Lithuanian Constitution
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The Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania () defines the legal foundation for all
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...
s passed in the
Republic of Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
. The first constitution of the contemporary republic was enacted on 1 August 1922. The current constitution was adopted in a
referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...
on 25 October 1992.


History


Statutes of Lithuania

The first attempt to codify the laws of
Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...
took the form of
Statutes of Lithuania The Statutes of Lithuania, originally known as the Statutes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, were a 16th-century codification of all the legislation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and its successor, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The S ...
, with the First Statute in power in 1529. The document, written in
Ruthenian language Ruthenian (see also #Nomenclature, other names) is an exonymic linguonym for a closely related group of East Slavic languages, East Slavic linguistic Variety (linguistics), varieties, particularly those spoken from the 15th to 18th centuries in ...
, fulfilled the role of the supreme law of the land, even including provisions that no other law could contradict it.


Constitution of 3 May 1791

In the 18th century the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
, a federal entity consisting of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...
and the
Crown of the Kingdom of Poland The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland (; ) was a political and legal concept formed in the 14th century in the Kingdom of Poland, assuming unity, indivisibility and continuity of the state. Under this idea, the state was no longer seen as the Pat ...
, faced a period of decline due to increasingly dysfunctional internal politics. In a belated attempt to rectify the situation, a constitution was adopted on May 3, 1791 – one of the oldest codified national constitutions in the world. The new constitution abolished the
liberum veto The ''liberum veto'' (Latin for "free veto") was a parliamentary device in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was a form of unanimity voting rule that allowed any member of the Sejm (legislature) to force an immediate end to the current s ...
and banned the szlachta's confederations, features that had crippled decision making the state. The constitution also provided for a separation of powers among legislative, executive and judicial branches of government, established "popular sovereignty" and extended political rights to the bourgeoisie. The peasantry saw their rights increased but it fell short of abolishing serfdom, which was reconfirmed. Religious tolerance was preserved, although the status of the Catholic faith was recognized.
Reciprocal Guarantee of Two Nations The Reciprocal Guarantee of Two Nations (Michał Rozbicki, ''European and American Constitutionalism in the Eighteenth Century'', Uniwersytet Warszawski Ośrodek Studiów Amerykańskich, 1990, p.109–110Kenneth W. Thompson, Rett R. Ludwikowski, ...
of 22 October 1791 accompanied the constitution, affirming the unity and indivisibility of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania within a single state and their equal representation in state-governing bodies. The 1791 document remained in force for less than 19 months; after a brief war with Russia, it was annulled by the
Grodno Sejm Grodno Sejm (; ) was the last Sejm (session of parliament) of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Grodno Sejm, held in autumn 1793 in Grodno, Grand Duchy of Lithuania (now Grodno, Belarus) is infamous because its deputies, bribed or coe ...
on 23 November 1793. By 1795, the Commonwealth was partitioned between
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
,
Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...
and
Habsburg Austria The term Habsburg Austria may refer to the lands ruled by the Austrian branch of the Habsburgs, or the historical Austria. Depending on the context, it may be defined as: * The Duchy of Austria, after 1453 the Archduchy of Austria * The '' Erblande ...
, with most of the lands of the Grand Duchy under the Russian rule.


Interwar constitutions

During the closing stages of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Lithuania declared independence on 16 February 1918. Three separate temporary constitutions were enacted on 2 November 1918, 4 April 1919 and 10 June 1920. On 2 November 1918, the State Council adopted a constitutional act. At the time, it was still constrained by the decision of 11 July 1918, declaring Lithuania a
constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...
, with close ties to
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. In a changing environment, the council chose to adopt the constitutional act without specifying the form of government or the head of state, leaving the decisions to the Constituent Assembly (Steigiamasis Seimas). On 4 April 1919, the State Council adopted modified Fundamental Principles of Temporary Constitution. The modifications were mainly notable for the introduction of the office of the President, in place of the Presidium of the Council. Once assembled, the Constituent Assembly adopted another temporary constitutional act on 10 June 1920, confirming Lithuania as a parliamentary republic and providing the framework and limits to its own powers. The first permanent constitution of the Republic of Lithuania was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 1 August 1922. It was a democratic constitution and resembled contemporary Western European constitutions, enshrining the main rights and freedoms of the people, political freedoms, political pluralism and a mechanism for democratic elections. The constitution envisioned a strong parliament ( the Seimas) and a politically weakened
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
as the head of state. A coup on 17 December 1926 started the process of transforming the Republic of Lithuania into an authoritarian state headed by
Antanas Smetona Antanas Smetona (; 10 August 1874 – 9 January 1944) was a Lithuanian intellectual, journalist and politician. He served as the first president of Lithuania from 1919 to 1920 and later as the authoritarian head of state from 1926 until the Occu ...
as the President. The constitution of 1922 was disregarded as early as 12 April 1927, when the President dissolved the Seimas without announcing a new election. A constitutional reform was proposed, strengthening the authority of the President and weakening the parliament. A new constitution was proclaimed by Smetona in May 1928 without any attempt to follow the procedure for changing the Constitution established in the 1922 document (which would have required the assent of the Seimas). Instead, the constitution was presented as a "proposal" to the nation, to be approved within 10 years, although this provision was not considered meaningful. The constitution maintained a parliament, but assigned all of its functions, such as enacting laws, ratifying treaties, as well as drafting and executing the budget, to the President when the parliament was not in session. The Seimas would not reconvene until 1936. The constitution of 1928 was never submitted for approval to the nation. Instead, the government started working on a new constitution, approved by the newly assembled Seimas in 1938 (opposition was not allowed to stand for election). The constitution retained the overall authoritarian character of the 1928 document, and declared that the state was the foundation of existence of its citizens and not the other way round. The constitution did away with the separation of powers, stating that state power was "undividable" and led by the President, with the Seimas, Government and courts subordinate to him. In 1940, Lithuania was invaded and occupied by the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. Ironically, the constitution of 1938 assisted the Soviets in legitimizing their actions by concentrating the power in the hands of the President, the post that was de facto taken over by
Justas Paleckis Justas Paleckis ( – 26 January 1980) was a Lithuanian Soviet author, journalist and politician. He was nominal acting president of Lithuania after the Soviet invasion while Lithuania was still ostensibly independent, in office from 17 June t ...
. In 1940 and 1978, new constitutions of
Lithuanian SSR The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; ; ), also known as Soviet Lithuania or simply Lithuania, was '' de facto'' one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1940–1941 and 1944–1990. After 1946, its terr ...
were adopted, based on the Soviet constitutions of
1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...
and
1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...
, respectively.


Modern constitution


Onset

On 11 March 1990, Lithuania declared independence from the Soviet Union, emphasizing restoration and the legal continuity of the interwar-period Republic of Lithuania. On the same day, the 1938 Constitution of Lithuania was restored for a brief period, but subsequently suspended and replaced with the Provisional Basic Law. The Provisional Basic Law established a framework for the new state, guaranteeing democratic rights and establishing rules of democratic process. However, the government was structured similarly to its Soviet predecessor: legislative and executive functions were combined under the parliament ( Supreme Council, ), and the judiciary branch was not independent. The government functions were performed by the presidium of the Supreme Council and the chairman of the presidium became the chairman of the parliament and the Head of State. It was a transitional system, as the Provisional Basic Law did not reflect the changing economic and social relations and the evolving demands of the society and the state. Also over one-third of the Law was amended in a period of two years. Over the next two years, work on a new constitution was done, with independent drafts prepared in 1990 and 1991. At the end of 1991, the Supreme Council established a commission tasked to prepare a draft constitution. The resulting proposal was approved by the Supreme Council on 21 April 1992, and presented to the public. An alternative draft constitution was prepared by a coalition led by
Sąjūdis The Sąjūdis (, ), initially known as the Reform Movement of Lithuania (), is a political organisation which led the struggle for Lithuanian independence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was established on 3 June 1988 as the first oppositi ...
. The main difference between the two proposals was the balance between the various branches of government. The proposal approved by the Supreme Council envisioned a
parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their Election, democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of t ...
, while the alternative proposal suggested a presidential model. The final document represented a compromise between a purely
parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their Election, democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of t ...
and a presidential one.


Adoption

The new constitution was approved by the Supreme Council in October 1992 and submitted to popular vote. The constitution was approved in a referendum on 25 October 1992. Seventy-five per cent of those voting (57% of all eligible voters) voted in favor of adopting the document, with a turnout of 75.3%.


Contents

The Constitution of 1992 reflects the combined influence of the institutions and experiences of
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
democracies as well as the Lithuanian tradition. Introductory provisions of the document (Chapter I) contain the fundamental principles of the State, placing high value on democracy, but also asserting the collective and individual right of defence against attempts by force to encroach upon "independence, territorial integrity, or constitutional order of the State". The provisions also disallow division of Lithuanian territory into any "state derivatives" — a reference to territorial
autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be ...
as a solution to
ethnic minority The term "minority group" has different meanings, depending on the context. According to common usage, it can be defined simply as a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half of a population. Usually a minority g ...
problems in the country. Article 150 of the constitution incorporates a constitutional act "On the Non-Alignment of the Republic of Lithuania with Post-Soviet Eastern Alliances", effectively prohibiting the membership in the
Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...
and similar structures. The very same article includes "The Constitutional Act of the Republic of Lithuania on membership of the Republic of Lithuania in the European Union", which recognises Lithuania as a member of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
.


Human rights

Fundamental human rights and democratic values, including freedom of "thought, faith, and conscience," are enshrined in the constitution, which also guarantees the status of legal person to religious denominations and allows religious teaching in public schools. In addition to personal, political, and religious rights, the constitution secures social rights. As already noted, these include free medical care, old-age pensions, unemployment compensation, and support for families and children.


Government

The power to govern is divided between the
legislative A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...
and
executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...
branches, with an independent
judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
acting as interpreter of the constitution and of the branches' jurisdictions, as well as arbiter of conflicts between them. The constitution clearly acknowledges the danger of concentration of power in a single person or institution. The legislature has regained its old name,
Seimas The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania (), or simply the Seimas ( ; ), is the unicameralism, unicameral legislative body of the Lithuania, Republic of Lithuania. The Seimas constitutes the legislative branch of Government of Lithuania, govern ...
, which was used in the
interwar years In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...
. The executive consists of a president and a
prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
with a
cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...
, known as the
Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
(executive only; Lithuanian: ''Vyriausybė''). The judiciary is composed of the
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
and subordinate courts (the
Court of Appeals An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellat ...
,
district court District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations, some call them "small case court" usually as the lowest level of the hierarchy. These courts generally work under a higher court which exercises control over the lower co ...
s, and local courts). The
Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania (in ) is the constitutional court of the Republic of Lithuania, established by the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania of 1992. It began the activities after the adoption of the Law of Cons ...
, which decides on the constitutionality of acts of the Seimas, the President, and the
Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
, is an institution of the judiciary, Constitutional Court (13 January 2020
25 Konstitucinio Teismo bylos, pakeitusios Lietuvą
(25 cases of the Constitutional Court that changed Lithuania), p. 146 - 151
completely independent from other courts. The Office of the
Procurator Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to: * Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency * Procurator (Ancient Rome), the title of var ...
General is an autonomous institution of the judiciary. Creation of special courts, such as administrative or family courts, is allowed, although establishing courts with "special powers" is forbidden in peacetime.


Parliament

The
parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
of Lithuania is a
unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...
legislature called the
Seimas The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania (), or simply the Seimas ( ; ), is the unicameralism, unicameral legislative body of the Lithuania, Republic of Lithuania. The Seimas constitutes the legislative branch of Government of Lithuania, govern ...
. The Seimas consists of 141 members, seventy elected from party lists on the basis of proportional representation and seventy-one from single-member districts. To be seated in the Seimas on the basis of proportional representation, a party must receive at least 5 per cent of the votes cast. The
legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...
is elected for four years. Candidates for the legislature must be at least twenty-five years old. Members of the Seimas may serve as prime ministers or Cabinet members, but they may not hold any other position in either central or local government or in private enterprises or organizations. The parliament must approve the prime minister and the cabinet, composed by the ministers — and also the prime minister, as well as their government programme. It also may force the government's resignation by rejecting twice in sequence its programme or by voting, in a secret ballot, to express its lack of confidence in the government. The powers of the legislature are checked by a number of devices: first, by certain constitutional limitations; second, by the president as defined under the constitution; and third, by the Constitutional Court. Articles 64, 131, and 132 of the constitution circumscribe the ability of the Seimas to control the Government, especially the budget. Article 64 specifies the times of parliamentary sessions. Although extension is possible, ordinarily the legislature cannot sit longer than seven months and three days, divided into two sessions. The budget submitted by the Government can be increased by the legislature only if the latter indicates the sources of financing for additional expenditures. If the
budget A budget is a calculation plan, usually but not always financial plan, financial, for a defined accounting period, period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including tim ...
is not approved before the start of the budget year, proposed expenditures cannot be higher than those of the previous year. Finally, the legislature is not entrusted with making decisions concerning the basic characteristics of Lithuanian statehood and democracy. These are left to the citizens by means of referendum. Similarly, the initiative for making laws is not limited to the legislature but also belongs to the citizens, who can force the legislature to consider a law by submitting a petition with 50,000 signatures.


President

The powers of the legislature are further checked by those of the
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
, who may
veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president (government title), president or monarch vetoes a bill (law), bill to stop it from becoming statutory law, law. In many countries, veto powe ...
legislation, both ordinary and constitutional, passed by the legislature. Laws are not promulgated without the signature of the President. A presidential veto can be overridden, but only by an
absolute majority A majority is more than half of a total; however, the term is commonly used with other meanings, as explained in the " Related terms" section below. It is a subset of a set consisting of more than half of the set's elements. For example, if a gr ...
of the Seimas' membership. The President can also dissolve the Parliament if it refuses to approve the government's budget within sixty days or if it directly votes no confidence in the government. However, the next elected Parliament may retaliate by calling for an earlier presidential election.Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania - Seimas site
/ref> The president is directly elected by the people for a term of five years and a maximum of two consecutive terms. The president is not, strictly speaking, the sole chief of the executive branch or the chief administrator. The Lithuanians borrowed the French model of the presidency, then adapted it to their needs. Candidates must be at least forty years old. To be elected in the first round, a candidate must win more than half of the total votes cast, with 50 per cent of the electorate participating. If fewer than 50 percent of the electorate turns out, a candidate can win in the first round with a plurality if he or she wins at least one-third of the total vote. If the first round does not produce a president, a second round is held within two weeks between the two top candidates, in which a plurality is sufficient to win. The president is the head of state. The president also selects the prime minister and names the Cabinet on his or her advice (the prime minister and their Cabinet are subject to approval by the Seimas), approves ministerial candidates, and appoints the commander-in-chief of the armed forces — with parliament's consent. The President resolves basic foreign policy issues and can confer military and diplomatic ranks, appoint diplomats without legislative approval, and issue decrees subject to the legislature's right to later overturn a decree by legislative action. Generally, the president has greater power in foreign policy than domestic policy. Finally, the president has considerable powers to influence the judicial branch. The president has the right to nominate (and the Seimas to approve the nomination of) three justices to the Constitutional Court and all justices to the Supreme Court. The president also appoints, with legislative approval, judges of the Court of Appeals. However, the parliament's consent is not required for the appointment or transfer of judges in local, district, and special courts.


Constitutional Court

The
Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...
checks both the legislative and the executive branches of government by ruling on whether their legislation and/or actions are constitutional. The court consists of nine justices appointed by the legislature, three each from the nominees of the president, the parliamentary chairman, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The president nominates the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court. Cases for consideration by the Constitutional Court, however, may be brought only by one-fifth of the membership of the Seimas, the ordinary courts, or the President of the Republic.


See also

*
Law of Lithuania Lithuanian law is a part of the legal system of Lithuania. It belongs to the civil law legal system, as opposed to the common law legal system. The legal system of Lithuania is based on epitomes of the French and German systems. The Lithuani ...


References


US Country Studies/Lithuania


External links

*
The Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania
- from the website of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania {{DEFAULTSORT:Constitution Of Lithuania
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
Lithuanian constitutional law 1992 in law Constitutions of Lithuania