Lietuviškai
THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF THE REPUBLIC OF
LITHUANIA
RULING
ON THE COMPLIANCE OF THE LEGAL ACTS SOLVING
QUESTIONS OF PROPERTY HELD BY THE FORMER VOLUNTARY
SOCIETY FOR CO-OPERATION WITH THE ARMY, AIR FORCE
AND NAVY (DOSAAF) WITH THE CONSTITUTION OF THE
REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
27 May 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,
in the presence of:
the representative of the party concerned, the Seimas of
the Republic of Lithuania, who was Daina Petrauskaitė, the
chief consultant to the Legal Department of the Office of the
Seimas,
pursuant to Articles 102 and 105 of the Constitution of
the Republic of Lithuania and Article 1 of the Republic of
Lithuania Law on the Constitutional Court, on 10 May 2002 in
its public hearing heard Case No. 19/2000 which originated in a
petition of the petitioner, the Alytus Local District Court,
requesting to determine whether the Preamble of the 15 November
1990 Resolution of the Supreme Council of the Republic of
Lithuania "On the Property of the Republic of Lithuania
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy", the Republic of Lithuania Law "On State Enterprises not
Intended for Corporatisation or Privatisation until the Year
2000", the Republic of Lithuania Law on Public Organisations,
the Republic of Lithuania Law "On Subsequent Use of the
Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy", the Republic
of Lithuania Law "On the Amendment and Supplementation of the
Republic of Lithuania Law 'On Subsequent Use of the Property of
the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation
with the Army, Air Force and Navy'", Resolution of the
Government of the Republic of Lithuania No. 145 "On the
Reorganisation of the Sport-Technical Union 'Vytis' and on the
Supplementation of the List of State Enterprises of Special
Purpose" of 18 April 1991, Resolution of the Government of the
Republic of Lithuania No. 248 "On the Partial Amendment and
Supplementation of Resolution of the Government of the Republic
of Lithuania No. 145 of 18 April 1991" of 25 June 1991,
Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No.
855 "On Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of
Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air
Force and Navy" of 16 June 1995, Resolution of the Government
of the Republic of Lithuania No. 902 "On the Partial Amendment
of Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania
No. 855 'On Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of
Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air
Force and Navy' of 16 June 1995" of 28 June 1995, Resolution of
the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No. 1270 "On the
Partial Amendment of Resolution of the Government of the
Republic of Lithuania No. 855 'On Subsequent Use of the
Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy' of 16 June
1995" of 22 September 1995, Resolution of the Government of the
Republic of Lithuania No. 1629 "On the Partial Amendment of
Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No.
855 'On Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of
Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air
Force and Navy' of 16 June 1995" of 28 December 1995 and
Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No.
1311 "On the Partial Amendment of Resolution of the Government
of the Republic of Lithuania No. 855 'On Subsequent Use of the
Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy' of 16 June
1995" of 13 November 1996 were in compliance with Article 23 of
the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania.
The Constitutional Court
has established:
I
The petitioner, the Alytus Local District Court, was
investigating a civil case. The said court suspended the
investigation of the case by its order and addressed the
Constitutional Court with a petition requesting to determine
whether the Preamble of the 15 November 1990 Resolution of the
Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania "On the Property
of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation
with the Army, Air Force and Navy" (Official Gazette Valstybės
žinios, 1990, No. 33-802), the Republic of Lithuania Law "On
State Enterprises not Intended for Corporatisation or
Privatisation until the Year 2000" (Official Gazette Valstybės
žinios, 1994, No. 102-2051), the Republic of Lithuania Law on
Public Organisations (wording of 2 February 1995; Official
Gazette Valstybės žinios, 1995, No. 18-400), the Republic of
Lithuania Law "On Subsequent Use of the Property of the
Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with
the Army, Air Force and Navy" (Official Gazette Valstybės
žinios, 1995, No. 41-989), the Republic of Lithuania Law "On
the Amendment and Supplementation of the Republic of Lithuania
Law 'On Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of
Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air
Force and Navy'" (Official Gazette Valstybės žinios, 1995, No.
92-2055), Resolution of the Government of the Republic of
Lithuania No. 145 "On the Reorganisation of the Sport-Technical
Union 'Vytis' and on the Supplementation of the List of State
Enterprises of Special Purpose" of 18 April 1991 (Official
Gazette Valstybės žinios, 1991, No. 14-383), Resolution of the
Government of the Republic of Lithuania No. 248 "On the Partial
Amendment and Supplementation of Resolution of the Government
of the Republic of Lithuania No. 145 of 18 April 1991" of 25
June 1991 (Official Gazette Valstybės žinios, 1991, No.
20-538), Resolution of the Government of the Republic of
Lithuania No. 855 "On Subsequent Use of the Property of the
Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with
the Army, Air Force and Navy" of 16 June 1995 (Official Gazette
Valstybės žinios, 1995, No. 51-1271), Resolution of the
Government of the Republic of Lithuania No. 902 "On the Partial
Amendment of Resolution of the Government of the Republic of
Lithuania No. 855 'On Subsequent Use of the Property of the
Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with
the Army, Air Force and Navy' of 16 June 1995" of 28 June 1995
(Official Gazette Valstybės žinios, 1995, No. 55-1377),
Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No.
1270 "On the Partial Amendment of Resolution of the Government
of the Republic of Lithuania No. 855 'On Subsequent Use of the
Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy' of 16 June
1995" of 22 September 1995 (Official Gazette Valstybės žinios,
1995, No. 79-1841), Resolution of the Government of the
Republic of Lithuania No. 1629 "On the Partial Amendment of
Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No.
855 'On Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of
Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air
Force and Navy' of 16 June 1995" of 28 December 1995 (Official
Gazette Valstybės žinios, 1996, No. 1-25) and Resolution of the
Government of the Republic of Lithuania No. 1311 "On the
Partial Amendment of Resolution of the Government of the
Republic of Lithuania No. 855 'On Subsequent Use of the
Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy' of 16 June
1995" of 13 November 1996 (Official Gazette Valstybės žinios,
1996, No. 112-2544) were in compliance with Article 23 of the
Constitution.
II
The request of the petitioner is based on the following
arguments.
In the opinion of the petitioner, the Voluntary Society
for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy (hereinafter
also referred to as the VSCAAFN) was a public organisation.
The 15 November 1990 Resolution of the Supreme Council of
the Republic of Lithuania "On the Property of the Republic of
Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air
Force and Navy" commissioned the Government to take over all
movable and real property of the former VSCAAFN and transfer
this property to the technical sport society which was being
created on the base of the former society.
The 28 December 1994 Law "On State Enterprises not
Intended for Corporatisation or Privatisation until the Year
2000" included certain organisations of the former VSCAAFN into
the list of state enterprises not intended for corporatisation
or privatisation until the year 2000.
On 2 February 1995 the Seimas enacted the Law on Public
Organisations.
On 23 February 1995, the Seimas enacted the Law "On
Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of Lithuania
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy", while on 25 October 1995 it passed the Law "On the
Amendment and Supplementation of the Republic of Lithuania Law
'On Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of Lithuania
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy'".
On 18 April 1991, the Government adopted Resolution No.
145 "On the Reorganisation of the Sport-Technical Union 'Vytis'
and on the Supplementation of the List of State Enterprises of
Special Purpose", on 25 June 1991 it adopted Resolution No. 248
"On the Partial Amendment and Supplementation of Resolution of
the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No. 145 of 18 April
1991". On 16 June 1995 the Government adopted Resolution No.
855 "On Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of
Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air
Force and Navy" which was amended by Resolution No. 902 of 28
June 1995, Resolution No. 1270 of 22 September 1995, Resolution
No. 1629 of 28 December 1995 and Resolution No. 1311 of 13
November 1996.
The petitioner is of the opinion that the property of the
VSCAAFN as a public organisation was nationalised by the
aforementioned legal acts. Therefore, the petitioner doubts
whether this is in compliance with Article 23 of the
Constitution.
III
In the course of the preparation of the case for the
Constitutional Court hearing, written explanations were
received from the representatives of the party concerned, the
Seimas, who were J. Orlauskas, a senior consultant at the Legal
Department of the Office of the Seimas, and D. Petrauskaitė,
the chief consultant at the Legal Department of the Office of
the Seimas, as well as the representative of the party
concerned, the Government, who was D. Pečiulis, Head of the
State Property Division of the Enterprise Economics and
Management Department of the Ministry of Economy of the
Republic of Lithuania.
1. J. Orlauskas maintains that the VSCAAFN was an
organisation of a foreign state whose task was to prepare
residents of Lithuania to serve in the occupation army. The
organisation was supported by the budget funds allocated to the
Ministry of Defence of the USSR. The VSCAAFN was not registered
as a public organisation in the Republic of Lithuania, thus it
must be considered to have been a state organisation of the
foreign state. Therefore, in the opinion of the representative
of the party concerned, the Supreme Council reasonably
recognised the VSCAAFN as a state paramilitary organisation.
The representative of the party concerned notes that the
28 December 1994 Law "On State Enterprises not Intended for
Corporatisation or Privatisation until the Year 2000" included
the former state Alytus technical school which was at the
disposal of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of
Lithuania, as well as other property belonging to organisations
of the VSCAAFN, into the list of state enterprises not intended
for corporatisation or privatisation. The 23 February 1995 Law
"On Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of Lithuania
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy" transferred the said property to a public organisation,
which was the Lithuanian Technical Sport Society. After the
said law had gone into effect, the legal acts on transfer of
the said property to the Ministry of Defence and the legal acts
on the prohibition of privatisation and corporatisation of the
same became voided. Article 1 of the 25 October 1995 Law "On
the Amendment and Supplementation of the Republic of Lithuania
Law 'On Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of
Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air
Force and Navy'" provides that the state enterprises which had
been founded and which had functioned on the base of the
VSCAAFN property were to be attributed to the sphere of
regulation by the Lithuanian Technical Sport Society.
According to J. Orlauskas, the laws pointed out in the
petition of the petitioner are in compliance with Article 23 of
the Constitution. The governmental resolutions which are
disputed by the petitioner were adopted in the course of the
implementation of the valid laws, therefore, they are also in
conformity with Article 23 of the Constitution.
2. D. Petrauskaitė maintains that, while assessing the
compliance of the disputed legal acts with Article 23 of the
Constitution, one must elucidate the reasons that conditioned
the adoption of the said legal acts.
The representative of the party concerned notes that the
VSCAAFN had never been registered as an independent
organisation in Lithuania. In Lithuania during the years of the
Soviet occupation it operated as a subdivision of the USSR
VSCAAFN (DOSAAF). The DOSAAF was established by Resolution No.
3060 of 20 August 1951 adopted by the USSR Soviet of Ministers,
by joining the voluntary societies for co-operation with the
army, air force and navy (DOSARM, DOSAV, DOSFLOT) into one
organisation.
According to D. Petrauskaitė, the Supreme Council
reasonably held in its 15 November 1990 Resolution "On the
Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy" that the
purposes of the VSCAAFN in Lithuania were preparation of young
people for the service in the army of the foreign state, and
that the VSCAAFN was virtually a state paramilitary
organisation but not a public one.
D. Petrauskaitė maintains that it was impossible that such
an organisation should operate in the independent Lithuania
since this would have been in conflict with the provisions of
the Provisional Basic Law of the Republic of Lithuania: "The
Republic of Lithuania shall be a sovereign democratic state
expressing the general will and interests of the people of
Lithuania" (Article 1); "Parties, public organisations and
public movements shall be created according to the procedure
established by law and shall function within the limits of the
Provisional Basic Law and other laws of the Republic of
Lithuania" (Article 5). Therefore, after the independence of
the Republic of Lithuania had been restored, the question of
the future operation of the VSCAAFN subdivision in Lithuania
had to be decided without delay. This was done by the Supreme
Council when it adopted the 22 March 1990 Resolution "On the
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy which is in Lithuania" in which it was provided that the
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy, as well as the enterprises and organisations subordinate
to it, shall be placed under the jurisdiction of the Republic
of Lithuania. The said resolution commissioned the Government
to temporarily manage the VSCAAFN until its extraordinary
conference.
The representative of the party concerned notes that by
its 31 October 1990 Resolution "On the Reform of the Voluntary
Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy",
the Presidium of the Supreme Council recognised the 27
September 1990 VSCAAFN Congress and the resolutions of the
latter, however, the VSCAAFN did not get registered as an
independent organisation in Lithuania. Under such
circumstances, the state had to take over its property.
D. Petrauskaitė pays attention to the fact that the
greater part of the former VSCAAFN property was handed over to
public organisations (the Lithuanian Technical Sport Society
and the Lithuanian Aviation Club) so that it would be used to
develop technical sports in Lithuania.
In her explanations D. Petrauskaitė contends that Article
23 of the Constitution guarantees the right of every natural
and legal person to use his property unhampered and
consolidates the inviolability of this property. In the opinion
of the representative of the party concerned, the legislature,
after it had recognised the property of the organisation the
activities in Lithuania whereof were terminated upon the
restoration of the independence of the Republic of Lithuania as
property of all residents of the Republic of Lithuania and
after it transferred the said property to the use in the public
interests, did not violate the rights of ownership.
D. Petrauskaitė maintains that the disputed legal acts on
the nationalisation of the former VSCAAFN property are in
compliance with Article 23 of the Constitution.
3. In his explanations D. Pečiulis notes that Government
Resolution No. 145 "On the Reorganisation of the
Sport-Technical Union 'Vytis' and on the Supplementation of the
List of State Enterprises of Special Purpose" of 18 April 1991
and its subsequent amendments were prepared in the course of
the enforcement of the 31 October 1990 Supreme Council
Resolution "On the Reform of the Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy" and the 15
November 1990 Supreme Council Resolution "On the Property of
the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation
with the Army, Air Force and Navy", while Government Resolution
No. 855 "On Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of
Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air
Force and Navy" of 16 June 1995 and its subsequent amendments
were prepared in the course of the enforcement of the 23
February 1995 Law "On Subsequent Use of the Property of the
Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with
the Army, Air Force and Navy".
In the opinion of D. Pečiulis, the 15 November 1990
Supreme Council Resolution "On the Property of the Republic of
Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air
Force and Navy" and the 23 February 1995 Law "On Subsequent Use
of the Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society
for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy" are in
compliance with Article 23 of the Constitution.
The representative of the party concerned also maintains
that upon taking over the VSCAAFN property, one could not
adequately compensate for it in accordance with Article 23 of
the Constitution as no legitimate successor to the rights and
obligations of the said society appeared either at the time of
the adoption of the aforementioned governmental resolutions or
later. D. Pečiulis is of the opinion that Government Resolution
No. 145 "On the Reorganisation of the Sport-Technical Union
'Vytis' and on the Supplementation of the List of State
Enterprises of Special Purpose" of 18 April 1991 and its
subsequent amendments and Government Resolution No. 855 "On
Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of Lithuania
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy" of 16 June 1995 together with its amendments are in
compliance with Article 23 of the Constitution.
IV
In the course of the preparation of the case for the
judicial investigation, written explanations were received from
V. Markevičius, Minister of Justice of the Republic of
Lithuania, J. Bernatonis, Minister of the Interior of the
Republic of Lithuania, V. Sarapinas, Acting State Secretary of
the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Lithuania, and Prof.
T. Birmontienė, Head of the Constitutional Law Department of
the Law Faculty, the Law University of Lithuania.
V
At the Constitutional Court hearing the representative of
the party concerned, the Seimas, who was D. Petrauskaitė,
virtually reiterated the arguments set forth in her written
explanations.
The Constitutional Court
holds that:
I
1. On 15 November 1990, the Supreme Council adopted the
Resolution "On the Property of the Republic of Lithuania
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy" in the Preamble whereof it was stated that "the Voluntary
Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy
which is in Lithuania, performing the task of the USSR armed
forces to prepare young people for the military service, in
essence was not a public organisation but a state paramilitary
organisation and represented the interests of the USSR in
Lithuania. The property <...> of this organisation was created
by means of labour and finances of all people of Lithuania. It
rightly belongs to all residents of the Republic of Lithuania."
Item 1 of the said resolution commissioned the Government to
take over all property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary
Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy and
transfer this property to the technical sport society which was
being created on the base of the former society.
2. On 18 April 1991, the Government adopted Resolution No.
145 "On the Reorganisation of the Sport-Technical Union 'Vytis'
and on the Supplementation of the List of State Enterprises of
Special Purpose" whereby it was decided to reorganise the
Sport-Technical Union "Vytis" under the Department of Defence
into the State Sport and Technology Organisation "Vytis" and
the Union of Technical-Sport Clubs. This governmental
resolution approved of the resolution of the 3 April 1991
Conference of the Sport-Technical Union "Vytis" under the
Department of Defence that certain enterprises shall be members
of the Union of Technical-Sport Clubs and the Lithuanian
Aviation Club. According to the said resolution, the
technical-sport clubs that had not belonged to the Union of
Technical-Sport Clubs, together with technical schools were
attributed to the State Sport and Technology Organisation
"Vytis" and included into the list of state enterprises of
special purpose. Government Resolution No. 248 "On the Partial
Amendment and Supplementation of Resolution of the Government
of the Republic of Lithuania No. 145 of 18 April 1991" of 25
June 1991 gave the name "public organisations" to the state
enterprises which had been referred to by Government Resolution
No. 145 "On the Reorganisation of the Sport-Technical Union
'Vytis' and on the Supplementation of the List of State
Enterprises of Special Purpose" of 18 April 1991 as members of
the Union of Technical-Sport Clubs and the Lithuanian Aviation
Club.
3. On 28 December 1994, the Seimas enacted the Law "On
State Enterprises not Intended for Corporatisation or
Privatisation until the Year 2000" that approved the list of
enterprises not intended for corporatisation or privatisation
until the year 2000. Part of the enterprises taken over from
the VSCAAFN and placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry
of Defence were included into the list of such enterprises as
well.
4. On 23 February 1995, the Seimas enacted the Law "On
Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of Lithuania
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy", while on 25 October 1995 it passed the Law "On the
Amendment and Supplementation of the Republic of Lithuania Law
'On Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of Lithuania
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy'". These laws decided the issues of transfer of the
property of the former VSCAAFN for using and managing.
While enforcing the said laws, on 16 June 1995 the
Government adopted Resolution No. 855 "On Subsequent Use of the
Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy", on 28 June
1995 it adopted Resolution No. 902 "On the Partial Amendment of
Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No.
855 'On Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of
Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air
Force and Navy' of 16 June 1995", on 22 September 1995 it
adopted Resolution No. 1270 "On the Partial Amendment of
Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No.
855 'On Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of
Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air
Force and Navy' of 16 June 1995", on 28 December 1995 it
adopted Resolution No. 1629 "On the Partial Amendment of
Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No.
855 'On Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of
Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air
Force and Navy' of 16 June 1995" and on 13 November 1996 it
adopted Resolution No. 1311 "On the Partial Amendment of
Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No.
855 'On Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of
Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air
Force and Navy' of 16 June 1995". These governmental
resolutions were deciding issues of the use and management of
the property formerly held by the VSCAAFN.
5. On 2 February 1995 the Seimas enacted the Law on Public
Organisations in which it established the basics of the
establishment, activity and cessation of activity of public
organisations. The Law on Public Organisations was set forth in
a new wording by the law of 11 June 1998.
6. On 5 March 2002, the Seimas adopted the Law on the
Recognition of the Republic of Lithuania Law "On State
Enterprises not Intended for Corporatisation or Privatisation
until the Year 2000" as Null and Void. The said law recognised
the 28 December 1994 Law "On State Enterprises not Intended for
Corporatisation or Privatisation until the Year 2000" as null
and void.
7. The petitioner requests the Constitutional Court to
determine whether the Preamble of the 15 November 1990 Supreme
Council Resolution "On the Property of the Republic of
Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air
Force and Navy" and other legal acts pointed out by the
petitioner which, in his opinion, nationalised the property of
the VSCAAFN as a public organisation are in compliance with
Article 23 of the Constitution.
8. Although the petitioner requests the Constitutional
Court to determine only the compliance of the Preamble of the
15 November 1990 Supreme Council Resolution "On the Property of
the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation
with the Army, Air Force and Navy" with Article 23 of the
Constitution, however, it is clear from the motives of the
petition that the petitioner doubts not only as regards the
compliance of the preamble of the said resolution with Article
23 of the Constitution but also that of Item 1 of the said
resolution to the extent that it establishes that the
Government is commissioned to take over all movable and real
property as well as material resources of the Republic of
Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air
Force and Navy on the basis of the certificate of the said
organisation and transfer this property to the technical sport
society which was being created on the base of the former
society.
9. Although the petitioner requests the Constitutional
Court to determine the compliance of Government Resolution No.
145 "On the Reorganisation of the Sport-Technical Union 'Vytis'
and on the Supplementation of the List of State Enterprises of
Special Purpose" of 18 April 1991 and Resolution No. 248 "On
the Partial Amendment and Supplementation of Resolution of the
Government of the Republic of Lithuania No. 145 of 18 April
1991" of 25 June 1991 with Article 23 of the Constitution,
however, it is clear from the motives of the petition that the
petitioner does not doubt as regards the compliance of the
entire said governmental resolutions with Article 23 of the
Constitution but to the extent that these resolutions establish
the reorganisation of the Sport-Technical Union "Vytis" under
the Department of Defence into the State Sport and Technology
Organisation "Vytis" and the Union of Technical-Sport Clubs and
that they regulate issues of attribution of certain
organisations (technical schools, sport clubs etc.) that had
not belonged to the aforesaid union to the sphere of regulation
by the State Sport and Technology Organisation "Vytis" and
issues of their inclusion into the list of state enterprises of
special purpose.
10. Although the petitioner requests the Constitutional
Court to determine the compliance of the 28 December 1994 Law
"On State Enterprises not Intended for Corporatisation or
Privatisation until the Year 2000" with Article 23 of the
Constitution, however, it is clear from the motives of the
petition that the petitioner does not doubt as regards the
compliance of the entire said law with Article 23 of the
Constitution but to the extent that it provides that until the
year 2000 one intends neither to corporatise nor to privatise
certain enterprises of the former VSCAAFN which were attributed
to the sphere of regulation by the Ministry of Defence.
11. Although the petitioner requests the Constitutional
Court to determine the compliance of the 23 February 1995 Law
"On Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of Lithuania
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy", the 25 October 1995 Law "On the Amendment and
Supplementation of the Republic of Lithuania Law 'On Subsequent
Use of the Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary
Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy'",
Government Resolution No. 855 "On Subsequent Use of the
Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy" of 16 June
1995, Government Resolution No. 902 "On the Partial Amendment
of Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania
No. 855 'On Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of
Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air
Force and Navy' of 16 June 1995" of 28 June 1995, Government
Resolution No. 1270 "On the Partial Amendment of Resolution of
the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No. 855 'On
Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of Lithuania
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy' of 16 June 1995" of 22 September 1995, Government
Resolution No. 1629 "On the Partial Amendment of Resolution of
the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No. 855 'On
Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of Lithuania
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy' of 16 June 1995" of 28 December 1995, and Government
Resolution No. 1311 "On the Partial Amendment of Resolution of
the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No. 855 'On
Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of Lithuania
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy' of 16 June 1995" of 13 November 1996 with Article 23 of
the Constitution, however, it is clear from the motives of the
petition that the petitioner does not doubt as regards the
compliance of the entire said legal acts with Article 23 of the
Constitution but to the extent that they provide for the
transfer of the property of the former VSCAAFN to corresponding
organisations and institutions and that they regulate
distribution of this property among the said organisations and
institutions.
12. The petitioner requests the Constitutional Court to
determine the compliance of the Law on Public Organisations
with Article 23 of the Constitution. The Law on Public
Organisations regulates the relations of the establishment,
activity and cessation of activity of public organisations. The
petition does not point out as to what articles (paragraphs
thereof) of the said law may be in conflict with the
Constitution. Nor does the petition present any arguments upon
which the doubts of the petitioner are grounded.
It is clear from the petition of the petitioner that it
thinks that the VSCAAFN used to be a public organisation,
therefore, when questions of the property held by the former
VSCAAFN are decided, the provision of the Law on Public
Organisations must be applied.
Under Paragraph 1 of Article 102 of the Constitution, the
Constitutional Court shall decide whether the laws and other
legal acts adopted by the Seimas are in conformity with the
Constitution and whether legal acts adopted by the President of
the Republic and the Government of the Republic are in
conformity with the Constitution or laws. The Constitutional
Court does not decide questions of application of law
(Constitutional Court decision of 11 July 1994, Constitutional
Court ruling of 11 January 2001, Constitutional Court decision
of 3 April 2001). Under Item 2 of Paragraph 1 of Article 69 of
the Constitutional Court, the Constitutional Court shall refuse
to consider petitions for the examination of the
constitutionality of a legal act if the examination of the
petition does not fall under the jurisdiction of the
Constitutional Court. Paragraph 3 of Article 69 of the
Constitutional Court provides that in the event that the
grounds for refusal to consider a petition have been
established after the initiation of the examination of the case
during the session of the Constitutional Court, a decision to
dismiss the case shall be adopted.
Taking account of the fact that questions of application
of law do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Constitutional
Court, the case in the part concerning the Republic of
Lithuania Law on Public Organisations which was adopted on 2
February 1995 is to be dismissed.
13. Subsequent to the request of the petitioner, the
Constitutional Court will consider whether the following is in
compliance with Article 23 of the Constitution:
1) the Preamble of the 15 November 1990 Supreme Council
Resolution and Item 1 of the said resolution to the extent that
it establishes that the Government is commissioned to take over
all movable and real property as well as material resources of
the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation
with the Army, Air Force and Navy on the basis of the
certificate of the said organisation and transfer this property
to the technical sport society which was being created on the
base of the former society;
2) the 28 December 1994 Law "On State Enterprises not
Intended for Corporatisation or Privatisation until the Year
2000" to the extent that it provides that certain enterprises
taken over from the former VSCAAFN and attributed to the sphere
of regulation by the Ministry of Defence were not intended to
be either corporatised or privatised until the year 2000;
3) the 23 February 1995 Law "On Subsequent Use of the
Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy" and the 25
October 1995 Law "On the Amendment and Supplementation of the
Republic of Lithuania Law 'On Subsequent Use of the Property of
the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation
with the Army, Air Force and Navy'" to the extent that they
provide for the transfer of the property of the former VSCAAFN
to corresponding organisations and institutions and that they
regulate distribution of this property among the said
organisations and institutions;
4) Government Resolution No. 145 "On the Reorganisation of
the Sport-Technical Union 'Vytis' and on the Supplementation of
the List of State Enterprises of Special Purpose" of 18 April
1991 and Government Resolution No. 248 "On the Partial
Amendment and Supplementation of Resolution of the Government
of the Republic of Lithuania No. 145 of 18 April 1991" of 25
June 1991 to the extent that these resolutions establish the
reorganisation of the Sport-Technical Union "Vytis" into the
State Sport and Technology Organisation "Vytis" and the Union
of Technical-Sport Clubs and that they regulate issues of
attribution of certain organisations (technical schools, sport
clubs etc.) that had not belonged to the aforesaid union to the
sphere of regulation by the State Sport and Technology
Organisation "Vytis" and issues of their inclusion into the
list of state enterprises of special purpose;
5) Government Resolution No. 855 "On Subsequent Use of the
Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy" of 16 June
1995, Government Resolution No. 902 "On the Partial Amendment
of Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania
No. 855 'On Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of
Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air
Force and Navy' of 16 June 1995" of 28 June 1995, Government
Resolution No. 1270 "On the Partial Amendment of Resolution of
the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No. 855 'On
Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of Lithuania
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy' of 16 June 1995" of 22 September 1995, Government
Resolution No. 1629 "On the Partial Amendment of Resolution of
the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No. 855 'On
Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of Lithuania
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy' of 16 June 1995" of 28 December 1995, and Government
Resolution No. 1311 "On the Partial Amendment of Resolution of
the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No. 855 'On
Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of Lithuania
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy' of 16 June 1995" of 13 November 1996 to the extent that
they provide for the transfer of the property of the former
VSCAAFN to corresponding organisations and institutions and
that they regulate distribution of this property among the said
organisations and institutions.
II
While deciding whether the legal acts disputed by the
petitioner are in compliance with the Constitution, one has to
establish the legal nature and status of the VSCAAFN (DOSAAF)
as an organisation which operated in Lithuania at the time of
the occupation.
It needs to be noted that the VSCAAFN (DOSAAF) was
established by the Resolution of 20 August 1951 adopted by the
USSR Soviet of Ministers, i.e. it was established by a state
act. The VSCAAFN (DOSAAF) was commissioned to increase the USSR
defence capacity, the might of the Soviet Army, Air Force and
Navy, to prepare young people for the service in the Soviet
Army and Navy, to educate members of the VSCAAFN (DOSAAF) in
the spirit of selfless devotion to the Communist Party and love
to the Soviet Army etc.
Thus, while taking account of the procedure of
establishment of the VSCAAFN (DOSAAF) and the tasks assigned to
it, one must hold that it used to be a paramilitary
organisation which was created in Lithuania by the foreign
state and which used to support the occupation troops.
III
While deciding whether the disputed legal acts are in
compliance with the Constitution, one must establish the legal
acts on the grounds of which the property held by the VSCAAFN
was taken over and also the manner of solving the issues of the
future management and use of the said property was decided.
1. On 11 March 1990 the Supreme Council of the Republic of
Lithuania enacted the Act on the Re-establishment of the
Independent State of Lithuania. On the same day the Supreme
Council adopted the Provisional Basic Law of the Republic of
Lithuania. It was established in Article 44 of the said law
that the economy of Lithuania shall be based on the property of
the Republic of Lithuania, which shall consist of the private
property of its citizens, the property of groups of citizens,
and state property.
2. After the independence of Lithuania had been restored,
one decided the issues of the Lithuanian property which used to
be managed by USSR institutions. The 13 March 1990 Supreme
Council Resolution "On the Status of the Enterprises,
Establishments and Organisations which are in the Territory of
the Republic of Lithuania and which are under the Union and
Union-Republic Jurisdiction" provides that on the day of the
adoption of the same resolution all state enterprises,
establishments and organisations which are in the territory of
the Republic of Lithuania and which are under the Union and
Union-republic jurisdiction shall be placed under the
jurisdiction of the Republic of Lithuania.
One of such USSR institutions was the VSCAAFN (DOSAAF)
which, as it has been mentioned, was created in Lithuania by
the foreign state and which used to support the occupation
troops.
On 22 March 1990 the Supreme Council adopted the
Resolution "On the Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the
Army, Air Force and Navy which is in Lithuania" in which it was
provided that the Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the
Army, Air Force and Navy, as well as the enterprises and
organisations subordinate to it, shall be placed under the
jurisdiction of the Republic of Lithuania.
In the context of the case at issue, it needs to be noted
that the formula "shall be placed under the jurisdiction of the
Republic of Lithuania" which is employed in the 22 March 1990
Resolution "On the Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the
Army, Air Force and Navy which is in Lithuania" means that the
property which was held by the VSCAAFN (DOSAAF) is treated to
be property of the State of Lithuania.
3. On 15 November 1990, the Supreme Council adopted the
Resolution "On the Property of the Republic of Lithuania
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy". It is established in the Preamble of the said resolution
that the Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air
Force and Navy which is in Lithuania was not a public
organisation but a USSR state paramilitary organisation. The
same resolution also specified that "the property of the
enterprises, educational establishments, technical sport bases
and other objects of this organisation was created by means of
labour and finances of all people of Lithuania. It rightly
belongs to all residents of the Republic of Lithuania." Item 1
of the said resolution commissioned the Government to take over
all property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy and transfer
this property to the technical sport society which was being
created on the base of the former society.
4. By its protocol decision of 19 November 1990, the
Government decided to attribute the Technical Sport Society
which was being formed on the base of the Republic of Lithuania
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy to the sphere of regulation by the Department of Defence.
5. Order No. 32 of 29 November 1990 of the Department of
Defence established that the Sport-Technical Union "Vytis"
under the Department of Defence shall be founded pro tempore
until the establishment of the Sport and Technology Society.
6. Resolution No. 145 "On the Reorganisation of the
Sport-Technical Union 'Vytis' and on the Supplementation of the
List of State Enterprises of Special Purpose" of 18 April 1991
reorganised the Sport-Technical Union "Vytis" under the
Department of Defence into the State Sport and Technology
Organisation "Vytis" and the Union of Technical-Sport Clubs.
This governmental resolution approved of the resolution of the
3 April 1991 Conference of the Sport-Technical Union "Vytis"
under the Department of Defence that certain enterprises shall
be members of the Union of Technical-Sport Clubs and the
Lithuanian Aviation Club. The other organisations (technical
schools, sport clubs etc.) that had not belonged to the
aforesaid union were attributed to the State Sport and
Technology Organisation "Vytis" and included into the list of
state enterprises of special purpose.
7. By Government Order No. 281p of 6 May 1991, the Statute
of the State Sport and Technology Organisation "Vytis" was
approved. As one of the guidelines for the activities of this
organisation, it was provided that the State Sport and
Technology Organisation "Vytis" shall take care of the
preservation of the state property which it uses and which is
controlled by the enterprises which are in the sphere of
regulation of the "Vytis".
8. Government Resolution No. 248 "On the Partial Amendment
and Supplementation of Resolution of the Government of the
Republic of Lithuania No. 145 of 18 April 1991" of 25 June 1991
gave the name "public organisations" to the state enterprises
which had been referred to by Government Resolution No. 145 of
18 April 1991 as members of the Union of Technical-Sport Clubs
and the Lithuanian Aviation Club.
9. By Government Resolution No. 388 "On the Abolishment of
the State Sport and Technology Organisation 'Vytis' and on
Handover of Certain Enterprises of the Said Organisation into
the Balance of the Department of Defence" of 20 September 1991,
the State Sport and Technology Organisation "Vytis" was
abolished and the Government Order of 6 May 1991 on the statute
of the said organisation was recognised as null and void. The
20 September 1991 Government Resolution provided that the
enterprises and property that had been in the sphere of
regulation by the State Sport and Technology Organisation
"Vytis" were to be transferred to the Department of Defence.
10. On 28 December 1994 the Seimas enacted the Law "On
State Enterprises not Intended for Corporatisation or
Privatisation until the Year 2000". The said law included also
certain enterprises taken over from the former VSCAAFN into the
list of such enterprises.
11. By the 23 February 1995 Law "On Subsequent Use of the
Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy", the 15
November 1990 Supreme Council Resolution was amended and
entities were pointed out which were to be given the property
of the former VSCAAFN for managing and using. The said property
of the former VSCAAFN is transferred to the Lithuanian
Technical Sport Society, the Lithuanian Aviation Club, Vilnius
Technical University and other state institutions for managing
and using. The Government was commissioned to conclude the
agreements on the use of the property with the institutions
which were handed over the said property and to control the
observance of the agreements. The same law also specified that
the property of the former VSCAAFN shall be distributed among
the Lithuanian Technical Sport Society, the Lithuanian Aviation
Club, Vilnius Technical University and other state institutions
under Annexes 1, 2 and 3 of the same law.
12. In the course of the enforcement of the 23 February
1995 Law "On Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of
Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air
Force and Navy, by its Resolution No. 855 "On Subsequent Use of
the Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy" of 16 June 1995
the Government obligated the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry
of Industry and Commerce, the Department of Physical Culture
and Sport under the Government as well as local governments to
hand over the property of the former VSCAAFN until 1 September
1995, while it obligated the Lithuanian Technical Sport
Society, the Lithuanian Aviation Club, Vilnius Technical
University and other state institutions to take over the said
property under Annexes 1, 2 and 3 of the same resolution the
Ministry of Economy was commissioned to conclude agreements on
the use of the property with the institutions taking over the
same property.
13. By Government Resolution No. 902 "On the Partial
Amendment of Resolution of the Government of the Republic of
Lithuania No. 855 'On Subsequent Use of the Property of the
Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with
the Army, Air Force and Navy' of 16 June 1995" of 28 June 1995,
certain provisions of annexes of Resolution No. 855 of 16 June
1995 on the distribution of the property of the former VSCAAFN
which was being transferred to the Lithuanian Technical Sport
Society and the Lithuanian Aviation Club were amended.
14. By Government Resolution No. 1270 "On the Partial
Amendment of Resolution of the Government of the Republic of
Lithuania No. 855 'On Subsequent Use of the Property of the
Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with
the Army, Air Force and Navy' of 16 June 1995" of 22 September
1995, the Ministry of the Interior was obligated to transfer
the property of the former VSCAAFN as to the situation of the
said property which existed in 1 July 1995 together with all
its the rights and liabilities. The same governmental
resolution supplemented Resolution No. 855 of 16 June 1995 with
a provision that obligated the Ministry of Defence, the
Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the Ministry of the
Interior, the Department of Physical Culture and Sport under
the Government as well as local governments to hand over the
property of the former VSCAAFN, and obligated the Lithuanian
Technical Sport Society, the Lithuanian Aviation Club, Vilnius
Technical University and other state institutions to take over
the said property together with all its rights and liabilities.
15. The 25 October 1995 Republic of Lithuania Law "On the
Amendment and Supplementation of the Republic of Lithuania Law
'On Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of Lithuania
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy'" specified that the state enterprises which have been
founded and which are functioning on the base of the VSCAAFN
property shall be attributed to the sphere of regulation by the
Lithuanian Technical Sport Society.
16. Government Resolution No. 1629 "On the Partial
Amendment of Resolution of the Government of the Republic of
Lithuania No. 855 'On Subsequent Use of the Property of the
Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with
the Army, Air Force and Navy' of 16 June 1995" of 28 December
1995 established that the founders' rights of the established
state enterprises on the base of the former VSCAAFN property
pointed out in Annex 1 of said Government Resolution No. 855 of
16 June 1995 shall be given to the Lithuanian Technical Sport
Society and Vilnius Technical University, and that this
property may be transferred, mortgaged or pawned with a
permission of the Government only.
17. Government Resolution No. 1311 "On the Partial
Amendment of Resolution of the Government of the Republic of
Lithuania No. 855 'On Subsequent Use of the Property of the
Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with
the Army, Air Force and Navy' of 16 June 1995" of 13 November
1996 established the right for county governors to certify the
acts of transfer of the property of the former VSCAAFN and to
conclude agreements with the institutions taking over the said
property, while it obligated the Ministry of Economy to hand
over the concluded agreements on the use of the property of the
former VSCAAFN to the county governors.
IV
On the compliance of the 15 November 1990 Supreme Council
Resolution "On the Property of the Republic of Lithuania
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy" with Article 23 of the Constitution.
1. Article 23 of the Constitution provides:
"Property shall be inviolable.
The rights of ownership shall be protected by law.
Property may only be seized for the needs of society
according to the procedure established by law and must be
adequately compensated for."
The provisions of Article 23 of the Constitution, which
constitute a whole, reveal the essence of the protection of the
rights of ownership. The said provisions guarantee the
protection of property for all its owners, i.e. natural
persons, legal persons, local governments and the state. The
principle of inviolability of property established in this
article of the Constitution also means that the entity of
ownership is guaranteed the right to demand that other persons
not infringe his rights of ownership. The legislature has a
duty to enact laws protecting the rights of ownership of the
owner against any unlawful encroachment upon them. The
Constitution guarantees that no one may seize property in an
arbitrary manner and on an illegal basis.
2. The Preamble of the 15 November 1990 Resolution of the
Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania "On the Property
of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation
with the Army, Air Force and Navy" provides that "the Voluntary
Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy
which is in Lithuania, performing the task of the USSR armed
forces to prepare young people for the military service, in
essence was not a public organisation but a state paramilitary
organisation and represented the interests of the USSR in
Lithuania. The property of the enterprises, educational
establishments, technical sport bases and other objects of this
organisation was created by means of labour and finances of all
people of Lithuania. It rightly belongs to all residents of the
Republic of Lithuania." Item 1 of the same resolution provides:
"While taking account of the existing reorganisation of the
aforementioned society and its integration into the
infrastructure of the Republic of Lithuania and in attempt to
preserve the accumulated property, to commission the Government
of the Republic of Lithuania to take over all movable and real
property as well as material resources of the Republic of
Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air
Force and Navy on the basis of the certificate of the said
organisation. This property must be transferred to the
technical sport society which is being created on the base of
the said society."
3. In the opinion of the petitioner, by the said Supreme
Council resolution the property of the former VSCAAFN as a
public organisation was nationalised, while this, according to
the petitioner, is in conflict with Article 23 of the
Constitution.
4. It has been held in this Constitutional Court Ruling
that the VSCAAFN (DOSAAF) used to be a paramilitary
organisation which was created in Lithuania by the foreign
state and which used to support the occupation troops. In this
Ruling it has also been held that the Lithuanian property held
by the VSCAAFN (DOSAAF) is property of the State of Lithuania.
5. It needs to be noted that after the 15 November 1990
Supreme Council Resolution "On the Property of the Republic of
Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air
Force and Navy" had commissioned the Government to take over
the property held by the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary
Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy, the
right of the state as the owner of this property to possess,
use and dispose of the said property was implemented. The
provision on the transfer of such property to the technical
sport society which was being created meant that the property
belonging to the State of Lithuania by right of ownership had
to be transferred to the technical sport society to use and
possess but not for ownership of this society. This resolution
does not contain any provisions denying the rights of ownership
of the state as the owner of the aforementioned property.
6. Taking account of the arguments set forth, one is to
conclude that the Preamble of the 15 November 1990 Supreme
Council Resolution "On the Property of the Republic of
Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air
Force and Navy" and Item 1 of the said resolution to the extent
that it establishes that the Government is commissioned to take
over all movable and real property as well as material
resources of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy on the basis of
the certificate of the said organisation and transfer this
property to the technical sport society which was being created
on the base of the former society are in compliance with
Article 23 of the Constitution.
V
On the compliance of the 28 December 1994 Law "On State
Enterprises not Intended for Corporatisation or Privatisation
until the Year 2000", the 23 February 1995 Law "On Subsequent
Use of the Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary
Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy" and
the 25 October 1995 Law "On the Amendment and Supplementation
of the Republic of Lithuania Law 'On Subsequent Use of the
Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy'" with Article
23 of the Constitution.
1. On 28 December 1994 the Seimas enacted the Law "On
State Enterprises not Intended for Corporatisation or
Privatisation until the Year 2000" in which it was specified
that part of the enterprises taken over from the VSCAAFN and
attributed to the sphere of regulation by the Ministry of
Defence shall be included into the list of state enterprises
not intended for corporatisation or privatisation until the
year 2000.
2. On 23 February 1995, the Seimas enacted the Law "On
Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of Lithuania
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy" whereby the 15 November 1990 Supreme Council Resolution
was amended and the entities were pointed out to which the
property of the former VSCAAFN was to be transferred for
managing and using. The Lithuanian Aviation Club, Vilnius
Technical University and other state institutions were
attributed to such entities as well. This law obligated the
Government to distribute the property of the former VSCAAFN
among the said institutions under Annexes 1, 2 and 3 of the
same law, as well as to conclude agreements on the use of the
property with the same institutions.
On 25 October 1995, the Seimas enacted the Law "On the
Amendment and Supplementation of the Republic of Lithuania Law
'On Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of Lithuania
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy'" which specified that the state enterprises which had
been founded and which had functioned on the base of the
VSCAAFN property shall be attributed to the sphere of
regulation by the Lithuanian Technical Sport Society.
3. It has already been held in this Constitutional Court
Ruling that the property held by the former VSCAAFN is property
of the State of Lithuania.
4. Paragraph 2 of Article 128 of the Constitution provides
that procedures concerning the possession, utilisation, and
disposal of state property shall be established by law. By the
disputed laws the state, as an owner of the property, was
deciding issues concerning the possession, utilisation, and
disposal of the said property. The aforementioned laws do not
contain any provisions denying the rights of ownership of the
state as the owner of the said property.
5. Taking account of the arguments set forth, one is to
draw a conclusion that
1) the 28 December 1994 Law "On State Enterprises not
Intended for Corporatisation or Privatisation until the Year
2000" to the extent that it provides that certain enterprises
taken over from the VSCAAFN and attributed to the sphere of
regulation by the Ministry of Defence were not intended to be
either corporatised or privatised until the year 2000 is in
compliance with Article 23 of the Constitution;
2) the 23 February 1995 Law "On Subsequent Use of the
Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy" and the 25
October 1995 Law "On the Amendment and Supplementation of the
Republic of Lithuania Law 'On Subsequent Use of the Property of
the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation
with the Army, Air Force and Navy'" to the extent that they
provide for the transfer of the property of the former VSCAAFN
to corresponding organisations and institutions and regulate
the distribution of this property among the same organisations
and institutions are in compliance with Article 23 of the
Constitution.
VI
On the compliance of Government Resolution No. 145 "On the
Reorganisation of the Sport-Technical Union 'Vytis' and on the
Supplementation of the List of State Enterprises of Special
Purpose" of 18 April 1991, Government Resolution No. 248 "On
the Partial Amendment and Supplementation of Resolution of the
Government of the Republic of Lithuania No. 145 of 18 April
1991" of 25 June 1991, Government Resolution No. 855 "On
Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of Lithuania
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy" of 16 June 1995, Government Resolution No. 902 "On the
Partial Amendment of Resolution of the Government of the
Republic of Lithuania No. 855 'On Subsequent Use of the
Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy' of 16 June
1995" of 28 June 1995, Government Resolution No. 1270 "On the
Partial Amendment of Resolution of the Government of the
Republic of Lithuania No. 855 'On Subsequent Use of the
Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy' of 16 June
1995" of 22 September 1995, Government Resolution No. 1629 "On
the Partial Amendment of Resolution of the Government of the
Republic of Lithuania No. 855 'On Subsequent Use of the
Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy' of 16 June
1995" of 28 December 1995 and Government Resolution No. 1311
"On the Partial Amendment of Resolution of the Government of
the Republic of Lithuania No. 855 'On Subsequent Use of the
Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy' of 16 June
1995" of 13 November 1996 with Article 23 of the Constitution.
1. Government Resolution No. 145 "On the Reorganisation of
the Sport-Technical Union 'Vytis' and on the Supplementation of
the List of State Enterprises of Special Purpose" of 18 April
1991 decided to reorganise the Sport-Technical Union "Vytis"
under the Department of Defence into the State Sport and
Technology Organisation "Vytis" and the Union of
Technical-Sport Clubs. In addition, this governmental
resolution approved of the resolution of the 3 April 1991
Conference of the Sport-Technical Union "Vytis" under the
Department of Defence that certain enterprises shall be members
of the Union of Technical-Sport Clubs and the Lithuanian
Aviation Club. According to the said resolution, the
technical-sport clubs that had not belonged to the Union of
Technical-Sport Clubs, together with technical schools were
attributed to the State Sport and Technology Organisation
"Vytis" and included into the list of state enterprises of
special purpose.
It needs to be noted that that this governmental
resolution was adopted in the course of the enforcement of the
provisions of 15 November 1990 Supreme Council Resolution "On
the Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy" under which the
property taken from the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society
for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy was to be
transferred to the technical sport society which was being
created on the base of the former society.
Government Resolution No. 248 "On the Partial Amendment
and Supplementation of Resolution of the Government of the
Republic of Lithuania No. 145 of 18 April 1991" of 25 June 1991
gave the name "public organisations" to the members of the
Union of Technical-Sport Clubs and of the Lithuanian Aviation
Club which had been pointed out by Government Resolution No.
145 of 18 April 1991.
2. While enforcing the 23 February 1995 Law "On Subsequent
Use of the Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary
Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy",
the Government adopted Resolution No. 855 "On Subsequent Use of
the Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy" on 16 June
1995. Afterwards this resolution was amended by Government
Resolution No. 902 "On the Partial Amendment of Resolution of
the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No. 855 'On
Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of Lithuania
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy' of 16 June 1995" of 28 June 1995, Government Resolution
No. 1270 "On the Partial Amendment of Resolution of the
Government of the Republic of Lithuania No. 855 'On Subsequent
Use of the Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary
Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy' of
16 June 1995" of 22 September 1995, Government Resolution No.
1629 "On the Partial Amendment of Resolution of the Government
of the Republic of Lithuania No. 855 'On Subsequent Use of the
Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy' of 16 June
1995" of 28 December 1995, and Government Resolution No. 1311
"On the Partial Amendment of Resolution of the Government of
the Republic of Lithuania No. 855 'On Subsequent Use of the
Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy' of 16 June
1995" of 13 November 1996. It needs to be noted that all
aforementioned resolutions, on the grounds of the provisions of
the said law, decided the issues of transfer of the property of
the former VSCAAFN for using and managing but not issues of
transfer for ownership.
3. It has been held in this Constitutional Court ruling
that the property held by the former VSCAAFN is property of the
State of Lithuania.
4. The aforementioned governmental resolutions do not
contain any provisions denying the rights of ownership of the
state as the owner of the said property.
5. Taking account of the arguments set forth, one is to
conclude that
1) Government Resolution No. 145 "On the Reorganisation of
the Sport-Technical Union 'Vytis' and on the Supplementation of
the List of State Enterprises of Special Purpose" of 18 April
1991 and Government Resolution No. 248 "On the Partial
Amendment and Supplementation of Resolution of the Government
of the Republic of Lithuania No. 145 of 18 April 1991" of 25
June 1991 to the extent that these resolutions establish the
reorganisation of the Sport-Technical Union "Vytis" into the
State Sport and Technology Organisation "Vytis" and the Union
of Technical-Sport Clubs and that they regulate issues of
attribution of certain organisations (technical schools, sport
clubs etc.) that had not belonged to the aforesaid union to the
sphere of regulation by the State Sport and Technology
Organisation "Vytis" and issues of their inclusion into the
list of state enterprises of special purpose are in compliance
with Article 23 of the Constitution;
2) Government Resolution No. 855 "On Subsequent Use of the
Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy" of 16 June
1995, Government Resolution No. 902 "On the Partial Amendment
of Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania
No. 855 'On Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of
Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air
Force and Navy' of 16 June 1995" of 28 June 1995, Government
Resolution No. 1270 "On the Partial Amendment of Resolution of
the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No. 855 'On
Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of Lithuania
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy' of 16 June 1995" of 22 September 1995, Government
Resolution No. 1629 "On the Partial Amendment of Resolution of
the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No. 855 'On
Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of Lithuania
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy' of 16 June 1995" of 28 December 1995, and Government
Resolution No. 1311 "On the Partial Amendment of Resolution of
the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No. 855 'On
Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of Lithuania
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy' of 16 June 1995" of 13 November 1996 to the extent that
they establish the transfer of the property of the former
VSCAAFN to corresponding organisations and institutions for
using and managing and that they regulate the distribution of
this property among the said organisations are in compliance
with Article 23 of the Constitution.
Conforming to Articles 102 and 105 of the Constitution of
the Republic of Lithuania and Articles 1, 53, 54, 55, 56 and 69
of the Republic of Lithuania Law on the Constitutional Court,
the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania has
passed the following
ruling:
1. To recognise that the Preamble of the 15 November 1990
Resolution of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania
"On the Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society
for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy" and Item 1
of the said resolution to the extent that it establishes that
the Government of the Republic of Lithuania is commissioned to
take over all movable and real property as well as material
resources of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy on the basis of
the certificate of the said organisation and transfer this
property to the technical sport society which was being created
on the base of the former society are in compliance with the
Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania.
2. To recognise that the 28 December 1994 Republic of
Lithuania Law "On State Enterprises not Intended for
Corporatisation or Privatisation until the Year 2000" to the
extent that it provides that certain enterprises taken over
from the former Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the
Army, Air Force and Navy and attributed to the sphere of
regulation by the Ministry of Defence were not intended to be
either corporatised or privatised until the year 2000 is in
compliance with the Republic of Lithuania Law on Competition.
3. To recognise that 23 February 1995 Republic of
Lithuania Law "On Subsequent Use of the Property of the
Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with
the Army, Air Force and Navy" and the 25 October 1995 Republic
of Lithuania Law "On the Amendment and Supplementation of the
Republic of Lithuania Law 'On Subsequent Use of the Property of
the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation
with the Army, Air Force and Navy'" to the extent that they
provide for the transfer of the property of the former
Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and
Navy to corresponding organisations and institutions and
regulate the distribution of this property among the same
organisations and institutions are in compliance with the
Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania.
4. To recognise that Resolution of the Government of the
Republic of Lithuania No. 145 "On the Reorganisation of the
Sport-Technical Union 'Vytis' and on the Supplementation of the
List of State Enterprises of Special Purpose" of 18 April 1991
and Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania
No. 248 "On the Partial Amendment and Supplementation of
Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No.
145 of 18 April 1991" of 25 June 1991 to the extent that these
resolutions establish the reorganisation of the Sport-Technical
Union "Vytis" into the State Sport and Technology Organisation
"Vytis" and the Union of Technical-Sport Clubs and that they
regulate issues of attribution of certain organisations
(technical schools, sport clubs etc.) that had not belonged to
the aforesaid union to the sphere of regulation by the State
Sport and Technology Organisation "Vytis" and issues of their
inclusion into the list of state enterprises of special purpose
are in compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of
Lithuania.
5. To recognise that Resolution of the Government of the
Republic of Lithuania No. 855 "On Subsequent Use of the
Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy" of 16 June
1995, Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania
No. 902 "On the Partial Amendment of Resolution of the
Government of the Republic of Lithuania No. 855 'On Subsequent
Use of the Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary
Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy' of
16 June 1995" of 28 June 1995, Resolution of the Government of
the Republic of Lithuania No. 1270 "On the Partial Amendment of
Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No.
855 'On Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of
Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air
Force and Navy' of 16 June 1995" of 22 September 1995,
Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No.
1629 "On the Partial Amendment of Resolution of the Government
of the Republic of Lithuania No. 855 'On Subsequent Use of the
Property of the Republic of Lithuania Voluntary Society for
Co-operation with the Army, Air Force and Navy' of 16 June
1995" of 28 December 1995, and Resolution of the Government of
the Republic of Lithuania No. 1311 "On the Partial Amendment of
Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No.
855 'On Subsequent Use of the Property of the Republic of
Lithuania Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air
Force and Navy' of 16 June 1995" of 13 November 1996 to the
extent that they establish the transfer of the property of the
former Voluntary Society for Co-operation with the Army, Air
Force and Navy to corresponding organisations and institutions
for using and managing and that they regulate the distribution
of this property among the said organisations are in compliance
with the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania.
6. To dismiss the case in the part concerning the 2
February 1995 Republic of Lithuania Law on Public
Organisations.
This Constitutional Court ruling is final and not subject
to appeal.
The ruling is promulgated on behalf of the Republic of
Lithuania.