Lietuviškai
THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF
THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
RULING
On the compliance of Article 9, 93, 96,10 and 101
of Part II of the Statute of the Seimas of the
Republic of Lithuania with the Constitution of the
Republic of Lithuania
24 February 1994, Vilnius
The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania,
composed from the Justices of the Constitutional Court Algirdas
Gailiūnas, Kęstutis Lapinskas, Zigmas Levickis, Vladas
Pavilonis, Pranas Vytautas Rasimavičius, Stasys Stačiokas,
Teodora Staugaitienė, Stasys Šedbaras and Juozas Žilys,
the secretary of the hearing - Rolanda Stimbirytė,
the petitioner - Zita Šličytė, representative of the group
of Seimas members,
the party concerned - Juozas Bernatonis, the Seimas
representative, Deputy Chairman of the Seimas,
pursuant to Part 1, Article 102 of the Constitution of the
Republic of Lithuania and Part 1, Article 1 of the Law on the
Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania, in its
public hearing of 15 February 1994 conducted the investigation
of Case No 9/93 subsequent to the petitions submitted to the
Court by a group of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania
members requesting to investigate the compliance of Articles 9,
93, 96,10 and 101 of Part II of the Statute of the Seimas of
the Republic of Lithuania with Articles 66 and 89 of the
Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania.
The Constitutional Court
has established:
On 20 May 1993, the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania
adopted Part II of the Statute of the Seimas named "Structure
of the Seimas" (Parliamentary Record, No 17 - 428, 1993). In
the first part of Article 9 of this Part it is established:
"Sittings of the Seimas shall be presided over by the
Chairperson of the Seimas or Deputy Chairperson of the Seimas.
There shall be three Deputy Chairpersons of the Seimas". In the
second part of Article 93 it is set forth: "The Seimas Board
shall consist of the Chairperson of the Seimas, three Deputy
Chairpersons and the Chancellor of the Seimas".
In Article 96 it is determined: "The Chairperson of the
Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania shall: - 4) propose
candidates to the posts of Deputy Chairpersons and the
Chancellor of the Seimas to the Seimas".
In Article 10 it is stipulated: "At the behest of the
Chairperson of the Seimas, Deputy Chairpersons shall perform
certain functions of the Chairperson. The Seimas Board may
determine the guidelines of the activities of the Deputy
Chairpersons.
In the event that the Chairperson of the Seimas is
temporarily absent or has fallen ill and by reason thereof is
unable to fulfill his or her duties of office, at the behest of
the Seimas, the duties of the Chairperson of the Seimas shall
be performed by one of the Deputy Chairpersons for a specified
period.
If, in the case specified in Article 89 of the
Constitution, the Chairperson of the Seimas is temporarily
carrying out the duties of the President of the Republic, and
as the result thereof has lost his or her powers in the Seimas,
the duties of the Chairperson of the Seimas shall be
temporarily carried out by a Deputy Chairperson at the behest
of the Seimas.
Resolutions (preliminary or adopted for a particular case)
concerning the temporary performance of the duties of the
Chairperson of the Seimas or substituting the Chairperson of
the Seimas shall be adopted by the Seimas on the motion of the
Seimas Chairperson".
In the first and the second parts of Article 101 it is
specified: "The Chairperson of the Seimas, or, in the absence
of the Chairperson, the Deputy Chairperson, may voice his or
her opinion or the opinion of the Seimas Board on the issues
under consideration out of turn provided that he or she is not
presiding over the sitting.
During the session, the Chairperson of the Seimas, the
Deputy Chairpersons and the Chancellor of the Seimas shall, at
least once a month, answer questions concerning the performance
of their duties submitted beforehand by the Seimas members".
The petitioner - a group of the Seimas members - request
the Constitutional Court to recognize that Articles 9, 93,
96,10 and 101 of Part II of the Statute of the Seimas
contradict Article 66 of the Constitution of the Republic of
Lithuania specifying that: "The Chairperson or Deputy
Chairperson of the Seimas shall preside over sittings of the
Seimas", and the first part of Article 89 of the Constitution
which prescribes: "In the event that the President dies,
resigns or is removed from office according to impeachment
proceedings, or if the Seimas resolves that the President of
the Republic is unable to fulfill the duties of office for
reasons of health, the duties of the President shall
temporarily be passed over to the Seimas Chairperson. In such a
case, the Chairperson of the Seimas shall lose his or her
powers in the Seimas, and at the behest of the Seimas, the
duties of Chairperson shall temporarily be carried out by the
Deputy Chairperson".
The petitioner bases his request on the fact that three
Deputy Chairpersons are stipulated in Article 9, 93, 96, 10 and
101 of Part II of the Seimas Statute, whereas, Articles 66 and
89 of the Constitution provide for only one Deputy Chairperson,
therefore, the petitioner requests to recognize that the
provision that there shall be three Deputy Chairpersons, of the
Seimas, specified in Article 9, 93, 96, 10 and 101 of Part II
of the Seimas Statute, is not in compliance with the
Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania.
A petitioner's representative explained in the court
hearing that, conforming to Articles 66 and 89 of the
Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, the Chairperson of
the Seimas and the Deputy Chairperson of the Seimas are two
officials of the constitutional rank. In case prescribed by the
first part of Article 89 of the Constitution, when the Seimas
Chairperson loses his or her powers in the Seimas at the behest
of the Chairperson, the duties of Chairperson shall temporarily
be carried out by the Deputy Chairperson.
During preliminary investigation of the case and in the
court hearing, a representative of the party concerned
explained that, in his opinion, Articles 9, 93, 96, 10 and 101
of Part II of the Statute of the Seimas do not contradict the
Constitution and submitted the following arguments:
1. In the first part of Article 66 of the Constitution the
procedure of presiding over the sittings of the Seimas is
established. It is stipulated in this norm of the Constitution,
which two officials shall alternatively preside over sittings
of the Seimas. Thus, there is no doubt that one - person
principle and not collegiate one of presiding over sittings of
the Seimas is prescribed by Article 66 of the Constitution.
This Article does not define the number of Deputy Chairmen of
the Seimas but specifies who shall preside over sittings of the
Seimas.
2. The statement of the petitioner's representative, that
a conclusion is to be drawn upon the first part of Article 89
of the Constitution that there may be only one Deputy
Chairperson, is groundless. In said Article of the Constitution
not the number of Deputy Chairpersons is established but the
regulation that, in the event that the Chairperson of the
Seimas shall lose his or her powers in the Seimas in case
prescribed by this Article, at the behest of the Seimas, the
duties of Chairperson shall temporarily be carried out by the
Deputy Chairperson. This means that, not the number of Deputy
Chairpersons is determined in said Article of the Constitution
but the powers of the Seimas are restricted in it, i.e. it is
specified that the duties of the Chairman of the Seimas may
temporarily be delegated only to the Deputy Chairperson of the
Seimas and not to any Seimas member.
3. The statement of the petitioner's representative that
there must be only one Deputy Chairman of the Seimas,
contradicts the logical meaning of the first part of Article 89
of the Constitution, as it is established in this Article,
that, at the behest of the Seimas, the duties of Chairperson
shall temporally be carried out by the Deputy Chairperson. Such
authorisation is necessary only in cases when there are more
than one Deputy Chairmen. If only one Deputy Chairperson were
elected, the Seimas, upon his or her election, would resolve
the issue who in case the Chairperson of the Seimas loses his
or her powers in the Seimas, must temporarily perform his or
her duties as the Constitution does not provide for another
alternative.
4. The Structure of the Seimas is not determined in the
Constitution - neither the Seimas Board, nor Assembly of
Spokesmen, nor Committees, nor Commissions, nor factions are
stipulated in it. This does not mean, however, that the
formation of said structural derivatives contradict the
Constitution. In Article 76 of the Constitution it is
emphasized: "The structure and procedure of activities of the
Seimas shall be determined by the Statute of the Seimas". This
means, that the Constitution has entitled the Seimas to the
prerogative to establish such inner structure and procedure of
activities that would ensure the possibility to implement the
powers prescribed in the Constitution and provide every Seimas
member with conditions to exercise the powers of the People's
representative.
The representative of the party concerned has maintained
that Articles 9, 93, 96,10 and 101 of Part II of the Seimas
Statute do not contradict the Constitution also according to
the extent of regulation and form.
The Constitutional Court
holds that:
In Article 4 of the Constitution it is prescribed that the
People shall exercise the supreme sovereign power vested in
them either directly or through their democratically elected
representatives, and in the first part of Article 5 it is
specified: "In Lithuania, the powers of the State shall be
exercised by the Seimas, the President of the Republic and
Government, and the Judiciary". The procedure of forming these
institutions of power, the term of office, competence and
democratic principles of their activities are determined in the
Constitution.
The Seimas as an institution of legislation while
implementing its powers is independent within the limits
prescribed by the Constitution, but it always must ensure
permanent implementation of its powers stipulated in the
Constitution.
In Chapter 5 of the Constitution titled "The Seimas" the
Seimas composition and the procedure of its elections, the term
of office, rights and duties of the Seimas members, the Seimas
competence, the main procedures of law enactment as well as
other prerogatives of the Seimas as an institution of
legislation are established.
The main provisions of legal status of state powers are
set forth in the Constitution, however, the issues of
organizing their internal activities as well as some other
issues concerning their functioning are not resolved there,
therefore a legislator shall adopt laws by which the legal
status of institutions of power is given concrete expression.
Law on the President of the Republic, Law on the Government,
Law on the Constitutional Court, Law on Courts, also the
Statute of the Seimas, which has the power of law, are of
aforementioned kind.
The Constitution does not contain the norms regulating the
structure of the Seimas. In Chapter 5 of the Constitution under
the title "The Seimas" even the procedure of the election of
the Seimas Chairperson is not established, though other powers,
along with presiding over the sittings, are vested in him
(Articles 70, 71, 89, 103, 140 and 149 of the Constitution).
In Article 76 of the Constitution it is prescribed that
the structure and procedure of activities of the Seimas shall
be determined by the Statute of the Seimas. Thus, the Seimas is
entitled to the right to establish its own structure and
procedure of activities.
The structure of the Seimas is a system of inner sub-units
established in the Statute of the Seimas, which must ensure
working capacity and effective functioning of the parliament,
i.e. must provide the Seimas with necessary conditions and
prerequisites for permanent implementation of its functions
prescribed by the Constitution. The governing body of the
Seimas is the most significant part in the system of structural
units as only its functions are determined in the Constitution.
In the Constitution it is set forth that sittings are the
main form of the Seimas activities. In the first part of
Article 66 of the Constitution it is stipulated that the
Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson of the Seimas shall preside
over sittings of the Seimas. Although only two duties of office
of the governing body of the Seimas are mentioned in said
Article, the contents of this norm has the meaning of
organizational function, because said Article only specifies
who shall preside over sittings of the Seimas, therefore, the
conclusion that, issues concerning the structure shall be
regulated by this norm, i.e. the number of Deputy Chairmen
shall be established, may not be drawn.
Conforming to the Constitution, the Chairperson of the
Seimas is an official of the Seimas in whom independent
constitutional powers are vested, and Deputy Chairperson of the
Seimas, in accordance with the first part of Article 66 of the
Constitution, may perform only one function, i.e. preside over
sittings of the Seimas. The constitutional powers of the
Chairperson of the Seimas shall be passed to the Deputy
Chairperson of the Seimas only in the case prescribed by
Article 89 of the Constitution, i.e. when he, at the behest of
the Seimas, shall temporarily perform the duties of the
Chairperson of the Seimas.
The interpretation that, in compliance with the first part
of Article 89 of the Constitution, there must be only one
Deputy Chairperson of the Seimas, is groundless. In the first
part of Article 89 of the Constitution it is established that,
in case when the duties of the President of the Republic shall
be temporarily passed over go to the Chairperson of the Seimas,
the latter shall lose his or her powers in the Seimas, and at
the behest of the Seimas, the duties of the Chairperson shall
temporarily be carried out by the Deputy Chairperson. This
constitutional provision establishes not the number of Deputy
Chairpersons but the Seimas prerogative at its behest to
constitute the delegation of the powers of Chairperson of the
Seimas to another person - Deputy Chairperson of the Seimas.
This means, that nobody else except the Seimas may change the
status of the Deputy Chairperson of the Seimas, i.e. to entitle
him to the right since concrete date for definite term to
temporarily perform constitutional powers of the Seimas
Chairperson. Such procedure of constituting is grounded on the
Seimas' absolute right to resolve the issues concerning its
inner structure and formation of its governing body. The Seimas
itself in its Statute determines the procedure of resolving
said issues.
Taking the constitutional status of the Seimas as
legislative authority into consideration, there must be created
such structure and democratic procedure of activities of the
Seimas that would enable the People's representative to
constructively, effectively and permanently implement the
supreme sovereign power of the People. Thus, the explanation,
that the first part of Article 66 of the Constitution provides
for only one Deputy Chairperson of the Seimas, is also
groundless. When in cases prescribed by the first part of
Article 89 of the Constitution, the Deputy Chairperson
temporarily acting for the Chairperson of the Seimas falls ill
or is unable to fulfill the duties of office for other reasons,
this might cause disorder in the activities of the Seimas as
there would be no official being capable of legally performing
the constitutional function - presiding over sittings of the
Seimas. In said event, elections of temporary Deputy
Chairperson would become problematic, i.e. as a matter of fact,
the activities of the Seimas would be disturbed.
Neither Article 66 nor Article 89 restrict the Seimas in
establishing the number of the Deputy Chairpersons of the
Seimas. The Seimas, in accordance with Article 76 of the
Constitution having established three Deputy Chairpersons in
Article 9 and 93 of Part II of the Statute of the Seimas, and
having used the notion "Deputy Chairperson" in Articles 96,10
and 101, only implemented the right to determine the structure
and procedure of activities of the Seimas, vested in him by the
Constitution.
Conforming to Article 102 of the Constitution of the
Republic of Lithuania as well as Articles 53, 54, 55 and 56 of
the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Republic of
Lithuania, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of
Lithuania has taken the following
ruling :
To recognize that Article 9, 93, 96,10 and 101 of Part II
of the Statute of the Seimas are consistent with the
Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania.
This Constitutional Court ruling is final and not subject
to appeal.
The ruling is promulgated on behalf of the Republic of
Lithuania.