REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
LAW
ON THE LITHUANIAN NATIONAL RADIO AND TELEVISION
8 October 1996 No I-1571
Vilnius
(As last amended on 19 July 2022 – No XIV-1387)
CHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Purpose of the Law
1. This Law stipulates the legal status, the procedure of the management, activities, reorganisation and liquidation of the Lithuanian National Radio and Television (hereinafter: the ‘LRT’) as well as the duties, rights and responsibilities thereof.
2. In its activities, the LRT shall rely on the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Provision of Information to the Public, the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Public Establishments and other legal acts, unless otherwise stipulated by this law, as well as on the Statutes of the LRT.
Article 2. Concept and status of the LRT
The LRT shall be an independent public establishment whose sole owner is the State.
Article 3. Principles of activities of the LRT
1. The LRT shall base its activities on the principles of respect for every human being and the State, legality, impartiality, accountability, transparency, efficiency, democracy, objectivity, political neutrality, independence and other principles of the rule of law. The LRT shall ensure freedom of speech and creativity.
2. The LRT must collect and publish information about Lithuania and the world, introduce the public to the cultural diversity of Europe and the world, the foundations of modern civilization, consolidate the independence and democracy of the Republic of Lithuania, create, foster and protect national cultural values, develop tolerance and humanism, the culture of cooperation, thinking and language, enhance public morality and civic responsibility, raise the country’s ecological awareness. Diverse opinions and convictions must be reflected in radio and television programmes produced and/or disseminated (or broadcast) by the LRT (hereinafter: ‘LRT programmes’), and on the LRT website. Individuals with diverse perspectives shall have the right to participate in LRT programmes and on the LRT website and to express their views. LRT programmes and the LRT website must respect human dignity and rights, may not violate the principles of morality and ethics.
Article 4. Requirements for the content of LRT programmes and LRT website
1. A variety of topics and genres must be ensured in LRT programmes and on the LRT website. The content of LRT programmes and the LRT website must target various layers of society, people of all ages, nationalities and convictions. LRT programmes and the LRT website shall not allow for the prevalence of unilateral political views. The information provided in LRT information programmes, comments and on the LRT website must be substantiated and reflect various political views, while opinions and factual knowledge must be author-linked, verified and comprehensive.
2. LRT programmes shall give priority to national culture as well as to the programmes focused on information, world culture, opinion-based journalism, analysis, discovery, education, arts and sports.
3. The share of European audiovisual works and the audiovisual works created by independent producers in LRT television programmes shall be determined by the Law on the Provision of Information to the Public. The display of European audiovisual works must be in line with the targeted policy for the dissemination of European culture. The content of LRT programmes and the LRT website must demonstrate the diversity of the history and the present of European nations.
4. The audiovisual works broadcast in a language other than Lithuanian must be translated into Lithuanian or displayed with Lithuanian subtitles. The proportion of the audiovisual works broadcast in a language other than Lithuanian to be translated into Lithuanian or to be displayed with Lithuanian subtitles shall be determined by the Council of the LRT (hereinafter: the ‘Council’).
Article 5. Rights and obligations of the LRT
1. The LRT shall be the successor to the rights and obligations of the Lithuanian Radio and Television established by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania. There may be no other stakeholders of the LRT. The functions of the general meeting of the LRT shall be assigned to the Council.
2. The LRT shall have the right of publication, as well as the right to record and broadcast free of charge the sittings of the Seimas and meetings of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, solemn state acts and to handle the records at its own discretion.
3. The LRT shall have the right to provide teletext services, to freely prepare and display short (not more than 90 second-long) news reports about the events of the politics of Lithuania and other states or other events which are of high interest to the public, cultural, sports or other events, where other TV broadcasters have acquired the exclusive right to provide information about such events to the public.
4. The LRT shall have the right to organise contests, festivals, conferences, seminars, to form artistic groups, to establish direct contacts with foreign organisations and companies, to participate in the activities of international organisations, to organise radio and television programmes or individual programmes to be broadcast abroad, to re-broadcast foreign radio and television programmes or individual programmes on the basis of agreements, to establish branches, bureaus, to publish newsletters about its activities.
5. The LRT shall have the right to broadcast, using the analogue terrestrial radio frequencies (channels) provided for in the plan for the assignment of radio frequencies for broadcasting and transmission of radio and television programmes, two television and four radio programmes. With a view to ensuring the broadcasting of TV programmes produced by the LRT, the LRT must also be assigned the radio frequencies (channels) required for a single digital terrestrial television network of national coverage. Only the radio and television programmes prepared by the LRT must be broadcast via this network, and this network may not be used for other economic and commercial activities or for re-broadcasting of other radio and television programmes. Unless the electronic communications resources provided for in the plan for the assignment of radio frequencies for broadcasting and transmission of radio and television programmes are used for broadcasting and/or re-broadcasting programmes, the number of the radio and television programmes broadcast and/or re-broadcast by the LRT shall not be limited. The LRT shall have the right to broadcast radio and television programmes using the digital terrestrial radio frequencies (channels) provided for in the plan for the assignment of radio frequencies for broadcasting and transmission of radio and television programmes, with the number of such programmes being determined by the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania upon receipt of a proposal from the Council adopted having regard to the amount of funds allocated to the LRT by the Law on the Approval of Financial Indicators of the State Budget and Municipal Budgets for the corresponding year. The rights necessary for the implementation of these provisions shall be granted to the LRT in the order of priority by the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania and the Communications Regulatory Authority of the Republic of Lithuania in accordance with the procedure established by the Law on the Provision of Information to the Public and the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Electronic Communications.
6. The services required for the provision and operation of radio and television networks of the LRT, as well as services for the transmission of radio and television programme signals to the public via electronic communication networks shall be rendered by AB Lietuvos radijo ir televizijos centras (public limited liability company Lithuanian Radio and Television Centre). The procedure and conditions of the rendering of these services as well as the reimbursement for them shall be laid down by the Government or an institution authorised by it.
7. The LRT shall provide to the President of the Republic the time to speak on issues of domestic and foreign policy in accordance with the procedure established by the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Office of President. At the request of the Seimas, the Government or the Seimas Opposition leader, the LRT shall, within the shortest possible time, provide time for official statements of the Seimas, the Government or the Seimas Opposition.
8. The LRT shall provide to Lithuanian traditional and State-recognised religious communities the time to broadcast religious ceremonies under the conditions and in accordance with the procedure laid down under bilateral agreements.
9. The LRT shall prepare programmes intended for national minorities and the content of the LRT website providing an opportunity to disseminate the culture of national minorities.
10. The LRT shall adapt television programmes for persons with a hearing or visual disability. The monthly airtime for such television programmes, the rebroadcast of which is not included in the minimum broadcast time of programmes adapted for persons with a hearing and visually disability, set in this paragraph, must consist of the following:
2) programmes translated into Lithuanian sign language – at least 20 % of the total monthly airtime;
11. LRT shall produce and broadcast national-level special programmes for election campaigning under the conditions and in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Election Code of the Republic of Lithuania. The LRT shall also produce and broadcast programmes for referendum campaigning under the conditions and in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Referendums.
12. Other radio and television stations shall not be allowed to operate through the channels used by the LRT without the authorisation of the Council.
Article 6. Advertising and audiovisual commercial communications in LRT programmes and on the LRT website
1. Advertising, political advertising and audiovisual commercial communications or any other production and dissemination of public information of a similar nature, whether in return for payment or free of charge, shall be prohibited in LRT programmes and on the LRT website, except where the advertising and audiovisual commercial communications or broadcast sponsorship announcements are disseminated by the LRT in accordance with the procedure and under the conditions laid down by the Council in execution of its contractual obligations concerning the acquisition or granting of the rights to broadcast sports, cultural or other events of high interest to the public.
3. Cultural, social and educational information shall mean the information which is disseminated publicly in return for payment or for similar consideration or free of charge with a view to promoting cultural, sports, social and/or educational activities or initiatives regarding such activities. LRT programmes and the LRT website may, when publishing cultural, social and educational information or broadcasting cultural and sports events, include the names and logos of the sponsors of such information or events. The LRT may be remunerated for disseminating such information. The procedure of and conditions for the dissemination of cultural, social and educational information shall be laid down by the Council and the implementation of the provisions of this Article shall be controlled by the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania.
Article 7. Sponsorship of LRT programmes and/or individual programmes and the content published on the LRT website
LRT programmes and/or individual programmes and the content published on the LRT website may not be sponsored in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Law on the Provision of Information to the Public, unless, in accordance with the procedure and under the conditions laid down by the Council, the LRT fulfils its contractual obligations concerning the acquisition or granting of the rights to broadcast sports, cultural or other events of high interest to the public.
Article 8. Characteristics of activities of the LRT during employee strikes or in extraordinary situations
1. In the event of strikes of employees of the LRT, the provision of the information specified by the Council must be ensured to listeners, viewers and readers in LRT programmes and on the LRT website.
Article 9. Bodies of the LRT
The bodies of the LRT shall be the Council and the Director General of the LRT. Formation, remit, functions and activities of the bodies of the LRT shall be laid down by the Statutes of the LRT.
Article 10. Council
1. The Council shall be the highest collegial body performing the management and supervisory functions of the LRT and representing the public interest. The Council must act for the benefit of the LRT and society as a whole and comply with laws, the Statutes of the LRT and other legal acts. The Council shall be composed of 12 persons (prominent figures in society, science and culture) appointed for a six-year term. A member of the Council shall serve for a maximum of two consecutive terms.
2. The Council shall be composed of the following persons: four persons appointed by the President of the Republic; four persons appointed by the Seimas (two persons are appointed from the candidates nominated by the opposition political groups); four members are appointed by the following organisations (one candidate each): the Research Council of Lithuania, the Lithuanian Education Council, the Lithuanian Association of Artists and the Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference. The members of the Council shall be appointed in accordance with the procedure laid down by the appointing authorities. The members of the Council shall elect and appoint, by a simple majority of all the members of the Council, the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Council for a period of three years. The Chair and the Deputy Chair of the Council shall serve for a maximum of two consecutive terms. Where the remaining term of office of the elected and appointed Chair or Deputy Chair of the Council is less than three years, he shall remain in office until the end of his term of office as a member of the Council. Where he is appointed for a second term of office as a member of the Council before the expiry of the three-year term of office of the Chair or Deputy Chair of the Council, he shall hold the office of the Chair or Deputy Chair of the Council continuously for the duration of the entire three-year term.
3. Only citizens of the Republic of Lithuania who are of good repute, have the university education, hold the Master’s degree or equivalent higher education qualification and have five years’ work experience may be appointed as members of the Council. The criteria when a person may not be considered to be of good repute shall be defined in the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Civil Service.
4. If a person appointed as a member of the Council is a member of a political party or a political organisation, he must suspend his membership of the organisation for the period of his membership in the Council. The following persons may not be members of the Council: Members of the Seimas, the Government, the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania, civil servants of political (personal) confidence, the Director General, Deputy Director General or any other employee of the LRT, persons having employment relationships with radio and/or television broadcasters, managers and/or participants of radio and/or television broadcasters and of the information society media (legal persons), members of the management bodies, auditors or employees of the audit firms who are participating and/or participated in the audit of the LRT, if less than two years have elapsed since the audit.
5. A member of the Council may not be revoked before the expiry of his term of office, unless the member of the Council is dismissed by a decision of the authority who has appointed him, where:
1) he has not taken part in the work of the Council for more than four months without a valid reason;
3) he loses his good repute or it transpires that he does not meet the requirements set out in paragraph 4 of this Article;
6. The powers of a member of the Council shall cease:
7. When a vacancy arises in the Council, the Chair of the Council shall apply to the institution which appointed the missing member of the Council requesting the appointment of a new member of the Council before the end of the term of office of the member of the Council whose powers have ceased prior to the expiry of his term of office.
8. The Council shall have the right to resign in corpore before the expiry of the term of office of the members of the Council. If the Council resigns in corpore, the powers of all its members shall cease when the newly formed Council convenes for its first meeting.
9. Where the Council resigns in corpore, the Seimas Committee on Culture shall organise the formation of a new Council. The Seimas Committee on Culture shall, not later than within ten days, apply to the institutions which appointed the members of the Council with a view to appointing the members of the Council within a maximum period of one month. The Seimas Committee on Culture shall convene the first meeting of the Council at which the members of the Council elect Chair and Deputy Chair of the Council. The Deputy Chair of the Council shall be elected in accordance with the same procedure on the recommendation of the Chair of the Council.
11. The Council shall be financed with the funds received by the LRT from the state budget. Funds allocated for the Council must be provided for in the annual estimate of revenue and expenditure of the LRT and used only for the performance of the statutory functions of the Council.
Article 11. Functions, rights and accountability of the Council
1. The Council shall:
2) supervise the implementation of the tasks of the LRT, compliance with the operational principles of the LRT, the content requirements of LRT programmes and the LRT website and the requirements imposed by legal acts on the producer and/or disseminator of public information;
3) set up a standing Committee on Audit and Risk Management, Committee on the Procurement and Investment Policy and Content Committee, appoint the chairs of these Committees from among the members of the Council and approve the Committee members and the rules of procedure of the Committees;
4) set up other standing and/or ad hoc committees and working groups of the Council, appoint the chairs of these committees and working groups, approve the members of the committees and working groups and adopt the rules of procedure of the committees;
5) adopt descriptions of the organisation of open competitions for the position of Director General of the LRT, the LRT Ethics Inspector and Head of the Internal Audit Service of the LRT and make them publicly available on the LRT website;
6) appoint, through an open competition, and release the LRT Ethics Inspector and determine his salary;
7) approve, on the recommendation of the LRT Ethics Inspector, the Code of Ethics of Journalists of the LRT;
8) appoint, through an open competition, and release the Head of the Internal Audit Service of the LRT and determine his salary;
9) appoint, through an open competition, and release the Director General of the LRT and determine his salary;
2. On the recommendation of the Director General of the LRT, the Council shall:
1) determine the scale and structure of LRT programmes, the duration of the broadcasting of LRT programmes; approve each year the composition of LRT programmes and any modifications thereof;
5) approve the annual estimates of revenue and expenditure of the LRT and the reports on their implementation, submitted by the Administration of the LRT which is an organisational unit formed in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Statutes of the LRT and which is responsible for ensuring the functioning of the LRT and its management bodies;
7) approve the description of the procedure for the management, use and disposal of assets owned by the LRT;
8) approve the number of positions of creative workers of the LRT recruited according to fixed-term employment contracts as well as for employees recruited on the basis of competitions;
10) approve a description of the procedure for disseminating cultural, social and educational information;
13) approve the terms and conditions, established by the Administration of the LRT, of public tenders to carry out audits of financial statements;
3. Resolutions of the Council on matters within its remit shall be binding on the other bodies of the LRT, the employees of the LRT and the LRT itself. In the cases provided for in this Law, in the Statutes of the LRT or in resolutions of the Council, the Council shall set up standing and ad hoc committees and working groups of the Council in order to obtain expert recommendations. At least two members of the Council and no more than three independent members shall be appointed as members of the standing committees of the Council. The standing committees of the Council shall operate in accordance with the rules of procedure of the committees, as approved by the Council. The Council shall take into account the conclusions and recommendations of the committees and working groups when adopting its resolutions.
4. If the Director General of the LRT disagrees with a resolution of the Council, he may apply to the Council, with a reasoned request, for reconsideration of the resolution, except for the Council’s resolution on the resignation of the Council.. The Council must consider the request of the Director General of the LRT within ten days at the latest. If more than half of the members of the Council have repeatedly voted in favour of the same resolution, the Director General of the LRT must implement the resolution.
5. The Council shall have the right to send its representatives to meetings of the Administration of the LRT and to obtain information necessary to perform the functions of the Council from the Administration of the LRT, the Internal Audit Service of the LRT, the LRT Ethics Inspector, state and municipal institutions and agencies.
6. The Council shall, by 1 July each year, announce and submit to the Seimas an annual activity report of the LRT. This report shall include the reports on the implementation of the estimates of revenue and expenditure. The report must contain detailed information on the number of sources of funding and the amount of any revenue not derived from the provision of services of a public nature, as well as the costs associated with the provision of services of a non-public nature. Where the resources of the LRT are used for the provision of both services of a public nature and services of a non-public nature, the costs must be allocated respectively as the difference between the total costs of the institution and the costs of providing all services of a non-public nature. The Chair of the Council shall, once a year, report on activities of the LRT at a sitting of the Seimas.
Article 12. Meetings of the Council and adoption of resolutions
1. Meetings of the Council shall be convened at least once a month by the Chair of the Council, or when he is not in office, by the Deputy Council Chair, acting on his own initiative or at the request of at least one-third of all of the members of the Council.
2. Meetings of the Council shall be valid when more than half of the members of the Council attend it.
3. Resolutions of the Council shall be adopted by a majority of votes of more than half of all the members of the Council, except in the cases referred to in Article 13(5), Article 15(5) and Article 17(5) of this Law. Should voting result in a tie, the Chair of the Council meeting shall have a casting vote.
5. In the cases provided for in the Rules of Procedure of the Council, public meetings of the Council may be held and disseminated live on the LRT website.
Article 13. Director General of the LRT
1. The LRT shall be headed and represented by the Director General of the LRT. The Director General shall be responsible for activities of the LRT, programmes prepared and broadcast by the LRT as well as for the implementation of resolutions of the Council.
2. The Director General of the LRT shall be appointed and released by the Council. The Director General of the LRT shall be appointed for a five-year term through an open competition. If the required number of votes is not obtained, a new competition shall be organised. Only a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania who is of good repute, has the university education or equivalent education, holds the Master’s degree or equivalent higher education qualification and has five years’ experience in management may be appointed as Director General. The criteria when a person may not be considered to be of good repute shall be defined in the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Civil Service.
3. Only a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania who is of good repute, has the university education or equivalent education, holds the Master’s degree or equivalent higher education qualification and has five years’ experience in management may be appointed as Deputy Director General. The criteria when a person may not be considered to be of good repute shall be defined in the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Civil Service. The Deputy Directors General shall be appointed for the term of office of the Director General.
4. If a person, elected as the Director General of the LRT, is a member of a political party or political organisation, he must suspend his membership of the organisation for the duration of his service as Director General. Furthermore, members of the Seimas, the Government, the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania and civil servants of political (personal) trust may not be elected Director General. Persons having employment relationships with radio and television broadcasters as well as the managers and/or participants of radio and/or television broadcasters and of the information society media (legal persons), members of the management bodies, and the members of the Council must immediately resign from office after their appointment as Director General. Auditors or employees of the audit firms who are participating and/or participated in the audit of the LRT, if less than two years have elapsed since the audit, may not be elected as Director General. The Director General may not work in a business, commerce or any other establishment, enterprise or organisation, nor may he receive any remuneration other than the salary fixed for his position as well as the remuneration for his research and pedagogical work and royalties for creative activities.
5. The Director General of the LRT may be dismissed before the expiry of his term of office on the grounds of lack of confidence in him expressed by the Council if not less than two-thirds of all the members of the Council vote in favour.
6. The Director General of the LRT may resign before the expiry of his term of office. Following the resignation of the Director General, the Deputy Directors General shall also be released.
7. Following the resignation of the Council in corpore, the Director General of the LRT and the Deputy Director General/Deputy Directors General of the LRT shall be released. Following the resignation of the Council or the Director General or the expiry of the term of office of the Director General, the death or loss of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, the Council shall instruct the Director General or another person to temporarily act as Director General until a new Director General is appointed.
Article 14. Functions, rights and accountability of the Director General of the LRT
1. The Director General of the LRT shall:
1) manage activities of the LRT, represent the LRT at national and international levels and in international organisations as well as in court, establish and approve the structure of the LRT, conclude contracts, issue orders and control the implementation thereof;
4) inform, at the request of the Council, the Council about the performance of the functions of the LRT provided for by law as well as resolutions of the Council;
2. The Director General of the LRT shall receive resolutions of the Council and get familiarised with them, as well as get familiarised with reports of the LRT Ethics Inspector and the Head of the Internal Audit Service of the LRT as well as other information necessary for the performance of his functions; he may participate, without voting rights, at meetings of the Council and the committees.
Article 15. LRT Ethics Inspector
1. The LRT Ethics Inspector, in accordance with the principles of legitimacy, impartiality, justice, independence and publicity, shall supervise the compliance of journalists of the LRT with the Code of Ethics in Providing Information to the Public, the Resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the Ethics of Journalism and the main rules and principles of professional ethics of the Code of Ethics of Journalists of the LRT, examine complaints by individuals regarding breaches of the rules on the ethics of journalism and prepare, within his remit, replies to those complaints.
2. The LRT Ethics Inspector shall be appointed and released by the Council. The LRT Ethics Inspector shall be appointed for a five-year term through an open competition. The LRT Ethics Inspector may serve for a maximum of two consecutive terms.
3. Only a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania who is of good repute, holds the Master’s degree in the field of humanities or social sciences or an equivalent higher education qualification and has five years’ professional experience may be appointed as LRT Ethics Inspector. The criteria when a person may not be considered to be of good repute shall be defined in the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Civil Service.
4. If a person appointed as LRT Ethics Inspector is a member of a political party or political organisation, he shall suspend his membership of the organisation for the duration of his service as LRT Ethics Inspector. Members of the Seimas, the Government, the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania, the Inspector of Journalist Ethics, civil servants of political (personal) confidence, municipal councillors, the Director General, Deputy Director General or any other employee of the LRT, as well as persons having employment relationships with radio and/or television broadcasters, managers and/or participants of radio and/or television broadcasters and of the information society media (legal persons), members of the management bodies, members of the Council, auditors or employees of the audit firms who are participating and/or participated in the audit of the LRT, if less than two years have elapsed since the audit, may not be appointed as LRT Ethics Inspector.
5. The LRT Ethics Inspector may be dismissed before the expiry of his term of office on the grounds of lack of confidence in him expressed by the Council if not less than two-thirds of all the members of the Council vote in favour.
6. The LRT Ethics Inspector may not be dismissed before the expiry of his term of office, except for the following cases:
7. The powers of the LRT Ethics Inspector shall cease in the following cases:
8. The salary of the LRT Ethics Inspector shall be paid from LRT funds. The funds allocated for LRT Ethics Inspector shall be provided for in the annual estimates of revenue and expenditure of the LRT and shall be used for the performance of the functions of the LRT Ethics Inspector provided for in this Law.
Article 16. Functions, rights and accountability of the LRT Ethics Inspector
1. The LRT Ethics Inspector shall:
1) supervise the compliance of journalists of the LRT with the Code of Ethics in Providing Information to the Public, the Resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the Ethics of Journalism and the main rules and principles of professional ethics of the Code of Ethics of Journalists of the LRT;
2) examine complaints by individuals about the content of LRT radio and/or television programmes and prepare replies to those complaints;
3) examine appeals of the Council, the Director General of the LRT, the Administration or employees of the LRT and present a conclusion on the activities of journalists of the LRT, a possible breach of the provisions of professional ethics laid down in the Code of Ethics of Journalists of the LRT;
4) examine, on his own initiative, cases of activities of journalists of the LRT regarding a possible breach of the provisions of professional ethics;
5) evaluate activities of journalists of the LRT pursuant to the Code of Ethics in Providing Information to the Public, the Resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the Ethics of Journalism and the Code of Ethics of Journalists of the LRT, taking into account the actual content of their activities which includes the information announced in LRT programmes and the media;
6) reply to questions raised by the Director General of the LRT or the Council concerning the professional ethics of journalists of the LRT;
2. The LRT Ethics Inspector shall be entitled to receive Council’s resolutions, meeting materials and minutes, orders of the Director General of the LRT as well as other documents and information necessary for the performance of his functions, and may attend, without voting rights, meetings of the Council and other meetings dealing with matters relating to the activities carried out by the LRT Ethics Inspector.
3. The functions, rights and obligations of the LRT Ethics Inspector and the organisation of his work shall be laid down in the Regulations of the LRT Ethics Inspector, which are approved by the Council.
Article 17. Head of the Internal Audit Service
1. The Head of the Internal Audit Service of the LRT shall act in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Internal Control and Internal Audit, other legal acts governing internal audit, unless otherwise provided for in this Law, as well as the Statutes of the LRT and the Regulations of the Internal Audit Service of the LRT. The Head of the Internal Audit Service of the LRT shall be directly subordinate and accountable to the Council.
2. The Head of the Internal Audit Service of the LRT shall be appointed and released by the Council. The Head of the Internal Audit Service shall be appointed for a five-year term through an open competition. The Head of the Internal Audit Service of the LRT may serve for a maximum of two consecutive terms.
3. Applicants for, and persons appointed to, the position of Head of the Internal Audit Service of the LRT shall be subject to the same requirements as the head of an internal audit service under the Law on Internal Control and Internal Audit, unless otherwise provided by this Law. The Council may lay down additional requirements for the Head of the Internal Audit Service of the LRT, which are published in the open competition specifications.
4. The Head of the Internal Audit Service of the LRT shall perform the functions assigned to the head of an internal audit service under the Law on Internal Control and Internal Audit, unless otherwise provided by this Law. The remit, rights and obligations of the Head of the Internal Audit Service of the LRT and the organisation of his work shall be laid down in the Statutes of the LRT and in the Regulations of the Internal Audit Service of the LRT, which are approved by the Council.
5. The Head of the Internal Audit Service of the LRT may be dismissed before the expiry of his term of office on the grounds of lack of confidence in him expressed by the Council, provided that not less than two-thirds of all the members of the Council vote in favour.
6. The Head of the Internal Audit Service of the LRT may not be dismissed before the expiry of his term of office, except for the following cases:
7. The powers of the Head of the Internal Audit Service of the LRT shall cease in the following cases:
8. The salary of the Head of the Internal Audit Service of the LRT shall be paid from the funds of the LRT. The funds intended to ensure the functioning of the Internal Audit Service of the LRT must be provided for in the annual estimates of revenue and expenditure of the LRT and shall be used exclusively for the performance of the statutory functions of the Internal Audit Service of the LRT.
Article 18. Principles of the management, use and disposal of the assets of the LRT
1. The state-owned fixed tangible assets necessary to ensure the operation of the LRT shall be transferred to the LRT under a trust agreement in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Government. The decision on the transfer of assets by the right of trust shall be taken by the Government. Unless otherwise provided by this Law, the LRT shall manage, use and dispose of the assets transferred by the State under the trust agreement in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Management, Use and Disposal of State and Municipal Assets.
2. In addition to the assets referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the LRT shall also manage, use and dispose of the assets owned by it. The following shall comprise the assets managed, used and disposed of by the LRT by the right of ownership:
3) funds and other assets received as charity under the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Charity and Sponsorship;
5) the assets acquired with funds of the state budget and with the funds provided for in points 2, 3 and 4 of this paragraph, with the exception of the immovable property acquired with the European Union aid, funds of the state budget and state foundations;
3. The LRT shall manage, use and dispose of the assets referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Council and only in civil transactions which do not conflict with the founding instruments and operational objectives of the LRT. The buildings and land of the LRT may not be sold, conveyed or pledged.
4. Fixed assets, with the exception of the buildings and land of the LRT, with the residual value of not less than EUR 50 000 per item may be sold, conveyed and written off by the LRT only subject to authorisation of the Government.
5. Fixed assets, with the exception of the buildings and land of the LRT, with a residual value of less than EUR 50 000 per item, may be sold, conveyed or written off by the LRT subject to authorisation of the Council.
6. Fixed assets that have been fully depreciated and current assets may be sold, conveyed or written off by the LRT subject to order of the Director General of the LRT.
Article 19. Financial and economic activities of the LRT
1. The LRT shall be funded with the appropriations of the state budget, revenues from sales of programmes, sponsorship announcements, publishing as well as sponsorship and revenues from commercial and economic activities.
2. The LRT shall independently carry out commercial, economic and publishing activities in accordance with the procedure laid down by this Law.
3. The funds allocated for the LRT in the state budget of the Republic of Lithuania shall be shown in a separate line item. The funds allocated from the state budget for transmission of LRT programmes, operation of the LRT website shall be shown in a separate programme.
5. The amount of funds allocated to the LRT from the state budget each year shall account for 1% of the personal income tax revenues and 1.3% of the excise duty revenues that were actually collected to the state budget and municipal budgets the year before last. The level of appropriations allocated to the LRT must not be lower than the state budget appropriations allocated to the LRT in 2019.
Article 20. Reorganisation and liquidation of the LRT
The LRT shall be reorganised or liquidated by a law of the Republic of Lithuania.