Lietuviškai
THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF THE REPUBLIC OF
LITHUANIA
DECISION
ON THE REQUEST OF THE PRIME MINISTER OF THE
REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA TO CONSTRUE WHICH WORDING OF
ARTICLE 11 OF THE LAW ON STATE PENSIONS HAS TO BE
APPLIED, WHILE GRANTING AND PAYING STATE PENSIONS
TO VICTIMS, UPON COMING INTO FORCE OF THE 19 JUNE
2002 RULING OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT "ON THE
COMPLIANCE OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA LAW ON THE
AMENDMENT AND SUPPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLES 7, 11,
15 OF THE LAW ON STATE PENSIONS, PARAGRAPHS 1 AND
4 OF ARTICLE 7 OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA LAW ON
STATE PENSIONS AND PARAGRAPH 2 OF ARTICLE 20 OF
THE LAW ON THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF
LITHUANIA WITH THE CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF
LITHUANIA"
23 September 2002
Vilnius
The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania,
composed of the Justices of the Constitutional Court Armanas
Abramavičius, Egidijus Jarašiūnas, Egidijus Kūris, Kęstutis
Lapinskas, Zenonas Namavičius, Augustinas Normantas, Jonas
Prapiestis, Vytautas Sinkevičius, and Stasys Stačiokas,
with the secretary of the hearing-Daiva Pitrėnaitė,
conforming to Article 28 of the Law on the Constitutional
Court of the Republic of Lithuania, in the procedural sitting
of the Constitutional Court considered the report made by
Justice Jonas Prapiestis on the request of the Prime Minister
of the Republic of Lithuania to construe, which wording of
Article 11 of the Law on State Pensions has to be applied,
while granting and paying state pensions to victims, upon
coming into force of the 19 June 2002 Ruling of the
Constitutional Court "On the compliance of the Republic of
Lithuania Law on the Amendment and Supplementation of Article
7, 11 and 15 of the Law on State Pensions, Paragraphs 1 and 4
of Article 7 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on State Pensions
and Paragraph 2 of Article 20 of the Law on the President of
the Republic of Lithuania with the Constitution of the Republic
of Lithuania".
The Constitutional Court
has established:
1. On 19 June 2002, the Constitutional Court passed the
Ruling "On the compliance of the Republic of Lithuania Law on
the Amendment and Supplementation of Article 7, 11 and 15 of
the Law on State Pensions, Paragraphs 1 and 4 of Article 7 of
the Republic of Lithuania Law on State Pensions and Paragraph 2
of Article 20 of the Law on the President of the Republic of
Lithuania with the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania"
(Official Gazette Valstybės žinios, 2002, No. 62-2515), whereby
it recognised that Paragraph 4 of Article 7 of the Republic of
Lithuania Law on State Pensions (wording of 13 June 2000)
conflicted with Paragraph 1 of Article 77 and Article 90 of the
Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of
Lithuania Law on the Amendment and Supplementation of Articles
7, 11, 15 of the Law on State Pensions conflicted with
Paragraph 2 of Article 71 of the Constitution of the Republic
of Lithuania, Paragraph 1 of Article 7 of the Republic of
Lithuania Law on State Pensions to the extent that the
establishment of the pension of the President of the Republic
was linked with leaving of state service by a former President
of the Republic conflicted with Paragraph 1 of Article 77 of
the Constitution of Republic of Lithuania, Paragraph 2 of
Article 20 of the Law on the President of the Republic of
Lithuania to the extent that the establishment of the pension
of the President of the Republic was linked with leaving of
state service by a former President of the Republic conflicted
with Paragraph 1 of Article 77 of the Constitution of Republic
of Lithuania.
2. Conforming to Article 59 and 61 of the Republic of
Lithuania Law on the Constitutional Court, on 13 August 2002,
the Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania applied to the
Constitutional Court with a request to construe which wording
of Article 11 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on State
Pensions has to be applied, while granting and paying state
pensions to victims, upon coming into force of the 19 June 2002
ruling of the Constitutional Court.
The Constitutional Court
holds that:
1. The Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania
requests to construe which wording of Article 11 of the Law on
State Pensions has to be applied, while granting and paying
state pensions to victims, upon coming into force of the 19
June 2002 Ruling of the Constitutional Court "On the compliance
of the Republic of Lithuania Law on the Amendment and
Supplementation of Article 7, 11 and 15 of the Law on State
Pensions, Paragraphs 1 and 4 of Article 7 of the Republic of
Lithuania Law on State Pensions and Paragraph 2 of Article 20
of the Law on the President of the Republic of Lithuania with
the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania". Thus, the
Constitutional Court is requested to decide on the issue of
application of legal acts.
2. In its ruling of 19 June 2002, the Constitutional Court
did not investigate and decide on the issue of the compliance
of provisions of Article 11 of the Law on State Pensions,
concerning what persons should or should not be granted state
pensions of victims, with the Constitution. Thus, the
Constitutional Court also did not consider the provisions of
Article 11 of the Law on State Pensions, on the grounds of
which state pensions are not awarded to the persons, who,
during the period of 1939-1990, served or worked in the penal
(extermination), "defenders of the people" detachments or
units, the KGB (the former State Security Committee of the
USSR) and other structures, which acted against the resistance
movement in Lithuania or perpetrated the genocide of the
Lithuanian population.
Under Paragraph 3 of Article 61 of the Law on the
Constitutional Court, the Constitutional must interpret its
ruling without changing its content. Therefore, the
Constitutional Court may not interpret the issues which were
not considered during the investigation of a case and which
were not decided upon in its ruling.
3. It has been pointed out that the Constitutional Court
is requested to decide upon the issue of application of legal
acts.
According to the Constitution and the Law on the
Constitutional Court, the Constitutional Court is not empowered
to decide upon the issue of application of legal acts.
Decisions of this nature are decided by the institution which
is empowered to apply the legal acts.
If the laws contain obscurities, ambiguities, and gaps, it
is the duty of the legislature to eliminate them.
Conforming to Article 102 of the Constitution of the
Republic of Lithuania, Articles 1, 28 and 61 of the Republic of
Lithuania Law on the Constitutional Court, the Constitutional
Court of the Republic of Lithuania has adopted the following
decision:
To refuse to construe which wording of Article 11 of the
Law on State Pensions has to be applied, while granting and
paying state pensions to victims, upon coming into force of the
19 June 2002 Ruling of the Constitutional Court "On the
compliance of the Republic of Lithuania Law on the Amendment
and Supplementation of Article 7, 11 and 15 of the Law on State
Pensions, Paragraphs 1 and 4 of Article 7 of the Republic of
Lithuania Law on State Pensions and Paragraph 2 of Article 20
of the Law on the President of the Republic of Lithuania with
the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania".
Justices of the Constitutional Court: Armanas Abramavičius
Egidijus Jarašiūnas
Egidijus Kūris
Kęstutis Lapinskas
Zenonas Namavičius
Augustinas Normantas
Jonas Prapiestis
Vytautas Sinkevičius
Stasys Stačiokas