Notes from the Register of Legal Acts. The Foundation shall, by 30 December 2022, lay down a procedure for disposal of good will compensation funds. Paragraphs 5 to 9 of Article 3 of Law No IX-1705 shall apply to the investment of unused compensation funds allocated to the Foundation after the entry into force of this Law (as of 1 January 2023). 2.
REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
LAW On GOOD WILL COMPENSATION FOR
THE ILLEGALLY EXPROPRIATED IMMOVABLE PROPERTY OF
LITHUANIAN JEWS AND JEWISH RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES OF LITHUANIA
21 June 2011 No XI-1470
Vilnius
(As last amended on 20 December 2022 – No XIV-1705)
The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania,
recognising significant contribution of the Jewish community of Lithuania to Lithuania’s culture and progress of society before the Second World War, the occupation of Lithuania and the Holocaust as the beginning of total extermination of Jews;
having regard to the fact that the Jewish communities which had historically existed in various Lithuanian localities were destroyed during the Holocaust, hence restitution of their property under other effective laws of the Republic of Lithuania is not possible due to the absence of successors to their rights;
seeking to restore historical justice and compensate in good will for the immovable property of Jewish religious communities of Lithuania illegally expropriated by the totalitarian regimes during the occupations as well as for the immovable property owned by persons of Jewish descent who lived in Lithuania before or during the Second World War;
wishing that compensation would contribute to preservation of the cultural legacy of the Jewish community of Lithuania and meeting of its current needs;
having regard to provisions of the Terezin Declaration adopted in 2009 by representatives of 46 countries of the world, including Lithuania,
passes this Law.
Article 1. Purpose of the Law
1. This Law shall establish the amount of, time limits for the payment of, the procedure for paying and the purpose of use of good will compensation (hereinafter: ‘compensation’).
2. Under this Law, the compensation shall be paid for the following immovable property illegally expropriated by the totalitarian regimes during the occupations:
1) the existing immovable property of the Jewish religious communities of Lithuania, with the exception of land (hereinafter: the ‘immovable property of the Jewish religious communities of Lithuania);
2) the immovable property of persons of Jewish descent who lived in Lithuania before or during the Second World War (hereinafter: ‘Lithuanian Jews’), with the exception of land, to which they or their heirs did not have a legal possibility to restore the rights of ownership in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Restoration of the Rights of Ownership of Citizens to the Existing Immovable Property (hereinafter: the ‘immovable property of Lithuanian Jews’), as well as the heirless immovable property taken over into the ownership of the State because it was left without owners or heirs as a result of the Holocaust.
Article 2. Amount of, time limits for the payment of and the procedure for paying compensation
1. Compensation for the illegally expropriated immovable property shall be:
1) EUR 37 071 362.37 for the immovable property of the Jewish religious communities of Lithuania;
2) EUR 37 000 000 for the immovable property of Lithuanian Jews, as well as the heirless immovable property taken over into the ownership by the State because it was left without owners or heirs as a result of the Holocaust.
2. The compensation shall be paid from the state budget to a foundation designated by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania for disposal of compensation funds (hereinafter: the ‘Foundation’). The Foundation shall be a non-profit public legal person of limited civil liability established under this Law and the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Public Establishments. The main objectives of the Foundation's activities shall be to serve the public interest by carrying out educational, religious, scientific, cultural, health care and other socially beneficial activities, and by fostering the community of persons of Jewish descent residing in Lithuania or holding the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania.
3. The collegial management body of the Foundation referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article must represent the Jewish Community of Lithuania, the Jewish Religious Community of Lithuania, other organisations and establishments fostering the Jewish religion, health care, culture and education in Lithuania, where they express such a wish.
4. The amount of the compensation provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be final and definite and shall not be subject to future amendments or claims.
5. The Foundation shall lay down the procedure for disposal of compensation funds and shall make it available to the public on its website.
6. If, by 1 June each year, an activity report and an audited set of annual financial statements together with the auditor’s report are not submitted to the Register of Legal Entities in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Law on Public Establishments and are not made available to the public, or it is established from the submitted documents that the Foundation disposes of the compensation funds allocated to it or manages, uses or disposes of the immovable property transferred to it not in accordance with the purpose set out in Article 3(1) of this Law, or otherwise infringes the requirements of this Law, the Government of the Republic of Lithuania shall have the right to suspend the payment of compensation. The payment of the compensation shall resume once the shortcomings identified by the Fund have been remedied.
7. The immovable property referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article may, by decision of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, be compensated by transferring into ownership of the Foundation referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article the state-owned immovable property, namely, buildings or parts thereof, where the said Foundation takes a decision to request to transfer that property for a specific purpose confirming to the provision of Article 3(4) of this Law. In such a case, the amount of the compensation referred to in point 1 or 2 of paragraph 1 of this Article shall be reduced by the value of the immovable property transferred by the right of ownership, calculated on the basis of the data of the mass valuation of property available to the State Enterprise Centre of Registers on the day of the transfer of the property.
8. Payment of the compensation referred to in point 1 of paragraph 1 of this Article, with the exception of the amount provided for in paragraph 9 of this Article, shall be made under this Law from 1 January 2013 and end on 1 March 2023. Payment of the compensation referred to in point 2 of paragraph 1 of this Article shall be made from 1 July 2024 and end on 1 July 2030. Payment of the compensation referred to in point 2 of paragraph 1 of this Article shall be made in annual instalments; the part of the compensation to be paid shall be approved by the Seimas in the state budget for that year taking into account the State’s financial capacity and shall be paid by 1 July each year.
9. A one-off amount of EUR 868 860.06 shall be allocated for the purpose referred to in Article 3(1)(2) of this Law. This amount shall be a part of the compensation referred to in point 1 of paragraph 1 of this Article. It shall be allocated to the Foundation indicated in paragraph 2 of this Article in 2012, but not later than within three months from the designation of the Foundation.
10. Under paragraph 7 of this Article, the state-owned immovable property may be transferred to the Foundation referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article as of 1 January 2012.
Article 3. Purpose of the use of compensation
1. The compensation paid under Article 2(1) of this Law may be used for the following purposes:
1) for religious, cultural, health care, sports, educational, scientific purposes of persons of Jewish descent residing in Lithuania or holding the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania as well as for other purposes of fostering the Jewish community of Lithuania;
2) to support the Lithuanian Jews who suffered from the totalitarian regimes during the occupations. The amount referred to in Article 2(9) of this Law shall be allocated for this purpose;
3) to satisfy individual claims for compensation for the immovable property of the Lithuanian Jews (hereinafter: a ‘claim’) filed by Lithuanian Jews or their heirs with the Foundation in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Foundation. For this purpose, an amount of not less than EUR 5 000 000 but not more than EUR 10 000 000 may be allocated by decision of the Foundation;
4) for the costs of administering the Foundation the annual amount of which may not exceed 10 % of the annual compensation subject to the approval in the state budget for each year.
2. Lithuanian Jews or their heirs shall file with the Foundation the claims referred to in point 3 of paragraph 1 of this Article and the supporting documents at their disposal by 31 December 2023. These claims shall be filed, examined and decided upon in accordance with the procedure for disposal of compensation funds, as laid down by the Foundation. For the purpose of examining the validity of the claims received, the Foundation shall have the right to obtain information on the immovable property of Lithuanian Jews from state or municipal institutions. The Foundation shall assess the validity of the claims received and determine the same amount of compensation for all Lithuanian Jews or their heirs by 31 December 2024 at the latest.
3. The Foundation shall grant a Lithuanian Jew a single amount of compensation for all illegally expropriated immovable properties belonging to him, with such an amount not depending on the value of the immovable property belonging to that person. A concrete amount granted shall be determined by decision of the Foundation, taking into account the total number of the claims received before the date referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article and recognised as valid by the Foundation, and the amount of compensation allocated for the purpose referred to in point 3 of paragraph 1 of this Article. The amount of compensation granted by the Foundation shall be paid in equal instalments to the respective Lithuanian Jew or his heirs by 1 July 2025 at the latest.
4. The immovable property transferred under this Law must be used only for religious, cultural, health care, sports, educational, scientific purposes of persons of Jewish descent residing in Lithuania or holding the citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania as well as for other purposes of fostering the community of these persons in Lithuania.
5. Unspent compensation funds allocated to the Foundation may be invested by combining the investment risk with the purposes referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article and in accordance with the provisions of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Investments.
6. Unspent compensation funds allocated to the Foundation may be invested in deposits, which may be withdrawn on demand, in credit institutions of the Republic of Lithuania or credit institutions meeting the criteria for European and transatlantic integration laid down in the Constitutional Law on the Implementation of Article 47(3) of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, or in government securities of the Republic of Lithuania.
7. In cases where unspent compensation funds allocated to the Foundation are invested in the investment objects referred to in paragraph 6 of this Article, no more than 20 % of the unused compensation funds allocated to the Foundation may be invested in a single investment object.
8. Unspent compensation funds allocated to the Foundation may not be invested in the assets of interest holder of the Foundation, members of the management and collegial bodies, persons recruited in the Foundation under contracts of employment, providers of sponsorship or persons associated with them within the meaning of Article 22(6) of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Charity and Sponsorship Funds.
9. Interest on compensation funds may be used for reinvestment in accordance with the procedure laid down in other legal acts governing activities of other foundations for the purposes set out in points 1, 3 and 4 of paragraph 1 of this Article.
I promulgate this Law passed by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania.
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC DALIA GRYBAUSKAITĖ