to adopt a legal act of the European Union until such position is coordinated with the Seimas.
2. The Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs may obligate a minister to voice the parliamentary reservation with regard to the issues marked as highly relevant or relevant.
3. The Government shall have the right to voice the parliamentary reservation in the institutions of the European Union. The Government may in advance address the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs with the request to be placed under the obligation to express the parliamentary reservation.
Article 18017. Reporting of the Government Concerning the Participation in Meetings of the European Council and the Council of the European Union
1. The Prime Minister, a minister and other representatives of the Government shall submit in meetings of the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs oral and written reports about the participation at the meetings of the European Council and the Council of the European Union, drawing attention of the relevant committee to all doubts expressed at the meetings of the Council of the European Union regarding the compliance of a draft legislative act with the principle of subsidiarity.
2. On European Union matters of major importance, the Prime Minister, a minister and other representatives of the Government may, on the proposal of the Speaker of the Seimas, the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs (their Chairs), the Prime Minister and ministers, report about the participation in the meetings of the European Council and the Council of the European Union during a Seimas sitting.
Article 18018. Referral of the Government to the Seimas at its own Discretion
1. Having decided to prepare a position of the Republic of Lithuania on the proposal to adopt a legal act of the European Union or any other document of the European Union, except those specified in Article 1801(4) and (5) of this Statute, the Government may at its own discretion address the Seimas requesting to submit conclusions or proposals with regard to the above position.
2. The Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs shall, at its own discretion, deliberate on a position of the Republic of Lithuania in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 18015 of this Statute. The Committee may apply to refer to specialised committees requesting to submit conclusions with regard to the above position in accordance with the procedure established in Articles 18010 and 18011 of this Statute. Where necessary, the Committee on European Affairs and/or the Committee on Foreign Affairs submit conclusions or proposals regarding a position of the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 18019. Consulting on Other Documents of the European Union
1. The Government shall consult the Seimas about other documents of the European Union highly relevant and relevant to Lithuania.
2. Other documents of the European Union about which the Government informs the Seimas shall be registered with the Committee on European Affairs. The documents of the European Union pertaining to the areas indicated in Article 1802(3) of this Statute, which are received in such a manner, shall be forwarded to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. On the decision of the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the said documents shall be forwarded to the specialised committees within their remit.
3. Other documents of the European Union may be deliberated on in specialised committees, the Committee on European Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Affairs. A decision on inclusion of such documents in the agenda of committee meetings shall be taken by the chair of the committee or they shall be included in the agenda at a written request of one-third of the committee members. Further consideration of such document shall be carried out in accordance with the procedure established in Articles 18010 and 18011 of this Statute by applying to all committees the procedure of deliberation established for the specialised committees.
4. Conclusions concerning the deliberation of another document of the European Union shall be communicated to the Government. The Government shall assess the above conclusions and inform the Seimas about the fulfilment thereof.
Article 18020. Consideration of Candidates to Fill the Positions in Institutions of the European Union who are Nominated by the Republic of Lithuania and whose Nomination Requires the Approval of the Seimas
1. The Seimas shall consider the candidates nominated by the Republic of Lithuania to fill the following positions in the institutions of the European Union:
1) member of the European Commission;
2) judges of the Court of Justice of the European Union;
3) member of the Court of Auditors.
2. Candidates referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be considered by the Seimas in accordance with the procedure established in Articles 200, 201 and 202 of the Statute, without applying Article 202(4).
3. Having considered a candidate to fill a position referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the Seimas shall adopt a resolution on the approval or disapproval of such candidate.
Article 18021. Meetings of the Committee on European Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Affairs when Deliberating on and Addressing European Union Matters
1. As used in Articles 18021-18024 of this Statute “the Committee” shall mean only the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
2. Special rules laid down in Articles 18021-18024 of this Statute shall apply when considering European Union matters in meetings of the Committee on European Affairs, the Committee on Foreign Affairs and joint meetings of these Committees. The general order of business of meetings of the Committees laid down in Articles 48-57 of this Statute shall be applied to the extent it does not contradict the above rules.
3. Deliberation on European Union matters in committees shall be also regulated by the Regulation of the Deliberation on European Union Matters at the Seimas, as approved by the Board of the Seimas.
4. The Committee on European Affairs shall hold its meetings twice a week – on Wednesdays and Fridays.
5. Meetings of the Committee on Foreign Affairs to deliberate on European Union matters shall be held as appropriate.
6. An extraordinary meeting of the Committee must be convened at a written request of the Speaker of the Seimas, one-third of the Committee members, on the assignment of the Seimas or the Board of the Seimas, or on a reasoned decision of the chair of the Committee. Only those issues shall be deliberated at an extraordinary meeting of the Committee which are submitted by the initiators of the meeting.
7. As a rule, meetings of the Committee to deliberate on European Union matters shall be closed. The chair of a meeting or Committee members may, for reasons deemed to be valid, decide by the majority vote to hold an open Committee meeting.
8. In extraordinary cases and for reasons of major importance, the full and substitute members of the Committee may, with the consent of the chair of the Committee, submit in writing their opinion on the European Union matter being deliberated.
9. The Committee members shall be registered at the beginning of a meeting and before each voting. Committee meetings and the decisions taken thereat shall be valid if more than half of the Committee members attend the meeting and, in the cases of exceptional urgency, voice their opinion.
10. Besides the full and substitute members of the Committee, the following persons may attend Committee meetings:
1) the President of the Republic at his own discretion;
2) the Speaker of the Seimas at his own discretion;
3) the Prime Minister, ministers and representatives of state institutions helping them (in the case of presentation of a position of the Republic of Lithuania).
11. The members of the European Parliament elected in the Republic of Lithuania shall be entitled to participate in meetings of all committees and commissions of the Seimas in an advisory capacity and to present comments and proposals in writing and orally.
12. The chair a Committee meeting may invite heads or representatives of other state institutions whose participation is related to the nature of a matter being deliberated to speak at the Committee meetings.
13. At the invitation of the chair of a Committee meeting, the members of other Seimas committees who are not the members of the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs may attend and speak at Committee meetings without the right to vote.
Article 18022. Adoption of Decisions
Committee decisions shall be taken by consensus. In the event of failure to take a decision by consensus, such decision shall be put to the vote.
Article 18023. Voting
1. Committee decisions shall be adopted at Committee meetings by simple majority vote of the committee members participating in the meeting.
2. Decisions on specific provisions of an issue being deliberated shall be taken by a majority of votes cast by the Committee members who voted.
3. During each meeting before the first voting and before the voting on a decision, the chair of the meeting shall check the number of the Committee members attending the meeting.
4. The commencement of voting procedure shall be announced orally by the chair of a meeting.
5. No issues shall be deliberated until the end of the voting. The floor shall be given only to those speaking for reasons for voting.
6. If voting results in a tie, a decision in favour of which the chair of a meeting voted shall be taken.
7. If not less than three Committee members express a separate opinion on an issue deliberated by the Committee, such opinion shall be entered in the minutes
Article 18024. Minutes, Verbatim Reports and Audio Recording of Committee Meetings
1. Minutes shall be taken of Committee meetings. Additional information (statements of the Committee members, separate opinions) shall be appended to the minutes.
2. The Committee members may state their complaints regarding the minutes of a meeting in the next Committee meeting. If there are disputable issues, the Committee shall, after a brief explanation by the chair of the previous meeting, take a decision thereon by a simple majority of votes cast by the members who voted.
3. Audio recording shall be carried out during Committee meetings. Audio recordings of Committee meetings shall be fixed in a computer medium and transferred to the Seimas Archives in accordance with the procedure laid down by laws.
4. The Document Department of the Office of the Seimas shall draw up verbatim reports of Committee meetings. Verbatim reports shall be recorded in a computer medium. Their originals shall be stored in the Office of the Committee and subsequently transferred to the Seimas Archives.
5. Committee members and other persons given the floor during a meeting shall have the right to check, within two working days after the Committee meeting, the prepared verbatim reports of their speeches. Upon checking the text against audio recordings, they may revise the edited version of the verbatim report of their speeches provided this does not change the essence of the speech. If the speaker does not present any complaints concerning the text of the verbatim report, it shall be assumed that he agrees with the text.
6. In the event of disputes or misunderstandings concerning the edited text of a verbatim report prepared for publication, a decision thereon shall be adopted by the chair of the respective meeting.
7. Verbatim reports and audio recordings of closed Committee meetings shall not be published.
Article 18025. Referral of the Seimas to the Court of Justice of the European Union for Bringing an Action Disputing the Validity of a Legislative Act which Does not Comply with the Principle of Subsidiarity
1. The right of initiative of the Seimas to refer to the Court of Justice of the European Union for bringing an action disputing the validity of a legislative act which does not comply with the principle of subsidiarity (hereinafter in this Chapter: ‘referral of the Seimas to the Court of Justice of the European Union’) shall be enjoyed by a group of not less than one-fifth of the Members of the Seimas, the committees and the political groups.
2. A submitted draft referral of the Seimas to the Court of Justice of the European Union shall be registered with the Secretariat of Seimas Sittings. As a rule, the above draft must be submitted within three weeks from the publication of the legislative act in the Official Journal of the European Union. An action disputing the validity of a legislative act which does not comply with the principle of subsidiarity shall be submitted in the annex to the draft referral of the Seimas to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
3. A draft referral of the Seimas to the Court of Justice of the European Union must be presented at a Seimas sitting not later than within one week from its registration during a Seimas session and in the event of the registration of the draft in the period between Seimas sessions – at the first sitting of the Seimas of the next session. The text of the above draft must be delivered to the Members of the Seimas not later than 48 hours before presenting it at a Seimas sitting. When presenting at the Seimas sitting the draft referral of the Seimas to the Court of Justice of the European Union, the representative of the initiators of this draft shall describe the draft and answer the questions of the Members of the Seimas. The chair of the Seimas sitting shall then submit motions for voting.
4. The Seimas shall adopt one of the following decisions regarding the submitted referral of the Seimas to the Court of Justice of the European Union:
1) to initiate the debate procedure with respect to the draft;
2) to reject the draft, indicating the reasons.
5. If the Seimas decides to initiate the debate procedure, a draft referral of the Seimas to the Court of Justice of the European Union shall be forwarded for further deliberation to the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs, where the legislative act falls within its remit pursuant to Article 1802 of this Statute, and to specialised committees taking into account the remit of the committees as laid down in Chapter XI of this Statute. The draft shall be forwarded for deliberation to the Committee on Legal Affairs in all cases.
6. Having received the conclusions of the Legal Department of the Office of the Seimas, the conclusions of the Ministry of Justice and the position of the Government on the validity of a legislative act, a specialised committee, except the Committee on Legal Affairs, shall, not later than within one week after the adoption of the Seimas decision to initiate the debate procedure in respect of the draft, submit conclusions to the Committee on Legal Affairs and to the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs regarding the draft referral of the Seimas to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
7. Having received the conclusions of other specialised committees, the conclusions of the Legal Department of the Office of the Seimas, the conclusions of the Ministry of Justice and the position of the Government on the validity of a legislative act, the Committee on Legal Affairs shall, not later than within two weeks after the adoption of the Seimas decision to initiate the debate procedure in respect of the draft, present conclusions to the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs regarding the draft referral of the Seimas to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
8. Having received the conclusions of the specialised committees and the Committee on Legal Affairs on the draft referral of the Seimas to the Court of Justice of the European Union, the opinions of the political groups (if submitted), the position of the Government on the validity of a legislative act, the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs shall usually deliberate at a Committee meeting on the draft referral of the Seimas to the Court of Justice of the European Union within a week. As a rule, such meeting must be attended by the chairs of the specialised committees who have presented the conclusions or the rapporteurs appointed by them, the representatives of the Legal Department of the Office of the Seimas, the Ministry of Justice and the Government.
9. If the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Legal Affairs and other specialised committees have decided that a legislative act adopted does not comply with the principle of subsidiarity, the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs shall submit to a Seimas sitting a draft resolution of the Seimas proposing to give approval to the draft application of the Seimas to the Court of Justice of the European Union. The draft resolution of the Seimas shall be debated at a Seimas sitting not later than within one week from the decision of the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs to forward the draft to be debated on at a Seimas sitting.
10. If the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Legal Affairs and other specialised committees have decided that a legislative act complies with the principle of subsidiarity, the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs shall submit to a Seimas sitting a draft resolution of the Seimas proposing not to give approval to the draft referral of the Seimas to the Court of Justice of the European Union. The draft resolution of the Seimas shall be debated at a Seimas sitting not later than within one week from the decision of the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs to forward the draft to be debated on at a Seimas sitting.
11. If the conclusions of the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Legal Affairs and other specialised committees regarding the compliance of a legislative act with the principle of subsidiarity (the draft referral of the Seimas to the Court of Justice of the European Union) differ, the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs shall forward the draft referral of the Seimas to the Court of Justice of the European Union for debate at a Seimas sitting. The draft referral of the Seimas to the Court of Justice of the European Union shall be debated on at a Seimas sitting not later than within one week from the decision of the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs to forward the draft for debate at a Seimas sitting. During the Seimas sitting, the conclusions of the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Legal Affairs and other specialised committees shall be presented.
12. Repealed.
13. The Government shall, in a prescribed manner, prepare necessary procedural documents and bring an action on behalf of the Seimas to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
14. On the initiative of the Members of the Seimas, the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs or other committees and political groups, the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs may at any time, even in the cases where the draft referral of the Seimas to the Court of Justice of the European Union is being deliberated on, state an opinion urging the Government to bring an action on behalf of the Republic of Lithuania regarding the validity of a legislative act or any other legal act of the European Union or to make an intervention in any case heard by the Court of Justice of the European Union in which the question of validity of the legislative act not complying with the principle of subsidiarity is raised.
15. Persons authorised by the Seimas or representatives of the Government shall present oral or written reports on a referral of the Seimas to the Court of Justice of the European Union and the implementation of the opinions, specified in paragraph 14 of this Article, of the Committee on Foreign Affairs or the Committee on European Affairs at meetings of the Committee on European Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Legal Affairs, another specialised committee to which the draft referral of the Seimas to the Court of Justice of the European Union has been forwarded for consideration.
CHAPTER XXVIII
APPROVAL OF LEGAL ACTS ADOPTED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION. RATIFICATION AND DENUNCIATION OF INTERNATIONAL TREATIES
Article 18026. Approval of Legal Acts Adopted by the European Union
Legal acts of the European Union adopted in the cases specified in the Treaty on European Union and in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union shall be approved by a law of the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 181. Ratification and Denunciation of International Treaties
1. A law concerning the ratification of an international treaty shall be adopted by a majority of votes cast by the Members of the Seimas present at a Seimas sitting, but no less than two-fifths of all of the Members of the Seimas.
2. A law concerning the denunciation of an international treaty shall be deemed to have been adopted if no less than three-fifths of all of the Members of the Seimas voted in favour thereof.
3. The state borders may be demarcated only by an international treaty of the Republic of Lithuania, provided it is ratified by four-fifths of all of the Members of the Seimas.
Chapter XXVIII1
IMPLEMENTATION OF RULINGS, CONCLUSIONS
AND DECISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT
Article 1811. Supervision of the Implementation of Rulings, Conclusions and Decisions of the Constitutional Court
The Deputy Speaker of the Seimas, appointed by the Speaker of the Seimas, shall be responsible for the supervision the implementation in the Seimas of rulings, conclusions and decisions of the Constitutional Court.
Article 1812. Implementation of Rulings of the Constitutional Court
1. Within a month after the receipt of a ruling of the Constitutional Court in the Seimas, the Legal Department of the Office of the Seimas shall, taking into account the interpretation of the constitutional norms and principles presented in the ruling of the Constitutional Court, submit to the Seimas Committee on Legal Affairs proposals on the implementation of this ruling. The Seimas Committee on Legal Affairs shall consider this ruling not later than within two months after the receipt in the Seimas of the ruling of the Constitutional Court sent by the Constitutional Court.
2. If, according to the ruling of the Constitutional Court, a law (or a part thereof) or any other act (or a part thereof) adopted by the Seimas is not in compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, the Seimas Committee on Legal Affairs or any other Seimas committee appointed by or a working group set up by the Board of the Seimas on the recommendation of the Committee on Legal Affairs must, not later than within four months after the receipt in the Seimas of the ruling of the Constitutional Court sent by the Constitutional Court, prepare and submit to the Seimas for consideration a draft amending that law (or a part thereof) or any other act (or a part thereof) being adopted by the Seimas which is not in compliance with the Constitution. If the draft is complex, the Board of the Seimas may extend the time limit for its preparation, but not exceeding 12 months. On the recommendation of the Seimas Committee on Legal Affairs, the Board of the Seimas may propose to the Government to prepare a draft amending the appropriate law (or a part thereof).
3. When preparing drafts amending the laws or any other acts adopted by the Seimas as referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, loopholes and inconsistencies in legal regulation, other shortcomings and arguments set out in the ruling of the Constitutional Court must be taken into account. The Seimas Committee on Legal Affairs shall be informed about and supervise the progress of preparation of these acts.
Article 1813. Implementation of Conclusions of the Constitutional Court on an International Treaty of the Republic of Lithuania
1. Having received the conclusions of the Constitutional Court stating that an international treaty to which the Republic of Lithuania is a party is not in compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and prior to the ratification of such treaty by the Seimas, the Seimas shall, in the manner prescribed by this Statute, appoint the Seimas committees responsible for harmonization of the international treaty with the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and submission of this issue for debate by the Seimas. In all cases, the Committee on Legal Affairs shall be the lead committee. When necessary, the Seimas may appoint an additional committee.
2. The provisions of Article 1812 of this Statute shall apply to the implementation of the conclusions of the Constitutional Court as far as this is related to the time limits and procedure of consideration at the Seimas committee.
Article 1814. Debate on and Adoption at the Seimas of Laws and Other Acts Adopted by the Seimas
Drafts amendments of laws (or parts thereof) and other acts (or parts thereof) adopted by the Seimas which are drawn up in the course of implementation of the decisions of the Constitutional Court referred to in this Chapter shall be debated on and adopted in accordance with the procedure established in Part V of this Statute.
Chapter XXIX
ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION
Article 182. A Resolution
1. A resolution shall be a non-regulatory act of the Seimas adopted to confirm in writing the opinion of the Seimas on any issue of national importance.
2. Other non-regulatory acts of the Seimas (appeals, declarations, non-regulatory resolutions, etc.) shall be adopted in the same manner as resolutions.
3. The President of the Republic, the Government, the Members of the Seimas, committees and political groups shall have the right to initiate a resolution.
4. The proposal to debate on a draft resolution may be submitted during the discussion of a weekly or daily agenda of Seimas sittings.
Article 183. Submission of and Debate on a Draft Resolution
1. The text of a draft resolution must be submitted to the Members of the Seimas at least two hours prior to the debate thereon.
2. During the debate, a representative of the initiators of the draft resolution shall be given the floor and answer the questions, followed by a discussion held according to the general procedure.
Article 184. Seimas Decisions Following Debate on a Draft Resolution
Following a debate on a draft resolution, the Seimas shall resolve whether:
1) to adopt a resolution without amendments. This proposal may not be adopted if more than one-third of all of the Members of the Seimas object to this;
2) to edit the draft resolution;
3) to reject the draft resolution or to assign to draft a new one.
Article 185. Editing of a Draft Resolution
1. If a decision is taken to edit a draft resolution, the Seimas shall set the date and time of debate on it and shall establish an editorial commission.
2. An editorial commission may not consist of more than nine Members of the Seimas. At least one of the initiators of the draft resolution must be included in the editorial commission.
3. Other Members of the Seimas shall submit their written proposals to the editorial commission.
Article 186. Adoption of an Edited Resolution
1. After the editorial commission announces the edited text, new proposals may be debated on only on a decision of the Seimas.
2. If the editorial commission rejects the proposals submitted earlier, the Seimas shall vote on them based at the request of those submitting the proposals.
3. Upon conclusion of the vote on alternative proposals, vote shall be taken on the entire text of the resolution.
CHAPTER XXIX1
PREPARATION OF, DELIBERATION ON AND ADOPTION OF
DRAFT RESOLUTIONS OF THE SEIMAS REGARDING
THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF MOBILISATION,
IMPOSITION OF A STATE OF EMERGENCY OR MARTIAL LAW,
OR USE OF ARMED FORCES.
ACTIVITIES OF THE SEIMAS UPON THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF
MOBILISATION OR IMPOSITION OF MARTIAL LAW
Article 1861. Application of Chapter XXIX1
During mobilisation or martial law, other provisions of this Statute shall apply to the extent that they do not contradict the provisions of this Chapter.
Article 1862. Preparation of, Deliberation on and Adoption of Draft Resolutions of the Seimas Regarding the Announcement of Mobilisation, Imposition of a State of Emergency or Martial Law, or the Use of Armed Forces
1. Draft resolutions of the Seimas regarding the announcement of mobilisation and demobilisation, imposition or lifting of a state of emergency or martial law, or the use of armed forces shall be prepared and submitted to the Seimas by the Government or the Speaker of the Seimas, or a Deputy Speaker of the Seimas temporarily acting as the Speaker of the Seimas.
2. The draft resolutions of the Seimas referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be entered on an agenda of Seimas sittings as a matter of priority on the recommendation of the Board of the Seimas or the Speaker of the Seimas and shall be considered in accordance with special urgency procedure.
3. The Committee on Legal Affairs shall be the lead committee and the Committee on National Security and Defence shall be the additional committee assigned for the consideration of the draft resolutions of the Seimas referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.
4. The Committee on National Security and Defence must submit its conclusions on the draft resolutions of the Seimas referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article at least one hour before their consideration by the Committee on Legal Affairs. The Committee on Legal Affairs must consider the draft resolutions of the Seimas referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article not later than within four hours after their presentation at the Seimas sitting.
5. Only proposals for the draft resolutions of the Seimas referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article which have been registered with the Secretariat of Seimas Sittings within one hour after their presentation at the Seimas sitting shall be considered by the committees and deliberated on at a Seimas sitting.
6. The provisions of paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Article shall apply to those resolutions of the Seimas which approve or overrule the decisions of the President of the Republic pursuant to Article 142(2) and Article 144(2) of the Constitution.
Article 1863. Powers of the Board of the Seimas during Mobilisation or Martial Law
Upon the announcement of mobilisation or imposition of martial law, the Board of the Seimas shall execute the powers laid down in Article 32 of this Statute; it shall also consider work programmes of a Seimas session, agendas of Seimas sittings and approve them, instruct to hold meetings of Seimas committees and commissions pursuant to Article 1864 of this Statute, solve matters pertaining to the organisation of work of political groups and submit to the Seimas draft decisions on these matters.
Article 1864. Working Arrangements of Seimas Committees, Commissions and other Divisions of the Seimas during Mobilisation or Martial Law
1. Meetings of Seimas committees and commissions, with the exception of the Seimas Committee on European Affairs, the Seimas Committee of National Security and Defence, the Seimas Committee on Legal Affairs and the Seimas Committee on Foreign Affairs, shall be held only on the instruction of the Board of the Seimas.
2. Meetings of the Conference of Chairs shall not be held. Where necessary, the chairs of the political groups of the Seimas shall be invited to meetings of the Board of the Seimas.
3. Activities of other divisions of the Seimas shall be coordinated with the Board of the Seimas.
Article 1865. Work Programme of a Seimas Session during Mobilisation or Martial Law
1. Issues related to mobilisation, martial law and national defence shall be included in a work programme of the Seimas session and deliberated as a matter of priority.
2. A draft work programme of a Seimas session shall be drawn up by the Speaker of the Seimas or, on his instruction, by a Deputy Speaker of the Seimas and shall submit it for consideration to the Board of the Seimas.
Article 1866. Seimas Sittings and Agendas of Seimas Sittings during Mobilisation or Martial Law
1. When mobilisation is announced or martial law is imposed during a Seimas session, Seimas sittings shall be prepared only by the decision of the Board of the Seimas, however, at least one a week. The sitting calendar of a Seimas session during mobilisation or martial law shall not be drawn up and approved.
2. Draft agendas of Seimas sittings shall be drawn up by the Speaker of the Seimas or, on his instruction, by a Deputy Speaker of the Seimas who submits them to the Board of the Seimas for consideration.
Article 1867. Informing of Members of the Seimas about the Convening of an Extraordinary Session of the Seimas or an Extraordinary Sitting of the Seimas during Mobilisation or Martial Law
Members of the Seimas shall be notified of an extraordinary session of the Seimas or an extraordinary sitting of the Seimas in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Board of the Seimas not later than with four hours remaining until the beginning of the extraordinary session of the Seimas or the extraordinary sitting of the Seimas.
Article 1868. Venue of Seimas Sittings during Mobilisation or Martial Law
1. Where the Seimas cannot convene in the Seimas premises, the Board of the Seimas shall temporarily designate another venue of sittings. In urgent cases such a decision may be taken by the Speaker of the Seimas.
2. Members of the Seimas shall be notified about another designated venue of sittings in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Board of the Seimas.
Article 1869. Remote Holding of Seimas Sittings, Meetings of the Board of the Seimas, Committees, Commissions of the Seimas or other Divisions of the Seimas during Mobilisation or Martial Law
The provisions of Chapter XXIX2 of this Statute shall apply mutatis mutandis to remote holding of Seimas sittings, meetings of the Board of the Seimas, committees, subcommittees or commissions of the Seimas during mobilisation or martial law.
CHAPTER XXIX2
ACTIVITIES OF THE SEIMAS
AFTER THE INTRODUCTION OF A STATE OF EMERGENCY,
DECLARATION OF AN EMERGENCY OR ANNOUNCEMENT OF A LOCKDOWN
Article 18610. Application of the Provisions of Chapter XXIX2 upon the Introduction of a State of Emergency, Declaration of an Emergency or Announcement of a Lockdown
1. Other provisions of this Statute, except for the exemptions specified in this Article, shall apply in the event of the introduction of a state of emergency, declaration of an emergency in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Civil Protection or announcement of a lockdown in the cases and in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases in Humans so far as they do not conflict with the provisions of this Chapter.
2. The provisions of this Chapter shall not apply when:
1) a closed Seimas sitting is held;
2) the first siting of the newly elected Seimas is held;
3) when a Seimas sitting is held at which the elected President of the Republic is sworn in;
4) a Seimas sitting is held at which members of the Government, justices of the Constitutional Court, judges of the Supreme Court, the Auditor General, the Chairman of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania, other state officials appointed by the Seimas take the oath upon taking office;
5) a closed meeting of the Board of the Seimas, a Seimas committee, commission, subcommittee, closed hearings of a committee are held and such meeting or hearings involve the consideration of classified information specified in the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on State Secrets and Official Secrets;
6) in the cases specified in this Statute Members of the Seimas adopt decisions voting by secret ballot;
7) Members of the Seimas vote on a law amending the Constitution or a draft constitutional law.
3. Other provisions of this Statute relating to procedures in the Plenary Chamber of the Seimas during a regular sitting shall, when holding a Seimas sitting remotely, be construed and applied mutatis mutandis by taking into account the specific nature of remote holding of a Seimas sitting.
4. Paragraph 3 of this Article may not be construed and applied in such a way as to restrict the rights and duties of Members of the Seimas as laid down in the Constitution and laws, the special rights of the Opposition, the rights of the political groups of the Seimas, the time limits for the submission of, debate on and adoption of a draft law and any other legal act of the Seimas, and the duration of the individual procedures provided for in this Statute.
Article 18611. Remote Holding of Seimas Sittings
1. When an emergency situation is introduced, an emergency is declared or a lockdown is announced and there may be a threat to the work of the Seimas, as objective circumstances may endanger the health and/or life of Members of the Seimas and Members of the Seimas may not meet for a Seimas sitting in the building of the Seimas, Seimas sittings may be held remotely by decision of the Board of the Seimas.
2. A Seimas sitting shall be held, Members of the Seimas shall attend it and decisions on the issues under consideration shall be taken remotely in real time by means of the videoconference platforms assessed and recognised to be secure by the National Cyber Security Centre. Members of the Seimas must exercise in person their rights and duties of a Member of the Seimas on issues considered at a Seimas sitting held remotely.
3. By using information technologies in a Seimas sitting held remotely, the following must be ensured:
1) verification of the identity of a Member of the Seimas participating in the sitting using the means provided for in Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC (hereinafter: ‘Regulation (EU) No 910/2014’);
2) recording of the proceedings of the Seimas sitting;
3) video and audio broadcasting of the Seimas sitting on the website of the Seimas as well as preservation of the video and audio recording of the sitting;
4) additional verification of the identity of a Member of the Seimas taking part in the vote by means of photo-recording of the moment of registration and voting, making it possible to ascertain that the Member of the Seimas has voted in person and that the vote clearly records the actual intention of the Member of the Seimas, and, in the event of the vote on the adoption of a law or other act of the Seimas, also the additional verification of the identity using the means provided for in Regulation (EU) No 910/2014.
4. The President of the Republic and his authorised representatives, the members of the Government, the Prosecutor General, the Auditor General, the Chairman of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania, other persons participating in a sitting of the Seimas in regard to the issues under consideration as well as the persons invited to that sitting shall be guaranteed electronic access to the sitting of the Seimas held remotely by means of the secure videoconference platforms.
Article 18612. Powers of the Board of the Seimas with Regard to Remote Holding of Seimas Sittings, Meetings of the Board of the Seimas, the Conference of Chairs of the Seimas or the Divisions of the Seimas
1. After evaluating the circumstances referred to in Article 18611(1) of this Statute, the Board of the Seimas shall consider the necessity of holding remotely a Seimas sitting, meetings of the Board of the Seimas, the Conference of Chairs of the Seimas or the divisions of the Seimas and take a reasoned decision to that effect. The decision of the Board of the Seimas to hold remotely the Seimas sitting, meetings of the Conference of Chairs of the Seimas or the divisions of the Seimas shall specify the period for remote holding of the Seimas sittings, meeting of the Conference of Chairs of the Seimas or the divisions of the Seimas and the timetable for the Seimas sittings during this period.
2. A decision of the Board of the Seimas to hold remotely a Seimas sitting must be communicated to Members of the Seimas electronically not later than two days before the start of the Seimas sitting to be held remotely, and a decision of the Board of the Seimas to hold remotely meetings of the Conference of Chairs of the Seimas or the divisions of the Seimas must be communicated to Members of the Seimas electronically not later than two days before the start of the first such meeting. The decision of the Board of the Seimas shall also be published on the website of the Seimas immediately but not later than within one day after its adoption.
3. The Board of the Seimas shall lay down the procedures for electronic access of Members of the Seimas and the persons referred to in Article 18611(4) of this Statute to a Seimas sitting, a meeting of the Board of the Seimas, a meeting of the Conference of Chairs of the Seimas or meetings of the divisions of the Seimas held remotely and the use of the information systems of the sittings or the meetings held in this way.
Article 18613. Remote Holding of Meetings of the Board of the Seimas, the Conference of Chairs of the Seimas or the Divisions of the Seimas
1. Meetings of the Board of the Seimas, the Conference of Chairs of the Seimas, committees, subcommittees of the Seimas and commissions of the Seimas may be held remotely upon the adoption by the Board of the Seimas of a decision referred to in Article 18612(1) of this Statute. The use of information technologies in these meetings must ensure the recording of the proceedings of the meeting, the video and audio broadcasting of the meeting on the website of the Seimas and the preservation of the video and audio recording of the meeting. The requirement to ensure video and audio broadcasting of the meeting on the website of the Seimas shall not apply to closed meetings. When taking decisions in the meetings held remotely, verification of the identity and the voting intention of each Member of the Seimas attending the meeting must be ensured.
2. The provisions of Article 18611(2) of this Statute shall apply accordingly to meetings held remotely by the Board of the Seimas, the Conference of Chairs of the Seimas, committees, subcommittees of the Seimas and commissions of the Seimas.
Article 18614. Specific Features of Disputes Relating to Legislative or other Procedural Matters
When dealing with disputes concerning legislative or other procedural matters, the Commission for Ethics and Procedures shall have the right to obtain from the Office of the Seimas all the data of the information systems relating to the remote holding of Seimas sittings, meetings of the Board of the Seimas, the Conference of Chairs of the Seimas or the divisions of the Seimas, including the data on the verification of the identity of Members of the Seimas by using the methods laid down in Article 18611(3) of this Statute.
PART VI
ELECTION AND APPOINTMENT OF OFFICIALS,
APPROVAL OF THE APPOINTMENT THEREOF
AND A DEBATE ON THE GOVERNMENT PROGRAMME
Chapter XXX
PROCEDURE OF ELECTION OF
THE SPEAKER OF THE SEIMAS AND DEPUTY SPEAKERS
Article 187. Term of Office of Seimas Leaders
1. The Speaker of the Seimas shall be elected by secret ballot at the first sitting of the Seimas following the elections.
2. The Speaker of the Seimas and Deputy Speakers shall be elected from among the Members of the Seimas at the first session of the Seimas for the entire term during which the Seimas is in office.
3. Upon the resignation, demise or dismissal by the Seimas of any of the above Seimas officials or upon the election or appointment thereof to another office, elections of a new official for the position shall be held during the next sitting of the Seimas in accordance with the procedure provided for in this Statute.
Article 188. Nomination of Candidates for Seimas Leaders
1. Candidates for the position of Speaker of the Seimas may be nominated by written application of at least one-tenth of the Members of the Seimas.
2. Candidates for the positions of Deputy Speakers of the Seimas shall be nominated by the Speaker of the Seimas after consultations with the political groups in such a manner that not less than two representative of the Seimas Opposition would hold the position of the Deputy Speaker of the Seimas. The Deputy Speakers of the Seimas shall be elected by secret ballot.
Article 189. Speeches of Candidates for Seimas Leaders and Discussions Regarding the Candidates
1. Having been nominated for a position, candidates must, prior to the elections, state whether they agree to run for election.
2. Each candidate, in alphabetical order, shall be given the floor for 15 minutes and candidates for the position of Speaker of the Seimas shall be entitled to 30 minutes with another 30 minutes allotted to answer questions.
3. Thereafter, a debate shall commence if requested by the Members of the Seimas.
Article 190. Election of Seimas Leaders
1. Voting for each candidate shall be done separately.
2. If more candidates than necessary are nominated for one position, voting shall be done by ballot with a list of candidates.
3. A candidate shall be deemed elected if more than half of the voting Members of the Seimas vote for him, with the exception of repeat voting, in which case the candidate who receives a relative majority of votes shall be deemed elected.
4. In 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 tied vote, repeat voting shall be held.
Article 191. Repeat Voting for Candidates for Seimas Leaders
1. In voting for a vacancy if there are more than 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 voting.
2. If several candidates receive the equal and smallest number of votes and more votes are cast for at least two other candidates, the candidates with the smallest number of votes shall be removed from the next ballot. Otherwise, all of the candidates shall remain on the next ballot.
3. If the situation remains unchanged after the repeat voting, the election shall be postponed to another day. If two candidates receive the required number of votes, the provisions of paragraph 4 of this Article shall apply.
4. If there are two candidates for a vacancy during repeat voting, the Member of the Seimas who receives more votes shall be deemed to have been elected. In the event of a tie, repeat voting shall be held on another day; if no candidate is elected during the repeat voting, a new voting shall be taken.
5. When elections to several vacancies are held simultaneously and the number of candidates exceeds the number of positions, the names of all of the candidates nominated but not elected shall be entered on the ballots for repeat voting. After the repeat voting, the candidates who received the largest number of votes shall be deemed to have been elected. If, after the repeat voting, it is not possible to identify the winning candidates, voting shall be repeated on another day.
Chapter XXXI
DEBATES ON A CANDIDATE FOR THE POSITION OF
PRIME MINISTER AND THE GOVERNMENT PROGRAMME
Article 192. Nomination of a Candidate for the Position of Prime Minister and Consideration thereof in Political Groups
1. In the cases provided for in the Constitution, the Seimas shall, after the President of the Republic nominates a candidate for the position of Prime Minister, give the President of the Republic an opportunity to present the candidate during the next sitting.
2. Upon presenting the candidate for the position of Prime Minister, the President of the Republic shall not be asked any questions.
3. After the President of the Republic presents the candidate, the latter shall be given the floor (for up to 30 minutes); the candidate shall then answer questions posed by the Members of the Seimas (for up to 40 minutes).
4. The candidature for the position of Prime Minister shall be referred to political groups of the Seimas for consideration. Political groups shall have the right to invite the candidate to their meetings for a question-and-answer session at a time coordinated with the candidate.
5. Political groups must consider the candidature of the Prime Minister within two working days.
Article 193. Debate of the Candidate for the Position of Prime Minister at a Seimas Sitting
1. A Seimas sitting must be held within one week from the presentation of the candidate for the position of Prime Minister in order to adopt a decision concerning the proposed candidate.
2. During the sitting, the conclusions of political groups, beginning with the largest political group and ending with the smallest political group, shall be heard first.
3. Thereafter, a discussion shall be held, at the end of which the candidate shall be given the floor (for up to 20 minutes) and provided with the opportunity to answer questions posed by Members of the Seimas (for up to 30 minutes).
4. Once the candidate finishes answering questions, a vote shall be taken on the approval of the candidate for the position of Prime Minister.
5. The President of the Republic shall have the right to withdraw the nominated candidate at any time until the beginning of the vote for approval.
Article 194. Presentation of the Government Programme
1. The Prime Minister shall, within 15 days of the appointment, present to the Seimas a Government of the composition chosen by him and approved by the President of the Republic and submit the Government programme for debate.
2. Members of the newly-formed Government must attend the presentation of the Government programme.
3. A draft decision of the Seimas concerning the Government programme must be registered with the Secretariat of Seimas Sittings and published on the website of the Seimas at least 24 hours prior to the sitting referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article.
4. When explaining the Government programme, the Prime Minister may speak for up to 40 minutes.
5. A total of an hour and a half shall be allotted for answering questions during the presentation of the Government programme. Questions may be addressed to the Prime Minister or to any of the ministers.
Article 195. Consideration of the Government Programme in Committees and Political Groups
1. After presentation, the Government programme shall be considered by the Seimas political groups and all Seimas committees as additional committees.
2. Committees and political groups shall have the right to invite the Prime Minister or any minister, at a time agreed upon, to answer questions concerning the Government programme.
3. Seimas committees and political groups must prepare their conclusions concerning the Government programme not later than within ten days after its presentation.
Article 196. Debate on the Government Programme at a Seimas Sitting
1. The Seimas must consider the Government programme at a sitting within 15 days after its presentation.
2. At the sitting a report by the Leader of the Seimas Opposition and conclusions of the committees and political groups, starting with the opposition ones, shall be heard first.
3. Thereafter, a debate shall be held, at the close of which the Prime Minister shall be given the floor (for up to 20 minutes), with the opportunity provided to the Prime Minister and ministers to answer further questions posed by the Members of the Seimas (for a total period of up to an hour and a half).
4. The debate concerning the Government programme may be terminated by a majority of votes cast by more than half of the voting Members of the Seimas. Such a proposal shall be put to the vote without discussion if at least one other Member of the Seimas expresses support for the proposal. If the opposition political group objects to termination of the discussion and its proposal is supported by one-fourth of the Members of the Seimas present at the sitting, the discussion shall be continued.
Article 197. Approval or Rejection of the Government Programme
1. When the Prime Minister and ministers finish answering questions of the Members of the Seimas, the Seimas must adopt a decision concerning the Government programme. The wording of the decision shall be presented in the conclusions of the committees and political groups.
2. 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 ten days and the procedure of debate thereon shall be repeated in accordance with the procedure established in Articles 194-196 of this Statute.
3. The new Government shall be given powers to act after the Seimas approves its programme by a majority of vote cast by the Members of the Seimas present at the sitting.
4. The Members of the Government shall be sworn in the Seimas in accordance with the procedure established by the Law on the Government.
5. If the Seimas refuses to approve the programme of the newly-formed Government two times in succession, the Government must resign.
Article 198. Giving of Powers to the Government from Anew
1. When more than half of the ministers are replaced, the Government must be given powers by the Seimas from anew. The Government shall be given powers from anew when the Seimas takes a decision to approve the Government programme. Otherwise, the Government must resign.
2. In order to be given powers from anew, the Prime Minister must, not later than within seven days of the last replacement of ministers exceeding half of all the ministers, present a newly appointed minister at a Seimas sitting and if the replacement is made between sessions, the Prime Minister must present a newly appointed minister at an extraordinary session as well as submit a programme of this Government for debate.
3. The Government programme shall be submitted, debated and put to the vote according to the procedure established in Articles 194, 195, 196 and 197(1) of this Statute.
Chapter XXXII
DEBATE ON CANDIDATES FOR
JUSTICES OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT AND
JUDGES OF THE SUPREME COURT AS WELL AS OTHER STATE OFFICIALS,
THEIR APPOINTMENT, TEMPORARY TRANSFER OF JUDGES TO ANOTHER COURT AND SPECIFIC FEATURES OF RELEASE FROM DUTIES,
CONSENT TO TEMPORARY TRANSFER OF A JUDGE TO ANOTHER COURT
OR RELEASE FROM DUTIES
Article 199. Appointment of Justices/Judges and other State Officials or Approval of Candidates for Justices/Judges and other State Officials
1. The Seimas shall appoint justices of the Constitutional Court and judges of the Supreme Court and Presidents of these Courts and shall also appoint state officials as established by the Constitution and the laws.
2. Persons who nominate candidates for these positions shall be established by the Constitution and relevant laws.
3. The Seimas shall also decide whether to approve the candidates for judges and state officials appointed by the President of the Republic if this is provided for in the Constitution and laws.
Article 200. Presentation of Candidates for Positions Subject to Appointment
1. Candidates for positions subject to appointment by the Seimas or for positions subject to appointment on consent by the Seimas shall be presented at a Seimas sitting by the person nominating these candidates or proposing the composition of a collegial institution (in corpore).
2. A maximum of 10 minutes shall be allotted for the presentation of individual candidates at a Seimas sitting, whereas a maximum of 20 minutes shall be allotted for the presentation of members of a collegial institution.
3. The biographical data on the candidates must be submitted to the Members of the Seimas prior to the presentation.
4. Information concerning candidates for justices of the Constitutional Court and judges of the Supreme Court must be published on the website of the Seimas at least two weeks before their presentation at the Seimas.
5. Candidates for justices of the Constitutional Court shall be submitted to the Seimas three months prior to the procedure of their appointment of the justices of the Constitutional Court.
6. These candidates, including members of collegial institutions (in corpore), must attend a Seimas sitting at which they are presented.
7. After being presented, candidates for justices of the Constitutional Court and judges of the Supreme Court and candidates for the position of heads of state institutions shall be given the floor (for up to ten minutes) at the Seimas sitting.
8. All candidates must answer questions put to them by Members of the Seimas: up to 15 minutes shall be allotted to each candidate for justices of the Constitutional Court and judges of the Supreme Court and to every other individual candidate, and up to 30 minutes shall be allotted to all of candidates for members of a collegial institution.
Article 201. Consideration of Candidates at Committee and Political Group Meetings
1. After being presented, the candidates shall be considered by the Seimas political groups and appropriate committees.
2. The political groups and committees shall have the right to invite the candidates, at a time agreed upon, to attend their meetings in order to pose questions to them.
3. The Seimas political groups and committees must present to the Seimas their conclusions concerning the candidates within 15 days from the presentation of the candidates at the Seimas sitting.
Article 202. Debate on Candidates at a Seimas Sitting
1. The proposed candidates must be debated on at a Seimas sitting within 30 days from their presentation.
1. The sitting must be attended by the person presenting the candidates and the candidates themselves, including candidates for members of collegial institutions (in corpore).
3. Conclusions of the Seimas political groups and committees shall be heard first. Thereafter, a discussion shall be held at the end of which the candidates and the person presenting them shall be given the floor (for up to ten minutes).
4. Thereafter, the Seimas shall take a vote concerning the appointment of justices to the Constitutional Court or judges to the Supreme Court and of other officials, the appointment or and of a collegial institution (in corpore) or the consent to a candidate appointed by the President of the Republic.
Article 2021. Temporary Transfer of Judges to Another Court or Consent to Temporary Transfer of Judges to Another Court
1. In the cases provided for by the Law on Courts, the Seimas shall adopt a resolution concerning the temporary transfer of a judge to another court or on the consent to the temporary transfer of a judge to another court (hereinafter in this Article: a ‘resolution of the Seimas’).
2. Biographical data on a judge proposed to be temporarily transferred to another court must be communicated to the Members of the Seimas before the presentation of a draft resolution of the Seimas at a Seimas sitting.
3. After the presentation of the draft resolution of the Seimas at the Seimas sitting, it shall be considered by the Committee on Legal Affairs. The Committee on Legal Affairs shall be empowered to invite the judge who is being transferred to a Committee’s meeting at a time agreed with the said judge and to ask him questions. The Committee on Legal Affairs shall present to the Seimas conclusions on the draft resolution of the Seimas not later than within seven working days after the presentation of that draft resolution at the Seimas sitting.
4. The draft resolution of the Seimas must be debated at a Seimas sitting not later than 14 working days after the presentation of that draft resolution at the Seimas sitting.
5. The draft resolution of the Seimas shall be debated and adopted by open vote at the same Seimas sitting, unless the Seimas decides otherwise.
Article 203. Oath of State Official in the Seimas
1. Prior to the commencement of work, justices of the Constitutional Court and judges of the Supreme Court 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 law.
2. The Auditor General, the chair of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania and other newly appointed state officials shall publicly take an oath at a Seimas sitting if so provided for in the laws regulating the activities of these state institutions.
Article 2031. Peculiarities of Release from Duties of Judges and other State Officials Referred to in this Chapter
1. Resolutions of the Seimas on release from duties of judges of the Supreme Court, the President of the Supreme Court, chairs of the divisions of the Supreme Court as well as other state officials, specified in the Constitution and laws, of their own will, upon the expiry of the term of powers or upon reaching the pensionable age established by law, upon election to another office or upon transfer, with their consent, to another place of work shall, after being submitted, be debated and adopted at the same sitting, unless the Seimas decides otherwise.
2. The procedure laid down in paragraph 1 of this Article shall apply to debates on and adoption of resolutions of the Seimas on the consent to the release from duties of judges of the Court of Appeal, the President of the Court of Appeal, chairs of the divisions of the Court of Appeal as well as other state officials of their own will, upon the expiry of the term of powers or upon reaching the pensionable age established by law, upon election to another office or upon transfer, with their consent, to another place of work.
Article 204. Repealed
PART VII
SUPERVISORY ACTIVITIES OF THE SEIMAS
Chapter XXXIII
ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE GOVERNMENT
AND OTHER STATE OFFICIALS TO THE SEIMAS
Article 205. Notification of the Seimas Concerning the Separate Opinion of the Auditor General
1. If the Auditor General does not agree with a resolution of the Government and states a separate opinion thereon, he shall, within three working days following the sitting of the Government, notify the Seimas thereof in writing.
2. The received separate opinion of the Auditor General concerning the resolution adopted by the Government shall, not later than within two working days, refer it to the Seimas Committee on Audit and, if necessary, to other Seimas committees.
3. The Seimas committees shall consider the separate opinion of the Auditor General concerning the resolution adopted by the Government at upcoming committee meetings and present their conclusions to the Seimas.
Article 206. Reports by Government Members and Heads of State Institutions
1. At the request of the Seimas, the Government or individual ministers must report to the Seimas on their respective activities.
2. The above shall also apply to heads of other state institutions who are either appointed by the Seimas or whose appointment is subject to approval of the Seimas, with the exception of courts.
3. Invited persons shall answer questions posed by the Members of the Seimas and shall furnish other information concerning their own activities and the activities of the institutions subordinate to them.
4. When drawing up a weekly agenda of Seimas sittings, it shall be established which head of a state institution shall answer the questions or inquiries of the Members of the Seimas that week.
5. Heads of state institutions who are appointed by the Seimas or whose appointment is subject to the approval of the Seimas shall submit (usually by 1 March) annual activity reports of the said institutions. An annual activity report of a state institution whose head is appointed by the Seimas or whose appointment is subject to the approval of the Seimas shall be heard at the Seimas committees according to their remit established by this Statute. If necessary, an activity report of a state institution shall be heard at a Seimas sitting. After the presentation of an activity report of a state institution whose head is appointed by the Seimas or whose appointment is subject to the approval of the Seimas at an appropriate committee and/or a Seimas sitting, Members of the Seimas may pose questions to the head of that state institution regarding the presented activity report thereof.
Valid as of 1 January 2023:
5. Heads of state institutions who are appointed by the Seimas or whose appointment is subject to the approval of the Seimas shall submit (usually by 1 May) sets of annual statements of the said institutions together with audit opinions. A set of annual statements of a state institution whose head is appointed by the Seimas or whose appointment is subject to the approval of the Seimas shall be presented at the Seimas committees according to their remit established by this Statute. If necessary, the set of annual statements of that state institution shall also be presented at a Seimas sitting. After the presentation of a set of annual statements of a state institution whose head is appointed by the Seimas or whose appointment is subject to the approval of the Seimas at an appropriate committee and/or a Seimas sitting, Members of the Seimas may pose questions to the head of that state institution regarding the presented set of annual statements.
Article 207. Annual Report of the Government and Discussion
1. Every year (by 15 May), the Government must submit an annual report of Government activities which must also discuss short-term priorities of Government activities. The Government activity report shall be presented by the Prime Minister who answers questions posed by Members of the Seimas during the presentation. The questions shall be posed following the same procedure as during the Parliamentary Question Time (an hour long).
2. All ministers shall attend the presentation of the Government activity report at the Seimas sitting and shall, at the request of the Members of the Seimas, answer questions.
3. Following presentation of the Government activity report at the Seimas sitting, it shall be considered by the Seimas committees followed by a special discussion at the Seimas at the end of which the Seimas may adopt a resolution. The Leader of the Seimas Opposition and representatives of opposition political groups shall be the first to take the floor in the discussion.
Article 207. This Article will be repealed as of 1 January 2023.
Article 208. Replies by Government Members to Questions Posed at a Seimas Sitting
1. During a session of the Seimas, at Parliamentary Question Time (an hour long) held at the end of any Thursday morning Seimas sitting, members of the Government shall answer oral questions of the Members of the Seimas for a period of 60 minutes.
2. Members of the Seimas may pose relevant questions and questions of high interest to the public. The chair of the sitting may permit not to answer questions which in his opinion are not relevant and not of high interest to the public.
3. If the posed question, in the opinion of the member of the Government or the chair of the sitting, requires a comprehensive and detailed response, such question must be submitted in writing at the request of the member of the Government or the chair of the sitting.
*4. The chair of the sitting may interrupt any question which, in his opinion, is similar to the statement or opinion of a Member of the Seimas.
5. Questions shall be submitted in the following order: the Leader of the Seimas Opposition may first pose two questions followed by questions of the representatives of all political groups in succession starting with the opposition political groups and taking into account the size of the political groups.
6. A Member of the Seimas may inform a member of the Government in advance of the question he is to ask him.
7. The chair of the sitting may, at his own discretion, permit posing of additional questions to a minister who has already answered a question. Such additional questions may be posed by any Member of the Seimas, however that Member of the Seimas whose question the minister answered shall have priority in posing an additional question.
8. The minister may request to postpone his answer until the next Parliamentary Question Time (an hour long). In this case, the question of the Member of the Seimas left unanswered shall be included in the minutes of the sitting.
9. The minister to whom a question is addressed may request that another minister answers the question if this question belongs to the remit of another minister.
10. The minister may, at his own discretion, refuse to answer the question.
*11. The decisions of the chair of the sitting may not be disputed in the course of the Parliamentary Question Time (an hour long), however, a Member of the Seimas who is not satisfied with the minister’s answer or whose question has not been considered by the chair of the sitting as relevant or of high interest to the public may, after the close of the Parliamentary Question Time (an hour long), declare that he will submit his question in writing.
12. The duration of oral questions may not exceed one minute and the answer of a member of the Government may not last longer than two minutes.
13. Prior to a Seimas sitting, ten Members of the Seimas may submit to the Secretariat of Seimas Sittings a written question for a member of the Government who is to attend the sitting concerning an issue of particular importance requesting to provide an answer during the same sitting. One Member of the Seimas may sign not more than one such request.
14. An answer of the member of the Government to the above question shall be allotted not more than 20 minutes at the end of the sitting. On the decision of the Seimas the time allotted for an answer may be extended. The Members of the Seimas who have signed the request shall have the right of priority to pose oral questions. If the member of the Government requests so, he shall be provided with a possibility to answer the submitted question at the next sitting, but not later than within three days.
*Note. To recognise that Article 208(4) and the provision of Article 208(11) ‘the decisions of the chair of the sitting may not be disputed in the course of the Parliamentary Question Time (an hour long)’ conflict with Article 59(4) of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania.
Ruling of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania
25 January 2001, Official gazette, 2001, No 10-295 (31 January 2001)
Article 209. Answers by Heads of State Institutions to Questions Posed by Members of the Seimas at a Seimas Sitting
1. During a Seimas session at the Parliamentary Question Time (half an hour long) held every Tuesday, members of the Government, the Auditor General and heads of other state institutions who are appointed by the Seimas or whose appointment is subject to approval of the Seimas and other heads of state institutions, except judges, must answer written questions submitted in advance by the Members of the Seimas.
2. Written questions shall be submitted via the Secretariat of Seimas Sittings no later than two days prior to the sitting.
3. Twenty-four hours prior to the Seimas sitting, the Conference of Chairs shall determine the members of the Government or heads of state institutions who are to answer questions submitted to them in writing, usually taking into account the number of questions submitted in writing.
4. The Speaker of the Seimas shall establish the sequence of questions to be answered and shall inform the Conference of Chairs thereof prior to the Seimas sitting.
5. 15 minutes shall be allotted for answering questions of the Members of the Seimas which have been submitted in advance.
6. The remaining time shall be used for answering additional oral questions. Members of the Seimas whose written questions are answered by a member of the Government shall have priority in posing additional oral questions. The remaining time shall be allotted for answering questions of other Members of the Seimas taking account of the size of political groups; the Leader of the Seimas Opposition and chairs of the opposition political groups shall be the first to pose questions.
7. Having received the recommendations or proposals of Seimas committees, commissions and political groups, the members of the Government and other state officials must consider them and give an answer within 15 days from the receipt thereof.
Article 210. Actions Taken to Prosecute, Hold in Custody or Otherwise Restrict Freedom of State Officials
1. The Prime Minister, the ministers and judges may not be prosecuted, held in custody, their freedom may not be in any other way restricted without a prior consent of the Seimas or, in the period between the sessions of the Seimas, without a prior consent of the President of the Republic.
2. If a motion is submitted by the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Lithuania to prosecute, hold in custody or otherwise restrict freedom of the Prime Minister, an individual minister or a judge, the Seimas shall take the following action:
1) if the Prime Minister or minister are Members of the Seimas and the judge is the President or justice of the Constitutional Court, President or judge of the Supreme Court, President or judge of the Court of Appeal, the Seimas shall adopt decisions according to Article 23 of this Statute;
2) if the Prime Minister or minister are not Members of the Seimas and the judge is not the President or justice of the Constitutional Court, President or judge of the Supreme Court, President or judge of the Court of Appeal, the Seimas shall decide whether to set up an investigation commission for granting permission to prosecute, hold in custody or otherwise restrict freedom of the Prime Minister, the minister or the judge. In this case, actions shall be taken pursuant to Article 23(2), (4), (5) and (6) of this Statute.
Article 211. Immunity from Prosecution for Speeches in the Seimas
The Prime Minister and ministers may not be subject to prosecution for speeches given in the Seimas, however they may be held liable for personal insult or slander, in accordance with general procedure.
Chapter XXXIV
WRITTEN QUESTIONS AND INQUIRIES
Article 212. Concept and Presentation of a Written Question
A question which has been submitted in writing by a Member of the Seimas or their group to a member of the Government or the head of a state institution to which they expect to receive a written answer shall be considered as a written question.
Article 213. Concept of and Right to Present an Inquiry
1. A Member of the Seimas or their group shall present a written inquiry to a member of the Government or another head of a state institution who is appointed by the Seimas or whose appointment is subject to approval by the Seimas, except courts, requesting to obtain information concerning his activities and decisions adopted by him.
2. Only a question which a Member of the Seimas or their group has addressed to a state institution, however, in their opinion, has not been adequately examined or has been resolved negatively shall be considered as an inquiry.
3. The Conference of Chairs may decide that a question which one of the committees or a Seimas political group has recognised as being of high interest to the State or the public shall also be considered as an inquiry.
Article 214. Submission of a Written Question and an Inquiry
1. The Secretariat of Seimas Sittings shall register written questions and inquiries and refer them to an appropriate official.
2. At a Seimas sitting, the Speaker of the Seimas shall inform the Seimas about new written questions and inquiries of Members of the Seimas and about the replies received in writing.
3. Written questions and inquiries of Members of the Seimas referred to the Government and state institutions and the replies to inquiries of the Members of the Seimas shall be published on the website of the Seimas.
4. A Member of the Seimas submitting a written question or inquiry must indicate the official to whom it is addressed.
5. A Member of the Seimas submitting an inquiry shall have the right to withdraw his inquiry at any time.
Article 215. Response to a Written Question or an Inquiry
1. The time limit of a response to a written question or inquiry may not exceed ten days from receipt of the written question or inquiry and during a session of the Seimas the time limit of a debate on the inquiry at a Seimas sitting shall be within ten days of the receipt of a response to the inquiry.
2. If the official to whom a written question or inquiry is addressed is unable to reply within the set time limit, he must provide an explanation in writing and propose his own time limit, but no later than one month from receipt of the written question or inquiry, however, if the Members of the Seimas submitting the inquiry do not agree with these reasons, a debate on the inquiry must be organised within the set time limit.
Article 216. Debate on an Inquiry at a Seimas Sitting
1. During the session, inquiries shall be debated on at Seimas sittings at least twice a month.
2. If at least one-fifth of Members of the Seimas request a debate on an inquiry at a Seimas sitting, the inquiry shall be debated on a mandatory basis.
3. Inquiries submitted by members of opposition political groups shall be debated on first.
4. Members of the Seimas submitting an inquiry (at least one representative thereof) must take part in the debate on the inquiry. Whenever the Member of the Seimas submitting the inquiry does not participate in the sitting, debate on the inquiry shall be adjourned. If the person submitting the inquiry fails to participate in the sitting without giving prior notice the inquiry shall be annulled.
5. A Member of the Seimas submitting an inquiry may not preside over a Seimas sitting at which his inquiry is to be debated on.
6. An inquiry shall be debated on at a Seimas sitting according to the following procedure:
1) speech of the Member of the Seimas submitting the inquiry (for up to five minutes);
2) response of the official to whom the question has been addressed (for up to 15 minutes);
3) discussion if requested by a committee or political group.
7. The floor shall normally be given in turn to Members of the Seimas in favour of and those against the response to the inquiry. If the Seimas decides not to continue the discussion, no more than four Members of the Seimas shall be given the floor.
8. If the Members of the Seimas submitting the inquiry are not satisfied with the response to the inquiry, they may submit a draft resolution to be debated on by the Seimas, wherein the Seimas shall state the opinion on the response.
Chapter XXXV
DISMISSAL OF SEIMAS OFFICIALS AND HEADS OF STATE INSTITUTIONS
Article 217. Proposal to Dismiss an Official
1. Proposals to dismiss a Seimas official or a head of 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 reasoned letter from the Board of the Seimas, a committee, or at least one-fifth of the Members of the Seimas. A committee may not propose to dismiss the chair of another committee.
2. Motions for the dismissal of an official shall be filed with the Speaker of the Seimas; motions for dismissal of the Speaker of the Seimas shall be filed with the First Deputy Speaker of the Seimas. The Seimas may not consider an issue related to no-confidence in the Speaker of the Seimas if the latter is temporarily deputising for the President of the Republic.
3. Such motions must be announced at the next sitting of the Seimas.
4. The Members of the Seimas may not request to dismiss the same official more than once during the same session.
Article 218. Procedure of Dismissal of an Official
1. The official of the Seimas whose dismissal is under discussion may not preside over that sitting.
2. During discussions concerning the dismissal of an official of the Seimas or head of a state institution, the first person to be given the floor shall be the representative of the initiators of dismissal (for up to ten minutes); thereafter, the floor shall be given to the official whose dismissal is debated on (for up to 30 minutes). The latter shall then be given up to another 30 minutes to answer questions.
3. The discussion shall subsequently be continued according to the general procedure.
4. A decision concerning the dismissal of Seimas officials or heads of state institutions because of no-confidence in them shall be adopted by secret ballot with a majority of votes cast by more than half of all Members of the Seimas; a decision concerning the dismissal of Seimas officials or heads of state institutions on other grounds shall be adopted by a majority of votes by the Members of the Seimas attending the Seimas sitting cast by open vote.
Chapter XXXVI
INTERPELLATION AND NO-CONFIDENCE IN THE GOVERNMENT
Article 219. Submission of an Interpellation
1. During the session, a group of at least one-fifth of Members of the Seimas may submit an interpellation to the Prime Minister or a minister requesting the officials to explain the reasons for the decisions adopted by these officials.
2. No signature may be withdrawn after the interpellation has been submitted to the Speaker of the Seimas who shall register it without delay and forward it to the appropriate member of the Government and Members of the Seimas.
3. In the course of one session, the Members of the Seimas may not repeatedly submit an interpellation to the same member of the Government.
Article 220. Written Response to an Interpellation
1. Upon receipt of an interpellation a member of the Government must, not later than within two weeks, submit a written response to the Speaker of the Seimas, which the Members of the Seimas shall be familiarised with.
2. Upon receipt of the response to the interpellation, the Seimas must, not later than within five working days, debate on the response at a sitting during its session.
Article 221. Procedure of Debate on an Interpellation at a Seimas Sitting
1. An interpellation shall be debated on at a Seimas sitting according to the following procedure:
1) speech by the representative of the interpellator (for up to ten minutes);
2) reply by the official who received the interpellation (for up to 30 minutes);
3) answers to questions posed by the Members of the Seimas to the official who received the interpellation (for up to 30 minutes); questions shall be posed according to the same procedure as during the Parliamentary Question Time (an hour long);
4) discussion during which the floor is usually given in turn to the Members of the Seimas in favour of and those against the response to the interpellation;
5) concluding remarks by the official who has received the interpellation;
6) concluding remarks by the person representing the interpellator;
7) the setting-up of the editorial commission according to the requirements set out in Article 71 of this Statute for drawing up a draft resolution of the Seimas concerning the interpellation. The interpellators must constitute at least one-third of the commission members.
Article 222. Seimas Resolution on an Interpellation and Consequences of Adoption thereof
1. A draft resolution of the Seimas on an interpellation must be presented to the Seimas for debate no later than on the next day of sittings.
2. The Seimas’ approval or disapproval of the response of the Prime Minister or an individual minister must be stated in a draft resolution of the Seimas concerning the interpellation.
3. In the case that the response of the Prime Minister or the individual minister is recognised as inadequate and no-confidence in the Prime Minister or the individual minister is declared in a draft resolution of the Seimas, the draft may be adopted by a majority of votes of more than a half of all the Members of the Seimas cast by secret ballot.
4. If such resolution is adopted, the Prime Minister or the individual minister in whom no-confidence has been declared must resign.
6. When the Prime Minister resigns, the Government must resign in corpore.
Article 223. No-confidence in the Government
1. During a session of the Seimas, a group of at least one-fifth of all of the Members of the Seimas may submit a reasoned draft resolution declaring direct no-confidence in the Government.
2. Such draft resolution shall be debated on at a Seimas sitting in accordance with the procedure established by Articles 219-221 of this Statute as an interpellation to the Prime Minister, but an editorial commission will not be set up.
3. During the debate at the Seimas sitting of the issue of no-confidence in the Government, Members of the Seimas may pose questions to all of the ministers, providing the opportunity for the ministers to give replies (for up to 60 minutes).
4. After the debate, no-confidence in the Government shall be put to the vote immediately.
5. A resolution on direct no-confidence in the Government may be adopted by a majority of votes of more than half of all of the Members of the Seimas cast by secret ballot.
Chapter XXXVII
CONTROL OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
THE BUDGETARY POLICY AND BUDGETS AND
SUBMISSION OF STATEMENTS
Article 2231. Control of the Implementation of the Budgetary Policy
1. The Government or an institution authorised by it shall, not later than before 15 May, submit to the Seimas a report on the implementation of the last-year structural adjustment target and structural general government sector balance indicator.
2. The report on the implementation of the last-year structural adjustment target and structural general government sector balance indicator, specified in paragraph 1 of this Article, shall, not later than before 30 June, be discussed by the Committee on the Budget and Finance.
3. If the structural adjustment target is not implemented, the Government shall, along the report specified in paragraph 1 of this Article, submit to the Seimas and the National Audit Office of Lithuania a written notice on the reasons for failure to implement the structural adjustment target and the measures for the implementation of the structural adjustment target. This report shall be also presented orally at a Seimas sitting. The said documents, along with the opinion of the National Audit Office of Lithuania, shall be discussed at the Committee on the Budget and Finance and the Committee on Audit.
4. The National Audit Office of Lithuania shall, within 30 days, submit to the Seimas an opinion on the validity of the reasons for failure to implement the structural adjustment target and the appropriateness of the measures for the implementation of the structural adjustment target.
5. The Government shall, within one month from the submission of the opinion specified in paragraph 4 of this Article, provide the Seimas with a written notice on the definitive reasons for failure to implement the structural adjustment target and the measures for the implementation of the structural adjustment target.
6. The Committee on the Budget and Finance shall discuss the opinion of the National Audit Office of Lithuania specified in paragraph 4 of this Article as well as the notice of the Government specified in paragraph 5 of this Article and shall present conclusions to the Seimas.
Article 224. Supervision of the Implementation of the State Budget
1. The general continuous control of the implementation of the state budget shall be exercised by the Committee on the Budget and Finance.
2. Other committees of the Seimas may hear the information regarding the performance of the budget articles which are within their remit.
3. The implementation of the state budget shall be debated on at a Seimas sitting at least on a semi-annual basis.
4. The Government shall present information about the implementation of the state budget for the purpose of such debate.
Article 225. Presentation of Sets of Statements
1. The Government shall prepare and, by 10 October, approve and submit to the Seimas the following sets of statements:
1) a set of consolidated statements of the State comprising the report on implementation of the state budget and consolidated financial statements of the State;
2) a set of consolidated statements of the State Social Insurance Fund comprising the report on implementation of the budget of the State Social Insurance Fund and consolidated financial statements of the State Social Insurance Fund;
3) a set of consolidated statements of the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund comprising the report on implementation of the budget of the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund and consolidated financial statements of the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund;
4) sets of annual statements of other monetary funds of the State the estimates of which are approved by the Seimas, where such sets comprise reports on implementation of the budget and financial statements;
5) a national set of financial statements.
2. The Auditor General must, by 10 October, present to the Seimas a public audit opinion and report on the sets of statements referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.
3. Upon receipt of a public audit opinion and public audit reports presented by the Auditor General referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article and drafts of resolutions of the Seimas presented by the Government regarding the approval of the sets of statements referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, Government’s reports concerning the sets of statements referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article and additional presentations of the Auditor General shall be heard at the next Seimas sittings.
4. After the reports referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article are heard at the Seimas sittings, the committees shall consider the sets of statements referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article and prepare conclusions thereon.
Valid as of 1 January 2023:
Article 225. Presentation of Sets of Statements
1. The Government shall, having approved the sets of statements specified in points 1-4 of this paragraph, submit to the Seimas not later than by 15 May the following sets of statements:
1) a state set of annual statements;
2) a set of annual statements of the state social funds;
3) a set of annual statements of the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund;
4) a set of annual statements of the Pension Annuity Fund.
2. The Government shall, having approved the national set of annual statements, present it to the Seimas not later than by 10 October.
Valid as of 1 January 2026:
2. The Government shall, having approved the national set of annual statements, present it to the Seimas not later than by 5 June.
Note from the Register of Legal Acts. Paragraph 2 shall apply to the presentation of national sets of annual statements for 2025 and subsequent reporting periods.
3. On the receipt of draft resolutions of the Seimas submitted by the Government concerning the approval of the sets of statements referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the public audit opinion and the public audit report submitted by the National Audit Office of Lithuania concerning these sets of statements, Government’s reports on the said sets of statements as well as additional presentations of the Auditor General shall be heard at the next Seimas sittings and questions of Members of the Seimas shall be answered. Questions shall be posed in the same manner as during the Parliamentary Question Time (an hour long).
4. A Seimas sitting at which the sets of statements referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article are presented shall be attended by the Prime Minister and all ministers who answer questions of Members of the Seimas.
5. After the reports referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article are heard at the Seimas sittings, the committees shall consider the sets of statements referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article and prepare conclusions thereon.
Article 226. Debate on a Set of Consolidated Statements of the State at a Seimas Sitting
1. A set of consolidated statements of the State and a public audit opinion and a public audit report thereon presented by the Auditor General together with a draft state budget for the next year must be debated on at a Seimas sitting not later than 20 November.
2. A report of the Committee on the Budget and Finance and the conclusions of other committees shall be heard at the Seimas sitting.
3. Following the discussion, a resolution of the Seimas on the set of consolidated statements of the State shall be adopted.
4. If the set of consolidated statements of the State is not approved because of the reports on implementation of the state budget, the Seimas shall solve a matter concerning the procedure of retroactive confirmation of validity of revenue or expenditure. An appropriate draft resolution shall be drawn up for that purpose and a vote on no-confidence in the Prime Minister, an individual minister or the Government may also be taken according to the procedure established in Articles 222 and 223 of this Statute.
Valid as of 1 January 2023:
Article 226. Debate on a State Set of Annual Statements at a Seimas Sitting
1. A state set of annual statements as well as the public audit opinion and the public audit report concerning the state set of annual statements must be debated on at a Seimas sitting not later than by 30 June.
2. A special Seimas discussion shall be held and a report of the Committee on the Budget and Finance as well as the conclusions of other committees shall be heard at the Seimas sitting. During the discussions the first to take the floor shall be the Leader of the Seimas Opposition and representatives of the opposition political groups.
3. Following the discussion, a resolution of the Seimas on the state set of annual statements shall be adopted.
4. If the state set of annual statements is not approved because of the reports on implementation of the budget, the Seimas shall solve a matter concerning the procedure of retroactive confirmation of validity of revenue or expenditure. An appropriate draft resolution of the Seimas shall be drawn up for that purpose and a vote on no-confidence in the Prime Minister, an individual minister or the Government may also be taken according to the procedure established in Articles 222 and 223 of this Statute.
Article 2261. Debate at a Seimas Sitting on a Set of Consolidated Statements of the State Social Insurance Fund, a Set of Consolidated Statements of the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund and Sets of Annual Statements of other Monetary Funds of the State the Estimates of which are Approved by the Seimas
1. A set of consolidated statements of the State Social Insurance Fund, a set of consolidated statements of the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund and sets of annual statements of other monetary funds of the State the estimates of which are approved by the Seimas as well as public audit opinions and public audit reports thereon presented by the Auditor General must be debated on at a Seimas sitting not later than 30 November.
2. Reports of the lead committees and the conclusions of other committees shall be heard at the Seimas sitting.
3. Following the discussion, resolutions of the Seimas on the set of consolidated statements of the State Social Insurance Fund, the set of consolidated statements of the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund and the sets of annual statements of other monetary funds of the State the estimates of which are approved by the Seimas shall be adopted.
Valid as of 1 January 2023:
Article 2261. Debate at a Seimas Sitting on a Set of Annual Statements of the State Social Funds, a Set of Annual Statements of the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund and a Set of Annual Statements of the Pension Annuity Fund
1. A set of annual statements of the state social funds, a set of annual statements of the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund and a set of annual statements of the Pension Annuity Fund as well as the public audit opinion concerning these sets must be debated on at a Seimas sitting not later than by 30 June.
2. Reports of the lead committees and the conclusions of other committees shall be heard at the Seimas sitting.
3. Following the discussion, resolutions of the Seimas on the set of annual statements of the state social funds, the set of annual statements of the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund and the set of annual statements of the Pension Annuity Fund.
Article 2262. Debate on a National Set of Financial Statements at a Seimas Sitting
1. A national set of financial statements and a public audit opinion and a public audit report thereon presented by the Auditor General must be debated on at a Seimas sitting not later than 10 December.
2. A report of the Committee on the Budget and Finance and the conclusions of other committees shall be heard at the Seimas sitting.
3. Following the discussion, a resolution of the Seimas on the national set of financial statements shall be adopted.
Valid as of 1 January 2023:
Article 2262. Debate on a National Set of Annual Statements at a Seimas Sitting
1. A national set of annual statements and the public audit opinion and the public audit report concerning the national set of annual statements must be debated on at a Seimas sitting not later than by 10 December.
Valid as of 1 January 2026:
1. A national set of annual statements and the public audit opinion and the public audit report concerning the national set of annual statements must be debated on at a Seimas sitting not later than by 30 June.
Note from the Register of Legal Acts. Paragraph 1 shall apply to the debate of national sets of annual statements for 2025 and subsequent reporting periods, as well as the public audit opinion and the public audit report concerning these sets.
2. A report of the Committee on the Budget and Finance and the conclusions of other committees shall be heard at the Seimas sitting.
3. Following the discussion, a resolution of the Seimas on the national set of annual statements shall be adopted.
PART VIII
IMPEACHMENT proceedings
Chapter XXXVIII
INSTITUTING Of Impeachment Proceedings and
Preliminary ACTIONS OF IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS
Article 227. Concept of Impeachment Proceedings
Impeachment proceedings shall be a parliamentary procedure applied by the Seimas to the persons specified in Article 74 of the Constitution for their actions in conflict with the Constitution in order to solve the issue of the constitutional liability of such persons.
Article 228. Grounds for Instituting Impeachment Proceedings
1. The right to submit to the Seimas a motion to institute impeachment proceedings against a person specified in Article 74 of the Constitution shall be vested in a group of Members of the Seimas consisting of at least one-fourth of the Members of the Seimas and in the case referred to in Article 78(3) of this Statute, in the Commission for Ethics and Procedures.
2. A motion to institute impeachment proceedings may be submitted under at least one of the following grounds:
1) a person has grossly violated the Constitution;
2) a person has breached an oath;
3) a person is suspected of having committed a crime.
3. Upon the establishment that a person specified in Article 74 of the Constitution is suspected of having committed a crime, the Prosecutor General shall immediately inform the Seimas thereof.
4. In the case that the President of the Republic is suspected of having committed a crime, the Seimas shall set up a special investigation commission in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 232 of this Statute.
5. Having heard the Prosecutor General’s report on other persons specified in Article 74 of the Constitution, the Seimas shall decide whether to give its approval to prosecute the specific person.
6. Where the fact of the commission of a crime is obvious and the fact of the commission of the crime (including the official who committed it) may be established by the Seimas itself, and there is a proposal by the entities referred to in Article 230(1) of these Statute, the Seimas shall also decide whether to set up a special investigation commission in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 232 of these Statute. The fact of the commission of the crime (including the official who committed it) may be considered obvious only if reliable information has been obtained (submitted to the Seimas by the authorised body) that a particular person indicated in Article 74 of the Constitution has been found in the act of committing a crime and, therefore, in order to state the circumstances important for applying impeachment on the constitutional grounds of being found to have committed a crime’, i.e. to state the fact of a crime having been committed and the official who committed it, the participation of judicial authorities carrying out pre-trial investigation and considering criminal cases is not required; in other cases, inter alia, where a crime is committed by a person indicated in Article 74 of the Constitution before his taking up the official duties, the fact of having committed a crime may not be considered obvious.
7. Upon the receipt by the Seimas of a copy of the effective court judgment of acquittal or a decision to dismiss the case, the Speaker of the Seimas or a Deputy Speaker shall immediately familiarise the Members of the Seimas with this judgment or decision. Having familiarised the Members of the Seimas with the judgment of acquittal or the decision to dismiss the case, the Seimas shall, at the next sitting, adopt a resolution that there are no grounds for instituting impeachment proceedings.
8. Upon the receipt by the Seimas of a copy of the effective court judgment of conviction, the Speaker of the Seimas or Deputy Speaker shall immediately familiarise the Members of the Seimas with the judgment. Having familiarised the Members of the Seimas with the court judgment of conviction, the Seimas shall carry out impeachment proceedings in accordance with the procedure established in Article 239-242 of this Statute.
Article 229. Statute of Limitations on a Motion to Institute Impeachment Proceedings
1. A motion to institute impeachment proceedings on the grounds of the commission of a crime shall be subject to the statute of limitations set out in the Criminal Code.
2. No statute of limitations shall apply to a motion to institute impeachment proceedings on the grounds that the person has grossly violated the Constitution or breached an oath.
Article 230. Form of a Motion to Institute Impeachment Proceedings
1. A motion to institute impeachment proceedings must be drawn up in writing and signed by all persons composing a group of not less than one-fourth of the Members of the Seimas, while in the case referred to in Article 78(3) of this Statute – it must be signed by the chair of the Commission for Ethics and Procedures and accompanied by the extract of the minutes of the Commission meeting at which the voting on this motion was held.
2. A motion to institute impeachment proceedings shall indicate the specific person, proposals to institute impeachment proceedings on at least one of the grounds laid down in Article 228(2) of this Statute, arguments, evidence and sources underlying these proposals.
Article 231. Special Investigation Commission
1. The Seimas shall familiarise with a motion of the entity specified in Article 228(1) to institute impeachment proceedings against a specific person.
2. If the motion to institute impeachment proceedings has been submitted by a group consisting of not less than one-fourth of all of the Members of the Seimas, the Seimas shall set up a special investigation commission to investigate the validity of the submitted proposals to institute impeachment proceedings and to prepare conclusions concerning the grounds for instituting impeachment proceedings.
3. If the motion to institute impeachment proceedings has been submitted by the Commission for Ethics and Procedures, the Seimas shall grant to it the powers of special investigation commission or shall set up a special investigation commission.
4. A special investigation commission shall work in compliance with the provisions laid down in Chapter 12 of this Statute.
Article 232. Procedure for Setting up a Special Investigation Commission
1. A special investigation commission shall be set up from Members of the Seimas.
2. As a rule, the commission may not consist of more than 12 members.
3. Members of the commission shall be proposed according to the procedure established in Article 71 of this Statute by the Seimas majority and the Seimas minority.
4. Along with the setting-up of the commission, the Seimas shall appoint chair and deputy chair of the commission, set the time limits of the execution of investigation.
Article 233. Meetings of the Special Investigation Commission
1. Meetings of the special investigation commission of the Seimas concerning impeachment proceedings shall usually be closed.
2. Meetings of the special investigation commission shall be recorded in the minutes. Minutes shall be taken by a secretary appointed by the commission. The minutes of the meeting shall be signed by the chair and secretary of the commission.
3. During meetings, explanations and arguments of the person against whom impeachment proceedings have been instituted shall be heard, witnesses shall be questioned, other evidence shall be collected, examined and evaluated, when necessary, experts and professionals shall be invited.
4. The lawyer of the person against whom impeachment proceedings have been instituted may also take part in the meetings.
Article 234. Information on Work of the Special Investigation Commission
The chair of the commission or a member authorised by him shall inform the mass media about the course of the investigation.
Article 235. Questioning of Witnesses and Experts
1. Prior to questioning, witnesses and experts shall be warned of liability under Article 235 of the Criminal Code against their signature.
2. Questioning of witnesses shall be recorded in the minutes. After a witness has read the minutes they may be supplemented or amended and then must be signed by the witness.
3. Experts shall present their conclusions in writing and sign them.
Article 236. Content of Conclusions of the Special Investigation Commission
1. Upon the conclusion of the investigation, the special investigation commission shall present its conclusions containing:
1) substance of the proposals to institute impeachment proceedings;
2) factual circumstances of the specific actions;
3) explanations of the person against whom impeachment proceedings have been instituted.
2. If the proposals to institute impeachment proceedings are recognised as unjustified, it shall be stated that there are no grounds to institute impeachment proceedings in the Seimas.
3. If the proposals to institute impeachment proceedings are recognised as justified, it shall be stated that there are grounds to institute impeachment proceedings in the Seimas.
Article 237. Approval of Conclusions of the Special Investigation Commission
1. A majority of votes cast by more than half of all of the commission members shall be necessary for the approval of the conclusions. The results of the voting shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting. The approved conclusions shall be signed by the chair or deputy chair of the commission.
2. The commission shall prepare a draft resolution on the basis of the approved conclusions.
3. The prepared conclusions along with a draft Seimas resolution and other documents shall be delivered by the special investigation commission to the Speaker of the Seimas, who in turn shall present these documents for debate at the next Seimas sitting.
Chapter XXXIX
IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS IN THE SEIMAS
Article 238. Non-approval of Instituting of Impeachment Proceedings
1. If the Seimas, by a majority of votes cast by the Members of the Seimas who attend the sitting, approves the conclusions of the special investigation commission that there are no grounds for instituting impeachment proceedings or does not approve the conclusions of the special investigation commission that there are grounds for instituting impeachment proceedings, it shall adopt a resolution that there are no grounds for instituting impeachment proceedings.
2. If the Seimas does not approve the conclusions of the special investigation commission that there are no grounds for instituting impeachment proceedings, it must decide to whom assign the conducting of an additional or repeat investigation – to the same or a new special investigation commission.
Article 239. Commencement of Impeachment Proceedings at the Seimas
1. Having approved the conclusions of the special investigation commission that there are grounds for instituting impeachment proceedings by a majority of votes cast by the Members of the Seimas attending the sitting, the Seimas shall adopt a resolution to institute impeachment proceedings in the Seimas against a specific person and refer to the Constitutional Court for a conclusion whether specific actions of the person against whom impeachment proceedings have been instituted are in conflict with the Constitution.
2. Upon the receipt of a copy of the effective court judgment of conviction regarding the crime committed by the person while performing his official duties, the Seimas shall adopt a resolution to institute impeachment proceedings against a specific person and refer to the Constitutional Court for a conclusion whether the specific crime of the person against whom the impeachment proceedings have been instituted grossly violated the Constitution and breached the oath.
3. Upon the receipt of a copy of the effective court judgment of conviction regarding the crime committed by the person before his taking up the official duties, where the fact of the commission of the crime transpires while the person is already performing his official duties, the Seimas shall adopt a resolution to institute impeachment proceedings against such a person. The Seimas shall not refer to the Constitutional Court in the case specified in this paragraph.
4. When the Seimas adopts a resolution to institute impeachment proceedings against the President of the Republic for a crime committed before his taking up the official duties, where the fact of the commission of the crime transpires while the person is already performing his official duties, the Seimas shall not refer to the Constitutional Court, as well.
5. In the cases referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Article, the Seimas shall, at the same sitting, take a decision to consider at a sitting of the Seimas the issue of removing the person subject to impeachment from office or depriving him of the mandate of a Member of the Seimas. The Seimas shall set a date of a sitting of the Seimas where the removal of the person subject to impeachment from office or deprivation of his mandate of a Member of the Seimas. The date of such a sitting must be set not earlier than seven days after the sitting of the Seimas at which this date was set. The person subject to impeachment shall be immediately notified against the signature about the set date and time of the sitting of the Seimas when his removal from office or deprivation of his mandate of a Member of the Seimas shall be considered on the grounds of the effective court judgment of conviction regarding the crime committed by the person before his taking up the official duties.
Article 240. Impeachment Proceedings in the Seimas after the Conclusion of the Constitutional Court Becomes Effective
1. Impeachment proceedings, except the cases referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 of Article 239 of this Statute, may be continued at the Seimas only upon coming into effect of the conclusion of the Constitutional Court whether specific actions of the person against whom impeachment proceedings have been instituted are in conflict with the Constitution.
2. Impeachment proceedings in the Seimas shall be public. The proceedings shall be broadcast by the national radio and television of Lithuania.
3. Hearings of impeachment proceedings shall be chaired by the Speaker of the Seimas or one of the Deputy Speakers of the Seimas. The chair of the hearings:
1) shall settle procedural issues;
2) may, when necessary, ask the Seimas to state its opinion or request approval of his decisions.
4. Members of the Seimas may pose questions to the participants of the proceedings only with permission of the chair of the hearings.
5. Members of the Seimas shall not be permitted to speak about the substance of the case or to attempt to influence the course of the proceedings in any other manner; however, they may protest the refusal of the chair of the hearings to permit questioning or a hasty decision to terminate questioning and may reject it by voting.
6. Upon coming into effect of the conclusion of the Constitutional Court whether specific actions of the person against whom impeachment proceedings have been instituted are in conflict with the Constitution or the conclusion whether the specific crime of the person against whom impeachment proceedings have been instituted grossly violated the Constitution or breached the oath, the chair of the hearings shall familiarise the Members of the Seimas with the conclusion at the next Seimas hearing.
7. The Seimas shall, at the hearing indicated in paragraph 6 of this Article, adopt a decision to terminate impeachment proceedings if the effective conclusion of the Constitutional Court whether specific actions of the person against whom impeachment proceedings have been instituted are in conflict with the Constitution states that none of the specific actions of the person against whom impeachment proceedings have been instituted are in conflict with the Constitution.
8. The Seimas shall, at the hearing indicated in paragraph 6 of this Article, take a decision to debate at the hearing of the Seimas the issue on the removal from office of the person subject to impeachment or deprivation of his mandate of a Member of the Seimas if:
1) the effective conclusion of the Constitutional Court whether specific actions of the person against whom impeachment proceedings have been instituted are in conflict with the Constitution states that at least one of the specific actions of such person grossly violated the Constitution and breached the oath;
2) the effective conclusion of the Constitutional Court whether the specific crime committed by the person against whom impeachment proceedings have been instituted in the course of performance of his official duties grossly violated the Constitution and breached the oath states that the specific crime grossly violated the Constitution and breached the oath;
3) the effective conclusion of the Constitutional Court whether specific crime committed by the person against whom impeachment proceedings have been instituted in the course of performance of his official duties grossly violated the Constitution and breached the oath states that the specific crime did not grossly violate the Constitution and breach the oath.
9. Having adopted a decision specified in paragraph 8 of this Article, the Seimas shall appoint the date of a sitting to debate on the removal from office of the person subject impeachment or deprivation of his mandate of a Member of the Seimas. The debate must be held at least seven days after the day of the hearing at which that date was appointed. The person subject to impeachment shall be given a written notice against signature of the date and time of a hearing set by the Seimas when the issue of his removal from office or deprivation of his mandate of a Member of the Seimas will be debated on the basis of the conclusion of the Constitutional Court.
Article 241. Debate on Person’s Removal from Office or Deprivation of his Mandate of a Member of the Seimas
1. The person subject to impeachment shall have the right to participate at hearings held in the Seimas in person and/or represented by his lawyer. He shall enjoy the right to have several lawyers. The person subject to impeachment shall inform in writing the Seimas about the chosen lawyers not later than two days prior the first hearing of impeachment proceedings in the Seimas. In this case, they shall also be invited by a written notice to a hearing to be held in the Seimas. The person subject to impeachment and his lawyers may provide evidence of relevance to the issue of constitutional liability.
2. If the person subject to impeachment or his lawyers fail to attend a hearing on no valid grounds, their non-attendance shall not hinder impeachment proceedings in the Seimas.
3. During the impeachment proceedings carried out in accordance with the procedure established by this Article, the conclusion of the Constitutional Court and decisions of the latter as well as other courts shall not be debated on and their lawfulness and validity shall not be discussed. The facts established in the decisions and the provided legal qualification of such facts shall be the basis for consideration of the issue of constitutional liability of the person subject to impeachment; investigation of these issues shall not be carried out.
4. A Seimas hearing shall open with a report by the chair of the hearing containing the substance of the conclusion of the Constitutional Court and, where impeachment proceedings have been instituted regarding a person’s crime committed before his taking up the official duties, the substance of the effective court judgment of conviction. Where impeachment proceedings have been instituted against the President of the Republic for a crime committed before his taking up the official duties, if the fact of the commission of the crime transpires while he is already performing his official duties, a report by the chair of the hearing, as provided for in this paragraph, shall contain the substance of the conclusion of the special investigation commission approved by the Seimas.
5. When the chair of the hearing gives the floor to the secretary of the hearing, he shall inform the Seimas about the attending participants of the impeachment proceedings in the Seimas and the reasons for non-attendance of those absent from the hearing.
6. On the decision of the chair of the hearing, the hearing may be adjourned for valid reasons.
7. Following the procedures laid down in paragraphs 4 and 5 of this Article, the floor shall be given to the person against whom impeachment proceedings have been instituted or, at his request, to one of his lawyers. The chair of the hearing and the lawyers shall then pose questions to the person subject to impeachment. These persons may in their speeches rely upon the evidence of relevance to the issue of constitutional liability. Members of the Seimas shall address questions to the above person or the lawyer speaking on his behalf only with the permission of the chair of the hearing.
8. The hearing of impeachment proceedings shall close with concluding remarks of the person subject to impeachment.
9. After the concluding remarks the floor shall be given to the Members of the Seimas in the manner prescribed by Article 107 of this Statute.
10. Hearings of impeachment proceedings shall be recorded in minutes. The secretary appointed by the Speaker of the Seimas or Deputy Speaker shall take the minutes of the hearings. The minutes shall be signed by the chair of the hearing and the secretary.
Article 242. Adoption of a Resolution to Remove the Person from Office or to Deprive him of the Mandate of a Member of the Seimas
Upon the completion of the debate on the removal from office of a person or deprivation of his mandate of a Member of the Seimas, the Speaker of the Seimas or Deputy Speaker shall present a separate draft resolution on every specific action by which the person subject to impeachment grossly violated the Constitution or breached the given oath, or on every specific crime. The draft shall contain the substance of the conclusion of the Constitutional Court, where impeachment proceedings have been instituted regarding the person’s crime committed before his taking up the official duties, the substance of the effective court judgment of conviction. Where impeachment proceedings have been instituted against the President of the Republic for a crime committed before his taking up the official duties, if the fact of the commission of the crime transpires while he is already performing his official duties and the fact of the commission of the crime is stated by the Seimas, a draft resolution of the Seimas specifies the crime committed by the President of the Republic as well as the circumstances of the crime. In any case, the draft resolution of the Seimas specifies a decision to remove the person subject to impeachment from office (or to deprive him of the mandate of a Member of the Seimas) and the information that the resolution of Seimas enters into force on the day of its publication in the mass media.
2. The resolution on the removal from office of the person (or deprivation of his mandate of a Member of the Seimas) shall be deemed to be adopted if at least three-fifths of all of the Members of the Seimas vote in favour.
3. The person shall be considered to have been removed from his office or to have been deprived of the mandate of a Member of the Seimas from the moment of the publication of the resolution in the mass media. He shall also incur liability under the law for the committed crimes. The persons who have resigned of their own accord or who have renounced the mandate of a Member of the Seimas shall lose the right of inviolability laid down by the Constitution and they may also incur liability under law in accordance with the general procedure for the committed crimes.
4. If, when voting in accordance with the procedure established in this Article, a resolution on the removal from office of the person (or deprivation of his mandate of a Member of the Seimas) is not adopted, it shall be deemed that the Seimas does not approve the impeachment. This shall be publicly announced by the chair of the hearing during the Seimas hearing and entered in the minutes of the hearing.
Article 243. Statement of Resignation
1. The person subject to impeachment shall have the right to resign or to renounce the mandate of a Member of the Seimas by submitting an application in writing at any stage of impeachment proceedings but not later than the beginning of voting.
2. Such application must be immediately granted.
3. After the person has resigned, the impeachment proceedings shall be terminated by a resolution of the Seimas. It shall indicate that the person subject to impeachment has submitted an application to resign, that this application has been granted and that the impeachment proceedings are terminated in the Seimas.
4. The resolution specified in paragraph 3 of this Article shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the mass media.
CHAPTER XL
Repealed
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 261. Addressing Procedural Issues not Provided for in the Statute
1. The chair of a Seimas sitting shall propose to address all procedural issues of the Seimas activities which are not provided for in this Statute and laws of the Republic of Lithuania.
2. Such decision shall be adopted without debate by a majority of votes cast by the Members of the Seimas following a brief explanation of reasons by the chair of a Seimas sitting.
Article 262. Procedure for Amending the Statute of the Seimas
The Statute of the Seimas and its separate articles may be repealed, supplemented or amended by a majority of votes cast by more than half of all the Members of the Seimas.