Lietuviškai
THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF
THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
R U L I N G
On the compliance of the Seimas of the Republic of
Lithuania Resolution "On the formation of the Central Electoral
Committee", adopted 25 March 1993, with the Constitution of the
Republic of Lithuania
7 July 1994, Vilnius
The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania,
composed from the Justices of the Constitutional Court Algirdas
Gailiūnas, Kęstutis Lapinskas, Zigmas Levickis, Pranas Vytautas
Rasimavičius, Stasys Stačiokas, Teodora Staugaitienė, Stasys
Šedbaras and Juozas Žilys,
the secretary of the hearing - Rolanda Stimbirytė,
the petitioner - Andrius Kubilius, representative of a
group of Seimas members,
the party concerned - Seimas deputy Chairman Juozas
Bernatonis representative 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 court hearing of 5 July 1994 conducted the investigation
of Case No 14/93 subsequent to the petition submitted to the
Court by a group of the Seimas members requesting to
investigate if the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania
Resolution "On the formation of the Central Electoral
Committee", adopted 25 March 1993, is in compliance with the
Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania.
The Constitutional Court
has established:
On 25 March 1993, the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania
passed the Resolution "On the formation of the Central
Electoral Committee" (Official Gazette "Valstybės žinios", No
11-269, 1993). The Seimas in item 3 of said Resolution
specified that the newly formed Central Electoral Committee had
to carry out the activities and resolve the issues left by the
previous Central Electoral Committee.
The petitioner - a group of the Seimas members - requests
to investigate if the Seimas Resolution "On the formation of
the Central Electoral Committee" is in conformity with item 13
of Article 67 of the Constitution.
In the request the petitioner has specified that item 13
of Article 67 of the Constitution establishes that the Seimas
is entitled to the right only to form the Central Electoral
Committee and change its composition. Article 5 of the
Constitution runs that "the scope of powers of the State shall
be defined by the Constitution", which means that the Seimas
has no power to commission the Central Electoral Committee in
any way.
In the Court hearing the petitioner's representative
emphasized that the Seimas under item 3 of the Resolution in
dispute had obligated the Central Electoral Committee to meet
the requirements set forth in the Law on Elections to the
Seimas. After the Central Electoral Committee had complied with
such a requirement, the powers of three members of the Seimas
were unlawfully terminated. However, the Law on Elections to
the Seimas did not entitle the Committee to the right to
terminate the powers of the Seimas members. The Central
Electoral Committee, while terminating the powers of the three
members of the Seimas, relied on the imperative item of the
Seimas Resolution in dispute, that contradicts the
Constitution.
In the opinion of the representative of the party
concerned, the Seimas, while adopting the Resolution in
dispute, implemented the provision of item 13 of Article 67 of
the Constitution that the Seimas had the right to form the
Central Electoral Committee and change its composition. Taking
into consideration that new principles of the formation of the
Central Electoral Committee have been set forth in the Law "On
Partial Amending and Appending the Law on Elections to the
Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania", the Seimas by item 1 of
said Resolution terminated the activities of the Central
Electoral Committee then operating, because its composition did
not conform to the provisions of the Law on Elections to the
Seimas. The Seimas under item 2 of said Resolution formed a new
Central Electoral Committee, conforming to the principles
prescribed by the Law on Elections to the Seimas. The Seimas by
item 3 of said Resolution did not obligate the Central
Electoral Committee in any specific way, but only defined the
continuity of the newly formed Central Electoral Committee with
its predecessor, emphasizing its duty to carry out the work and
resolve the issues left by the former Central Electoral
Committee.
On the basis of the above mentioned arguments, the
representative of the party concerned requests the
Constitutional Court to recognize that the Seimas Resolution
"On the formation of the Central Electoral Committee", adopted
25 March 1993, is in conformity with the Constitution of the
Republic of Lithuania.
The Constitutional Court
holds that:
The Seimas' prerogative to enact laws is established in
item 2, Article 67 of the Constitution. In the third part of
Article 55 of the Constitution it is determined: "The electoral
procedure shall be established by law". This means that the
Seimas by laws determines the electoral procedure and the
powers of institutions organizing and conducting elections.
Item 13 of Article 67 also entitles the Seimas to the right to
form the Central Electoral Committee and change its
composition. This provision also means that the prerogative of
the Seimas to change the composition of the Central Electoral
Committee is not defined by any criteria, although it is
restricted by appropriate provisions of the Law on Elections to
the Seimas adopted by the Seimas itself (Constitutional Court
ruling of 30 June 1994).
The elections to the Seimas were conducted prior to the
enforcement of the Constitution, conforming to the Law on
Elections to the Seimas passed by the Supreme Council on 9 July
1992. The elections were organized and conducted by the Central
Electoral Committee in accordance with said Law.
After the elections, on 16 March 1993 the Seimas adopted
the Law "On Partial Amending and Appending to the Law on
Elections to the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania", under
which the principles of the formation of the Central Electoral
Committee" have been amended. By way of implementing the Law on
Elections to the Seimas, on 25 March 1993 the Seimas passed
Resolution "On the formation of the Central Electoral
Committee", under item 1 of which terminated the activities of
the Central Electoral Committee formed by the Supreme Council,
and under item 2 of which formed a new Central Electoral
Committee. Thus, the Seimas implemented its constitutional
prerogative to form the Central Electoral Committee and change
its composition. This does not contradict item 13 of Article 67
of the Constitution.
The newly formed Central Electoral Committee must perform
the functions established for the Central Electoral Committee
in the Law on Elections to the Seimas, including the work left
by the former Central Electoral Committee.
The legal analysis of the text of item 3 of Seimas
Resolution in dispute allows one to maintain that it does not
contain any newly established legal norms, any new obligations
or tasks with regard to the Central Electoral Committee; it is
only emphasized in said Resolution that the duty of the newly
formed Central Electoral Committee is to meet the requirements
set forth in the Law on Elections to the Seimas. Such a
provision of item 3 of the Resolution in dispute may not be
interpreted as exceeding of Seimas' competence or violation of
the right vested in the Seimas according to item 13, Article 67
of the Constitution - to form the Central Electoral Committee
and change its composition.
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 has passed the following
ruling:
To recognize that the Seimas Resolution "On the formation
of the Central Electoral Committee", adopted 25 March 1993, is
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.