Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania (in lt, Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucinis Teismas) is the
constitutional court of the
Republic of Lithuania, established by the
Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania
The Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucija) defines the legal foundation for all laws passed in the Republic of Lithuania. It was approved in a referendum on 25 October 1992.
History
Statutes of Lithu ...
of 1992. It began the activities after the adoption of the Law of Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania on 3 February 1993. Since its inception, the court has been located in
Vilnius.
The main task of the court is
judicial review
Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incomp ...
. It may therefore declare the acts of the
Seimas unconstitutional and thus render them ineffective. As such, it is somewhat similar to the
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. Federal tribunals in the United States, federal court cases, and over Stat ...
. However, it differs from it and other
supreme courts in that it is not part of the regular judicial system, but more a unique judicial branch. Most importantly, it does not serve as a regular
court of appeals
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much ...
from lower courts or as a sort of "superappellate court" on any violation of national laws.
Its jurisdiction is focused on constitutional issues, the integrity of the Constitution. Moreover, it adjudicates on the conformance of the acts of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania to the laws, compliance with the Constitution of international agreements, as well as their ratification, and takes a final decision on voting infringements.
Activities
The Court has played a substantial role in the development of the
Lithuanian legal system, declaring a number of national laws unconstitutional.
On 31 March 2004, it issued a ruling acknowledging the breach of the
oath of office by the President
Rolandas Paksas. He was removed from office by Seimas following the
impeachment on 6 April 2004; this has been the first successful case of impeachment of the head of state in the history of
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. The ruling interpreted the Constitution as precluding a person, who was pleaded guilty for the breach of oath, from assuming any future position in public service, which requires taking an oath.
On 9 December 1998, the Constitutional Court declared that article 105 of the criminal code of the Republic of Lithuania, which established the death penalty, violated several articles of the Constitution. This ruling was a big step in humanizing the punishment system.
[Constitutional Court (13 January 2020]
25 Konstitucinio Teismo bylos, pakeitusios Lietuvą
(25 cases of the Constitutional Court that changed Lithuania), p. 11
Composition
The Court comprises nine justices, appointed by the Seimas, for a nine-year non-renewable term of office. Only Lithuanian citizens of an impeccable reputation, who are trained in law, and who have served for at least 10 years in the legal profession, or in an area of legal education are eligible for appointment. Usually, notable legal scholars and highly experienced judges qualify for the position. The court is renewed by a third every three years. The candidates are nominated by the Chairman of the Seimas, the
President of Lithuania
The President of the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublikos Prezidentas) is the head of state of Lithuania. The officeholder has been Gitanas Nausėda since 12 July 2019.
Powers
The president has somewhat more executive authority t ...
and the President of the
Supreme Court of the Republic of Lithuania
The Supreme Court of the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublikos Aukščiausiasis Teismas) is the only court of cassation in the Republic of Lithuania for reviewing effective judgements and rulings passed by the courts hearing criminal cas ...
, the Seimas then decides on appointing them. The Seimas appoints the President of the Court from among the justices upon the nomination by the President of the state.
Members
Current members
Historical composition
1993–1996
*Juozas Žilys (''President'')
*Algirdas Gailiūnas
*Kęstutis Lapinskas
*Zigmas Levickis
*Vladas Pavilonis († 2003)
*Pranas Vytautas Rasimavičius († 2002)
*Teodora Staugaitienė
*Stasys Stačiokas
*Stasys Šedbaras.
1996–1999
*Juozas Žilys (''President'')
*
Egidijus Jarašiūnas
*Kęstutis Lapinskas
*Zigmas Levickis
*Augustinas Normantas
*Vladas Pavilonis (†2003)
*Jonas Prapiestis
*Pranas Vytautas Rasimavičius (†2002)
*Teodora Staugaitienė
1999–2002
*Vladas Pavilonis (''President'') (†2003)
*Egidijus Jarašiūnas
*Egidijus Kūris
*Zigmas Levickis
*Augustinas Normantas
*
Jonas Prapiestis
Jonas Prapiestis (born 2 August 1952) is a Lithuanian judge, Professor of criminal law and politician, born in Kupiškis. In 1990 he was among those who signed the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania
The Act of the Re-Esta ...
*Vytautas Sinkevičius
*Stasys Stačiokas
*Teodora Staugaitienė
2002–2005
*
Egidijus Kūris (''President'')
*Egidijus Jarašiūnas
*Augustinas Normantas
*Armanas Abramavičius
*Kęstutis Lapinskas
*Zenonas Namavičius
*Jonas Prapiestis
*Vytautas Sinkevičius
*Stasys Stačiokas
2005-2008
*Egidijus Kūris (''President'')
*Vytautas Sinkevičius
*Stasys Stačiokas
*Kęstutis Lapinskas
*Armanas Abramavičius
*Zenonas Namavičius
*Romualdas Kęstutis Urbaitis
*Toma Birmontienė
*Ramutė Ruškytė
2008-2011
*Kęstutis Lapinskas (''President'')
*Armanas Abramavičius
*Zenonas Namavičius
*Romualdas Kęstutis Urbaitis
*Toma Birmontienė
*Ramutė Ruškytė
*Pranas Kuconis
*Egidijus Šileikis
*Algirdas Taminskas
2011-2014
*Romualdas Kęstutis Urbaitis (''President'')
*Toma Birmontienė
*Ramutė Ruškytė
*Pranas Kuconis
*Egidijus Šileikis
*Algirdas Taminskas
*Dainius Žalimas
*Egidijus Bieliūnas
*Gediminas Mesonis
2014-2017
*Dainius Žalimas (''President'')
*Pranas Kuconis
*Egidijus Šileikis
*Algirdas Taminskas
*Gediminas Mesonis
*Elvyra Baltutytė
*Vytas Milius
*Vytautas Greičius
*Danutė Jočienė
2017-2020
*Dainius Žalimas (''President'')
*Gediminas Mesonis
*Elvyra Baltutytė
*Vytas Milius
*Vytautas Greičius
*Danutė Jočienė
*Gintaras Goda
*Daiva Petrylaitė
*Janina Stripeikienė
2020-2023 ''(current)''
*Danutė Jočienė (''President'')
*Elvyra Baltutytė
*Vytautas Greičius
*Gintaras Goda
*Daiva Petrylaitė
*Janina Stripeikienė
*Giedrė Lastauskienė
*Algis Norkūnas
*Vytautas Mizaras
See also
*
Judiciary
*
Rule of law
*
Rule According to Higher Law
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1993 establishments in Lithuania
Lithuanian constitutional law
Judiciary of Lithuania
Lithuania
Courts and tribunals established in 1993