Lietuviškai
THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF
THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
D E C I S I O N
On the petition filed by a group of the Seimas members to
investigate if the Government of the Republic of Lithuania
Resolution No. 421 "On Reregistration of Inter-economic
Enterprises and Use of Share Contributions in Agricultural
Enterprises", as well as Resolution No. 422 "On Rights and
Obligations of Heads of Agricultural Enterprises During
Privatization Period" both adopted on 12 October 1991, are in
the compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of
Lithuania.
5 July 1995
The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania,
composed of 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,
in its procedural sitting discussed the petition submitted
by a group of the Seimas members requesting to investigate if
the Government of the Republic of Lithuania Resolution No. 421
"On Reregistration of Inter-economic Enterprises and Use of
Share Contributions in Agricultural Enterprises", as well as
Resolution No. 422 "On Rights and Obligations of Heads of
Agricultural Enterprises During Privatization Period", both
adopted on 12 October 1991, are in the compliance with Articles
23, 29, 46, 48 and 95 of the Constitution of the Republic of
Lithuania
The Constitutional Court
has established:
The petitioner - a group of the Seimas members - appealed
to the Constitutional Court requesting to investigate if the
Government Resolution No. 421 of the Republic of Lithuania "On
Reregistration of Inter-economic Enterprises and Use of Share
Contributions in Agricultural Enterprises" (Official Gazette
"Valstybės Žinios" No. 32-883, 1991), as well as Resolution No.
422 "On Rights and Obligations of Heads of Agricultural
Enterprises During Privatization Period" ("Valstybės Žinios"
No. 32-884, 1991), both adopted on 12 October 1991, are in
compliance with Articles 23, 29, 46, 48 and 95 of the
Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania according to contents
of norms, as well as to the procedure of adoption and signing
thereof.
In the process of preparation of the case for the hearing
the Government have been asked for their opinion concerning the
compliance of said resolutions of the Government with Articles
23, 29, 46, 48 and 95 of the Constitution of the Republic of
Lithuania according to contents of norms, as well as to the
procedure of adoption and signing thereof. On the commission of
the Government answers have been presented by the Minister of
Agriculture, the Minister of Justice and the Government
Secretary of the Republic of Lithuania.
It is affirmed in the official letter of the Minister of
Agriculture that "said resolutions of the Government
contradicted the provisions of Article 44 of the Provisional
Basic Law of the Republic of Lithuania, being in force during
their adoption, which guaranteed all ownership entities the
possibility to independently manage the objects which belonged
to them by the right of ownership, to use them and dispose of
them in accordance with the laws of Lithuania, stating that
equal remedies were established for all ownership entities.
Upon loss of validity of the Provisional Basic Law of the
Republic of Lithuania (2 November 1992), said contradictions
have remained in Article 23 of the Constitution of the Republic
of Lithuania which establishes that property is inviolable, and
the rights of ownership are protected by law".
In the official letter of the Minister of Justice
addressed to the Government, which has been submitted to the
Constitutional Court, besides, it is stated that Resolution No.
422 of the Government of 12 October 1991 "contradicted the
norms of the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania, being
valid at that time, as well as Article 44 of the Provisional
Basic Law of the Republic of Lithuania". It is also emphasized
in this official letter that "taking into consideration the set
forth circumstances, it would be possible to declare said
resolutions of the Republic of Lithuania null and void, though
such declaration would have no influence on the validity of
purchase-sale agreements, concluded in the process of
privatization, as well as of other legal relations".
It is confirmed in the Government Secretary's official
letter concerning the procedure of adoption of these
resolutions that "said questions have not been included into
the agenda and minutes of the sitting of the Government, these
documents therefore are not available."
The Constitutional Court
holds that:
Pursuant to Article 105 of the Constitution and Article 1
of the Law on the Constitutional Court, the Constitutional
Court shall consider and decide the conformity of laws and
other acts, adopted by the Seimas, with the Constitution, as
well as the conformity of acts, adopted by the President of the
Republic and the Government, with the Constitution and the
laws. The Constitutional Court thus shall consider cases
concerning the conformity of valid legal acts with the
Constitution and the laws.
After restoration of the independent state of Lithuania
the economic reform, the essence of which was the transition
from administrative-command economy to market economy by
returning the institution of the right of private ownership
into the law system of Lithuania, was started to carry out. A
legislator chose the way of privatization of the state and
social property, as well as of restoration of ownership rights
violated in the occupation years. Not only the property legal
regime but also the system of economic relations' entities and
legal status thereof had undergone changes. Already on 8 May
1990 the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Enterprises
("Valstybės Žinios" No. 14-395, 1990) was adopted, in which new
kinds of these economic entities, their status and forms of
activity, as well as the grounds and procedure of liquidation
and reorganization of former economic entities were
established. It was established in Resolution No.-197 of the
Supreme Council "On the Procedure for Enforcement of the Law of
the Republic of Lithuania on Enterprises" ("Valstybės Žinios",
No. 14-396) that all enterprises which had functioned till the
adoption of the Law on Enterprises had to reregistered
themselves according to that law. Economic activity of
non-reregistered enterprises was banned.
Reorganization of agricultural enterprises and
privatization thereof were also regulated by other laws. On 16
April 1991 the Law on Agricultural Companies ("Valstybės
Žinios" No. 13-328) and Resolution No. 1-1223 of the Supreme
Council "On the Enforcement of the Law of the Republic of
Lithuania on Agricultural Companies" ("Valstybės Žinios" No.
13-329, 1991) were adopted. It was established in this
resolution that "kolkhozes and soviet farms may be reorganized
into agricultural companies upon privatization of their
property in accordance with the laws of the Republic of
Lithuania". The status of agricultural enterprises subject to
privatization was established in the Law on the Privatization
of Property of Agricultural Enterprises, adopted on 30 July
1991 ("Valstybės Žinios" No. 24-637, 1991). In Resolution No.
1-1629 of the Supreme Council "On the Procedure for Enforcement
of the Law on the Privatization of Property of Agricultural
Enterprises" ("Valstybės Žinios" No. 24-638, 1991), adopted on
30 July 1991 together with said above law, the Government was
commissioned to establish the privatization procedure for
agricultural enterprises.
The 12 October 1991 Government Resolutions No. 421 and 422
in dispute while implementing the economic reform were adopted
as executive acts of temporary (ad hoc) validity. Resolutions
of the Government are the acts of application of law norms
irrespectively of the fact whether that act is of temporary (ad
hoc) or permanent validity (Ruling of the Constitutional Court,
15 July 1994, in Case No. 1/94. - "Valstybės Žinios" No.
56-1103, 1994). The main difference in their validity time is
that the acts of permanent validity are applied till they are
not repealed by the established procedure. While acts of
temporary validity are applied only for one legal relation
(individual acts) or for a group of clearly defined legal
relations by essentially changing their contents. For instance,
such are acts of foundation, liquidation or reorganization,
changing factual state of an entity in accordance with its
legal status established in law. Acts of temporary validity are
invalidated after their application, since legal relations,
which appear on their basis, are already regulated by other
legal acts. Acts of permanent validity are laws which
consolidate new contents of legal relations. It should be noted
that the system of economic relations, created during the
economic reform, and legal status as well as activity of their
entities, established already prior to the enforcement of the
Constitution and after its adoption, are being further
developed and regulated by laws. After the adoption of the
Government resolutions in dispute, the legislator, neither
prior to the enforcement of the Constitution nor after its
coming into force, changed the factually formed system of
economic entities and the general status thereof, i.e.
factually recognized their legality.
While carrying out privatization, while executing said
laws, other legal acts, as well as the Government resolutions
in dispute during the transitional period of essential
reorganizations of economic relations, agricultural enterprises
acquired quite different status, i.e. Resolutions No. 421 and
422 were executed. The changed status of agricultural
enterprises was consolidated by said laws as well as their
amendments made in 1991 - 1995 (Amendments to the Law on
Enterprises - Official Gazette "Valstybės Žinios" No. 5-128,
32-867, 1991; No. 20-590, 33-1009, 1992; No. 4-75, 20-492,
25-581, 32-729, 1993; No. 8-119, 14-232, 30-533, 55-1047,
59-1163, 94-1836, 1994; No. 3-38, 10-206, 10-207, 39-964,
44-1074, 1995; amendments to the Law on Agricultural Companies
-"Valstybės Žinios" No. 14-386, 1992; No. 7-140, 52-997,
62-1169, 1993; No. 1-1, 100-1998, 1994; amendments to the Law
on the Privatization of Property of Agricultural Enterprises -
"Valstybės Žinios" No. 14-385, 1992; No. 13-311, 1993 and
others). At present their status is also consolidated in the
Civil Code (Chapter III, Paragraph 2), the Law on Agricultural
Companies, the Law on Land ("Valstybės Žinios" No. 34-620,
1994), as well as in other laws and acts of the Government
Resolutions No. 421 and No. 422 of the Government, 12
October 1991, are the executive acts of temporary validity
which were adopted, executed and, though they were not formally
annulled, in fact they were voided even prior to the
enforcement of the Constitution, because:
1) such entities of legal relations, for which the norms
of said resolutions were fixed, disappeared on the basis of
laws;
2) after new social relations have been formed in
agriculture, no regulation subject, for which they were
designated, exists.
It is established in Article 2 of the Law of the Republic
of Lithuania "On the Procedure for the Enforcement of the
Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania" that : "Laws, other
legal acts, or parts thereof which were in effect on the
territory of the Republic of Lithuania prior to the adoption of
the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, shall be
effective provided that they do not contradict the Constitution
and this law, and shall remain effective until they are either
declared null and void or coordinated with the provisions of
the Constitution." So the procedure for coordination of acts,
being effective after coming into force of the Constitution,
with the Constitution itself, is established in this law.
Meanwhile, the Government acts in dispute were already executed
and were voided even prior to the enforcement of the
Constitution. Neither the legislator nor the Government settled
the question of nullification of these resolutions. On the
contrary, the legislator and the Government further regulated
the activity of the economic entities, which appeared after the
execution of said resolutions, by laws and other legal acts
adopted both prior to the enforcement of the Constitution and
after its coming into force.
There are no legal motives to evaluate the conformity of
the Government Resolutions in dispute with the Constitution in
accordance with their contents, as well as according to the
procedure of adoption and signing thereof, since upon the
execution of said acts, they were voided even prior to the
adoption of the Constitution.
Taking into consideration that the validity of the
Government Resolutions in dispute is expired, the
Constitutional Court shall state that this is the basis for
termination of the legal proceedings commenced in the case.
Conforming to Article 69 of the Law on the Constitutional
Court of the Republic of Lithuania, the Constitutional Court of
the Republic of Lithuania shall take the following
decision:
To terminate the legal proceedings commenced in this case.