Lietuviškai
Case No. 45/03-36/04
THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
RULING
ON THE COMPLIANCE OF THE PROVISIONS OF LEGAL ACTS
REGULATING THE CITIZENSHIP RELATIONS WITH THE
CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
13 November 2006
Vilnius
The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania,
composed of the Justices of the Constitutional Court Armanas
Abramavičius, Toma Birmontienė, Egidijus Kūris, Kęstutis
Lapinskas, Zenonas Namavičius, Ramutė Ruškytė, Vytautas
Sinkevičius, Stasys Stačiokas, and Romualdas Kęstutis Urbaitis,
with the secretary of the hearingDaiva Pitrėnaitė,
in the presence of the representatives of the Seimas of
the Republic of Lithuania, the party concerned, who were Arminas
Lydeka, a Member of the Seimas, and Kristina Pažusytė, chief
specialist of the Law 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 Law on the
Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania, in its public
hearing on 11 October 2006 heard case No. 45/03-36/04 subsequent
to the following petitions:
- the petition of a group of Members of the Seimas of the
Republic of Lithuania, consisting of Aleksander Poplavski,
Saulius Lapėnas, Jonas Jučas, Audrius Klišonis, Juozas
Matulevičius, Raimondas Šukys, Eligijus Masiulis, Romanas
Algimantas Sedlickas, Domininkas Velička, Virginijus
Martišauskas, Raimundas Palaitis, Algirdas Gricius, Dalia
Teišerskytė, Gintautas Babravičius, Gintaras Šileikis, Valdemar
Tomaševski, Valerijus Simulik, Vasilij Fiodorov, Algimantas
Valentinas Indriūnas, Kęstutis Skamarakas, Rimas Valčiukas,
Alfonsas Macaitis, Irena Šiaulienė, Jurgis Utovka, Antanas Baura,
Viktoras Rinkevičius, Kazimira Danutė Prunskienė, Sergej
Dmitrijev, Vydas Baravykas, Jonas Lionginas, Pranas Vilkas,
Henrikas Žukauskas, Vladas Žalnerauskas and Vaclav Stankevič, the
petitioner, requesting to investigate whether Article 18 of the
Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship is not in conflict with
Articles 29 and 12 of the Constitution of the Republic of
Lithuania;
- the petition of the Vilnius Regional Administrative
Court, the petitioner, requesting to investigate whether Item 1
of Paragraph 1 of Article 1 and Item 1 of Paragraph 1 of Article
17 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship to the extent
that it provides that the persons who held citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, their children,
grandchildren and great-grandchildren (provided that said
persons, their children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren
have not repatriated), who are residing in other states, shall
retain the right to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania for
an indefinite period of time, and whether Paragraph 2 of Article
2 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on the Implementation of the
Law on Citizenship are not in conflict with Paragraphs 1 and 2 of
Article 29 and Paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 12 of the
Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, and with the
constitutional principles of justice and a state under the rule
of law.
By the Constitutional Court decision of 10 May 2006 the
aforementioned petitions were joined into one case and it was
given reference number 45/03-36/04.
The Constitutional Court
has established:
I
1. The group of Members of the Seimas, the petitioner,
applied to the Constitutional Court with a petition requesting to
investigate whether Article 18 of the Law on Citizenship is not
in conflict with Articles 29 and 12 of the Constitution.
2. The Vilnius Regional Administrative Court, the
petitioner, was considering an administrative case. By its
ruling, the said court suspended the consideration of the case
and applied to the Constitutional Court with a petition
requesting to investigate whether Item 1 of Paragraph 1 of
Article 1 and Item 1 of Paragraph 1 of Article 17 of the Law on
Citizenship to the extent that it provides that the persons who
held citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June
1940, their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren
(provided that said persons, their children, grandchildren and
great-grandchildren have not repatriated), who are residing in
other states, shall retain the right to citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania for an indefinite period of time, and
whether Paragraph 2 of Article 2 of the Law on the Implementation
of the Law on Citizenship are not in conflict with Paragraphs 1
and 2 of Article 29 and Paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 12 of the
Constitution, and with the constitutional principles of justice
and a state under the rule of law.
II
1. The petition of the group of Members of the Seimas,
the petitioner, is based on the following arguments.
1.1. Paragraph 1 of Article 18 of the Law on Citizenship
establishes the grounds for loss of citizenship, while Paragraph
2 establishes the application exceptions of one of the grounds
for loss of citizenshipupon acquisition of citizenship of
another state: Item 2 of Paragraph 1 of Article 18 of the Law on
Citizenship inter alia is not applied to the persons of
Lithuanian origin whose parents or grandparents or one of the
parents or grandparents is or was Lithuanian and the person
considers himself Lithuanian. The petitioner states that under
this provision, each Lithuanian, who acquired the citizenship of
another state, will also be able to hold citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania, while the Poles, Russians, Jews and other
citizens of the Republic of Lithuania of other nationalities are
not provided with a possibility to have double citizenship. Thus,
in the opinion of the petitioner, linking the loss of citizenship
with the nationality of a person is in conflict with Article 29
of the Constitution, wherein it is entrenched that all persons
shall be equal before the law, the court, and other state
institutions and officials and that the rights of the human being
may not be restricted, nor may he be granted any privileges on
the ground of gender, race, nationality, language, origin or on
other ground.
1.2. In the opinion of the petitioner, the disputed
provision of Paragraph 2 of Article 18 of the Law on Citizenship
which grants the right to double citizenship to all the persons
of Lithuanian origin does not comply with Paragraph 2 of Article
12 of the Constitution either, wherein it is established that
with the exception of individual cases provided for by law, no
one may be a citizen of both the Republic of Lithuania and
another state at the same time.
2. The petition of the Vilnius Regional Administrative
Court, the petitioner, is based on the following arguments.
2.1. Under the provisions of Item 1 of Paragraph 1 of
Article 1 and Item 1 of Paragraph 1 of Article 17 of the Law on
Citizenship and Paragraph 2 of Article 2 of the Law on the
Implementation of the Law on Citizenship, the persons who held
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940,
their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, from the
standpoint of being citizens of the Republic of Lithuania and
from the standpoint of the right to retention of citizenship of
the Republic of Lithuania, are divided into a few groups: (1) the
persons of Lithuanian origin are considered as Lithuanian
citizens and/or retain the right to citizenship of the Republic
of Lithuania irrespective of where they reside; (2) the persons
of other ethnical origin (other nationality) are divided into two
groups: first, those who departed to reside to any foreign state
but not to their ethnical homeland; in such case they are
considered as citizens of Lithuania and/or retain the right to
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, and, second, those who
departed for their ethnical homeland and resided there (i.e.
those who repatriated)such persons are not considered as
citizens of the Republic of Lithuania and they do not retain the
right to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania. The given
definition of the notion of repatriation is a disputable one,
while the establishment of the legal status of a person
(recognition of citizenship or retention of the right to
citizenship), relating it to the ethnical origin or nationality
of the person, violates the equality of persons and is
discriminatory, thus, according to the petitioner, such content
of the disputed provisions of the Law on Citizenship and the Law
on the Implementation of the Law on Citizenship is in conflict
with Article 29, Paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 12 of the
Constitution, and with the constitutional principles of justice
and a state under the rule of law.
2.2. In the opinion of the petitioner, the definition of
the notion "repatriation" established in Paragraph 2 of Article 2
of the Law on the Implementation of the Law on Citizenship does
not comply with the universally recognised definition of this
notion, since, as a rule, while construing this notion, the legal
link of the person with a certain state, and not with his
ethnical origin, is specified.
III
In the course of the preparation of the case for the
Constitutional Court hearing, written explanations were received
from A. Lydeka, the representative of the Seimas, the party
concerned, as well as from K. Pažusytė, the representative of the
Seimas, chief specialist of the Law Department of the Office of
the Seimas (representing the Seimas, the party concerned, in the
part of the case subsequent to the petition of the Vilnius
Regional Administrative Court, the petitioner), wherein it is
stated that the disputed provisions of the laws are not in
conflict with the Constitution. The position of the
representatives of the party concerned is based on the following
arguments.
1. A. Lydeka notes that the adoption of the said
provision of the Law on Citizenship was conditioned by the
requests from many Lithuanian communities abroad to create a
possibility for the citizens of the Republic of Lithuania of
Lithuanian origin, who have departed from Lithuania after 11
March 1990 and reside in other foreign countries at present, not
to lose citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania even after one
has acquired citizenship of the said another country.
2. According to the representative of the Seimas,
historically, the appearance of a double citizenship is linked to
the territorial changes of states, migration of inhabitants,
collision of the laws of the states regulating the procedure for
acquisition and loss of citizenship and other reasons. Thus,
appearance of double citizenship is related to the discretion of
the state to establish the criteria necessary for acquisition of
citizenship of that state.
3. In the opinion of the representative of the party
concerned, the provision of Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the
Constitution that with the exception of individual cases provided
for by law, no one may be a citizen of both the Republic of
Lithuania and another state at the same time, means that the
prohibition of double citizenship is not absolutethe legislator
may establish the cases when a Lithuanian citizen may at the same
time be a citizen of another state. Such case is first of all
entrenched in Article 16 of the Law on Citizenship, wherein
granting of citizenship by way of exception is provided for. In
the Law on Citizenship the second case, when a person may hold
double citizenship, is also provided, i.e. when a person departed
from Lithuania and acquired citizenship of another state,
however, there are very few such persons. Thus, in the opinion of
A. Lydeka, the disputed provisions of the Law on Citizenship are
not in conflict with Article 12 of the Constitution.
4. While assessing the compliance of Article 18 of the
Law on Citizenship with Article 29 of the Constitution, the
representative of the Seimas notes that the right to retain
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania for the persons of
Lithuanian origin may be based on the distinction of the
Lithuanian Nation in the Preamble to the Constitution: the
Lithuanian Nation embodies "the innate right of the human being
and the Nation to live and create freely in the land of their
fathers and forefathers"in the independent State of Lithuania.
A. Lydeka draws one's attention to Paragraph 4 of Article 32 of
the Constitution, wherein it is established that everyone who is
Lithuanian may settle himself in Lithuania, as well as to the
fact that the status of persons of Lithuanian origin was also
regulated a bit differently in former laws than the status of
persons of other ethnical origin. Thus, in the opinion of the
representative of the party concerned, the disputed provisions of
the Law on Citizenship are not in conflict with Article 29 of the
Constitution, too.
5. While assessing the notion "repatriation" defined in
Paragraph 2 of Article 2 of the Law on the Implementation of the
Law on Citizenship, A. Lydeka and K. Pažusytė note that it is
recognized in the theory of law that a word of a common language,
which is used in the text of a law, usually, along with the
general meaning, acquires also a speciallegalmeaning, as well
as that the legal meaning of any word may be broader or narrower
than the general meaning. Thus, the notion "repatriation" is
formed more narrowly in the Law on Implementation of the Law on
Citizenship than in dictionaries: it is to be construed in the
context of the Law on Citizenship and in the system of other
provisions of the Constitution and this law.
6. The representatives of the Seimas think that by
establishing the condition in Item 1 of Paragraph 1 of Article 17
of the Law on Citizenship that the right to citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania shall be retained only to the persons who
have not repatriated and by defining repatriation as a departure
for one's ethnical homeland and settlement there, one aimed to
restrict the circle of persons who may hold double citizenship.
7. According to A. Lydeka and K. Pažusytė, in the Law on
Citizenship the legislator established a simpler procedure for
acquisition of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania for
persons of Lithuanian nationality and persons of other
nationalities who did not repatriate, thus, as if compensating in
such way for these persons, who lost the possibility to live
together with the community having the acceptable traditions,
customs and language, i.e. for the supposed more difficult social
adaptation in a non-ethnical homeland. In the opinion of the
representatives of the Seimas, the position of the legislator,
while establishing different conditions for acquisition of
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania in the Law on
Citizenship, was implied by the links of groups of different
persons with the Republic of Lithuania.
8. In the opinion of the representatives of the Seimas,
the notion "repatriation", which is defined in the Law on the
Implementation of the Law on Citizenship, reflects the will of a
person to attribute himself to a concrete ethnical community
(nation), which lives in the place of his origin and the will to
seek for the links with members of the ethnical community living
in that place, to integrate into the life of that ethnical
community in the cultural, economic, and, as a rule, political
and legal sense, thus his refusal to relate himself by the duties
with the Republic of Lithuania and the links to faithfulness and
trust which arise from them. As a rule, such persons try to bind
themselves in their ethnical homeland and/or bind themselves with
the permanent legal link with the state, i.e. they acquire its
citizenship. In such case the State of Lithuanian no longer has
any reason to retain the right to the citizenship of the Republic
of Lithuania for the person, who used to be a citizen of the
Republic of Lithuania, but who settled himself in his ethnical
homeland and entered into legal political relations with that
state.
IV
In the course of the preparation of the case for the
Constitutional Court hearing, written explanations were received
from V. Bulovas and G. J. Furmanavičius, Ministers of the
Interior of the Republic of Lithuania, G. Švedas, Vice-Minister
of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania, P. Koverovas, State
Secretary of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of
Lithuania, A. Petrauskas, Director General of the Department of
National Minorities and Lithuanians Living Abroad under the
Government of the Republic of Lithuania, A. Gavėnas, Director of
the Migration Department under the Ministry of the Interior of
the Republic of Lithuania, A. Čepas, Director of the Institute of
Law and V. Valeckaitė, Deputy Director of the same institute.
V
1. At the hearing of the Constitutional Court, the
representatives of the Seimas, the party concerned, who were A.
Lydeka and K. Pažusytė, virtually repeated the arguments set
forth in their written explanations.
2. The opinions of A. Lydeka and K. Pažusytė concerning
the notion "repatriation" were different: A. Lydeka asserted that
while repatriating, the person chooses in which states that can
provide him with citizenship he will settle himself: in
Lithuania, or in the state, with which he has social, linguistic
and other relations, i.e. the person may be considered as a
repatriated one only if his ethnical homeland has statehood and
may provide the person with citizenship of this state. According
to K. Pažusytė, the person's repatriation must be interpreted as
the person's departure to the territory of his ethnical homeland,
irrespective of the fact, whether this ethnical homeland is an
independent state, or not; while deciding, if the person has
repatriated, the circumstance of whether he had (has) the
possibility to acquire citizenship in his ethnical homeland and/
or acquired it, does not have essential significance.
3. At the Constitutional Court hearing, a specialistD.
Vežikauskaitė, Head of the Citizenship Section of the Migration
Department under the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of
Lithuania, took the floor.
The Constitutional Court
holds that:
I
1. The group of Members of the Seimas, the petitioner,
requests to investigate whether Article 18 of the Law on
Citizenship is not in conflict with Articles 12 and 29 of the
Constitution.
2. The Vilnius Regional Administrative Court, the
petitioner, requests to investigate, whether Item 1 of Paragraph
1 of Article 1 and Item 1 of Paragraph 1 of Article 17 of the Law
on Citizenship, to the extent that it provides that the persons
who held citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania prior to 15
June 1940, their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren
(provided that said persons, their children, grandchildren or
great-grandchildren have not repatriated), who are residing in
other states, shall retain the right to citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania for an indefinite period of time, and
whether Paragraph 2 of Article 2 of the Law on the Implementation
of the Law on Citizenship are not in conflict with Paragraphs 1
and 2 of Article 29 and Paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 12 of the
Constitution, and with the constitutional principles of justice
and a state under the rule of law.
3. On 17 September 2002, the Seimas adopted the Law on
Citizenship. Paragraph 1 of Article 34 of this law establishes
that the new Law on Citizenship "shall come into force as from 1
January 2003." Under Paragraph 2 of this article, upon entry into
force of the Law on Citizenship (wording of 17 September 2002),
the validity of the until then valid Law on Citizenship (wording
of 5 December 1991 with subsequent amendments and supplements)
expired.
4. The Law on Citizenship (wording of 17 September 2002)
has been amended and/or supplemented by the Republic of Lithuania
Law on Amending Articles 13, 19 and 21 of Law on Citizenship,
which was adopted by the Seimas on 3 April 2003, the Republic of
Lithuania Law on Amending and Supplementing Articles 12, 13, 14,
15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31 and 32 of the Law on
Citizenship, which was adopted by the Seimas on 9 December 2004,
the Republic of Lithuania Law on Amending and Supplementing
Articles 12, 18, 20, 26, 28 and 30 of the Law on Citizenship,
which was adopted by the Seimas on 6 April 2006, and the Republic
of Lithuania Law Supplementing Article 16 of the Law on
Citizenship, which was adopted by the Seimas on 18 July 2006.
5. The Law on Citizenship (wording of 17 September 2002
with subsequent amendments and supplements) establishes as to
what persons are citizens of the Republic of Lithuania, regulates
the relations of the acquisition of citizenship of the Republic
of Lithuania, of the right to retain the citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania, of loss and restoration of citizenship of
the Republic of Lithuania and establishes the procedure for
resolving issues related to citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania and regulates other relations related to citizenship of
the Republic of Lithuania.
6. On 17 September 2002, the Seimas adopted the Republic
of Lithuania Law on the Implementation of the Law on Citizenship,
Paragraph 1 of Article 6 whereof establishes that it "shall come
into force as from 1 January 2003." Under Paragraph 2 of this
article, upon entry into force of the Law on the Implementation
of the Law on Citizenship, the validity of the until then valid
Law "On the Procedure for Implementation of the Republic of
Lithuania Law on Citizenship" (wording of 19 October 1995 with
subsequent amendments) expired.
7. The Law on the Implementation of the Law on
Citizenship (wording of 17 September 2002) has been amended and/
or supplemented by the Republic of Lithuania Law on Amending and
Supplementing the Law on the Implementation of the Law on
Citizenship, the Law on State Social Insurance Pensions, the Law
on Benefit (Social) Pensions, the Provisional Law on the State
Pensions of Scientists, and the Law on State Pensions, which was
adopted by the Seimas on 21 January 2003, the Republic of
Lithuania Law on Amending and Supplementing Articles 2, 3 and 4
of the Law on the Implementation of the Law on Citizenship, which
was adopted by the Seimas on 11 November 2004 and the Republic of
Lithuania Law on Amending Article 5 of the Law on the
Implementation of the Law on Citizenship, which was adopted by
the Seimas on 6 April 2006.
8. The Law on the Implementation of the Law on
Citizenship defines the content of the notion "repatriation" used
in the Law on Citizenship (wording of 17 September 2002) and
regulates the relations related to the application of some
provisions of the Law on Citizenship (wording of 17 September
2002).
9. In Article 1 titled "Citizens of the Republic of
Lithuania" of the Law on Citizenship (wording of 17 September
2002) it is inter alia established:
"The following persons shall be citizens of the Republic
of Lithuania:
1) Persons who held citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, their children, grandchildren
and great-grandchildren (provided that said persons, their
children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren have not
repatriated) <
>."
In the opinion of the Vilnius Regional Administrative
Court, the petitioner, such legal regulation means that the
persons who held citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania prior
to 15 June 1940, their children, grandchildren and great-
grandchildren, provided that said persons, their children,
grandchildren or great-grandchildren have repatriated, are not
considered as citizens of the Republic of Lithuania.
10. Paragraph 1 of Article 17 titled "Retention of the
Right to Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania" of the Law on
Citizenship (wording of 17 September 2002) inter alia
established:
"The following persons shall retain the right to
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania for an indefinite period
of time:
(1) persons who held citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, their children, grandchildren
and great-grandchildren (provided that said persons, their
children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren have not
repatriated), who are residing in other states <
>."
In the opinion of the Vilnius Regional Administrative
Court, the petitioner, such legal regulation means that the right
to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania is not retained to
the persons who held citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania
prior to 15 June 1940, their children, grandchildren and great-
grandchildren, provided that said persons, their children,
grandchildren or great-grandchildren have repatriated and who are
residing in other states.
11. Article 18 titled "Loss of Citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania" of the Law on Citizenship (wording of 17
September 2002) established:
"1. Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania shall be
lost:
1) upon renunciation of citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania;
2) upon acquisition of citizenship of another state;
3) on the grounds provided for by international treaties
of the Republic of Lithuania.
2. Item 2 of Paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply
to:
1) persons who held citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, their children, grandchildren
and great-grandchildren (provided that said persons, their
children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren have not
repatriated);
2) persons of Lithuanian origin whose parents or
grandparents are or were or one of parents or grandparents is or
was Lithuanian and the person considers himself Lithuanian.
3. A person may be recognised as having lost citizenship
of the Republic of Lithuania if he is in the military service of
another state or is employed in the civil service of another
state without having been granted authorisation by relevant
institutions of the Republic of Lithuania."
In the opinion of the group of Members of the Seimas, the
petitioner, such legal regulation inter alia means that every
Lithuanian, who has acquired citizenship of another state, may
also be a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania at the same time,
while citizens of other nationalities of the Republic of
Lithuania do not have a possibility in addition to hold
citizenship of another state.
In this context it is to be noted that Article 6 of the
Law on Amending and Supplementing Articles 12, 13, 14, 15, 16,
18, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31 and 32 of the Law on Citizenship,
which was adopted by the Seimas on 9 December 2004, amended
Paragraph 3 (wording of 17 September 2002) of Article 18 of the
Law on Citizenship. It is also to be noted that Article 2 of the
Law on Amending and Supplementing Articles 12, 18, 20, 26, 28 and
30 of the Law on Citizenship, which was adopted by the Seimas on
6 April 2006, also amended Paragraph 2 (wording of 17 September
2002) of Article 18 (wording of 9 December 2004) of the Law on
Citizenship; this article was also supplemented with new
Paragraph 4.
12. Paragraph 2 (wording of 17 September 2002) of Article
2 of the Law on the Implementation of the Law on Citizenship
provides: "Departure for one's ethnical homeland and residence in
the ethnical homeland shall be considered repatriation".
In the opinion of the Vilnius Regional Administrative
Court, the petitioner, such definition of the notion
"repatriation" is not in line with the universally recognised
definition of this notion, as the ethnical origin (nationality)
of the person is emphasized and not his legal link with the
corresponding state.
13. It is obvious from the arguments of the group of
Members of the Seimas and the Vilnius Regional Administrative
Court, the petitioners, that they doubts whether:
- the provision "the following persons shall be citizens
of the Republic of Lithuania: (1) persons who held citizenship of
the Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, their children,
grandchildren and great-grandchildren (provided that said
persons, their children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren
have not repatriated)" of Article 1 (wording of 17 September
2002) of the Law on Citizenship, to the extent that, according to
the Vilnius Regional Administrative Court, the petitioner, it
entrenches that the persons who held citizenship of the Republic
of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, their children, grandchildren
and great-grandchildren, provided that said persons, their
children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren have repatriated,
are not considered as citizens of the Republic of Lithuania, is
not in conflict with Article 29 and Paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article
12 of the Constitution and with the constitutional principles of
justice and a state under the rule of law;
- the provision "the following persons shall retain the
right to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania for an
indefinite period of time: (1) persons who held citizenship of
the Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, their children,
grandchildren and great-grandchildren (provided that said
persons, their children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren
have not repatriated), who are residing in other states" of
Paragraph 1 (wording of 17 September 2002) of Article 17 of the
Law on Citizenship, to the extent that, according to the Vilnius
Regional Administrative Court, the petitioner, it entrenches that
the right to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania shall not
be retained to the persons who held citizenship of the Republic
of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, their children, grandchildren
and great-grandchildren, provided that said persons, their
children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren have repatriated,
and who are residing in other states, is not in conflict with
Article 29 and Paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 12 of the
Constitution and with the constitutional principles of justice
and a state under the rule of law;
- the provision "Item 2 of Paragraph 1 of this Article
shall not apply to: <
> (2) person of Lithuanian origin whose
parents or grandparents are or were or one of parents or
grandparents is or was Lithuanian and the person considers
himself Lithuanian" of Paragraph 2 (wording of 17 September 2002)
of Article 18 of the Law on Citizenship to the extent that it
provides that Item 2 (wording of 17 September 2002) of Paragraph
1 of Article 18 of the Law on Citizenship shall not apply only to
the persons of Lithuanian origin, while it shall apply to the
persons who are of non-Lithuanian origin, was not in conflict
with Articles 29 and 12 of the Constitution;
- Paragraph 2 (wording of 17 September 2002) of Article 2
of the Law on the Implementation of the Law on Citizenship is not
in conflict with Article 29 and Paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 12
of the Constitution and with the constitutional principles of
justice and a state under the rule of law.
14. The doubts concerning the compliance of the disputed
legal act with the Constitution raised in the petitions of the
group of Members of the Seimas and the Vilnius Regional
Administrative Court, the petitioners, are related to the fact as
to how one defines who are citizens of the Republic of Lithuania,
what legislative possibilities for citizens of the Republic of
Lithuania also to hold citizenship of another state there are,
how the relations of loss of citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania are regulated (in particular, upon acquisition of
citizenship of another state), as well as to the fact how the
content of the notion "repatriation" is defined (inter alia to
the fact that, under the laws, whose compliance with the
Constitution is disputed in the constitutional justice case at
issue, repatriation is a circumstance, which determines whether
the person is a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania, whether the
right to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania is retained to
him, etc.).
While deciding according to the petitions of the
petitioners whether the disputed provisions of the laws are not
in conflict with the Constitution, the legal regulation of the
relations of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania (related to
the fact how one defines who citizens of the Republic of
Lithuania are, how the retention of the right to citizenship of
the Republic of Lithuania is regulated, what legislative
possibilities for citizens of the Republic of Lithuania also to
hold citizenship of another state there are, how the relations of
loss of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania are regulated
(in particular, upon acquisition of the citizenship of another
state), as well as to the fact how the content of the notion
"repatriation" is defined) is to be assessed systemically and
historically revealing (in the corresponding aspects) inter alia
the tradition and development of the legal regulation of the
relations of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, as well as
the aspects of the institute of citizenship entrenched in the
international legal acts which are significant for this
constitutional justice case.
II
1. The citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania is a
constitutional institute.
2. The citizenship relations are regulated by Article 12
of the Constitution, wherein it is established that citizenship
of the Republic of Lithuania shall be acquired by birth and on
other grounds established by law (Paragraph 1), that with the
exception of individual cases provided for by law, no one may be
a citizen of both the Republic of Lithuania and another state at
the same time (Paragraph 2) and that the procedure for the
acquisition and loss of citizenship shall be established by law
(Paragraph 3); by Item 21 of Article 84, under which the
President of the Republic shall grant citizenship of the Republic
of Lithuania according to the procedure established by law;
Article 85 of the Constitution, under which the President of the
Republic shall grant citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania by
issuing a decree, which, in order to be valid, must be
countersignedsigned by the Prime Minister or an appropriate
Minister.
Other provisions, which determine the legal status of
citizens of the Republic of Lithuania (as well as establish the
rights, freedoms and duties enjoyed only by citizens of the
Republic of Lithuania), are also entrenched in the Constitution,
inter alia: the Nation and each citizen shall have the right to
resist anyone who encroaches on the independence, territorial
integrity, and constitutional order of the State of Lithuania by
force (Paragraph 2 of Article 3), the most significant issues
concerning the life of the State and the Nation shall be decided
by referendum, which shall inter alia be announced if not less
than 300,000 citizens with the electoral right so request
(Paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 9); the State of Lithuania shall
protect its citizens abroad (Paragraph 1 of Article 13); it shall
be prohibited to extradite a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania
to another state unless an international treaty of the Republic
of Lithuania establishes otherwise (Paragraph 2 of Article 13); a
citizen of the Republic of Lithuania may move and choose his
place of residence in Lithuania freely and may leave Lithuania
freely (Paragraph 1 of Article 32); a citizen may not be
prohibited from returning to Lithuania (Paragraph 2 of Article
32); citizens shall have the right to participate in the
governance of their state both directly and through their
democratically elected representatives as well as the right to
enter on equal terms in the State service of the Republic of
Lithuania (Paragraph 1 of Article 33); citizens who, on the day
of election, have reached 18 years of age, shall have the
electoral right (Paragraph 1 of Article 34); inter alia citizens
of the Republic of Lithuania shall have the right of legislative
initiative: 50,000 citizens of the Republic of Lithuania who have
the electoral right may submit a draft law to the Seimas and the
Seimas must consider it (Paragraph 2 of Article 68); the defence
of the State of Lithuania against a foreign armed attack shall be
the right and duty of each citizen of the Republic of Lithuania
(Paragraph 1 of Article 139); citizens of the Republic of
Lithuania must perform military or alternative national defence
service according to the procedure established by law (Paragraph
2 of Article 139); a motion to alter or supplement the
Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania may be submitted to the
Seimas inter alia by not less than by 300,000 voters (Paragraph 1
of Article 147), etc.
It needs to be noted (it is entrenched in the
jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court) that not all the
provisions of the Constitution, in the text of which the notion
"citizen" is used, may be construed adequately, i.e. as including
only the citizens of the Republic of Lithuania and excluding
foreigners and stateless persons.
3. While construing the constitutional institute of
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, the Constitutional
Court has held: citizenship is a permanent, discontinued legal
link between the person and the state; citizenship appears when
the person becomes a citizen, and continues until the death of
the person or until his loss of citizenship; the legal link of
the citizen with the state persists no matter where the citizen
might be: whether in the state a citizen of which he is, or
outside its borders, i.e. in another state; after the citizen has
departed for another state, his legal link with the state, a
citizen of which he is, persists; it is the permanent
(discontinued) legal link between the citizen and the state that
permits to distinguish this special legal link from the legal
link which appears between the state and a foreigner or a
stateless person, who resides in it either permanently or
temporarily: when the foreigner or the stateless person leaves
the state, his legal link with the state discontinues. When the
citizen leaves for another state, his legal link with the state
whose citizen he is persists (Constitutional Court ruling of 30
December 2003).
Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania expresses legal
membership of the person in the State of Lithuania, reflects
legal belongingness of the person to the Nation as a state
community. The link between citizens and the state is mutual:
citizenship provides the person with and guarantees him the civil
(political) rights and establishes his certain duties to the
state; certain duties of the state to its citizens arise from the
citizenship relations. Citizenship, as a particular legal link
with the State of Lithuania, is necessary to citizens so that all
their rights and freedoms, which are enjoyed by citizens, might
be guaranteed in order that the person could enjoy the protection
of his state within his country as well as abroad.
4. Paragraph 1 of Article 12 of the Constitution
specifies the main way of acquisition of citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania: citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania
shall be acquired by birth. Under Article 12 of the Constitution,
citizenship may be acquired not only by birth (filiation) but
also by other grounds established by law.
Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the Constitution provides
that with the exception of individual cases provided for by law,
no one may be a citizen of both the Republic of Lithuania and
another state at the same time. Thus, a citizen of the Republic
of Lithuania may not be a citizen of another state at the same
time, and a citizen of another state may not be a citizen of the
Republic of Lithuania at the same time, however, this prohibition
of double citizenship entrenched in the Constitution is not
absoluteunder Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the Constitution, the
law may and must provide individual cases, when a person may be a
citizen of both the Republic of Lithuania and another state.
Thus, from Article 12 of the Constitution a duty arises
to the legislator not only to establish by law the grounds for
acquisition of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania and to
regulate the procedure for acquisition and loss of citizenship of
the Republic of Lithuania, but also to provide for individual
cases, when a person may at the same time be both a citizen of
the Republic of Lithuania and another state.
5. The Constitutional Court has noted in its ruling of 30
December 2003 that "an absolute majority of persons are citizens
not because they have expressed their wish to be citizens of the
state but because they are linked with the state by means of a
certain objective relation: their parents (one of parents) were
citizens of that state. Acquisition of citizenship by birth
(filiation) is the main way of acquisition of citizenship; by
acquisition of citizenship by birth, continuance of citizenship
is ensured and continuance of the state community, the legal
Nation, is ensured as well. It is possible to acquire citizenship
by way of naturalisation, i.e. citizenship is granted to a person
who meets the conditions established in the law. As a rule, such
conditions are requirements of permanent residence in the state
for a certain time period established in the law, and of
knowledge of the state language. These requirements are based on
the provision that the person whishing to acquire citizenship and
the state must be connected by a permanent factual link before
citizenship is granted, that permanent residence in the state
during a certain time period established in the law and knowledge
of the state language are necessary pre-conditions for a
foreigner or a stateless person to integrate himself into the
society, to perceive the mentality of the Nation and its
strivings, the constitutional order of the state, to get
acquainted with the history, culture, customs and traditions of
the Nation and the state, to be prepared to take responsibility
for the present and the future of the state. It is due to this
that it is not sufficient for a citizen of a foreign state or a
stateless person who wishes to acquire citizenship merely to
settle in this country-for this reason one has to reside
permanently in the state for a longer time period, which is
established in the law, and to know the state language. Thus,
acquisition of citizenship is always to be related with a certain
objective link between the person with the state: this link is
most often determined by the fact that that children of citizens
become citizens by birth (jus sanguini), in certain states a
person who was born within its territory is considered its
citizen (jus soli), or when the permanent factual link of a
foreigner or a stateless person with the state, if this foreigner
or stateless person meets the conditions established in the law
and he is granted citizenship (naturalisation), becomes a
permanent legal link with the state."
6. The institute of citizenship entrenched in the
Constitution is inseparable from the State of Lithuania and from
the constitutional concept of the civil Nationstate community.
The State of Lithuania came into being on the basis of
the ethnical nationLithuanian Nation. It is reflected in the
Preamble to the Constitution, wherein it is entrenched that
namely the Lithuanian Nation (i.e. ethnical nation) created the
State of Lithuania many centuries ago, for centuries staunchly
defended its freedom and independence, preserved its spirit,
native language, writing, and customs, embodied the innate right
of the human being and the Nation to live and create freely in
the land of their fathers and forefathers and preserved the
striving and the right to reside in the independent State of
Lithuania.
The states created on the basis of ethnical nations are
national states. Namely, the national state is a political form
of the common life of the ethnical nation, which ensures the
possibility to foster the identity, culture, mentality, language,
traditions and customs of the corresponding ethnical nation,
which helps to accumulate the experience of statehood and to pass
it on to the posterity as well as to gain maturity, and which
guarantees the necessary historical survival. The full-fledged
life of the ethnical nation would be particularly burdened or
even impossible without a national state.
7. The fact that the State of Lithuania came into being
on the basis of the ethnical nation is reflected not only in the
Preamble to the Constitution, but also in other provisions of the
ConstitutionLithuanian shall be the state language (Article 14);
everyone who is Lithuanian may settle in Lithuania (Paragraph 4
of Article 32). The provision of Paragraph 4 of Article 32 of the
Constitution that everyone who is Lithuanian may settle in
Lithuania, means that all Lithuanians who reside abroad, wherever
their permanent residence, have the right to come back to
Lithuania, their ethnical homeland, at any time. Under the
Constitution, it is impossible to establish any such legal
regulation, which would sever the Lithuanians living abroad from
the Lithuanian Nation. The Lithuanians who reside abroad cannot
be deprived of the possibility to participate in the life of the
Lithuanian Nation, if they seek so. Lithuanians residing abroad
are an inseparable component of the Lithuanian Nation.
It is a constitutional basis to establish by law such
legal regulation that Lithuanians residing abroad would have the
right to become citizens of the Republic of Lithuania under
different (easier) conditions than other persons who seek for
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania (inter alia that
Lithuanians residing abroad, who seek citizenship of the Republic
of Lithuania, be not applied the usual naturalisation
conditions). This is also a constitutional basis to entrench in
laws the institute of retention of citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania, which is to be applied to the Lithuanians residing
abroad who seek for citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania,
particularly if they, their parents, grandparents or great-
grandparents were linked to Lithuania by citizenship relations.
8. The persons who attribute themselves to the Lithuanian
Nation as an ethnical nation compose the absolute majority of
population of the today's State of Lithuania. In this respect, as
well as by the name of the state, by recognition of the status of
Lithuanian as the state language, the Lithuanian Nation
corresponds to the generally recognized definition of a nominal
nation.
On the other hand, also non-Lithuanianspeople of other
ethnical nationshave resided in the lands of Lithuania for ages.
Together with the Lithuanians they created and defended the State
of Lithuania, cared about its future. Thus, since ages the
pattern of life of the Lithuanian Nation has been based on the
peaceful concord between the Lithuanian Nation, as the nominal
nation, and other national communities living in the territory of
Lithuania and on the forbearance and tolerance of people of
various nations in respect of each other. Fostering national
concord in the land of Lithuania is a historical tradition of the
State of Lithuania. This tradition was violated only in such
periods of the history of Lithuania, when the State of Lithuania
itself was occupied by foreign states, when the Nation of
Lithuania could not authentically create its political life by
itself.
The Lithuanian Nation shall foster national concord in
the land of Lithuania (Preamble to the Constitution). In this
context, it needs to be emphasized that, under the Constitution,
the whole of the citizens of the State of Lithuania composes the
civil Nationstate community. In Article 2 of the Constitution,
wherein it is established that the State of Lithuania shall be
created by the Nation and sovereignty shall belong to the Nation,
and Article 4, wherein it is established that the Nation shall
execute its supreme sovereign power either directly or through
its democratically elected representatives, the notion "Nation"
is used precisely in this sense.
In this context, it is to be emphasized that the notions
"Lithuanian Nation" and "Nation" used in the Constitution may not
be opposed. The Lithuanian Nation is the basis and the necessary
precondition of the existence of the civil Nationthe state
community.
It was mentioned that citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania expresses legal membership of a person in the State of
Lithuania, reflects legal belongingness of the person to the
Nation as a state community. The Lithuanian civil Nation is a
state community which unites the citizens of the corresponding
state (irrespective of their ethnical origin) and the whole of
citizens composes the Lithuanian civil Nation. The Lithuanian
civil Nation includes all citizens of the Republic of Lithuania,
regardless of whether they belong to the nominal nation (they are
Lithuanians), or to national minorities (Constitutional Court
ruling of 10 May 2006). All citizen of the Republic of Lithuania,
irrespective of their ethnical origin, under the Constitution
shall be equal; they may not be discriminated or granted any
privileges on the grounds of their ethnical origin and
nationality. On the other hand, as the Constitutional Court has
held, integration into the society of Lithuania, becoming a full-
fledged member of the state communitythe civil Nationis related
to respective efforts, including learning the state language
(Constitutional Court ruling of 10 May 2006).
9. Namely the Lithuanian civil Nation, the citizens of
the reborn State of Lithuania, adopted and announced the
Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania in the referendum of 25
October 1992. It is the Lithuanian civil Nation that is the
source of the Constitution. The Constitutional Court has held
that "having adopted the Constitution, the Lithuanian Nation
formed the standardised basis for the common life of its own, as
the state communitythe civil Nation, and consolidated the state
as the common good of the entire society" (Constitutional Court
rulings of 25 May 2004 and 19 August 2006).
The Constitutional Court has also held that "only
citizens of the Republic of Lithuania, i.e. the state community
the civil Nationhave the right to create the State of Lithuania,
i.e. only citizens have the right to decide as to what State of
Lithuania there must be, to establish the constitutional order of
the State of Lithuania, the organisation of institutions
implementing state power, the basics of relations between the
person and the state, the system of the country's economy, etc.
While implementing the rights and freedoms of citizens, citizens
participate in executing the sovereignty of the Nation"
(Constitutional Court rulings of 30 December 2003 and 10 May
2006).
10. In the course of establishment of the grounds of
acquisition of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania and
regulation of the procedure for acquisition and loss of
citizenship, the legislator enjoys discretion. However, while
doing this, the legislator cannot deny the nature and meaning of
the institute of citizenship, he must pay heed to the
constitutional requirement that a citizen of the Republic of
Lithuania may also be a citizen of another state only in
individual cases established by law. It should be underlined that
the provision of Article 12 of the Constitution that a person may
be a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania and, at the same time,
a citizen of another state only in individual cases established
by law, means that such cases established by law can be very rare
(individual), that cases of double citizenship must be
extraordinarily rare, exceptional, that under the Constitution it
is not permitted to establish any such legal regulation under
which cases of double citizenship would be not extraordinarily
rare exceptions, but a widespread phenomenon. Under the
Constitution, expansive construction of the provisions of the Law
on Citizenship consolidating an opportunity to be a citizen of
the Republic of Lithuania and a citizen of another state at the
same time is impermissible, under which double citizenship would
be not individual, extraordinarily rare exceptions, but a
widespread phenomenon (Constitutional Court ruling of 30 December
2003).
11. When regulating citizenship relations, one must also
follow the principle of equal rights of persons. As the
Constitutional Court has held in its acts more than once, this
constitutional principle means the innate human right to be
treated equally with others and it consolidates formal equality
of all persons, obliges to legally assess the same facts in the
same manner and prohibits from arbitrary assessment of the facts
that are essentially the same in a varied manner, it does not
allow to discriminate persons, nor grant them any privileges. The
Constitutional Court has also held that the constitutional
principle of equal rights of persons does not deny a possibility
to establish different (differentiated) legal regulation in the
law with respect to the categories of certain persons which are
in different situations; however, this constitutional principle
would be violated, if certain persons, to whom corresponding
legal regulation is designated, if compared with other persons to
whom corresponding legal regulation is designated, were treated
differently, even though there are no such differences between
them so that such different treatment would be objectively
justifiable.
12. It is to be noted in this context that it is
recognized in the international law that each state establishes
itself by means of legal acts as to who are its citizens, i.e. it
defines the conditions and procedure for acquisition, restoration
and loss of citizenship and regulates other relations linked to
citizenship. Citizenship is an institute of the national law of
each state. Thus, in the 1930 Convention on Certain Questions
Relating to the Conflict of Nationality Laws, it is entrenched
that it is for each state to determine under its own law who are
its nationals, that this law shall be recognised by other states
in so far as it is consistent with international conventions,
international custom, and the principles of law generally
recognised with regard to nationality (Article 1).
If necessary, the states may conclude multilateral and
bilateral treaties concerning citizenship with other states. The
legal regulation of citizenship established by laws and
international treaties has to comply with inter alia
international conventions, customary international law and the
principles of law generally recognized with regard to
citizenship.
13. In the context of the constitutional justice case at
issue, attention is to be paid to the provisions of international
legal acts concerning the right of person to citizenship, as well
as the provisions which entrench the concept of repatriation and
the provisions on double citizenship.
13.1. It is entrenched in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights (1948) of the United Nations that everyone has the
right to a nationality; no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of
his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality
(Article 15). It is established in the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights (1966) of the United Nations that
every child has the right to acquire nationality (Article 24).
International documents also entrench the undisputable
principle that every state may define who are its citizens and to
establish the grounds for acquisition and loss of citizenship.
The 1997 European Convention on Citizenship (which is not signed
by the Republic of Lithuania) defines nationality as "the legal
bond between a person and the State and does not indicate the
person's ethnical origin" (Article 2); it is also emphasized in
this convention that each state shall determine under its own law
who are its nationals (Paragraph 1 of Article 3). The said
convention prohibits from any discrimination in the sphere of
nationality as well as from discrimination on the grounds of
national or ethnical origin (Article 5).
13.2. The international legal acts also regulate certain
relations related to double citizenship. Thus, the 1963 Council
of Europe Convention on the Reduction of Cases of Multiple
Nationality and Military Obligations in Cases of Multiple
Nationality (which has not been signed by the Republic of
Lithuania) provides: the Member States of the Council of Europe,
signatory hereto, considering that cases of multiple nationality
are liable to cause difficulties and that joint action to reduce
as far as possible the number of cases of multiple nationality,
as between member States, corresponds to the aims of the Council
of Europe (Preamble); nationals of the Contracting Parties who
are of full age and who acquire of their own free will, by means
of naturalisation, option or recovery, the nationality of another
Party shall lose their former nationality and they shall not be
authorized to retain their former nationality (Article 1). Even
though the said convention has been amended and/or supplemented
later more than once, inter alia establishing additional
conditions, reservations and possibilities for a person to keep
citizenship of another state without the held citizenship, the
principled provision that a person may usually hold citizenship
of only one state remained.
It has been held in this Constitutional Court ruling that
the legal regulation of citizenship established by laws and
international treaties has to comply with inter alia
international conventions, customary international law and the
principles of law generally recognized with regard to
citizenship. They must also be complied with when the state,
implementing its discretion to regulate citizenship relations by
legal acts, when this discretion is recognized by international
law, puts limitation on the cases of double citizenship and
establishes the necessary exceptions to this limitation.
13.3. In international law, the notion "repatriation" is
usually used only in the context of protection of victims of war
and their return to the homeland. Namely in this context this
notion used is in the Republic of Lithuania Law "On the
Ratification of the 1949 Geneva Conventions for the Protection of
the Victims of War and Additional Protocols of 1977 thereto which
Develop the Provisions of these Conventions", which was adopted
by the Seimas on 2 May 2000. Thus, in the Geneva Convention
Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of 12 August 1949
and Additional Protocols of 1977 thereto, it is inter alia
established: parties to the conflict are bound to send back to
their own country, regardless of number or rank, seriously
wounded and seriously sick prisoners of war, after having cared
for them until they are fit to travel and no sick or injured
prisoner of war who is eligible for repatriation under the first
paragraph of this article, may be repatriated against his will
during hostilities (Article 109); prisoners of war shall be
released and repatriated without delay after the cessation of
active hostilities (Article 118). In the Geneva Convention
Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of
12 August 1949, it is inter alia established: the Parties to the
conflict shall, moreover, endeavour during the course of
hostilities, to conclude treaties for the release, the
repatriation, the return to places of residence or the
accommodation in a neutral country of certain classes of
internees, in particular children, pregnant women and mothers
with infants and young children, wounded and sick, and internees
who have been detained for a long time (Article 132); the
Contracting Parties shall endeavour, upon the close of
hostilities or occupation, to ensure the return of all internees
to their last place of residence, or to facilitate their
repatriation (Article 134). Thus, in these conventions, the
notion "repatriation" is used in the context of the return of
persons to the state whose citizens they are (taking the legal
bond of the person with a corresponding state as a basis) and not
in the context of the ethnical origin of the person.
The notion "repatriation" is also explained differently
in dictionaries: in some dictionaries "repatriation" is defined
as "the return or restoration of a person or object to his or its
country of origin" (Black's Law Dictionary. Sixth ed. San Paul,
1992, p. 900), while in othersas "the whole of actions in order
to organize and ensure the return of a person to his country of
origin or departure place" (Cornu G. Vocabulaire juridique.
Paris: PUF, 2003, p. 728).
13.4. After the Republic of Lithuania became a Member
State of the European Union on 1 May 2004, citizens of the
Republic of Lithuania became citizens of the European Union.
In Paragraph 1 of Article 17 of the Treaty Establishing
the European Community it is consolidated:
"Citizenship of the Union is hereby established. Every
person holding the nationality of a Member State shall be a
citizen of the Union. Citizenship of the Union shall complement
and not replace national citizenship".
It is to be held that citizenship of the European Union
does not change the content of the national institute of
citizenship of any member state, thus, it does not change the
content of the institute of citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania, either. In respect to citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania, citizenship of the European Union is complementary,
additional, as only a person, who holds citizenship of a member
state of the European Union, in this case, the Republic of
Lithuania, may be a citizen of the European Union. The
restriction of double citizenship entrenched in the Constitution
is not applicable to citizenship of the European Union, a Member
State of which is the Republic of Lithuania.
III
On the compliance of Item 1 (wording of 17 September
2002) of Article 1 and Item 1 (wording of 17 September 2002) of
Paragraph 1 of Article 17 of the Law on Citizenship with
Paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 12 and Article 29 of the
Constitution, with the constitutional principles of justice and a
state under the rule of law, on the compliance of Paragraph 2
(wordings of 17 September 2002 and 6 April 2006) of Article 18 of
the Law on Citizenship with Articles 12 and 29 of the
Constitution, and on the compliance of Paragraph 2 (wording of 17
September 2002) of Article 2 of the Law on the Implementation of
the Law on Citizenship with Paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 12 and
Article 29 of the Constitution and with the constitutional
principles of justice and a state under the rule of law.
1. The restoration of the State of Lithuania in 1990 was
based on the continuity of the state, thus, also on the
continuity of Lithuanian citizenship. Thus, while deciding on the
compliance of the disputed provisions of the laws with the
Constitution in this constitutional justice case, it is necessary
to clarify the traditions of the legal regulation of citizenship
relations and its development in Lithuania in the aspects that
are raised by the group of Members of the Seimas and the Vilnius
Regional Administrative Court, the petitioners, in their
petitions: definition of the corps of citizens, establishment of
legislative possibilities for citizens of the Republic of
Lithuania also to have citizenship of another state, regulation
of the relations of loss of citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania (particularly, when citizenship of another state is
acquired), retention of the right to citizenship of the Republic
of Lithuania and definition of content of the notion
"repatriation" (inter alia whether repatriation is a
circumstance, which determines whether the person is a citizen of
the Republic of Lithuania, whether the right to citizenship of
the Republic of Lithuania is retained to him, etc.)
2. After the restoration of the independent State of
Lithuania on 16 February 1918, its legal bases were grounded on
the provisional constitutions and laws.
On 2 November 1918, the State Council of Lithuania
adopted the basic laws of the Provisional Constitution of the
State of Lithuaniathe Provisional Constitution of the restored
independent State of Lithuania. It did not include any explicit
provisions regulating citizenship relations (it did not define as
to who were citizens of the State of Lithuania, it did not
establish the grounds for acquisition or loss of Lithuanian
citizenship, etc.), but it included provisions entrenching the
fundamental rights of citizens. The basic laws of the 1918
Provisional Constitution of the State of Lithuania constituted
the constitutional basis to regulate the Lithuanian citizenship
relations by law.
It is to be noted that virtually analogous basis of the
legal regulation of Lithuanian citizenship relations were also
entrenched in the subsequently adopted provisional constitutions
of the State of Lithuaniathe Basic Laws of the Provisional
Constitution of the State of Lithuania adopted by the State
Council of Lithuania on 4 April 1919 and the Provisional
Constitution of the State of Lithuania adopted by the Constituent
Seimas on 10 June 1920.
3. In the first years of the existence of the restored
State of Lithuania the relations of Lithuanian citizenship were
regulated by the Provisional Law on Lithuanian Citizenship and by
bilateral treaties with foreign states.
3.1. §1 of the Provisional Law on Lithuanian Citizenship,
which was adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers on 9 January 1919,
establishes that the citizens of Lithuania shall be:
"(1) persons, whose parents and grandparents have resided
in Lithuania for quite a while, and they have always resided in
Lithuania themselves; (2) children of persons specified in the
first Item, who, even though have not always resided in
Lithuania, finally returned to reside there; (3) persons, who had
resided in Lithuania for not less than ten years until 1914 and:
(a) either owned their own real property, or (b) had a permanent
job; (4) children of a Lithuanian citizen; (5) his wife or widow;
(6) children of an unmarried woman, who is a Lithuanian citizen,
if they are not accepted by a foreigner as his children and (7)
foreigners, who are newly accepted as Lithuanian citizens." The
provision of Item 3 quoted here was applied with reservation that
"persons shall not be considered as Lithuanian citizens even if
they had permanent jobs <
> if their jobs were only to serve the
State of Russia, i.e. they were Russian officials".
Thus, under the Provisional Law on Lithuanian
Citizenship, the corps of citizens was composed of the Lithuanian
citizens ipso iure: permanent residents of Lithuania and their
children who returned to reside in Lithuania from abroad;
persons, who had resided in Lithuania for not less than ten years
by 1914 and who either owned real property or had permanent jobs;
as well as persons who were born with citizenship or acquired it
by marriage; it was also possible to acquire Lithuanian
citizenship by way of naturalization.
The Provisional Law on Lithuanian Citizenship was amended
and supplemented, however, the provisions on the composition of
the corps of Lithuanian citizens were not amended in essence.
3.2. From the first international treaties concluded by
the independent State of Lithuania with other states, which
regulated inter alia Lithuanian citizenship relations, those to
be mentioned are the Lithuanian Peace Treaty with Russia of 12
July 1920 and the Convention between Lithuania and Latvia on the
Rights of Citizens of 9 July 1921. Under these bilateral
international treaties, persons had the right to choose only the
citizenship of one or another state (accordingly, Lithuanian or
Russian, or Lithuanian or Latvian); they could not be citizens of
both states who concluded corresponding treaties at the same
time. Lithuania concluded international treaties regulating inter
alia Lithuanian citizenship relations also with some other
states.
4. On 1 August 1922, the Constituent Seimas adopted the
Constitution of the State of Lithuania. Part II thereof titled
"Lithuanian Citizens and Their Rights" inter alia established
that the citizenship right shall be acquired and lost following
the Citizenship Law (part one of §8), and that no one can be a
citizen of Lithuania and any another state at the same time (§9).
Such constitutional prohibition of double citizenship was
based on the fact that "now there are a lot of foreigners who,
without renouncing either Poland or Russia, also would like to
enjoy the rights of Lithuanian citizens, but who do not want to
perform the duties that fall upon Lithuanian citizens. Therefore,
it is written in the Constitution that no one can be a citizen of
Lithuania and any another state at the same time" (Jankūnaitė V.
Lietuvos Valstybės Konstitucija su paaiškinimais [The
Constitution of the State of Lithuania with Explanations].
Kaunas, 1922, p. 25).
5. On 15 May 1928, the President of the Republic
promulgated the Constitution of the State of Lithuania. It was
established in this Constitution that no one can be a citizen of
Lithuania and any other state at the same time (part one of §10),
but it was also established that "a Lithuanian citizen, however,
shall not lose his citizenship rights after he has become a
citizen of any American land if he performs certain duties
specified by the law" (part two of §10). Thus, the 1928
Constitution entrenched not only the prohibition of double
citizenship but also its exceptions.
6. After entry into force of the 1928 Constitution, the
1919 Provisional Law on Lithuanian Citizenship (with subsequent
amendments and supplements) continued to be in force in
Lithuania.
7. While construing the prohibition of double citizenship
entrenched in the then legal acts regulating citizenship legal
relations and exceptions thereto, it is to be noted that the
prohibition of double citizenship was determined by the striving
of the restored and independently developing State of Lithuania
to clearly define the corps of its citizens and not to allow that
such legal situations appear that a Lithuanian citizen would be
bound by loyalty also to another statethe state whose
citizenship, along with the Lithuanian citizenship, he would
hold. Meanwhile, the said exception to the prohibition of double
citizenship was determined by the striving of the State of
Lithuania not to lose the link with Lithuanian citizens residing
in those foreign states, where they emigrated at that time in
huge numbers. Namely because of the fact that at that moment
Lithuanian citizens mostly emigrated (in huge numbers, due to
various reasons) to the states of the American continent
(Argentina, Canada, Brazil, the United States of America,
Uruguay), the said exception to the prohibition of double
citizenship was established for such Lithuanian citizens, who
acquired citizenship "of any American land". It is also to be
noted that part of Lithuanian citizens would depart from
Lithuania temporarily and even after acquisition of citizenship
of other states, they would return to Lithuania after some time.
8. In this context one is to mention the Treaty on
Naturalisation and Military Service between the Republic of
Lithuania and United States of America which was concluded on 18
October 1937 and came into force on 20 July 1938. It regulated
the naturalisation and conscription relations of the persons who
held double citizenship. In the said treaty it was established
that the citizens of one of the contracting parties, who will be
naturalized in the territory of another country and who will
temporally return to "the country of their original citizenship"
are not to be required to perform military service or any other
act of faithfulness, however, the person who returned to his
country of origin and resided there for more than two years had
to be considered as one who refused naturalization (Article I).
Also a person, who was born in the territory of one country, and
whose parents are citizens of another country, and who, under the
laws of that country, holds citizenship of both countries but
permanently resides in the territory of that country, is not to
be forced to perform military service or any other act of
faithfulness, if he temporally (for not more than two years)
resides in the territory of the second country (Article II).
9. On 11 February 1938, the Seimas adopted the Lithuanian
Constitution. It was promulgated by the President of the Republic
on 12 May 1938. Chapter II titled "Citizenship" of this
Constitution entrenched the grounds for acquisition and loss of
Lithuanian citizenship (Articles 11-14), inter alia the principle
of prohibition of double citizenship: "after acquisition of
foreign citizenship, the citizen shall lose Lithuanian
citizenship" (Paragraph 1 of Article 13). Moreover, it was
established that the conditions and procedure for acquisition of
citizenship, as well as those for acceptance as a Lithuanian
citizen and deprivation and loss of citizenship shall be
established by the law (Article 15).
It needs to be noted that the 1938 Constitution did not
entrench the prohibition of double citizenship, but the exception
to such prohibition: in cases established by law, a citizen, who
holds foreign citizenship, may also retain Lithuanian citizenship
(Paragraph 2 of Article 13). Thus, the legislator had the duty to
establish cases when a person could be a citizen not only of
Lithuania, but also of another state.
Moreover, under Item 3 of Article 12 of the Constitution,
a person who has merits to the State of Lithuania could be
accepted as a Lithuanian citizen. This constitutional provision
also implied that also such person with merits to the State of
Lithuania who was a citizen of another state could be accepted as
a Lithuanian citizen. Thus, the said constitutional provision
implied one more exception to prohibition of double citizenship.
10. On 8 August 1939, the President of the Republic
promulgated the Law on Lithuanian Citizenship. The legal
regulation established by it was in most aspects different from
the one established in the formerly valid Provisional Law on
Lithuanian Citizenship (with subsequent amendments and
supplements).
The Law on Lithuanian Citizenship of 8 August 1939 no
longer included the provisions defining what persons are
Lithuanian citizens, as the corps of citizens of the State of
Lithuania had already been formed under the Provisional Law on
Lithuanian Citizenship (with subsequent amendments and
supplements) of 9 January 1919. The Law on Lithuanian Citizenship
established the procedure for acquisition, deprivation, loss and
retrieval of citizenship.
The Law on Lithuanian Citizenship entrenched the
prohibition of double citizenship (Article 20). It also
entrenched two exceptions to this prohibition: (1) it provided
for a possibility to grant Lithuanian citizenship by way of
exception: a person with merits to the State of Lithuania could
be accepted as a Lithuanian citizen without applying the
condition established in Article 10 for Lithuanians in order to
acquire Lithuanian citizenshipto settle in Lithuaniaand the
conditions established in Article 11 for non-Lithuanians in order
to acquire Lithuanian citizenship, inter alia the condition
established in Item 5 of this article also to be a citizen of the
state, under whose laws a person would lose citizenship of that
state after becoming a Lithuanian citizen (Article 12); (2) it
entrenched a possibility for a citizen of Lithuania, who accepted
citizenship of a foreign state, to retain Lithuanian citizenship
upon permission by the Minister of the Interior (Article 21).
11. One is also to mention the Treaty between the
Republic of Lithuania and the German Reich on Citizenship of the
Residents of the Town of Klaipėda. It is to be emphasized that
this Treaty was signed on 7 July 1939, thus, already after the
occupation of the Klaipėda region and its annexation to the
German Reich; after being ratified by the President of the
Republic, it came into force on 9 November 1939. The said treaty
regulated the citizenship matters of the residents of the
Klaipėda region which had been annexed by a foreign state. It
inter alia entrenched the prohibition to have citizenship of both
the Republic of Lithuania and the German Reich at the same time.
12. One is also to mention the legal regulation of
citizenship relations of the residents of Vilnius and its region
in the treaties with Russia and the Soviet Union which replaced
Russia as well as in the Introductory Law on the Administration
of Vilnius City and its Region.
12.1. The Peace Treaty between Lithuania and Russia which
was signed on 12 July 1920 established the border between
Lithuania and the then Soviet Russia. The Constituent Seimas
ratified this treaty on 6 August 1920 and the parties exchanged
the ratification letters on 14 October 1920. Under this treaty
Vilnius and its region remained for Lithuania. It was established
in this treaty that the persons who reside in the territory of
Lithuania on the day of its ratification and "who themselves or
whose parents permanently reside in Lithuania or who were entered
into the communities of settlements, towns or estates in the
territory of Lithuania", as well as the persons who had resided
in Lithuania for not less than ten years by 1914 and who had
permanent jobs, "excluding the former civil and military
servants, of non-Lithuanian origin, with their families" are
recognized as citizens of the State of Lithuania. The persons who
had reached 18 years of age and who resided in the territory of
Lithuania, had the right to express their will to retain (opt
for) Russian citizenship in one year after the ratification of
this treaty. In such case, "their citizenship shall be followed
by their children who are younger of 18 years of age and the
wife, if there is no other agreement between the husband and
wife" (Article VI). Thus, also under this treaty persons had to
choose citizenship of only one state (Lithuanian or Russian);
they could not be citizens of both states at the same time.
12.2. Due to the existing circumstances, namely due to
the fact that Vilnius and its region were annexed by Poland in
1920-1939, Lithuania could not implement the sovereignty of the
state in this part of its territory. The implementation of the
citizenship institute in Vilnius and its region was restricted.
12.3. After World War II had begun, the then Soviet Union
occupied a part of the territory of the then Poland, including
its annexed Vilnius and its region. On 10 October 1939, the
Treaty on Transferring of Vilnius and the Vilnius Region to the
Republic of Lithuania and Mutual Assistance between Lithuania and
the Soviet Union was signed. The President of the Republic
ratified this treaty on 14 October 1939 and the parties exchanged
the ratification letters on 16 October 1939. It was agreed by the
contracting parties that "the Soviet Union shall transfer Vilnius
and the Vilnius region to the Republic of Lithuania including
them into the composition of the territory of the State of
Lithuania and establishing the border between the Republic of
Lithuania and the USSR <
>" (Article I) by this treaty. It is to
be noted that by the said treaty not the whole territory of the
Vilnius region which had to belong to the Republic of Lithuania
under the Peace Treaty signed by Lithuania and Russia on 12 July
1920 was transferred to the Republic of Lithuania.
12.4. On 27 October 1939, the Seimas adopted the
Introductory Law on the Administration of Vilnius City and its
Region which was promulgated by the President of the Republic on
27 October 1939. It was established in Article 1 of this law that
"Lithuanian legal regulations shall be in effect in Vilnius city
and its region", and in Article 3that "the residents of Vilnius
city and its region who were considered to be citizens of
Lithuania on the day when the ratification documents of the Peace
Treaty between Lithuania and Russia of 12 July 1920 were
exchanged and who had the place of residence in Vilnius city or
its region on the day when this law came into effect, shall be
considered Lithuanian citizens. Wives and children of up to 21
years of age of these Lithuanian citizens shall also be
considered Lithuanian citizens".
13. Summing up, it is to be held that the corps of
citizens of the restored independent State of Lithuania was
formed on the basis of permanent residents of Lithuania,
irrespective of their nationality.
It is to be emphasized that since the independent State
of Lithuania was restored on 16 February 1918 till 15 June 1940,
when Lithuania lost its independence after the Soviet Union had
performed its aggression towards the independent State of
Lithuania, it was typical for the legal regulation of Lithuanian
citizenship relations that all the time it was aimed at defining
the corps of Lithuanian citizens as clearly as possible; this was
done by following the principled provision that a Lithuanian
citizen may not be a citizen of any other state at the same time,
save separate exceptions (whose regulation in the legal acts
changed in the corresponding periods of time of the development
of the State of Lithuania). This principled provision of the
prohibition of double citizenship was followed both when the
established corresponding legal regulation was authentic (i.e.
when the State of Lithuania and its institutions could actually
decide independently how to regulate Lithuanian citizenship
relations) and when the corresponding legal regulation was forced
upon the State of Lithuania from outside (i.e. when the
amendments of the legal regulation of Lithuanian citizenship
relations were determined by the actions of other states in
respect of the State of Lithuania).
In the context of the constitutional justice case at
issue it is also to be noted that till 15 June 1940 the legal
acts regulating Lithuanian citizenship relations included the
provisions concerning the return of a person to Lithuania or his
departure to other states, however, the notion "repatriation" was
not used.
14. After the Soviet Union committed its aggression
against the independent State of Lithuania on 15 June 1940,
Lithuania was occupied, later also annexed and incorporated into
the Soviet Union. After the Soviet Union occupied and annexed
Lithuania, the validity of the 1938 Lithuanian Constitution and
other legal acts of the State of Lithuania was unlawfully
terminated. Annexed and administered by the Soviets, Lithuania
was renamed into the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (the
Lithuanian SSR). The acts of the Soviet power also denied the
institute of Lithuanian citizenshipit was not possible to
implement it in the occupied and annexed territory of the State
of Lithuania.
On 7 September 1940, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
of the Soviet Union passed the Ordinance "On the Procedure for
Acquisition of Citizenship for the Citizens of the Soviet
Socialist Republics of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia", Item 1 of
which established that "citizens of the Soviet Socialist
Republics of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia shall be citizens of
the USSR since the day, after these republics are admitted to the
USSR."
Pursuant to this ordinance, on 30 December 1940, the
Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR passed the
Ordinance "On the Acquisition of Citizenship of the Lithuanian
SSR", by which it recognized that "As from the day that the
Lithuanian SSR is admitted to the composition of the USSR, all
those persons who had the place of residence in the territory of
the present Lithuanian SSR <
> on 1 September 1939, shall be
considered citizens of the Lithuanian SSR, irrespective of
whether at that moment these persons had Lithuanian citizenship
or not."
Thus, by the unlawful decision of the unlawful power,
which denied both the law of the State of Lithuania and the
international law, all the then citizens of Lithuania were
declared as "citizens of the USSR" and "citizens of the
Lithuanian SSR" by force.
"Citizenship of the USSR" and "citizenship of the
Lithuanian SSR" which were imposed by such force, were and are
null and void.
15. The Lithuanian Nation has never accepted the loss of
statehood.
As it was held in the 11 March 1990 Declaration "On the
Powers of the Deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian
SSR" of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania, at the
end of the ninth decade of the 20th century "when the new
possibilities came into being, the movement of the rebirth and
independence of the Nation began to manifest openly, including
the widest levels of the society. The will of the Nation, having
uttered in public in civil actions, became the expression of its
sovereign power through the existing institutions".
It was also held in the 11 March 1990 Declaration "On the
Powers of the Deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian
SSR" of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania that the
usage of the structures of the foreign state which had been
imposed on Lithuania should not be interpreted as the recognition
of the sovereignty of the state which imposed them over the
Lithuanian Nation and its territory or the annexation committed
by that state.
16. During the time of rebirth (1988-1990), when
Lithuania was still occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union, the
Lithuanian Nation, acting through the Lithuanian Reform Movement
(Sąjūdis), achieved that the administrative institutions which
where created by the foreign state and functioned in Lithuania,
inter alia the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR, would adopt
the acts, anticipating the restoration of the Lithuanian
statehood.
In this respect, the Law on Citizenship of the Lithuanian
SSR which was adopted by the then Supreme Soviet of the
Lithuanian SSR on 3 November 1989, which came into force on the
day of its adoption, was of particular importance.
16.1. The "citizenship of the Lithuanian SSR" provided
for in the Law on Citizenship of the Lithuanian SSR meant that a
special legal status was established to the former citizens of
the Republic of Lithuania, their children and grandchildren who
were permanent residents in the then territory of the Lithuanian
SSRdifferent from the one established to the persons, who were
in the territory of the then Lithuanian SSR, to whom the
"citizenship of the Lithuanian SSR" was not recognized. The said
act, which separated the permanent residents of Lithuania from
the persons who arrived from the Soviet Union and resided in
Lithuania, particularly Soviet soldiers, was aimed to define and
unite the Lithuanian Nation and to create political and legal
preconditions in order to express the will of the Nation in
democratic elections or by referendum.
16.2. Article 1 of the Law on Citizenship (wording of 3
November 1989) established that the following persons shall be
"citizens of the Lithuanian SSR": (1) persons who held
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, children and
grandchildren of such persons, as well as other persons who were
permanent residents on the territory of the Lithuanian SSR prior
to 15 July 1940, and their children and grandchildren who now are
or have been permanent residents on the territory of the
Lithuanian SSR; (2) persons who had a permanent place of
residence in the Lithuanian SSR, provided that they were born in
the territory of the Lithuanian SSR, or proved that at least one
of their parents or grandparents was born on said territory, and
provided that they are not citizens of another state; (3) other
persons who, up to and including the date of entry into force of
this law, had been permanent residents in the territory of the
Republic and had here a permanent job or other permanent legal
source of support; such persons shall freely choose their
citizenship within two years following the entry into force of
this law; and (4) persons who had acquired citizenship of the
Lithuanian SSR under this law.
16.3. The Law on Citizenship (wording of 3 November 1989)
provided for institutes of retention of the right to citizenship
of the Lithuanian SSR and recognition of citizenship of the
Lithuanian SSR (in this law also referred to as "citizenship of
the Republic"). The right to citizenship of the Lithuanian SSR
was retained to the persons who were deported from the territory
of Lithuania or who departed from it in or about 1940 or
thereafter, as well as for children and grandchildren of such
persons (Paragraph 1 of Article 22). Citizenship of the Republic
was recognized to other Lithuanians after they relocated to
reside in Lithuania and made an oath to the Republic (Paragraph 2
of Article 22).
16.4. It needs to be noted that the Law on Citizenship
(wording of 3 November 1989) defined the persons who were
considered citizens of the Lithuanian SSR and the persons who
were retained the right to citizenship of the Lithuanian SSR
differently: citizens of the Lithuanian SSR were considered inter
alia persons who were citizens of the Republic of Lithuania,
children and grandchildren of such persons, as well as other
persons who were permanent residents in the territory of the then
Lithuanian SSR prior to 15 July 1940, and their children and
grandchildren who at that time were permanent residents in the
territory of the Lithuanian SSR, while the right to Lithuanian
citizenship was retained to the persons who were deported from
the territory of Lithuania or departed from it in or about 1940
or thereafter (thus, who did not reside in Lithuania), as well as
for children and grandchildren of such persons.
16.5. It is also to be mentioned that the Law on
Citizenship (wording of 3 November 1989) provided for acquisition
of citizenship of the Lithuanian SSR by naturalisation (Item 2 of
Paragraph 1 of Article 10 and Article 15), and it established
that by way of exception, a person holding the citizenship of
another state may be granted citizenship of the Lithuanian SSR by
the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR
(Article 7).
16.6. It is to be particularly emphasized that under
Paragraph 4 of Article 35 of the Law on Citizenship (wording of 3
November 1989), a two-year period of time was established for the
law's "full implementation" after its entry into force. This
provision is to be construed taking into account Item 3 of
Article 1 of the said law, under which "other persons who, up to
and including the date of entry into force of this Law, have been
permanent residents on the territory of the Republic and have
here a permanent job or other permanent legal source of living
<
> shall freely choose their citizenship within two years after
the entry into force of this Law", as well as Paragraph 4 of
Article 2, which established that "persons of the full age who
within two years from the date of entry into force of this Law
have not gained a passport of the citizen of the Lithuanian SSR,
shall be considered as those who have not accepted citizenship of
the Lithuanian SSR". In this context, it is also to be noted that
under Paragraph 1 of Article 35 of the Law on Citizenship
(wording of 3 November 1989), "for two years after this Law comes
into force, persons referred to in Article 1 of this Law may,
until they freely choose their citizenship, avail themselves of
the rights of a citizen of the Lithuanian SSR".
16.7. On 13 April 1994, the Constitutional Court, in the
constitutional justice case subsequent to the petition of a group
of Members of the Seimas, the petitioner, requesting to
investigate whether the 22 December 1993 Seimas Resolution "On
Amending Item 5 of the Resolution of the Supreme Council of the
Republic of Lithuania 'On the Implementation Procedure of the
Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship'" was not in conflict
with Articles 12 and 28 and Paragraph 1 of Article 29 of the
Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, adopted the Ruling "On
the compliance of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania
Resolution "On Amending Item 5 of the Resolution of the Supreme
Council of the Republic of Lithuania 'On the Procedure for
Implementing the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship',
adopted 22 December 1993, with the Constitution of the Republic
of Lithuania", in which it was inter alia held that the persons
specified in Item 3 of Article 1 of the Law on Citizenship
(wording of 3 November 1989) (i.e. "other persons who, up to and
including the date of entry into force of this Law, have been
permanent residents on the territory of the Republic and have
here a permanent job or other permanent legal source of living")
were different from the persons specified in Items 1 and 2 (i.e.
the persons who held citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania,
children and grandchildren of such persons, as well as other
persons who were permanent residents on the territory of the
Lithuanian SSR prior to 15 July 1940, and their children and
grandchildren who then were or had been permanent residents on
the territory of the Lithuanian SSR; persons who had a permanent
place of residence in the Lithuanian SSR, provided that they had
been born on the territory of the Lithuanian SSR, or had proved
that at least one of their parents or grandparents was born on
said territory, and provided that they were not citizens of
another state) by the fact that they had never had firm permanent
legal relations with Lithuania; as matter of fact, they were
migrants, who had come from places that were beyond the borders
of Lithuania, who usually had citizenship of the Soviet Union and
after restoration of the independent state of Lithuania they
became foreigners here. It was held in the said Constitutional
Court ruling that Lithuanian citizenship for them was granted
under a rather simplified procedure: they were required to be
permanent residents in the territory of Lithuania and had to have
here a permanent job or other permanent legal source of living;
they had the right within two years after the enforcement of the
Law on Citizenship (wording of 3 November 1989) to freely decide
on citizenship, i.e. they could either retain citizenship of the
Soviet Union or become citizens of Lithuania.
16.8. Paragraph 2 of Article 35 of the Law on Citizenship
(wording of 3 November 1989) established that during the period
prior to the full restoration of the state sovereignty of
Lithuania, citizens of the Lithuanian SSR shall also use
passports of the USSR.
16.9. The Law on Citizenship (wording of 3 November 1989)
also regulated other relations related to the acquisition, loss,
return and retention of citizenship of the Lithuanian SSR and to
decision of other citizenship issues.
16.10. It is to be particularly emphasized that no
provision of the Law on Citizenship (wording of 3 November 1989)
could be construed as an obligation of a citizen of the
Lithuanian SSR to any other state or citizenship established by
it; it was expressis verbis entrenched in Paragraph 3 of Article
35 of this law.
17. On 11 March 1990, the Supreme Council of the Republic
of Lithuania adopted the Act of the Supreme Council of the
Republic of Lithuania "On the Restoration of the Independent
State of Lithuania" by which it declared that the execution of
the sovereign powers of the State of Lithuania abolished by
foreign forces in 1940, is restored and henceforth Lithuania is
again an independent state and the constitution of no other state
is valid in Lithuania.
18. On the same day the Supreme Council adopted the
Republic of Lithuania Law "On the Provisional Basic Law of the
Republic of Lithuania", by Article 2 of which it confirmed the
Provisional Basic Law of the Republic of Lithuaniathe
Provisional Constitution of the restored independent State of
Lithuania. The national legal system was begun to be created on
the basis of the Provisional Basic Law.
The Provisional Basic Law also included provisions on
Lithuanian citizenship. Thus, it was established in Article 13
that the content of Lithuanian citizenship, conditions and
procedures for its acquisition and loss shall be defined by the
Law on Lithuanian Citizenship (Paragraph 1); as a rule, a citizen
of Lithuania may not be a citizen of another state at the same
time (Paragraph 2); Lithuanian citizens abroad shall be defended
and protected by the State of Lithuania (Paragraph 3); and
immigration to the Republic of Lithuania shall be regulated by
law (Paragraph 4).
19. Article 3 of the Republic of Lithuania Law "On the
Provisional Basic Law of the Republic of Lithuania" established
that the laws and other legal acts which had been in effect
thitherto and which were not in conflict with the Provisional
Basic Law of the Republic of Lithuania shall continue to be
effective.
It needs to be noted that after the restoration of the
independent State of Lithuania, most of legal acts that had been
passed thitherto remained effective. The legislator and other
subjects of law-making had a constitutional duty to revise the
corresponding legal acts which had been passed prior to the
restoration of the independent State of Lithuania and to
harmonize them with the Provisional Basic Law. It had to be done
within the reasonable and shortest time possible.
The same is to be said about the Law on Citizenship
(wording of 3 November 1989).
20. It needs to be noted that Article 1 of the 11 March
1990 Law "On the Name of the State and the Coat of Arms" (which
was adopted even before the Republic of Lithuania Law "On the
Provisional Basic Law of the Republic of Lithuania", by which the
Provisional Basic Law of the Republic of Lithuania was confirmed)
established that the only official name of the state"the
Republic of Lithuania", or its shorter version and in compound
titles"Lithuania", "Lithuanian"must be used in the Constitution
and other legal normative acts. Thus, since then the former Law
on Citizenship of the Lithuanian SSR (wording of 3 November 1989)
was renamed into the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship,
also changing the former formula "the Lithuanian SSR" of the text
of this law accordingly so that this law, as a law of the
restored independent State of Lithuania, could regulate the
citizenship relations of the Republic of Lithuania.
21. In this context it is to be noted that it was held in
the Constitutional Court ruling of 13 April 1994 that persons who
had lawfully acquired citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania
were considered as having lost citizenship of the Soviet Union;
with regard to said persons, citizenship of the Soviet Union was
declared null and void; it meant that consequences of occupation
and annexation with regard to citizens of Lithuania who had been
enforced citizenship of the Soviet Union against their will, had
been eliminated.
Thus, even though the citizens of the Republic of
Lithuania temporarily used the passports of citizens of the USSR
(under Paragraph 2 (wording of 3 November 1989) of Article 35 of
the Law on Citizenship), they could not be treated as citizens of
the USSR, i.e. as citizens of the state which had declared them
as its citizens against their own will.
22. On 16 April 1991, the Supreme Council adopted the Law
"On Supplementing Article 18 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on
Citizenship", whereby Article 18 (wording of 3 November 1989) of
the Law on Citizenship was supplemented with Item 4.
Article 18 (wording of 16 April 1991) was set forth as
follows:
"Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania shall be lost
if:
1) A person renounces citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania;
2) A person is deprived of citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania;
3) There are grounds provided for in the international
agreements of the Republic of Lithuania;
4) A person acquires citizenship of another state."
23. One is also to mention the following legal acts
passed by the Supreme Council by which certain provisions of the
Law on Citizenship (wording of 3 November 1989 together with
subsequent supplement) were interpreted and the application
procedure for certain provisions of this law was established: the
Supreme Council Resolution "On the Application Procedure of
Articles 7 and 35 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on
Citizenship" of 19 June 1990 (hereinafter referred to as the
Supreme Council resolution of 19 June 1990), the Supreme Council
Law "On the Provisions on the Procedure for Settlement Issues of
Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania" of 10 July 1990 and the
Supreme Council Resolution "On the Interpretation of the Fourth
Paragraph of Article 2 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on
Citizenship" of 31 October 1991.
In this context it is to be noted that while construing
Article 7 of the Law on Citizenship (wording of 3 November 1989),
under which citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania could be
granted to a citizen of another state by way of exception and
Paragraph 3 of Article 35, under which no provision of the said
law shall be interpreted as binding any citizen of the Lithuanian
SSR to the laws on any other state or to citizenship established
by the said state, in its resolution of 19 June 1990 the Supreme
Council held that: a person, who acquired citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania, shall be considered as one who lost
citizenship of another state (the first paragraph of Item 1); a
citizen of the Republic of Lithuania may also be a citizen of
another state only in the case when citizenship of the Republic
of Lithuania was granted to him by way of exception (the third
paragraph of Item 1).
Thus, the Supreme Council resolution of 19 June 1990 once
again confirmed the prohibition of double citizenship (arising
from the Provisional Basic Law) (with the exception provided for)
which also had to be heeded while applying the Law on Citizenship
(wording of 3 November 1989), wherein this prohibition had not
been entrenched expressis verbis before Article 18 (wording of 3
November 1989) of the Law on Citizenship was supplemented by the
Law "On Supplementing Article 18 of the Republic of Lithuania Law
on Citizenship" and set forth in the new wording of 16 April
1991.
24. It was mentioned that a two-year period of time was
established for the "full implementation" of the Law on
Citizenship (wording of 3 November 1989 with subsequent
supplement), after its entry into force, as well as that it was
related to the period of time, during which the corresponding
persons had to freely decide on citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania.
Upon expiration of the two-year period on 4 November
1991, the Law on Citizenship (wording of 3 November 1989 with
subsequent supplement) continued to be effective, it did not lose
its validity of its own accord.
25. On 5 December 1991, the Supreme Council adopted a new
Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship, which had to replace
the Law on Citizenship (wording of 3 November 1989 with
subsequent supplements) which had been in force until then.
The Law on Citizenship (wording of 3 November 1989 with
subsequent supplement) was recognized as no longer effective by
Article 3 of the 10 December 1991 Supreme Council Law "On the
Validity of Documents of Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania
and Supplement of the Law on Citizenship"; under Article 4 of the
Law "On the Validity of Documents of Citizenship of the Republic
of Lithuania and Supplement of the Law on Citizenship", this law
came into force on 11 December 1991. On the same day (on 10
December 1991) when the Law "On the Validity of Documents of
Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania and Supplement of the
Law on Citizenship" was adopted, the Supreme Council also adopted
the Resolution "On the Procedure for Implementation of the
Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship" (hereinafter also
referred to as the Supreme Council resolution of 10 December
1991), in Item 1 of which it was established that the new Law on
Citizenship shall come into force on 11 December 1991.
26. The legal regulation entrenched in the Law on
Citizenship (wording of 5 December 1991 with supplement made by
Article 2 of the Law "On the Validity of Documents of Citizenship
of the Republic of Lithuania and Supplement of the Law on
Citizenship", which was adopted by the Supreme Council on 10
December 1991) in some cases was analogous to the one entrenched
in the Law on Citizenship (wording of 3 November 1989 with
subsequent supplement), while in other respects it entrenched
essential novels.
26.1. Paragraph 1 (wording of 5 December 1991) of Article
1 of the Law on Citizenship established that the following
persons shall be citizens of the Republic of Lithuania: (1)
persons who held citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania prior
to 15 June 1940, and their children and grandchildren provided
that they have not acquired citizenship of another state; (2)
persons who were permanent residents on the territory of the
Republic of Lithuania in the period from 9 January 1919 to 15
June 1940, as well as their children and grandchildren, provided
that on the day of entry into force of this law they were
permanent residents in Lithuania, and were not citizens of
another state; (3) persons who acquired citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania or had it restored to them prior to 4
November 1991 under the Law on Citizenship which had been in
force before the enactment of this law; (4) persons who
implemented the right to citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania, or had citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania
restored to them under this law; and (5) other persons who
acquired citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania under this law.
26.2. Article 17 (wording of 5 December 1991) of the Law
on Citizenship specified the persons to whom the right to
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania is retained for an
indefinite period of time: (1) persons who held citizenship of
the Republic of Lithuania until 15 June 1940 and were at that
time residing in other states, provided that they had not
repatriated from Lithuania; (2) children of persons who held
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania until 15 June 1940, who
had been born in Lithuania or in refugee camps, but were at that
time residing in other states; and (3) other persons of
Lithuanian origin who were residing in foreign states or in the
territories governed by said states.
The institute of retention of the right to citizenship of
the Republic of Lithuania was designed for the purpose that the
persons (not only of Lithuanian origin) who are residing in
foreign states, who had held citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania before the loss of Lithuanian statehood, their children
and the Lithuanians residing abroad would not lose the link with
the restored independent State of Lithuania and that Lithuanians
residing abroad would not be severed from the Lithuanian Nation.
26.3. The persons who were retained the right to
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, could become citizens
of the Republic of Lithuania in two waysby implementing the
right to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania or by restoring
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania (Article 18 (wordings of
5 December 1991 and 10 December 1991)).
26.3.1. The obligatory condition for the persons, who
retained the right to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania,
in order to implement the said right, was to renounce the held
citizenship of another state.
It is to be noted that there was no requirement set forth
to the persons residing in other states, who held citizenship of
the Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940 (if they have not
repatriated), to relocate to Lithuania for permanent residence
and to make an oath to the Republic of Lithuania.
Meanwhile, if the children of the persons residing in
other states who held citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania
prior to 15 June 1940 and other persons of Lithuanian origin
wanted to implement the right to citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania, not only did they have to renounce the held
citizenship of another state, but also to relocate to Lithuania
for permanent residence and to make an oath to the Republic of
Lithuania.
26.3.2. Only the persons specified in Paragraph 3
(wording of 5 December 1991) of Article 18 of the Law on
Citizenshippersons of Lithuanian origin who had citizenship of
the Republic of Lithuania, and who departed from Lithuania in the
period from 15 June 1940 to 11 March 1990, and are at the present
time residing in other statescould become citizens of Lithuania
by way of restoration. In this context, it is to be noted that
Article 2 of the Law "On the Validity of Documents of Citizenship
of the Republic of Lithuania and Supplement of the Law on
Citizenship", which was adopted by the Supreme Council on 10
December 1991, supplemented Paragraph 3 (wording of 10 December
1991) of Article 18 of the Law on Citizenship and established
that not only the persons of Lithuanian origin who held
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, and who departed from
Lithuania in the period from 15 June 1940 to 11 March 1990, and
are at the present time residing in other states shall have the
right to restore citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, but
also their children who did not acquire citizenship of this state
by birth in another state. Thus, the persons specified in
Paragraph 3 (wording of 5 December 1991) of Article 18 of the Law
on Citizenship could restore citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania by stating in writing to the Ministry of the Interior
of the Republic of Lithuania or diplomatic missions of the
Republic of Lithuania abroad that they are citizens of the
Republic of Lithuania and providing with the evidence confirming
it. Under Paragraph 4 (wording of 5 December 1991) of Article 18
of the Law on Citizenship, restoration of citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania under this law would not by itself bring
about any legal consequences with regard to the members of the
family of the person who has had his citizenship restored.
Such institute of restoration of citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania entrenched in the Law on Citizenship
(wording of 5 December 1991 with supplement made by Article 2 of
the Law "On the Validity of Documents of Citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania and Supplement of the Law on Citizenship",
which was adopted by the Supreme Council on 10 December 1991)
implied that citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania could also
be restored to the persons who held citizenship of another state.
26.4. It needs to be emphasized that Paragraph 1 (wording
of 5 December 1991) of Article 1 of the Law on Citizenship
established that the persons who held citizenship of the Republic
of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940 and their children and
grandchildren provided that they have not acquired citizenship of
another state shall be citizens of the Republic of Lithuania
(Item 1). In this provision it is not explicitly specified,
whether the said persons were persons who were permanent
residents of Lithuania, or also persons, who were permanent
residents abroad.
Meanwhile, under Article 17 (wording of 5 December 1991)
of the Law on Citizenship, the right to citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania is retained to persons who held citizenship
of the Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940 and are at the
present time residing in other states, provided that they have
not repatriated from Lithuania and children of persons who held
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania until 15 June 1940, who
were born in Lithuania or in refugee camps, but are at the
present time residing in other states.
When such legal regulation is construed linguistically,
verbatim, it would follow that a big part of persons who held
Lithuanian citizenship prior to 15 June 1940, and their children
have a dual legal status: they are citizens of the Republic of
Lithuania and they have the right to retain citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania at the same time. However, Item 1 (wording
of 5 December 1991) of Paragraph 1 of Article 1 and Paragraphs 1
and 2 (wording of 5 December 1991) of Article 17 of the Law on
Citizenship must be construed systemically in the whole context
of the legal regulation established in this law. Then, it is
obvious that the persons specified in Article 17 of the Law on
Citizenship are persons residing abroad; even though they have
the right to the retention of citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania, in itself they are not citizens of the Republic of
Lithuania ex legein order to become citizens of the Republic of
Lithuania, they must express the corresponding intention and to
implement the requirements established in the Law on Citizenship
(wording of 5 December 1991 with supplement made by Article 2 of
the Law "On the Validity of Documents of Citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania and Supplement of the Law on Citizenship",
which was adopted by the Supreme Council on 10 December 1991).
Thus, the persons specified in Item 1 (wording of 5 December
1991) of Paragraph 1 of Article 1 of the Law on Citizenship are
persons who permanently reside in Lithuania.
26.5. Paragraph 2 (wording of 5 December 1991) of Article
1 of the Law on Citizenship entrenched the provision which
restricted double citizenship: a citizen of the Republic of
Lithuania may not at the same time be a citizen of another state,
except in cases provided for in this law. The restriction of
double citizenship was in various aspects entrenched in other
articles (paragraphs thereof) of this law too: Item 2 (wording of
5 December 1991) of Article 19, under which citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania is lost, if a person acquires citizenship
of another state; Article 22 (wording of 5 December 1991), under
which citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania could not be
returned to the person who lost citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania on the basis provided for in Item 2 of Article 19, i.e.
to the person who acquired citizenship of another state, and it
could be returned only to such person who was stateless or a
citizen of the state, under the laws of which, he loses
citizenship of that state upon acquisition of citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania; and Article 18 (wording of 10 December
1991) which established how the right to citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania is implementedit was mentioned that the
obligatory condition for the persons, who retained the right to
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, in order to implement
the said right was to renounce the held citizenship of another
state (Paragraphs 1 and 2 (wording of 5 December 1991)).
26.6. It was established in Article 16 (wording of 5
December 1991) of the Law on Citizenship that citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania may be granted to citizens of foreign
states who are with merits to the Republic of Lithuania without
applying to them conditions of granting citizenship specified in
Article 12 of this law, thus, also without applying the
requirement for a person to be stateless or to be a citizen of
such state under the laws of which he loses citizenship of the
said state upon acquiring citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania, nor the requirement to notify in writing of his
decision to renounce citizenship of another state upon being
granted citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, which is
established in Item 5 (wording of 5 December 1991) of Paragraph 1
of Article 12. Thus, a person, to whom citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania could be granted for being with merits to
the Republic of Lithuania, could also be a citizen of another
state at the same time.
26.7. Article 19 (wording of 5 December 1991) of the Law
on Citizenship established the grounds for loss of citizenship of
the Republic of Lithuania: (1) a person renounces citizenship of
the Republic of Lithuania; (2) a person acquires citizenship of
another state; (3) a person severs the actual links with the
State of Lithuania; and (4) upon grounds provided for by
international agreements with the Republic of Lithuania.
26.8. The Law on Citizenship (wording of 5 December 1991
with supplement made by Article 2 of the Law "On the Validity of
Documents of Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania and
Supplement of the Law on Citizenship", which was adopted by the
Supreme Council on 10 December 1991) also established the
procedure for settling citizenship issues.
26.9. The notion "repatriation" (which was not used in
the Law on Citizenship (wording of 3 November 1989 with
subsequent supplement)) was used in the Law on Citizenship
(wording of 5 December 1991 with supplement made by Article 2 of
the Law "On the Validity of Documents of Citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania and Supplement of the Law on Citizenship",
which was adopted by the Supreme Council on 10 December 1991)it
was used in Article 17 (wording of 5 December 1991), when
defining the persons to whom the right to citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania is retained for an indefinite period of
time: the persons who held citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, were retained the right to
citizenship for an indefinite period of time only if they had not
repatriated. Thus, the right to citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania was not retained to the persons who held citizenship of
the Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940 and who
repatriated from Lithuania.
It is also to be noted that the notion "repatriation" was
not explicitly defined and no definition thereof was provided in
the Law on Citizenship (wording of 5 December 1991 with
supplement made by Article 2 of the Law "On the Validity of
Documents of Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania and
Supplement of the Law on Citizenship", which was adopted by the
Supreme Council on 10 December 1991). It is obvious from the
travaux préparatoires of this law that repatriation was
understood as departure for one's ethnical homeland (even without
relating such departure with the acquisition of citizenship of
another state). Such concept of the notion "repatriation" used in
Article 17 (wording of 5 December 1991) is also confirmed by the
practice of application of this law.
27. The procedure for implementation of some provisions
of the Law on Citizenship (wording of 5 December 1991 with
supplement made by Article 2 of the Law "On the Validity of
Documents of Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania and
Supplement of the Law on Citizenship", which was adopted by the
Supreme Council on 10 December 1991) was established in the
Supreme Council resolution of 10 December 1991. It was also
interpreted in the said Supreme Council resolution that in regard
to persons specified in Article 1 of the Law on Citizenship
(wording of 5 December 1991) citizenship of the Soviet Union
shall be null and void (Item 7).
28. The legal regulation established in the Law on
Citizenship (wording of 5 December 1991 with supplement made by
Article 2 of the Law "On the Validity of Documents of Citizenship
of the Republic of Lithuania and Supplement of the Law on
Citizenship", which was adopted by the Supreme Council on 10
December 1991) was amended by the Law "On Amending Articles 28
and 31 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship", which
was adopted by the Supreme Council on 11 February 1992, however,
the provisions of the Law on Citizenship (wording of 5 December
1991 with supplement made by Article 2 of the Law "On the
Validity of Documents of Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania
and Supplement of the Law on Citizenship", which was adopted by
the Supreme Council on 10 December 1991) defining who are
citizens of the Republic of Lithuania, how the retention of the
right to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania is regulated,
what are legislative possibilities for citizens of the Republic
of Lithuania also to hold citizenship of another state and how
the relations of loss of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania
is regulated (in particular, upon acquisition of the citizenship
of another state), have not been amended.
29. Summing up the legal regulation established in the
Law on Citizenship (wording of 5 December with subsequent
amendments and supplements, made prior to the entry into force of
the 1992 Constitution), one is to hold that:
- the continuity of citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania was entrenched and it was established as to who are
citizens of the Republic of Lithuania after having consolidated
that the corps of citizens of the Republic of Lithuania
(essentially dissociating it from citizens of other states) is
composed of the following: persons who held citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, and their children
and grandchildren provided that they have not acquired
citizenship of another state; persons who were permanent
residents on the territory of the Republic of Lithuania in the
period from 9 January 1919 to 15 June 1940, as well as their
children and grandchildren, provided that on the day of entry
into force of this law they were permanent residents in
Lithuania, and were not citizens of another state; persons who
acquired citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania under the Law
on Citizenship (wording of 3 November 1989 with subsequent
supplement); persons who acquired citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania on other grounds provided for in the Law on Citizenship
(wording of 5 December 1991).
- the prohibition of double citizenship was entrenched
after having established that a citizen of the Republic of
Lithuania may not be also a citizen of another state at the same
time, however, this prohibition was not absolute in regard that
exceptions were provided for in the Law on Citizenship (wording
of 5 December 1991 with subsequent amendments and supplements,
made prior to the entry into force of the 1992 Constitution),
when a person, who held citizenship of another state, could also
be a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania at the same time
(Article 16 (wording of 5 December 1991) and Paragraph 3 (wording
of 10 December 1991) of Article 18);
- the institute of retention of the right to citizenship
of the Republic of Lithuania was entrenched: it was established
what persons willing to become citizens of the Republic of
Lithuania (by implementing the right to citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania or restoration of citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania) must express the corresponding intention
and to implement the requirements established in the Law on
Citizenship (wording of 5 December 1991 with subsequent
amendments and supplements, made prior to the entry into force of
the 1992 Constitution);
- it was entrenched that the right to citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania is retained for an indefinite period of
time and the right to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania
may be implemented not by all persons who held citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, but only by those
who had not repatriated; thus, in the aspects of retention of
their right to this citizenship and of the implementation of
their right to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, the
persons who held citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania prior
to 15 June 1940 were grouped according to their ethnical origin
and according to the fact for what countryethnical homeland or
other countrythey departed from Lithuania: the right to
retention of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania and the
implementation of the right to citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania were guaranteed only to those said persons of non-
Lithuanian origin who departed from Lithuania, who departed from
Lithuania not for their ethnical homeland;
- one of the grounds for loss of citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania was acquisition of citizenship of another
state.
30. The Lithuanian Nation adopted the Constitution of the
Republic of Lithuania in the referendum of 25 October 1992. It
came into force on 2 November 1992. Under Article 1 of the
Republic of Lithuania Law "On the Procedure for Entry into Force
of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania" which was
adopted by the Nation in the referendum together with the
Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and which is a
constituent part of the Constitution, the Provisional Basic Law
became no longer effective upon entry into force of the
Constitution. From then on the Lithuanian national legal system
had to be created and developed only on the grounds of the
Constitution.
31. Article 2 of the Law "On the Procedure for Entry into
Force of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania" provides
that laws, other legal acts or parts thereof which were in effect
in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania prior to the
adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, shall
be effective inasmuch as they are not in conflict with the
Constitution and this law, and shall remain in force until they
are either declared null and void or brought in line with the
provisions of the Constitution.
In this context it is to be mentioned that as it has been
held by the Constitutional Court that the principle of the
supremacy of the Constitution implies also a duty of the
legislator and other lawmaking subjects to revise legal acts
which were passed before the entry into effect of the
Constitution, while taking account of norms and principles of the
Constitution, and to ensure a harmonious hierarchical system of
legal acts which regulate the same relations (Constitutional
Court rulings of 3 December 1997, 6 May 1998, 29 October 2003 and
5 March 2004). The Constitutional Court has also held that the
duty of the legislator, other lawmaking subjects to revise all
legal acts adopted by them before the entry into effect of the
Constitution and which still remain in force, also the legal acts
adopted by no longer existing institutions after the entry into
effect of the Constitution and still remaining in force, which
regulate the relations which are assigned to the sphere of
regulation of a corresponding law-making subject, as well as
legal acts, which had been adopted before the restoration of the
independent State of Lithuania and remained in force after
restoration of the independent State of Lithuania and, after the
entry into effect of the Constitution, regulate the
relationships, which are assigned to the sphere of regulation of
an appropriate legislative subject, and assess their conformity
with the Constitution within a reasonably short period, stems
from the principle of the superiority of the Constitution, and
the constitutional principle of a state under the rule of law
(Constitutional Court ruling of 29 October 2003). The
Constitutional Court has also held that the constitutionality of
legal acts (or parts thereof), which have not been harmonised
with the Constitution by passing a new legal act by the
corresponding law-making subject, which would amend, in the
opinion of that law-making subject, the legal act (or part
thereof) that was not in conformity with the Constitution, and
which have not been recognized as no longer valid, may be
verified by conducting constitutional control. According to the
Constitution, the Constitutional Court decides as to the
conformity of the Republic of Lithuania laws, other acts adopted
by the Supreme Council, Government acts, which were adopted prior
to the entry into effect of the Constitution, as well as of legal
acts of corresponding legal power, which were adopted before the
restoration of the independent State of Lithuania, but remained
in force after the restoration of the independent State of
Lithuania, and regulate the relationships that are assigned to
sphere of regulation of the Seimas or the Government
(Constitutional Court ruling of 29 October 2003).
32. Upon entry into force of the Constitution, the Law on
Citizenship (wording of 5 December 1991 with subsequent
amendments and supplements, made prior to the entry into force of
the 1992 Constitution) remained in force.
Also the Supreme Council Resolution "On the Procedure for
Implementation of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship"
of 10 December 1991 continued to be in force.
Thus, the legislator had a constitutional duty to
regulate the citizenship relations of the Republic of Lithuania
so that this legal regulation would comply with the provisions of
the Constitution, inter alia Article 12 thereof.
33. Upon entry into force of the Constitution, the Law on
Citizenship (wording of 5 December with subsequent amendments and
supplements, made prior to the entry into force of the 1992
Constitution) was amended and/or supplemented by the following:
the Law "On Amending Articles 14 and 25 of the Republic of
Lithuania Law on Citizenship" adopted by the Supreme Council on
19 November 1992; the Law "On Amending and Supplementing the
Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship" adopted by the Seimas
on 16 July 1993; the Law "On Amending Article 18 of the Republic
of Lithuania Law on Citizenship" adopted by the Seimas on 7
December 1993; the Law "On Supplementing Article 23 of the
Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship" adopted by the Seimas
on 14 December 1993; the Law "On Amending the Republic of
Lithuania Law on Citizenship" adopted by the Seimas on 13 June
1995; the Law "On Amending and Supplementing the Republic of
Lithuania Law on Citizenship" adopted by the Seimas on 3 October
1995; the Republic of Lithuania Law on Supplementing Articles 17
and 22 and Amending Article 31 of the Law on Citizenship adopted
by the Seimas on 6 February 1996 and the Republic of Lithuania
Law on Amending Articles 1, 17 and 28 of the Law on Citizenship
adopted by the Seimas on 2 July 1997.
Upon entry into force of the Constitution, the 10
December 1991 Supreme Council Resolution "On the Procedure for
Implementation of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship"
has also been amended and/or supplemented; it has been amended
and/or supplemented by: the Seimas Resolution "On Amending and
Supplementing the Resolution of the Supreme Council of the
Republic of Lithuania 'On the Procedure for Implementation of the
Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship'" of 8 June 1993; the
Seimas Resolution "On Amending Item 5 of the Resolution of the
Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania 'On the Procedure
for Implementation of the Republic of Lithuania Law on
Citizenship'" of 22 December 1993; the Seimas Resolution "On
Amending and Supplementing the Resolution of the Supreme Council
of the Republic of Lithuania 'On the Procedure for Implementation
of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship'" of 15 March
1994 (hereinafter also referred to as the Seimas resolution of 15
March 1994); the Seimas Resolution "On Amending and Supplementing
the Resolution of the Supreme Council of the Republic of
Lithuania 'On the Procedure for Implementation of the Republic of
Lithuania Law on Citizenship' of 10 December 1991" of 18 July
1994 and the Seimas Resolution "On Amending the Resolution of the
Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania 'On the Procedure
for Implementation of the Republic of Lithuania Law on
Citizenship'" of 19 October 1995.
Subsequently, the amendments and supplements of the Law
on Citizenship (wording of 5 December 1991 with subsequent
amendments and supplements, made prior to the entry into force of
the 1992 Constitution) and of the Supreme Council resolution of
10 December 1991, which were mentioned in this Constitutional
Court ruling, will be discussed only in the aspect, how it is
defined as to who are citizens of the Republic of Lithuania, how
retention of the right to citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania is regulated, what legislative possibilities for the
citizens of the Republic of Lithuania also to have the
citizenship of other state there are, how the relations of loss
of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania are regulated (in
particular, upon acquisition of the citizenship of another
state), as well as how the content of the notion "repatriation"
is defined.
34. Article 2 of the Law "On Amending and Supplementing
the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship", which was adopted
by the Seimas on 16 July 1993, amended Article 16 (wording of 5
December 1991) titled "Granting Citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania to Persons with Merits to the State of Lithuania" and
set it forth in a new wording (having amended also the title of
this article).
34.1. Article 16 titled "Granting of Citizenship by Way
of Exception" (wording of 16 July 1993) of the Law on Citizenship
established:
"Following this law, the President of the Republic may
grant citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania to foreign
citizens who are with merits to Lithuania by way of exception
without applying the conditions for granting citizenship provided
for in Article 12 of this Law."
34.2. When comparing Article 16 (wording of 16 July 1993)
of the Law on Citizenship with the same article (wording of 5
December 1991), it is obvious that it was established that
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania is no longer granted by
way of exception by the Presidium of the Supreme Council, but by
the President of the Republic as established in Item 21 of
Article 84 of the Constitution.
34.3. It is also obvious that the formula "with special
merits to the Republic of Lithuania" of Article 16 (wording of 5
December 1991) of the Law on Citizenship was changed into "with
merits to Lithuania" in this article (wording of 16 July 1993).
While construing inter alia Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of
the Constitution, wherein it is established that with the
exception of individual cases provided for by law, no one may be
a citizen of both the Republic of Lithuania and another state at
the same time, the Constitutional Court held the following in its
ruling of 30 December 2003:
"In the course of establishment of the grounds of
acquisition of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania and
regulation of the procedure of acquisition and loss of
citizenship, the legislator enjoys discretion. However, while
doing this, the legislator cannot deny the nature and meaning of
the institute of citizenship, he must pay heed to the
constitutional requirement that a citizen of the Republic of
Lithuania may also be a citizen of another state only in
individual cases established by law. It should be underlined that
the provision of Article 12 of the Constitution that a person may
be a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania and, at the same time,
a citizen of another state only in individual cases established
by law, means that such cases established by law can be very rare
(individual), that cases of double citizenship must be
extraordinarily rare, exceptional, that under the Constitution it
is not permitted to establish any such legal regulation under
which cases of double citizenship would be not extraordinarily
rare exceptions, but a widespread phenomenon. Under the
Constitution, expansive construction of the provisions of the Law
on Citizenship consolidating an opportunity to be a citizen of
the Republic of Lithuania and a citizen of another state at the
same time is impermissible, under which double citizenship would
be not individual, extraordinarily rare exceptions, but a
widespread phenomenon". In that Constitutional Court ruling it
was also held that "while one takes account of the fact that
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania expresses legal
membership of the person in the State of Lithuania and reflects
his legal belongingness to the state community, the civil Nation,
the President of the Republic, when he decides whether to grant
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania to a person, must be
guided by interests of the Nation and the State of Lithuania";
that "by means of laws or other legal acts one cannot establish a
final list of merits, for which a citizen of a foreign state or a
stateless person can be granted citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania by way of exception"; that "the merits of the person
who requests to be granted citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania by way of exception must be such and grounded in such a
way so that it would not cause any doubts as to their presence";
that "not any person, but a citizen of a foreign state or a
stateless person must have merits to the State of Lithuania". It
was also held that "granting of citizenship means that one holds
that there has appeared a permanent legal link between the person
and the state, that such a person has become a member of the
state community-the legal Nation. The state, as the organisation
of the entire society, cannot be indifferent as to what persons
become its citizens. Therefore, even in cases when a citizen of a
foreign state or a stateless person has merits to the Republic of
Lithuania and is linked with the State of Lithuania by permanent
factual links, is integrated into the Lithuanian society, when
one decides whether to grant citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania to such a person by way of exception, one must assess
all the circumstances characterizing such a person, one must
follow the interests of the Nation and the State of Lithuania".
It was mentioned that Article 16 (wording of 16 July
1993) of the Law on Citizenship no longer contains the former
formula "with special merits to the Republic of Lithuania" of
this article (wording of 5 December 1991)it was replaced by the
formula "with merits to Lithuania". It is obvious from the
material of the travaux préparatoires of the Law "On Amending and
Supplementing the Law on Citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania", which was adopted by the Seimas on 16 July 1993, and
inter alia from the sittings of the Seimas where the amendments
to Article 16 (wording of 5 December 1991) of the Law on
Citizenship were deliberated that by these amendments one sought
inter alia to avoid the detailed legislative description of
merits of the citizen of a foreign state, for which it would be
possible to grant citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania by way
of exception, and to retain the powers of the President of the
Republic to decide in every concrete case, whether the person
(the citizen of a foreign state) is with such merits to Lithuania
that he may be granted citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania
by way of exception, without denying at the same time that
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania may be granted to the
citizen of a foreign state only by way of exception, i.e. only
for special merits to Lithuania.
In this context it needs to be noted that the formula "by
way of exception" used in the title and text of Article 16
(wording of 16 July 1993) of the Law on Citizenship is to be
construed by taking into account that in Lithuanian the word
"exceptional" means "exclusive", "special" and "extraordinary"
(Lyberis A. Sinonimų žodynas [Dictionary of Synonyms] 2 patais.
Leidimas. Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos instituto leidykla, 2002, p.
165; Keinys S. (vyr. red.) Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos žodynas
[Contemporary Lithuanian Dictionary]. Vilnius: Mokslo ir
enciklopedijų leidybos institutas, 2000, p. 235). Thus, granting
of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania by way of exception
is an exceptional, special and extraordinary case.
Thus, irrespective of whether the merits to Lithuania for
which a citizen of a foreign state may be granted citizenship of
the Republic of Lithuania are described as "special" or in any
other words in the Law on Citizenship (or any other law),
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania may be granted to the
citizen of a foreign state for them only by way of exception. It
needs to be noted that the formula "by way of exception" which is
expressis verbis used in Article 16 (wording of 16 July 1993) of
this law means that the merits of the citizen of a foreign state
for Lithuania must be exceptional, special and extraordinary.
The provisions of Article 16 (wording of 16 July 1993) of
the Law on Citizenship, in particular taking account of the
intentions of the legislator, inter alia of the fact that the
corresponding amendments corrected the legislative description of
merits to Lithuania and entrenched the powers of the President of
the Republic in this sphere, do not deny the constitutional
imperative that the citizen of a foreign state, to whom
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania is granted for his
merits to Lithuania and who becomes a member of the Lithuanian
state communitycivil society, must be linked with the State of
Lithuania by permanent factual links and must be integrated into
the Lithuanian society.
When construing Paragraph 1 (wording of 16 July 1993) of
Article 16 (wording of 3 October 1995) of the Law on Citizenship,
the Constitutional Court held that "in the sense of the Law on
Citizenship, only the activity of the person is to be considered
merits to the Republic of Lithuania, when the person very
significantly contributes to strengthening of Lithuanian
statehood, to the increase of power of Lithuania and its
authority in the international community, when it is evident that
the person has already been integrated into the Lithuanian
society"; that "only in such cases there may appear pre-
conditions for consideration and decision whether the citizen of
a foreign state or stateless person is with merits to the
Republic of Lithuania, as required by the Law on Citizenship";
that "while deciding whether the citizen of a foreign state or
the stateless person has merits to the Republic of Lithuania, one
should, under Paragraph 1 of Article 16 of the Law on
Citizenship, assess only the very significant activity to the
State of Lithuania itself that it was performed when the person
was a citizen of a foreign state or a stateless person"
(Constitutional Court ruling of 30 December 2003).
Only when the legal regulation established in Article 16
(wording of 16 July 1993) of the Law on Citizenship is construed
in this way, it is in line with the provision of Paragraph 2 of
Article 12 of the Constitution that with the exception of
individual cases provided for by law, no one may be a citizen of
both the Republic of Lithuania and another state at the same
time.
35. Paragraph 3 (wording of 10 December 1991) of Article
18 of the Law on Citizenship was amended and set forth in a new
wording by the Law "On Amending Article 18 of the Republic of
Lithuania Law on Citizenship", which was adopted by the Seimas on
7 December 1993.
35.1. Paragraph 3 (wording of 7 December 1993) of Article
18 titled "Conditions of Implementing the Right to Citizenship of
the Republic of Lithuania or Restoring Citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania" of the Law on Citizenship established:
"Persons of Lithuanian origin who held citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940 and their children as
well as other persons who held citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940 (provided that all the specified
persons have not repatriated), and who departed or were exiled
from Lithuania in the period from 15 June 1940 to 11 March 1990,
and are at the present time residing in other states shall
restore citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania by stating in
writing to the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of
Lithuania or diplomatic missions of the Republic of Lithuania
abroad that they are citizens of the Republic of Lithuania and
providing the evidence confirming it. They shall not be applied
the reservations of the first paragraph of this article and Item
1 of Article 1 of the Law on Citizenship."
35.2. When comparing Paragraph 3 (wording of 7 December
1993) of Article 18 of the Law on Citizenship with the same
paragraph (wording of 10 December 1991), it is obvious that under
Paragraph 3 (wording of 7 December 1993) of Article 18 of the Law
on Citizenship, the right to restore citizenship of the Republic
of Lithuania without renouncing the held citizenship of another
state was already established not only to the persons of
Lithuanian origin who resided in other states and held
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania who departed from
Lithuania in the period from 15 June 1940 to 11 March 1990 and
their children who did not acquire citizenship of this state by
birth in another state, but also to other persons of Lithuanian
origin residing in other states who held citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940 and who departed or
were exiled from Lithuania in the period from 15 June 1940 to 11
March 1990 and their children as well as to other persons of non-
Lithuanian origin residing in other foreign states who held
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940
and who departed or were exiled from Lithuania in the period from
15 June 1940 to 11 March 1990.
Such legal regulation substantially expanded the circle
of persons who may restore citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania and also hold citizenship of another state.
35.3. On the other hand, the restoration of the right to
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania was related with non-
repatriation of the persons who resided in other states and held
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940:
the right to restore citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania was
guaranteed only to those persons of non-Lithuanian origin who had
departed from Lithuania, who departed from Lithuania not to their
ethnical homeland.
36. The Law "On Supplementing Article 23 of the Republic
of Lithuania Law on Citizenship", which was adopted by the Seimas
on 14 December 1993, supplemented Article 23 titled "Declaring
the Act on the Granting of Citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania Invalid" (wording of 5 December 1991) by the following
Paragraph 3:
"A citizen of the Republic of Lithuania who, after he has
been issued documents of citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania, acquires citizenship of another state or is issued a
passport of the citizen of another state or any other document
confirming the citizenship of that state, shall lose citizenship
of the Republic of Lithuania as of the day of acquisition of
citizenship of another state or the day of issue of the passport
of citizenship of that state or any other document confirming the
citizenship of that state."
37. Item 1 of the Seimas Resolution of 15 March 1994
supplemented Item 2 of the Supreme Council resolution of 10
December 1991 with Paragraphs 2, 3 and 4. Paragraph 4 of the
Supreme Council resolution of 10 December 1991 (wording of 15
March 1994) established that "the persons restoring citizenship
of the Republic of Lithuania under the Third Paragraph of Article
18 of the Law on Citizenship and the members of their families
shall specify in the application for restoration of citizenship
whether they have not repatriated from Lithuania and shall
provide evidence thereof", and interpreted the notion
"repatriation" used in the Law on Citizenship (wording of 5
December 1991 with subsequent amendments and supplements):
"repatriation is a departure for one's ethnical homeland and
settlement there".
37.1. It has been held in this Constitutional Court
ruling that upon entry into force of the Constitution, the
legislator had a constitutional duty to regulate the citizenship
relations of the Republic of Lithuania, inter alia to correct the
legal regulation established in the Law on Citizenship (wording
of 5 December 1991 with subsequent amendments and supplements,
made prior to the entry into force of the 1992 Constitution) and
the Supreme Council Resolution "On the Procedure for
Implementation of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship"
of 10 December 1991 so that this legal regulation would comply
with the provisions of the Constitution, inter alia Article 12
thereof.
37.2. One is to pay attention to the fact that a
substatutory act, the Supreme Council resolution of 10 December
1991 (wording of 15 March 1994), reveals the content of the
notion "repatriation" used in the Law on Citizenship (wording of
5 December 1991 with subsequent amendments and supplements).
37.2.1. It is to be noted that the legislator may define
the content of notions used in laws, however, the requirement to
heed the hierarchy of the legal acts which stems from the
Constitution, inter alia the constitutional principle of a state
under the rule of law, implies that the content of the notions
used in laws may be defined (inter alia construed) only by a law
and not by a legal act of lower power.
Thus, it was also possible to define (inter alia to
construe) the notion "repatriation" used in the Law on
Citizenship (wording of 5 December 1991 with subsequent
amendments and supplements), taking account of its purpose in the
said law and of the context of its usage, only by this or other
law. It is also to be noted that the legal regulation entrenched
in Article 12 of the Constitution implies that legal relations of
citizenship must be regulated by the law.
37.2.2. The fact that it was not possible to define
(inter alia to construe) the notion "repatriation" used in the
Law on Citizenship (wording of 5 December 1991 with subsequent
amendments and supplements), taking account of its purpose in the
said law and of the context of its usage, by a substatutory legal
act stems from the provisions of Article 12 of the Constitution.
37.2.3. Taking account of the arguments set forth, one is
to draw a conclusion that the provision "departure for one's
ethnical homeland and settlement there shall be considered as
repatriation" of Paragraph 4 (wording of 15 March 1994) of Item 2
of the Supreme Council Resolution "On the Procedure for
Implementation of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship"
of 10 December 1991 was in conflict, as to its form, with Article
12 of the Constitution and with the constitutional principle of a
state under the rule of law.
37.3. It was mentioned that under Article 17 (wording of
5 December 1991), the right to citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania was retained for an indefinite period of time to
persons who held citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania prior
to 15 June 1940 only provided that they had not repatriated from
Lithuania, while the right to citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania was not retained to the persons who held citizenship of
the Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940 and who have
repatriated from Lithuania.
It was also mentioned that under Paragraph 3 (wording of
7 December 1993) of Article 18 of the Law on Citizenship,
restoration of the right to citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania was related to the non-repatriation of the persons of
Lithuanian origin who were residing in other states and who held
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940:
the right to retain citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania was
guaranteed only to the persons of Lithuanian origin who were
residing in other states and who held citizenship of the Republic
of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, who departed or were exiled
from Lithuania in the period from 15 June 1940 to 11 March 1990
and their children as well as only to other persons of non-
Lithuanian origin residing in other states who held citizenship
of the Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940 and who
departed or were exiled from Lithuania in the period from 15 June
1940 to 11 March 1990 not to their ethnical homeland.
37.3.1. It was mentioned that the notion "repatriation"
was not explicitly defined in the Law on Citizenship (wording of
5 December 1991 with subsequent amendments and supplements).
37.3.2. The definition of the notion "repatriation"
entrenched in Paragraph 4 (wording of 15 March 1994) of Item 2 of
the Supreme Council resolution of 10 December 1991, when one
takes account of its purpose in the Law on Citizenship (wording
of 5 December 1991 with subsequent amendments and supplements)
and of the context of its usage, implies that one was following
the provision that retention of the right to citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania depended on the ethnical origin of the
person and on the fact for what countryethnical homeland or
other countrythe person departed from Lithuania.
37.3.3. It has been held in this Constitutional Court
ruling that when regulating citizenship relations one must also
follow the principle of equal rights of persons.
Article 29 of the Constitution provides that all persons
shall be equal before the law, the court, and other state
institutions and officials (Paragraph 1) and that the rights of
the human being may not be restricted, nor may he be granted any
privileges on the ground of gender, race, nationality, language,
origin, social status, belief, convictions, or views (Paragraph
2).
37.3.4. The definition of the notion "repatriation"
entrenched in Paragraph 4 (wording of 15 March 1994) of Item 2 of
the Supreme Council resolution of 10 December 1991, when one
takes account of its purpose in the Law on Citizenship (wording
of 5 December 1991 with subsequent amendments and supplements)
and of the context of its usage, deviates from the imperatives of
Article 29 of the Constitution in the aspect that the right to
the retention of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania
(implementation of the right to citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania and restoration of citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania) was restricted to persons of non-Lithuanian origin who
held citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June
1940 and who departed for their ethnical homeland and to their
children.
37.3.5. Taking account of the arguments set forth, one is
to draw a conclusion that the provision "departure for one's
ethnical homeland and settlement there shall be considered as
repatriation" of Paragraph 4 (wording of 15 March 1994) of Item 2
of the Supreme Council Resolution "On the Procedure for
Implementation of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship"
of 10 December 1991 was in conflict, as to its content, with
Article 29 of the Constitution and with the constitutional
principle of a state under the rule of law.
37.4. On 18 July 1994, the Seimas adopted the Resolution
"On Amending and Supplementing the Resolution of the Supreme
Council of the Republic of Lithuania 'On the Procedure for
Implementation of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship'
of 10 December 1991", by which it inter alia amended Item 2
(wording of 15 March 1994) of the Resolution of the Supreme
Council "On the Procedure for Implementation of the Republic of
Lithuania Law on Citizenship" of 10 December 1991; Paragraph 4
(wording of 15 March 1994) of Item 2 of the Supreme Council
Resolution "On the Procedure for Implementation of the Republic
of Lithuania Law on Citizenship" of 10 December 1991 became
Paragraph 5 of this item (wording of 18 July 1994).
37.4.1. On the grounds of the arguments analogous to
those upon which it has been held in this Constitutional Court
ruling that the provision "departure for one's ethnical homeland
and settlement there shall be considered as repatriation" of
Paragraph 4 (wording of 15 March 1994) of Item 2 of the Supreme
Council Resolution "On the Procedure for Implementation of the
Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship" of 10 December 1991 was
in conflict, as to its form, with Article 12 of the Constitution
and with the constitutional principle of a state under the rule
of law, it needs to be held that also the provision "departure
for one's ethnical homeland and settlement there shall be
considered as repatriation" of Paragraph 5 (wording of 18 July
1994) of Item 2 of the Supreme Council Resolution "On the
Procedure for Implementation of the Republic of Lithuania Law on
Citizenship" of 10 December 1991 was in conflict, as to its
content, with Article 12 of the Constitution and with the
constitutional principle of a state under the rule of law.
37.4.2. On the grounds of the arguments analogous to
those upon which it has been held in this Constitutional Court
ruling that the provision "departure for one's ethnical homeland
and settlement there shall be considered as repatriation" of
Paragraph 4 (wording of 15 March 1994) of Item 2 of the Supreme
Council Resolution "On the Procedure for Implementation of the
Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship" of 10 December 1991 was
in conflict, as to its content, with Article 29 of the
Constitution and with the constitutional principle of a state
under the rule of law, it needs to be held that also the
provision "departure for one's ethnical homeland and settlement
there shall be considered as repatriation" of Paragraph 5
(wording of 18 July 1994) of Item 2 of the Supreme Council
Resolution "On the Procedure for Implementation of the Republic
of Lithuania Law on Citizenship" of 10 December 1991 was in
conflict, as to its content, with Article 29 of the Constitution
and with the constitutional principle of a state under the rule
of law.
38. In addition, on the grounds of the arguments
analogous to those upon which it has been held in this
Constitutional Court ruling that the provision "departure for
one's ethnical homeland and settlement there shall be considered
as repatriation" of Paragraph 4 (wording of 15 March 1994) of
Item 2 of the Supreme Council Resolution "On the Procedure for
Implementation of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship"
of 10 December 1991 was in conflict, as to its content, with
Article 29 of the Constitution and with the constitutional
principle of a state under the rule of law, it needs to be held
that also the provision "provided that all the specified persons
have not repatriated" of Paragraph 3 (wording of 7 December 1993)
of Article 18 of the Law on Citizenship and the provision
"provided that they have not repatriated from Lithuania" of Item
1 (wording of 5 December 1991) of Paragraph 1 of Article 17 of
this law were in conflict with Article 29 of the Constitution and
with the constitutional principle of a state under the rule of
law.
39. Article 1 of the Law "On Amending and Supplementing
the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship", which was adopted
by the Seimas on 3 October 1995, set forth Article 1 (wording of
5 December 1991) of the Law on Citizenship in a new wording.
39.1. Article 1 titled "Citizens of the Republic of
Lithuania" (wording of 3 October 1995) of the Law on Citizenship
established:
"The following persons shall be citizens of the Republic
of Lithuania:
1) persons who held citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, and their children (provided
that these persons or their children have not repatriated from
Lithuania);
2) grandchildren of persons who held citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940 if they have not
acquired citizenship of another state;
3) persons who were permanent residents on the present-
day territory of the Republic of Lithuania in the period from 9
January 1919 to 15 June 1940, as well as their children and
grandchildren, provided that on the day of coming into effect of
the Law on Citizenship they have been permanent residents in
Lithuania, are residing here at the present time and are not
citizens of another state;
4) persons of Lithuanian origin residing in other states
if they departed from Lithuania prior to 16 February 1918 and
have not acquired citizenship of another state;
5) persons who acquired citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania under the Law on Citizenship which had been in effect
prior to the enactment of the Law on Citizenship on 5 December
1991; and
6) other persons who have acquired citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania under the Law on Citizenship.
Persons specified in Item 1 hereof shall be at their
request issued passports of citizens of the Republic of Lithuania
or documents confirming the right to citizenship of the Republic
of Lithuania in accordance with Article 17 of this Law.
A citizen of the Republic of Lithuania may not at the
same time be a citizen of another state, except in cases provided
for in this Law."
39.2. Paragraph 1 (wording of 3 October 1995) of Article
1 of the Law on Citizenship is to be construed by taking into
account of inter alia the fact that Article 7 the Law "On
Amending and Supplementing the Republic of Lithuania Law on
Citizenship", which was adopted by the Seimas on 3 October 1995,
set forth Article 17 (wording of 5 December 1991) of the Law on
Citizenship in a new wording.
39.3. Article 17 titled "Retention of the Right to
Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania" (wording of 3 October
1995) of the Law on Citizenship established:
"The right to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania
shall be retained for an indefinite period of time for:
1) persons who held citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940 and to their children (provided
that said persons and their children have not repatriated from
Lithuania) who are residing in other states; and
2) persons of Lithuanian origin who are residing in other
states.
A person whose parents or grandparents, or one of the
parents or grandparents are Lithuanians and the person himself
admits that he considers himself Lithuanian shall be considered a
person of Lithuanian origin.
Persons for whom the right to citizenship of the Republic
of Lithuania is retained shall, at their request, be issued
documents confirming the right.
Said persons together with members of their families may
enter the Republic of Lithuania without visas and reside in
Lithuania without having the requirements of the Law on
Immigration applied to them, as well as depart from Lithuania.
Laws may also provide for other rights of said persons.
Persons specified in Item 1 of Paragraph 1 hereof shall
implement the right to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania
in accordance with Article 1 of this Law.
Persons specified in Item 2 of Paragraph 1 hereof shall
implement the right to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania
after they renounce citizenship of another state and return to
Lithuania for permanent residence."
39.4. It was mentioned that the persons specified in
Article 17 (wording of 5 December 1991) of the Law on Citizenship
are persons residing abroad; even though they have the right to
retention of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, they are
not citizens of the Republic of Lithuania ex lege of their own
accordin order to become citizens of the Republic of Lithuania,
they must express the corresponding intention and to implement
the requirements established in the Law on Citizenship (wording
of 5 December 1991 with supplement made by Article 2 of the Law
"On the Validity of Documents of Citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania and Supplement of the Law on Citizenship", which was
adopted by the Supreme Council on 10 December 1991).
The amendment to Article 17 (wording of 5 December 1991)
of the Law on Citizenship, which was made by Article 7 of the
Resolution "On Amending and Supplementing of the Republic of
Lithuania Law on Citizenship" adopted by the Seimas on 3 October
1995, did not change the principled provision that the persons
who have the right to the retention of citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania are not citizens of the Republic of
Lithuania ex lege of their own accordthey could implement the
right to citizenship under Article 17 (wording of 3 October 1995)
of the Law on Citizenship.
39.5. It needs to be emphasized that under Item 1
(wording of 3 October 1995) of Paragraph 1 of Article 1 of the
Law on Citizenship, the persons who held citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, and their children
(provided that these persons or their children have not
repatriated from Lithuania) no longer had to renounce the held
citizenship of another state when implementing their right to
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania.
Thus, such legal regulation expanded the circle of
persons who may implement their right to citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania and also hold citizenship of another state.
39.6. While construing the provision "the following
persons shall be citizens of the Republic of Lithuania: (1)
persons who held citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania prior
to 15 June 1940, and their children (provided that these persons
or their children have not repatriated from Lithuania)" of
Paragraph 1 (wording of 3 October 1995) of Article 1 of the Law
on Citizenship together with Paragraph 2 of this article, wherein
it is established that "persons specified in Item 1 hereof shall
be at their request issued passports of citizens of the Republic
of Lithuania or documents confirming the right to citizenship of
the Republic of Lithuania in accordance with Article 17 of this
Law" as well as with Article 17 (wording of 3 October 1995) of
this law, it is obvious that the provision of Item 1 (wording of
3 October 1995) of Paragraph 1 of Article 1 of the Law on
Citizenship also includes the persons who permanently reside in
Lithuania and persons who permanently reside abroad.
The provision "the following persons shall be citizens of
the Republic of Lithuania: (1) persons who held citizenship of
the Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, and their
children (provided that these persons or their children have not
repatriated from Lithuania)" of Paragraph 1 (wording of 3 October
1995) of Article 1 of the Law on Citizenship is to be construed
as meaning that citizens of the Republic of Lithuania ex lege are
those from among the persons specified in this item who
permanently reside in Lithuania as well as those persons who
permanently reside abroad that implemented their right to
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania under Article 17
(wording of 3 October 1995) of the Law on Citizenship.
In this context it is to be mentioned that the provision
of Paragraph 2 (wording of 3 October 1995) of Article 1 of the
Law on Citizenship that persons specified in Item 1 of Paragraph
1 of this law (i.e. persons who held citizenship of the Republic
of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, and their children (provided
that these persons or their children have not repatriated from
Lithuania)) shall be at their request issued passports of
citizens of the Republic of Lithuania or documents confirming the
right to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania in accordance
with Article 17 of this law cannot be construed as meaning that
being a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania depends on whether
the person was issued a passport of the citizen of the Republic
of Lithuania or other document confirming citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania.
39.7. When comparing Paragraph 1 (wording of 3 October
1995) of Article 1 of the Law on Citizenship with Paragraph 1
(wording of 5 December 1991) of Article 1 of the Law on
Citizenship it is obvious that under Paragraph 1 (wording of 3
October 1995) of Article 1 of the Law on Citizenship, citizens of
the Republic of Lithuania are not only persons who held
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940
and their children provided that they have not acquired
citizenship of another state; persons who were permanent
residents on the present-day territory of the Republic of
Lithuania in the period from 9 January 1919 to 15 June 1940, as
well as their children and grandchildren, provided that on the
day of coming into effect of the Law on Citizenship they have
been permanent residents in Lithuania, are residing here at the
present time and are not citizens of another state; persons who
acquired citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania under the Law
on Citizenship (wording of 3 November 1989 with subsequent
supplementing) and other persons who have acquired citizenship of
the Republic of Lithuania on other basis provided for in the Law
on Citizenship, but also:
- persons of Lithuanian origin residing in other states
if they departed from Lithuania prior to 16 February 1918 and
have not acquired citizenship of another state;
- persons who held citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, and their children who acquired
citizenship of another state, provided these persons or their
children did not repatriate from Lithuania.
In this context, it is to be emphasized that, as
mentioned, those persons who held citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, and their children provided that
these persons and the children thereof have not repatriated and
acquired citizenship of another state could implement their right
to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania under Article 17
(wording of 3 October 1995) of the Law on Citizenship; under Item
1 (wording of 3 October 1995) of Paragraph 1 of Article 1 of the
Law on Citizenship they no longer had to renounce the held
citizenship of another state.
39.8. Moreover, Paragraph 1 (wording of 3 October 1995)
of Article 1 of the Law on Citizenship no longer included the
former provision of Item 4 (wording of 5 December 1991) of this
paragraph that the following persons shall be citizens of the
Republic of Lithuania: "persons who have implemented the right to
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania or restored citizenship
of the Republic of Lithuania under this Law", however, it
continued to include the former provision of Item 5 (wording of 5
December 1991) of this paragraph that the following persons shall
be citizens of the Republic of Lithuania: "other persons who have
acquired citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania under this Law
"; after having made some amendments in the wording, this
provision was entrenched in Item 6 (wording of 3 October 1995) of
Paragraph 1 of Article 1 of the Law on Citizenship.
39.8.1. In this context it is to be noted that Article 8
of the Law "On Amending and Supplementing the Republic of
Lithuania Law on Citizenship", which was adopted by the Seimas on
3 October 1995, recognized Article 18 of the Law on Citizenship
as no longer valid. Thus, the institute of restoration of
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania was no longer included
in the Law on Citizenship (wording of 5 December 1991 with
subsequent amendments and supplements).
39.8.2. Taking account of inter alia the fact that upon
coming into force of the Law "On Amending and Supplementing the
Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship" adopted on 3 October
1995 by the Seimas the Law on Citizenship (wording of 5 December
1991 with subsequent amendments and supplements) no longer
included the institute of restoration of citizenship, one is to
hold that the provision "other persons who have acquired
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania under this Law" of Item
6 (wording of 3 October 1995) of Paragraph 1 of Article 1 of the
Law on Citizenship also included the persons who had implemented
the right to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania or had
restored citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania under Item 4
(wording of 5 December 1991) of Paragraph 1 of Article 1 of the
Law on Citizenship.
39.9. The provision "the following persons shall be
citizens of the Republic of Lithuania: (1) persons who held
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940,
and their children (provided that these persons or their children
have not repatriated from Lithuania)" of Paragraph 1 (wording of
3 October 1995) of Article 1 of the Law on Citizenship and the
provision "the right to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania
shall be retained for an indefinite period of time for: (1)
persons who held citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania prior
to 15 June 1940 and to their children (provided that said persons
and their children have not repatriated from Lithuania)" of Item
1 (wording of 3 October 1995) of Paragraph 1 of Article 17 of
this law mean that the implementation of the right to citizenship
of the Republic of Lithuania of the persons who held citizenship
of the Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, and their
children was related to their and their children's non-
repatriation: the implementation of this right was guaranteed
only to those of the specified persons and their children who
were of non-Lithuanian origin and who departed from Lithuania not
to their ethnical homeland.
39.10. On the grounds of the arguments analogous to those
upon which it has been held in this Constitutional Court ruling
that the provision "departure for one's ethnical homeland and
settlement there shall be considered as repatriation" of
Paragraph 4 (wording of 15 March 1994) of Item 2 of the Supreme
Council Resolution "On the Procedure for Implementation of the
Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship" of 10 December 1991 was
in conflict, as to its content, with Article 29 of the
Constitution and with the constitutional principle of a state
under the rule of law, it needs to be held that also the
provision "provided that these persons or their children have not
repatriated from Lithuania" of Item 1 (wording of 3 October 1995)
of Paragraph 1 of Article 1 of the Law on Citizenship and the
provision "provided that said persons or their children have not
repatriated from Lithuania" of Item 1 (wording of 3 October 1995)
of Paragraph 1 of Article 17 of this law were in conflict with
Article 29 of the Constitution and with the constitutional
principle of a state under the rule of law.
40. Article 6 of the Law "On Amending and Supplementing
the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship", which was adopted
by the Seimas on 3 October 1995, supplemented Article 16 (wording
of 16 July 1993) of the Law on Citizenship with Paragraph 2.
Paragraph 2 (wording of 3 October 1995) of Article 16
titled "Granting of Citizenship by Way of Exception" of the Law
on Citizenship established: "Granting of citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania by way of exception shall not by itself
bring about legal consequences with regard to the members of
family of the person who has acquired citizenship".
41. On 19 October 1995, the Seimas adopted the Republic
of Lithuania Law "On the Procedure for Implementation of the
Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship" which came into force
on 4 November 1995. Paragraph 3 of Article 1 of this law
established: "Departure for one's ethnical homeland and
settlement there shall be considered as repatriation".
Thus, the content of the notion "repatriation" was
defined in the same way as in Paragraph 4 (wording of 15 March
1994) of Item 2 of the Supreme Council Resolution "On the
Procedure for Implementation of the Republic of Lithuania Law on
Citizenship" of 10 December 1991 and in Paragraph 5 (wording of
15 March 1994) of this item.
42. On the same day (19 October 1995), the Seimas adopted
the Resolution "On Amending the Resolution of the Supreme Council
of the Republic of Lithuania 'On the Procedure for Implementation
of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship'" whose Item 1
inter alia recognized Item 2 (wording of 18 July 1994) of the
Supreme Council Resolution "On the Procedure for Implementation
of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship" of 10 December
1991 as no longer valid.
43. It has been held in this Constitutional Court ruling
that the provision "departure for one's ethnical homeland and
settlement there shall be considered as repatriation" of
Paragraph 4 (wording of 15 March 1994) of Item 2 of the Supreme
Council Resolution "On the Procedure for Implementation of the
Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship" of 10 December 1991 was
in conflict, as to its content, with Article 29 of the
Constitution and with the constitutional principle of a state
under the rule of law.
44. On the grounds of the arguments analogous to those
upon which it has been held in this Constitutional Court ruling
that the provision "departure for one's ethnical homeland and
settlement there shall be considered as repatriation" of
Paragraph 4 (wording of 15 March 1994) of Item 2 of the Supreme
Council Resolution "On the Procedure for Implementation of the
Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship" of 10 December 1991 was
in conflict, as to its content, with Article 29 of the
Constitution and with the constitutional principle of a state
under the rule of law, it needs to be held that also Paragraph 3
(wording of 19 October 1995) of Article 1 of the Law "On the
Procedure for Implementation of the Republic of Lithuania Law on
Citizenship" was in conflict with Article 29 of the Constitution
and with the constitutional principle of a state under the rule
of law.
45. Article 1 of the Law on Supplementing Articles 17 and
22 and Amending Article 31 of the Law on Citizenship, which was
adopted by the Seimas on 6 February 1996, supplemented Paragraph
1 (wording of 3 October 1995) of Article 17 of this law and set
it forth in a new wording.
45.1. Paragraph 1 (wording of 6 February 1996) of Article
17 titled "Retention of the Right to Citizenship of the Republic
of Lithuania" of the Law on Citizenship established:
"The right to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania
shall be retained for an indefinite period of time for:
(1) persons who held citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940 and to their children (provided
that said persons and their children have not repatriated from
Lithuania) who are residing in other states; and
(2) persons of Lithuanian origin who are residing in
other states."
45.2. When Paragraph 1 (wording of 6 February 1996) of
Article 17 of the Law on Citizenship is compared with Paragraph 1
(wording of 3 October 1995) of Article 17 of the Law on
Citizenship, it becomes obvious that Item 1 (wording of 6
February 1996) of Paragraph 1 of this article retained the former
provision that the right to citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania shall be retained for an indefinite period of time
inter alia to the persons who held citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940 and to their children (provided
that said persons or their children have not repatriated from
Lithuania), however, it was explicitly established that these
persons are persons who reside in other states.
45.3. On the grounds of the arguments analogous to those
upon which it has been held in this Constitutional Court ruling
that the provision "departure for one's ethnical homeland and
settlement there shall be considered as repatriation" of
Paragraph 4 (wording of 15 March 1994) of Item 2 of the Supreme
Council Resolution "On the Procedure for Implementation of the
Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship" of 10 December 1991 was
in conflict, as to its content, with Article 29 of the
Constitution and with the constitutional principle of a state
under the rule of law, it needs to be held that also the
provision "provided that said persons and their children have not
repatriated from Lithuania" of Item 1 (wording of 6 February
1996) of Paragraph 1 of Article 17 of the Law on Citizenship was
in conflict with Article 29 of the Constitution and with the
constitutional principle of a state under the rule of law.
46. It was mentioned that under Article 22 (wording of 5
December 1991) of the Law on Citizenship, citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania could not be returned to the person who
lost citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania on the basis
provided for in Item 2 of Article 19, i.e. to a person who
acquired citizenship of another state, and it could be returned
only to such person who was stateless or a citizen of the state,
under the laws of which, he loses citizenship of that state upon
acquisition of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 2 of the Law on Supplementing Articles 17 and 22
and Amending Article 31 of the Law on Citizenship, which was
adopted by the Seimas on 6 February 1996, supplemented Article 22
of the Law on Citizenship and set it forth in a new wording.
Article 22 titled "Returning of Citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania" of the Law on Citizenship provided for a possibility
to return citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania also to the
person who lost citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania inter
alia on the basis provided for in Item 2 (wording of 5 December
1991) of Article 19 of this law, i.e. upon acquisition of
citizenship of another state, but only if at the time of his
application this person permanently resides in the territory of
the Republic of Lithuania and fulfils the conditions provided for
in Items 2, 3 and 5 (wording of 5 December 1991) of Paragraph 1
of Article 12 (wording of 3 October 1995) of this law, inter alia
the condition not to hold citizenship of another state or the
condition to renounce the held citizenship of another state.
47. Article 1 of the Law on Amending Articles 1, 17 and
28 of the Law on Citizenship, which was adopted by the Seimas on
2 July 1997, amended Paragraph 1 (wording of 3 October 1995) of
Article 1 of the Law on Citizenship and set it forth in a new
wording.
47.1. Paragraph 1 (wording of 2 July 1997) of Article 1
of the Law on Citizenship established that the following persons
shall be citizens of the Republic of Lithuania: (1) persons who
held citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June
1940, their children and grandchildren (provided that these
persons or their children or grandchildren have not repatriated
from Lithuania); (2) persons who were permanent residents in the
present-day territory of the Republic of Lithuania in the period
from 9 January 1919 to 15 June 1940, as well as their children
and grandchildren, provided that on the day of coming into effect
of the Law on Citizenship they have been permanent residents in
Lithuania, are residing here at the present time and are not
citizens of another state; (3) persons of Lithuanian origin
residing in other states, if they departed from Lithuania prior
to 16 February 1918 and did not acquire citizenship of another
state; (4) persons who acquired citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania by 4 November 1991 under the Law on Citizenship which
had been in effect prior to the enactment of the Law on
Citizenship on 5 December 1991; and (5) other persons who have
acquired citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania under the Law
on Citizenship.
47.2. Paragraph 1 (wording of 2 July 1997) of Article 1
of the Law on Citizenship is to be construed taking account inter
alia of the fact that Article 2 of the Law on Amending Articles
1, 17 and 28 of the Law on Citizenship (wording of 2 July 1997),
which was adopted by the Seimas, amended Item 1 (wording of 6
February 1996) of Paragraph 1 of Article 1 of the Law on
Citizenship and set it forth in a new wording.
47.3. Item 1 (wording of 2 July 1997) of Paragraph 1 of
Article 17 of the Law on Citizenship established that the right
to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania shall be retained for
an indefinite period of time to persons who held citizenship of
the Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, to their
children and grandchildren (provided that said persons, their
children and grandchildren have not repatriated from Lithuania)
who are residing in other states.
47.4. When the legal regulation established in Paragraph
1 (wording of 2 July 1997) of Article 1 of the Law on Citizenship
is compared with the one established in Paragraph 1 (wording of 3
October 1995) of Article 1 of the Law on Citizenship, and when
one takes account of the provisions of Item 1 (wording of 2 July
1997) of Paragraph 1 of Article 17 of the Law on Citizenship, it
becomes obvious that under Item 1 (wording of 2 July 1997) of
Paragraph 1 of Article 17 of the Law on Citizenship, the
possibility to be citizens of the Republic of Lithuania at the
same time holding citizenship of another state was also
established to grandchildren (provided that said persons have not
repatriated from Lithuania) of the persons who held citizenship
of the Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940.
47.5. It is also to be noted that Article 1 of the
Republic of Lithuania Law on Amending Articles 1 and 5 of the Law
"On the Procedure for Implementation of the Republic of Lithuania
Law on Citizenship", which was adopted by the Seimas on 2 July
1997, amended Article 1 (wording of 19 October 1995) of the Law
"On the Procedure for Implementation of the Republic of Lithuania
Law on Citizenship" and set it forth in a new wording.
After this amendment had been made, the provision
defining the content of the notion "repatriation" in Paragraph 3
(wording of 2 July 1997) of Article 1 of the Law "On the
Procedure for Implementation of the Republic of Lithuania Law on
Citizenship" remained the same as in Paragraph 3 (wording of 19
October 1995) of Article 1 of the Law "On the Procedure for
Implementation of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship":
"Departure for one's ethnical homeland and settlement there shall
be considered as repatriation."
47.6. The Law on Amending Articles 1, 17 and 28 of the
Law on Citizenship, which was by the Seimas adopted on 2 July
1997, and the Law on Amending Articles 1 and 5 of the Republic of
Lithuania Law "On the Procedure for Implementation of the
Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship", which was adopted on
the same day, also came into effect on the same day, i.e. on 16
July 1997.
47.7. On the grounds of the arguments analogous to those
upon which it has been held in this Constitutional Court ruling
that the provision "departure for one's ethnical homeland and
settlement there shall be considered as repatriation" of
Paragraph 4 (wording of 15 March 1994) of Item 2 of the Supreme
Council Resolution "On the Procedure for Implementation of the
Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship" of 10 December 1991 was
in conflict, as to its content, with Article 29 of the
Constitution and with the constitutional principle of a state
under the rule of law, it needs to be held that also the
provision "provided that the persons, their children or
grandchildren have not repatriated from Lithuania" of Item 1
(wording of 2 July 1997) of Paragraph 1 of Article 1 of the Law
on Citizenship, the provision "provided that said persons, their
children or grandchildren have not repatriated from Lithuania" of
Item 1 (wording of 2 July 1997) of Paragraph 1 of Article 17 of
this law and Paragraph 3 (wording of 2 July 1997) of Article 1 of
the Law "On the Procedure for Implementation of the Republic of
Lithuania Law on Citizenship" were in conflict with Article 29 of
the Constitution and with the constitutional principle of a state
under the rule of law.
48. Summing up what possibilities for citizens of the
Republic of Lithuania also to have citizenship of another state
were entrenched in the Law on Citizenship (wording of 5 December
1991 with subsequent amendments and supplements) at the time when
the Constitution was already in effect, one is to hold that the
principle of prohibition of double citizenship, prohibiting the
person from being a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania and any
other state at the same time, as well as exceptions to this
prohibition, has always been entrenched in this law.
48.1. The Law on Citizenship (wording of 5 December with
subsequent amendments and supplements, made prior to the entry
into force of the 1992 Constitution) entrenched only two
exceptions to the said prohibition of double citizenship: under
Article 16 (wording of 5 December 1991) of this law, a person,
who could be granted citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania for
special merits to the Republic of Lithuania, could at the same
time be a citizen of another state; under Paragraph 3 (wording of
10 December 1991) of Article 18 of the said law, persons of
Lithuanian origin who held citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania, and who departed from Lithuania in the period from 15
June 1940 to 11 March 1990, and are at the present time residing
in other states, as well as their children who have not acquired
citizenship of another state by birth, could have their
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania restored without
renouncing the held citizenship of another state.
48.2. When establishing the basis for acquisition of
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania and the procedure for
its loss, the legislator must heed the requirement of Paragraph 2
of Article 12 of the Constitution that with the exception of
individual cases provided for by law, no one may be a citizen of
both the Republic of Lithuania and another state at the same
time; such cases provided for by law may be only very rare
(individual), exceptional, but not common ones.
48.3. In this respect, the exception to the prohibition
of double citizenship entrenched in Article 16 (wording of 5
December 1991) of the Law on Citizenship was in line with the
requirements of Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the Constitution.
Differently is to be assessed the exception to the
prohibition of double citizenship entrenched in Paragraph 3
(wording of 10 December 1991) of Article 18 of the Law on
Citizenshiptaking account of the fact that the requirement to
renounce the held citizenship of another state when citizenship
of the Republic of Lithuania was being restored was not
established, this exception created preconditions for double
citizenship to become not an especially rare exception, but a
widespread phenomenon.
48.4. The Law on Citizenship (wording of 5 December with
subsequent amendments and supplements, made prior to the entry
into force of the 1992 Constitution) entrenched the institute of
retention of the right to citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania which, as it has been held in this Constitutional Court
ruling, was designed for the purpose that the persons (not only
of Lithuanian origin) who are residing in foreign states, who had
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania before the loss of
Lithuanian statehood, their children and the Lithuanians residing
abroad would not lose the link with the restored independent
State of Lithuania and that Lithuanians residing abroad would not
be severed from the Lithuanian Nation.
There is not any legal ground to think that the said
institute of retention of the right to citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania could in any aspect be in conflict with any
provisions of the Constitution, save the fact that that the
persons who repatriated from Lithuania were excluded from all
those persons who held citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania
prior to 15 June 1940 and were residing in other statesthe right
to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania was not retained to
them. It has been held in this Constitutional Court ruling that
the provision "provided that said persons have not repatriated
from Lithuania" of Item 1 (wording of 5 December 1991) of
Paragraph 1 of Article 17 of the Law on Citizenship was in
conflict with Article 29 of the Constitution and with the
constitutional principle of a state under the rule of law.
48.5. In the long run, the circle of persons who were
retained the right to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania
was expanded: not only the persons who held citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania until 15 June 1940 and were residing in
other states (provided that they have not repatriated from
Lithuania), their children who were born in Lithuania or in
refugee camps, but were residing in other states, and other
persons of Lithuanian origin who were residing in foreign states
or in the territories governed by said states, but also the
children of other persons who held citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania until 15 June 1940 and were residing in other states
(irrespective of where they were born) and lateralso the
grandchildren (provided that said persons, their children and
grandchildren have not repatriated from Lithuania), gained the
said right.
Such expansion of the circle of persons who are retained
the right to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, save the
discussed clause, is not to be considered as being in conflict
with any provisions of the Constitution.
48.6. Also the circle of persons who could be citizens of
the Republic of Lithuania and of another state at the same time
was expanded; it was done by the following:
- the Law "On Amending Article 18 of the Republic of
Lithuania Law on Citizenship" adopted by the Seimas on 7 December
1993, which amended Paragraph 3 (wording of 10 December 1991) of
Article 18 of the Law on Citizenship and set it forth in a new
wording;
- Article 1 of the Law "On Amending and Supplementing the
Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship" adopted by the Seimas
on 3 October 1995, which set forth Article 1 (wording of 5
December 1991) of the Law on Citizenship in a new wording and
Article 7 which set forth Article 17 (wording of 5 December 1991)
of the Law on Citizenship in a new wording;
- Article 1 of the Law on Amending Articles 1, 17 and 28
of the Law on Citizenship adopted by the Seimas on 2 July 1997,
which supplemented and set forth Paragraph 1 (wording of 3
October 1995) of Article 17 of this law in a new wording;
- Article 2 of the Law on Amending Articles 1, 17 and 28
of the Law on Citizenship adopted by the Seimas on 2 July 1997,
which amended Item 1 (wording of 5 December 1991) of Paragraph 1
of Article 17 of the Law on Citizenship and set it forth in a new
wording.
Finally, the legal regulation was established that the
circle of persons who could be citizens of the Republic of
Lithuania and of another state at the same time was expanded so
much that it created preconditions for double citizenship to
become not an especially rare exception, but a widespread
phenomenon.
48.7. It needs to be held that the amendments to the Law
on Citizenship by which the circle of persons who could be
citizens of the Republic of Lithuania and of another state at the
same time was gradually expanded so that it created preconditions
for double citizenship to become a widespread phenomenon were not
in line with the provision of Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the
Constitution whereby with the exception of individual cases
provided for by law, no one may be a citizen of both the Republic
of Lithuania and another state at the same time.
48.8. Taking account of the arguments set forth, one is
to draw a conclusion that the following were in conflict with
Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the Constitution:
- Paragraph 3 (wording of 10 December 1991) of Article 18
of the Law on Citizenship, to the extent that it did not
establish the requirement to renounce the held citizenship of
another state when citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania is
restored;
- the provision "they shall not be applied the
reservations of the first paragraph of this article and Item 1 of
Article 1 of the Law on Citizenship" of Paragraph 3 (wording of 7
December 1993) of Article 18 of the Law on Citizenship;
- Item 1 (wording of 3 October 1995) of Article 1 of the
Law on Citizenship to the extent that it no longer included the
former provision "provided that they have not acquired
citizenship of another state" of this item (wording of 5 December
1991);
- Paragraph 5 (wording of 3 October 1995) of Article 17
of the Law on Citizenship to the extent that it did not establish
the requirement to renounce the held citizenship of another state
when citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania is restored;
- Item 1 (wording of 2 July 1997) of Paragraph 1 of
Article 1 of the Law on Citizenship to the extent that it
established that also the persons specified in this item who held
citizenship of another state shall be citizens of the Republic of
Lithuania.
48.9. Legal acts (paragraphs thereof) are considered to
be not in conflict with the Constitution as long as they are not
recognized as being in conflict with the Constitution under the
procedure established by the Constitution or the Law on the
Constitutional Court.
It needs to be emphasized that the fact that it has been
held in this Constitutional Court ruling that Paragraph 3
(wording of 10 December 1991) of Article 18 of the Law on
Citizenship, to the extent that it did not establish the
requirement to renounce the held citizenship of another state
when citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania is restored, the
provision "they shall not be applied the reservations of the
first paragraph of this article and Item 1 of Article 1 of the
Law on Citizenship" of Paragraph 3 (wording of 7 December 1993)
of Article 18 of the Law on Citizenship, Item 1 (wording of 3
October 1995) of Paragraph 1 of Article 1 of the Law on
Citizenship to the extent that it no longer included the former
provision "provided that they have not acquired citizenship of
another state" of this item (wording of 5 December 1991),
Paragraph 5 (wording of 3 October 1995) of Article 17 of the Law
on Citizenship to the extent that it did not establish the
requirement to renounce the held citizenship of another state
when citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania is restored and
Item 1 (wording of 2 July 1997) of Paragraph 1 of Article 1 of
the Law on Citizenship to the extent that it established that
also the persons specified in this item who held citizenship of
another state shall be citizens of the Republic of Lithuania were
in conflict with Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the Constitution,
may not be interpreted as the grounds to question citizenship of
the Republic of Lithuania held by the persons who acquired
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania (or who are citizens of
the Republic of Lithuania) under the corresponding articles
(paragraphs thereof) of the Law on Citizenship (wording of 5
December 1991 with subsequent amendments and supplements), which
have been recognized as unconstitutional, and who also hold
citizenship of another state. Such persons continue to be
citizens of the Republic of Lithuania.
49. It has been held in this Constitutional Court ruling
that the following were in conflict with the Constitution:
- the provision "departure for one's ethnical homeland
and settlement there shall be considered as repatriation" of
Paragraph 4 (wording of 15 March 1994) of Item 2 of the Supreme
Council Resolution "On the Procedure for Implementation of the
Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship" of 10 December 1991;
- the provision "departure for one's ethnical homeland
and settlement there shall be considered as repatriation" of
Paragraph 5 (wording of 18 July 1994) of Item 2 of the Supreme
Council Resolution "On the Procedure for Implementation of the
Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship" of 10 December 1991;
- the provision "provided that all the specified persons
have not repatriated" of Paragraph 3 (wording of 7 December 1993)
of Article 18 of the Law on Citizenship and the provision
"provided that they have not repatriated from Lithuania" of Item
1 (wording of 5 December 1991) of Paragraph 1 of Article 17 of
this law;
- the provision "provided that these persons or their
children have not repatriated from Lithuania" of Item 1 (wording
of 3 October 1995) of Paragraph 1 of Article 1 of the Law on
Citizenship;
- the provision "provided that these persons or their
children have not repatriated from Lithuania" of Item 1 (wording
of 3 October 1995) of Paragraph 1 of Article 17 of the Law on
Citizenship;
- Paragraph 3 (wording of 19 October 1995) of Article 1
of the Law on the Procedure for Implementation of the Republic of
Lithuania Law on Citizenship;
- the provision "provided that the persons, their
children or grandchildren have not repatriated from Lithuania" of
Item 1 (wording of 6 February 1996) of Paragraph 1 of Article 1
of the Law on Citizenship;
- the provision "provided that the persons, their
children or grandchildren have not repatriated from Lithuania" of
Item 1 (wording of 2 July 1997) of Paragraph 1 of Article 1 of
the Law on Citizenship;
- the provision "provided that said persons, their
children or grandchildren have not repatriated from Lithuania" of
Item 1 (wording of 2 July 1997) of Paragraph 1 of Article 17 of
the Law on Citizenship and
- Paragraph 3 (wording of 2 July 1997) of Article 1 of
the Law "On the Procedure for Implementation of the Republic of
Lithuania Law on Citizenship".
It needs to be emphasized that the recognition of the
articles (paragraphs thereof) of the said laws and other legal
acts as being in conflict with the Constitution, taking account
inter alia of the fact that it has also been held in this
Constitutional Court ruling that also such articles (paragraphs
thereof) of the Law on Citizenship (wording of 5 December 1991
with subsequent amendments and supplements) are in conflict with
the Constitution which entrenched the legal regulation that
created preconditions for double citizenship to become a
widespread phenomenon, is based not on the fact that the right
for the persons who repatriated from Lithuania also to hold
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania along with the held
citizenship was not established, but on the fact that the right
to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania was not retained to
the said persons, i.e., in general, they no longer had an
opportunity, under the law, to freely decide whether to renounce
the held citizenship of another state and to become citizens of
the Republic of Lithuania, or to remain citizens of the said
another state and not to become citizens of the Republic of
Lithuania.
50. It was mentioned that on 17 September 2002, the
Seimas adopted the Law on Citizenship; from that day the formerly
valid Law on Citizenship (wording of 5 December 1991 with
subsequent amendments and supplements) became null and void.
It was also mentioned that on 17 September 2002, the
Seimas adopted the Republic of Lithuania Law on the
Implementation of the Law on Citizenship; it came into effect on
1 January 2003; from that day, the formerly valid Law "On the
Procedure for Implementation of the Republic of Lithuania Law on
Citizenship" (wording of 19 October 1995 with subsequent
amendments) became null and void.
51. Article 1 titled "Citizens of the Republic of
Lithuania" (wording of 17 September 2002) of the Law on
Citizenship, the legal regulation established wherein is disputed
in this constitutional justice case, provides:
"The following persons shall be citizens of the Republic
of Lithuania:
1) persons who held citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, their children, grandchildren
and great-grandchildren (provided that these persons, their
children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren have not
repatriated);
2) persons who permanently resided in the present-day
territory of the Republic of Lithuania in the period from 9
January 1919 to 15 June 1940, as well as their children,
grandchildren and great-grandchildren, provided that on the day
of coming into force of the Law on Citizenship they were and at
the present time permanently reside in the territory of the
Republic of Lithuania and are not citizens of any other state;
3) persons of Lithuanian origin if they are not citizens
of any other state. A person whose parents or grandparents or one
of the parents or grandparents is or was Lithuanian and the
person considers himself Lithuanian shall be considered as being
a person of Lithuanian origin;
4) persons who acquired citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania prior to 4 November 1991 under the Law on Citizenship
adopted on 3 November 1989;
5) other persons who have acquired citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania under the Law on Citizenship adopted on 5
December 1991."
52. On the grounds of the arguments analogous to those
upon which it has been held in this Constitutional Court ruling
that Item 1 (wording of 2 July 1997) of Paragraph 1 of Article 1
of the Law on Citizenship to the extent that it entrenched that
also the persons specified in this item who hold citizenship of
another state shall be citizens of the Republic of Lithuania was
in conflict with Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the Constitution,
it needs to be held that Item 1 (wording of 17 September 2002) of
Paragraph 1 of Article 1 of the Law on Citizenship also to the
extent that it provides that the persons specified in this item
who hold citizenship of another state shall be citizens of the
Republic of Lithuania is also in conflict with Paragraph 2 of
Article 12 of the Constitution.
53. On the grounds of the arguments analogous to those
upon which it has been held in this Constitutional Court ruling
that the provision "departure for one's ethnical homeland and
settlement there shall be considered as repatriation" of
Paragraph 4 (wording of 15 March 1994) of Item 2 of the Supreme
Council Resolution "On the Procedure for Implementation of the
Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship" of 10 December 1991 was
in conflict, as to its content, with Article 29 of the
Constitution and with the constitutional principle of a state
under the rule of law, it needs to be held that also the
provision "provided that these persons, their children,
grandchildren or great-grandchildren have not repatriated" of
Item 1 (wording of 17 September 2002) of Paragraph 1 of Article 1
of the Law on Citizenship is in conflict with Article 29 of the
Constitution and with the constitutional principle of a state
under the rule of law.
54. Having held that the provision "provided that these
persons, their children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren
have not repatriated" of Item 1 (wording of 17 September 2002) of
Paragraph 1 of Article 1 of the Law on Citizenship is in conflict
with Article 29 of the Constitution and with the constitutional
principle of a state under the rule of law, the Constitutional
Court will no longer investigate whether the provision "persons
who held citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania prior to 15
June 1940, their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren
(provided that these persons, their children, grandchildren or
great-grandchildren have not repatriated) shall be citizens of
the Republic of Lithuania" of Article 1 (wording of 17 September
2002) of this law to the extent that, according to the Vilnius
Regional Administrative Court, the petitioner, it entrenches that
persons who held citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania prior
to 15 June 1940, their children, grandchildren and great-
grandchildren provided that these persons, their children,
grandchildren or great-grandchildren repatriated shall not be
considered citizens of the Republic of Lithuania, is not in
conflict with Paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 12 of the
Constitution and with the constitutional principle of justice.
55. Article 17 titled "Retention of the Right to
Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania" (wording of 17
September 2002) of the Law on Citizenship, the legal regulation
established in Paragraph 1 whereof is disputed in this
constitutional justice case, provides:
"1. The following persons shall retain the right to
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania for an indefinite period
of time:
1) persons who held citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, their children, grandchildren
and great-grandchildren (provided that said persons, their
children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren have not
repatriated), who are residing in other states;
2) persons of Lithuanian origin who are residing in other
states.
2. Persons who retain the right to citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania shall be issued, upon their application,
according to the procedure established by the Government of the
Republic of Lithuania, documents confirming the right.
3. Persons specified in Items 1 and 2 of Paragraph 1 of
this Article, shall exercise the right to citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania in accordance with Item 1 of Paragraph 1 of
Article 1 of this Law or shall be considered persons of
Lithuanian origin residing in other states."
56. On the grounds of the arguments analogous to those
upon which it has been held in this Constitutional Court ruling
that Paragraph 5 (wording of 3 October 1995) of Article 17 of the
Law on Citizenship to the extent that it did not establish the
requirement to renounce the held citizenship of another state
when citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania is restored was in
conflict with Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the Constitution, it
needs to be held that also Paragraph 3 of Article 17 (wording of
17 September 2002) of the Law on Citizenship to the extent that
it does not establish the requirement to renounce the held
citizenship of another state when implementing the right to
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania is in conflict with
Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the Constitution.
57. On the grounds of the arguments analogous to those
upon which it has been held in this Constitutional Court ruling
that the provision "departure for one's ethnical homeland and
settlement there shall be considered as repatriation" of
Paragraph 4 (wording of 15 March 1994) of Item 2 of the Supreme
Council Resolution "On the Procedure for Implementation of the
Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship" of 10 December 1991 was
in conflict, as to its content, with Article 29 of the
Constitution and with the constitutional principle of a state
under the rule of law, it needs to be held that also the
provision "provided that these persons, their children,
grandchildren or great-grandchildren have not repatriated" of
Item 1 (wording of 17 September 2002) of Paragraph 1 of Article
17 of the Law on Citizenship is in conflict with Article 29 of
the Constitution and with the constitutional principle of a state
under the rule of law.
58. Having held that the provision "provided that these
persons, their children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren
have not repatriated" of Item 1 (wording of 17 September 2002) of
Paragraph 1 of Article 17 of the Law on Citizenship is in
conflict with Article 29 of the Constitution and with the
constitutional principle of a state under the rule of law, the
Constitutional Court will no longer investigate whether the
provision "the following persons shall retain the right to
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania for an indefinite period
of time: (1) persons who held citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, their children, grandchildren
and great-grandchildren (provided that said persons, their
children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren have not
repatriated), who are residing in other states" of Paragraph 1
(wording of 17 September 2002) of Article 17 of this law to the
extent that, according to the Vilnius Regional Administrative
Court, the petitioner, it entrenches that the right to
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania shall not be retained to
persons who held citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania prior
to 15 June 1940, their children, grandchildren and great-
grandchildren who reside in other states, provided that these
persons, their children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren
have repatriated, is not in conflict with Paragraphs 1 and 3 of
Article 12 of the Constitution and with the constitutional
principle of justice.
59. Paragraph 2 (wording of 17 September 2002) of Article
2 titled "Provisions on Application of the Law on Citizenship" of
the Law on the Implementation of the Law on Citizenship provides:
"Departure for one's ethnical homeland and residence in the
ethnical homeland shall be considered repatriation".
60. When Paragraph 2 (wording of 17 September 2002) of
Article 2 of the Law on Citizenship is compared with Paragraph 3
(wordings of 19 October 1995 and 2 July 1997) of Article 1 of the
Law "On the Implementation Procedure of the Republic of Lithuania
Law on Citizenship", wherein it is established that "departure
for one's ethnical homeland or residence in the ethnical homeland
shall be considered repatriation", it becomes obvious that
changing the formulation of the definition of the notion
"repatriation" (the conjunction "or" into the conjunction "and")
does not mean that there have been any changes in the attitude of
the legislator whereby the retention of the right to citizenship
of the Republic of Lithuania depends on the ethnical origin of
the person and on the fact for what countryhis ethnical homeland
or other countrythe person departed from Lithuania.
61. On the grounds of the arguments analogous to those
upon which it has been held in this Constitutional Court ruling
that the provision "departure for one's ethnical homeland and
settlement there shall be considered as repatriation" of
Paragraph 4 (wording of 15 March 1994) of Item 2 of the Supreme
Council Resolution "On the Procedure for Implementation of the
Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship" of 10 December 1991 was
(as was Paragraph 3 (wordings of 19 October 1995 and 2 July 1997)
of Article 1 of the Law "On the Procedure for Implementation of
the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship") in conflict, as to
its content, with Article 29 of the Constitution and with the
constitutional principle of a state under the rule of law, it
needs to be held that also Paragraph 2 (wording of 17 September
2002) of Article 2 of the Law on the Procedure for Implementation
of the Law on Citizenship is in conflict with Article 29 of the
Constitution and with the constitutional principle of a state
under the rule of law.
62. Having held that Paragraph 2 (wording of 17 September
2002) of Article 2 of the Law on the Procedure for Implementation
of the Law on Citizenship is in conflict with Article 29 of the
Constitution and with the constitutional principle of a state
under the rule of law, the Constitutional Court will no longer
investigate whether this paragraph is not in conflict with
Paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 12 of the Constitution and with the
constitutional principle of justice.
63. Article 18 titled "Loss of Citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania" (wording of 17 September 2002) of the Law
on Citizenship, the legal regulation established in Paragraph 2
whereof is disputed in this constitutional justice case,
provides:
"1. Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania shall be
lost:
1) upon renunciation of citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania;
2) upon acquisition of citizenship of another state;
3) on the grounds provided for by international
agreements to which the Republic of Lithuania is a party.
2. Item 2 of Paragraph 1 of this Article shall not be
applicable to:
1) persons who held citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, their children, grandchildren
and great-grandchildren (provided that said persons, their
children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren have not
repatriated);
2) persons of Lithuanian origin whose parents or
grandparents are or were or one of parents or grandparents is or
was Lithuanian and the person considers himself Lithuanian.
3. A person may be recognised as having lost citizenship
of the Republic of Lithuania if he is in the military service of
another state or is employed in the public service of another
state without having been granted authorisation by relevant
institutions of the Republic of Lithuania."
64. Paragraph 2 (wording of 17 September 2002) of Article
18 of the Law on Citizenship establishes the legal regulation
whereby the persons who held citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, their children, grandchildren
and great-grandchildren (provided that said persons, their
children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren have not
repatriated) as well as the persons of Lithuanian origin whose
parents or grandparents are or were or one of parents or
grandparents is or was Lithuanian and the person considers
himself Lithuanian do not lose citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania upon acquisition of citizenship of another state; thus,
these persons can be both citizens of the Republic of Lithuania
and citizens of another state at the same time. In such way,
preconditions are created for double citizenship to become not an
especially rare exception, but a widespread phenomenon.
Such legal regulation established in Paragraph 2 (wording
of 17 September 2002) of Article 18 of the Law on Citizenship is
not in line with the provision that with the exception of
individual cases provided for by law, no one may be a citizen of
both the Republic of Lithuania and another state at the same time
of Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the Constitution.
65. Taking account of the arguments set forth, one is to
draw a conclusion that Paragraph 2 (wording of 17 September 2002)
of Article 18 of the Law on Citizenship was in conflict with
Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the Constitution.
66. Having held this, the Constitutional Court will no
longer investigate whether the provision "Item 2 of Paragraph 1
of this Article shall not be applicable to: <
> (2) persons of
Lithuanian origin whose parents or grandparents are or were or
one of parents or grandparents is or was Lithuanian and the
person considers himself Lithuanian" of Paragraph 2 (wording of
17 September 2002) of Article 18 of the Law on Citizenship to the
extent that it provided that Item 2 (wording of 17 September
2002) of Paragraph 1 of Article 18 of the Law on Citizenship
shall not be applied to persons of Lithuanian origin and shall be
applied to persons of non-Lithuanian origin was not in conflict
with Paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 12 and Article 29 of the
Constitution.
67. Article 2 of the Law on Amending and Supplementing
Articles 12, 18, 20, 26, 28 and 30 of the Law on Citizenship,
which was adopted by the Seimas on 6 April 2006, amended
Paragraph 2 (wording of 17 September 2002) of Article 18 of the
Law on Citizenship and supplemented this article with new
Paragraph 4.
67.1. Article 18 (wording of 6 April 2006) of the Law on
Citizenship provides:
"1. Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania shall be
lost:
1) upon renunciation of citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania ;
2) upon acquisition of citizenship of another state;
3) on the grounds provided for by international treaties
of the Republic of Lithuania.
2. Item 2 of Paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply
to a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania who acquired
citizenship of another state after 1 January 2003 if he is:
1) a person who held citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, his child, grandchild and great-
grandchild (provided that the said person, his child, grandchild
or great-grandchild have not repatriated);
2) a person of Lithuanian origin whose parents or
grandparents are or were or one of parents or grandparents is or
was Lithuanian and the person considers himself Lithuanian.
3. A person may be recognised as having lost citizenship
of the Republic of Lithuania if he is in the military service of
another state or is employed in the civil service of another
state without having been granted authorization by relevant
institutions of the Republic of Lithuania.
4. The persons specified in Paragraph 2 of this Article
upon acquiring citizenship of another state or upon receiving the
passport of a citizen of another state or any other document
confirming citizenship of that state before 31 December 2002
shall be considered to have lost citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania from the day of acquisition of citizenship of another
state or from the day of issue of the passport of citizen of that
state or from the day of issue of any other document confirming
citizenship of that state."
67.2. The legal regulation established in Paragraph 2
(wording of 6 April 2006) of Article 18 of the Law on Citizenship
essentially means the same as the one established in Paragraph 2
(wording of 17 September 2002) of Article 18 of the Law on
Citizenship: persons who held citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, their children, grandchildren
and great-grandchildren (provided that said persons, their
children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren have not
repatriated) as well as persons of Lithuanian origin whose
parents or grandparents are or were or one of parents or
grandparents is or was Lithuanian and the person considers
himself Lithuanian do not lose citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania upon acquisition of citizenship of another state and
these persons can be citizens of the Republic of Lithuania and of
another state at the same time. In such way, preconditions are
created for double citizenship to become not an especially rare
exception, but a widespread phenomenon.
Such legal regulation established in Paragraph 2 (wording
of 6 April 2006) of Article 18 of the Law on Citizenship is not
in line with the provision of Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the
Constitution that with the exception of individual cases provided
for by law, no one may be a citizen of both the Republic of
Lithuania and an another state at the same time.
67.3. Taking account of the arguments set forth, one is
to draw a conclusion that Paragraph 2 (wording of 6 April 2006)
of Article 18 of the Law on Citizenship is in conflict with
Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the Constitution.
68. It has been held in this Constitutional Court ruling
that the doubts concerning the compliance of the disputed legal
act with the Constitution raised in the petitions of the group of
Members of the Seimas and the Vilnius Regional Administrative
Court, the petitioners, are related inter alia to the fact, how
it is defined who are citizens of the Republic of Lithuania, what
legislative possibilities for citizens of the Republic of
Lithuania also to have citizenship of another state there are,
how the relations of loss of citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania are regulated (in particular, upon acquisition of the
citizenship of another state).
It has also been held in this Constitutional Court ruling
that certain articles (paragraphs thereof) of the Law on
Citizenship (wording of 17 September 2002 with subsequent
amendments and supplements) create preconditions for double
citizenship to become not an especially rare exception, but a
widespread phenomenon. By this Constitutional Court ruling the
said articles (paragraphs thereof) have been recognized as being
in conflict with Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the Constitution.
It needs to be noted that the legislative entrenchment of
the preconditions for appearance of double citizenship is to be
related not only to the articles (paragraphs thereof) of the Law
on Citizenship (wording of 17 September 2002 with subsequent
amendments and supplements) wherein, violating Paragraph 2 of
Article 12 of the Constitution, the corps of citizens of the
Republic of Lithuania is defined, the institute of retention of
the right to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania is
entrenched and the relations of loss of citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania are regulated. Such preconditions may
appear when regulating other relations too, inter alia the
relations of returning of citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania.
The preconditions for violation of Paragraph 2 of Article
12 of the Constitution may appear not only when the legal
regulation is established whereby double citizenship becomes not
an especially rare exception, but a widespread phenomenon, but
also when citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania is granted
(also by way of exception) to such persons who hold citizenship
of another state, who are not connected by a permanent factual
link with the State of Lithuania and are not integrated into the
Lithuanian society. In both cases citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania may be devaluated.
While assessing the legal regulation established in the
Law on Citizenship (wording of 17 September 2002 with subsequent
amendments and supplements) in a systemic manner, one is to hold
that after it has been recognized by this Constitutional Court
ruling that certain articles (paragraphs thereof) of the said law
which were effective at the time when this constitutional justice
case was considered and which permitted the citizens of the
Republic of Lithuania to be citizens of other states at the same
time, namely Item 1 (wording of 17 September 2002) of Article 1
to the extent that it provides that also the persons specified in
this item who also held citizenship of another state shall be
citizens of the Republic of Lithuania, Paragraph 3 (wording of 17
September 2002) of Article 17 to the extent that it does not
establish the requirement to renounce the held citizenship of
another state when the right to citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania is implemented and Paragraph 2 (wording of 6 April
2006) of Article 18 are in conflict with Paragraph 2 of Article
12 of the Constitution, the legislative preconditions that allow
to violate the imperatives of Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the
Constitution under other articles of the Law on Citizenship
(wording of 17 September 2002 with subsequent amendments and
supplements) which permit citizens of the Republic of Lithuania
to be also citizens of other states at the same time are not
fully removed. In this respect also Paragraph 2 (wording of 6
April 2006) of Article 20 and Paragraph 1 (wording of 18 July
2006) of Article 16 of the same law are also deficient.
68.1. Paragraph 2 (wording of 6 April 2006) of Article 20
titled "Return of Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania" of
the Law on Citizenship provides:
"A person who has lost citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania prior to the day of entry into force of this Law, also
on the grounds provided for in Paragraphs 1, 3 and 4 of Article
18 of this Law, in Paragraph 7 of Article 4 of the Law on the
Implementation of the Law on Citizenship and who meets the
conditions set forth in Items 1, 2 or 3 of Paragraph 1 of Article
1 of this Law may have, upon his application, citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania restored without having the conditions
established in Article 12 of this Law applied with respect to
him."
68.1.1. Such legal regulation, when a person, who wants
to restore citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, is not
required inter alia to renounce the held citizenship of another
state creates preconditions for double citizenship to be not an
especially rare exception, but a widespread phenomenon, and it is
not in line with the provision of Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of
the Constitution that with the exception of individual cases
provided for by law, no one may be a citizen of both the Republic
of Lithuania and another state at the same time.
68.1.2. Taking account of the arguments set forth, one is
to draw a conclusion that Paragraph 2 (wording of 6 April 2006)
of Article 20 of the Law on Citizenship to the extent that it
establishes that a person who wants to restore citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania shall not be required to renounce the held
citizenship of another state is in conflict with Paragraph 2 of
Article 12 of the Constitution.
68.2. Paragraph 1 (wording of 18 July 2006) of Article 16
titled "Granting of Citizenship by Way of Exception" of the Law
on Citizenship provides:
"The President of the Republic, invoking this Law, may
grant citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania to citizens of
foreign states or stateless persons for merits to the Republic of
Lithuania, who integrated into Lithuanian society, without
applying with respect to them conditions for the granting of
citizenship provided for in Article 12 of this Law. The
activities of a citizen of a foreign state or a stateless person
whereby the person makes a substantial contribution to
strengthening the statehood of the Republic of Lithuania,
increasing the might of the Republic of Lithuania and promoting
its authority in the international community shall be considered
as merits to the Republic of Lithuania. Citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania may also be granted by way of exception
without applying conditions for the granting of citizenship
provided for in Article 12 of this Law when it is related to
public interest or glorification of the name of the Republic of
Lithuania by representing Lithuania."
68.2.1. It has also been held in this Constitutional
Court ruling that the merits of the person who requests to be
granted citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania by way of
exception must be such and grounded in such a way, so that it
would not cause any doubts as to their presence, that even in
cases when a citizen of a foreign state or a stateless person has
merits to the Republic of Lithuania and is linked with the State
of Lithuania by permanent factual links, is integrated into the
Lithuanian society, when one decides whether to grant citizenship
of the Republic of Lithuania to such a person by way of
exception, one must assess all the circumstances characterizing
such a person, and one must follow the interests of the Nation
and the State of Lithuania.
68.2.2. The provision "Citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania may also be granted by way of exception without
applying conditions for the granting of citizenship provided for
in Article 12 of this Law when it is related to public interest
or glorification of the name of the Republic of Lithuania by
representing Lithuania" of Paragraph 1 (wording of 18 July 2006)
of Article 16 of the Law on Citizenship means that a person who
holds citizenship of another state may be granted citizenship of
the Republic of Lithuania irrespective of whether he already has
special merits to the State of Lithuania or not yet, whether he
already is linked with the State of Lithuania by permanent
factual links or not, and whether he is already integrated into
the Lithuanian society or not.
Such legal regulation is not in line with the
constitutional concept of citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania, it groundlessly expands the opportunities to acquire
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania to persons, who hold
citizenship of another state, without applying to them the
conditions established in Article 12 (wording of 6 April 2006) of
the Law on Citizenship.
The provision "Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania
may also be granted by way of exception without applying
conditions for the granting of citizenship provided for in
Article 12 of this Law when it is related to public interest or
glorification of the name of the Republic of Lithuania by
representing Lithuania" of Paragraph 1 (wording of 18 July 2006)
of Article 16 of the Law on Citizenship is incompatible with the
provision of Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the Constitution which
provides that with the exception of individual cases provided for
by law, no one may be a citizen of both the Republic of Lithuania
and another state at the same time.
68.2.3. Taking account of the arguments set forth, one is
to draw a conclusion that the provision "Citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania may also be granted by way of exception
without applying conditions for the granting of citizenship
provided for in Article 12 of this Law when it is related to
public interest or glorification of the name of the Republic of
Lithuania by representing Lithuania" of Paragraph 1 (wording of
18 July 2006) of Article 16 of the Law on Citizenship is in
conflict with Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the Constitution.
69. The fact that it has been held in this Constitutional
Court ruling that Item 1 (wording of 17 September 2002) of
Article 1 to the extent that it provides that also the persons
specified in this item who also held citizenship of another state
shall be citizens of the Republic of Lithuania, Paragraph 3
(wording of 17 September 2002) of Article 17 to the extent that
it does not establish the requirement to renounce the held
citizenship of another state when the right to citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania is implemented, Paragraph 2 (wording of 6
April 2006) of Article 18, Paragraph 2 (wording of 6 April 2006)
of Article 20 to the extent that it establishes that a person who
wants to restore citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania shall
not be required to renounce the held citizenship of another state
and the provision "Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania may
also be granted by way of exception without applying conditions
for the granting of citizenship provided for in Article 12 of
this Law when it is related to public interest or glorification
of the name of the Republic of Lithuania by representing
Lithuania" of Paragraph 1 (wording of 18 July 2006) of Article 16
of the Law on Citizenship are in conflict with Paragraph 2 of
Article 12 of the Constitution, as well as that Paragraph 2
(wording of 17 September 2002) of Article 18 of the Law on
Citizenship was in conflict with Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the
Constitution, may not be interpreted as the grounds to question
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania held by the persons who
acquired citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania (or who are
citizens of the Republic of Lithuania) under the corresponding
articles (paragraphs thereof) of the Law on Citizenship (wording
of 5 December 1991 with subsequent amendments and supplements),
which have been recognized as unconstitutional, and who also hold
citizenship of another state.
IV
1. Proper legal regulation of the citizenship relations
of the Republic of Lithuania, which is grounded on the
Constitution, is an important condition for strengthening
statehood and a factor consolidating the Lithuanian civil
Nationthe state community.
2. The legal regulation of the citizenship relations of
the Republic of Lithuania must be stable. It is particularly to
be said about the legislative provisions which define the corps
of citizens of the Republic of Lithuania.
3. While assessing the legal regulation established in
the Law on Citizenship (wording of 17 September 2002 with
subsequent amendments and supplements) which was in effect at the
time of consideration of this constitutional justice case, one is
to note that this legal regulation is very controversial,
inconsistent and confusing. This law includes a number of
provisions which are hardly compatible with each other. Some
formulas are ambiguous.
This law is to be corrected in essence.
4. The legislator, disregarding the provision of
Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the Constitution that with the
exception of individual cases provided for by law, no one may be
a citizen of both the Republic of Lithuania and another state at
the same time, continually expanded the legislative possibilities
for citizens of the Republic of Lithuania also to hold
citizenship of another state.
Finally, such legal regulation was established, when a
big part of citizens of the Republic of Lithuania can at the same
time to be also citizens of other states. The legal regulation
established in the Law on Citizenship (wording of 17 September
2002 with subsequent amendments and supplements) not only does
not prevent from that but even encourages such tendency.
Under the Constitution, it is not justifiable.
5. It is to be emphasized that if the legislator really
follows the provision that it is not necessary to restrict double
citizenship, he should first of all start the revision of the
corresponding provisions of the Constitution, inter alia of
Article 12, and to do that by following the procedure which is
established in the Constitution itself.
In this context it is to be noted that Article 12 of the
Constitution which establishes the basis for the legal regulation
of citizenship relations of the Republic of Lithuania is in
Chapter I titled "The State of Lithuania" of the Constitutionan
integral actfor the provisions of which a particularly big
constitutional protection has been established: under Paragraph 2
of Article 148 of the Constitution, the provisions of Chapter I
of the Constitution may be altered only by referendum.
6. No matter in what way the legal regulation of
citizenship relations of the Republic of Lithuania might be
corrected in the future, the provisions of the Constitution must
be heeded, inter alia those which entrench the equality of all
persons and non-discrimination on the grounds of ethnical origin.
Conforming to Articles 102 and 105 of the Constitution of
the Republic of Lithuania and Articles 1, 53, 54, 55 and 56 of
the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania,
the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania has passed
the following
ruling:
1. To recognize that the provision "provided that said
persons have not repatriated from Lithuania" of Item 1 (wording
of 5 December 1991, Official Gazette Valstybės žinios, 1991, No.
36-977) of Paragraph 1 of Article 17 of the Republic of Lithuania
Law on Citizenship was in conflict with Article 29 of the
Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and with the
constitutional principle of a state under the rule of law.
2. To recognize that Paragraph 3 (wording of 10 December
1991, Official Gazette Valstybės žinios, 1991, No. 36-981) of
Article 18 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship, to
the extent that it did not establish the requirement to renounce
the held citizenship of another state when citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania is restored, was in conflict with Paragraph
2 of Article 12 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania.
3. To recognize that the provision "provided that all the
specified persons have not repatriated from Lithuania" of
Paragraph 3 (wording of 7 December 1993, Official Gazette
Valstybės žinios, 1993, No. 70-1303) of Article 18 of the
Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship was in conflict with
Article 29 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and
with the constitutional principle of a state under the rule of
law, while the provision "they shall not be applied the
reservations of the first paragraph of this Article and Item 1 of
Article 1 of the Law on Citizenship" of Paragraph 3 (wording of 7
December 1993, Official Gazette Valstybės žinios, 1993, No. 70-
1303) of Article 18 of this law was in conflict with Paragraph 2
of Article 12 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania.
4. To recognize that the provision "provided that these
persons or their children have not repatriated from Lithuania" of
Item 1 (wording of 3 October 1995, Official Gazette Valstybės
žinios, 1995, No. 86-1940) of Paragraph 1 of Article 1 of the
Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship was in conflict with
Article 29 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and
with the constitutional principle of a state under the rule of
law, while Item 1 (wording of 3 October 1995, Official Gazette
Valstybės žinios, 1995, No. 86-1940) of Paragraph 1 of Article 1
of this law, to the extent that it no longer included the former
provision "provided that they have not acquired citizenship of
another state" of this item (wording of 5 December 1991, Official
Gazette Valstybės žinios, 1991, No. 36-977) was in conflict with
Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the Constitution of the Republic of
Lithuania.
5. To recognize that the provision "provided that these
persons or their children have not repatriated from Lithuania" of
Item 1 (wording of 3 October 1995, Official Gazette Valstybės
žinios, 1995, No. 86-1940) of Paragraph 1 of Article 17 of the
Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship was in conflict with
Article 29 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and
with the constitutional principle of a state under the rule of
law.
6. To recognize that Paragraph 5 (wording of 3 October
1995, Official Gazette Valstybės žinios, 1995, No. 86-1940) of
Article 17 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship, to
the extent that it did not establish the requirement to renounce
the held citizenship of another state when implementing the right
to citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, was in conflict with
Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the Constitution of the Republic of
Lithuania.
7. To recognize that the provision "provided that these
persons or their children have not repatriated from Lithuania" of
Item 1 (wording of 6 February 1996, Official Gazette Valstybės
žinios, 1996, No. 16-415) of Paragraph 1 of Article 17 of the
Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship was in conflict with
Article 29 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and
with the constitutional principle of a state under the rule of
law.
8. To recognize that the provision "provided that these
persons or their children or grandchildren have not repatriated
from Lithuania" of Item 1 (wording of 2 July 1997, Official
Gazette Valstybės žinios, 1997, No. 67-1668) of Paragraph 1 of
Article 1 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship was in
conflict with Article 29 of the Constitution of the Republic of
Lithuania and with the constitutional principle of a state under
the rule of law.
9. To recognize that Item 1 (wording of 2 July 1997,
Official Gazette Valstybės žinios, 1997, No. 67-1668) of
Paragraph 1 of Article 1 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on
Citizenship, to the extent that it entrenched that also the
persons specified in this item who held citizenship of another
state shall be citizens of the Republic of Lithuania was in
conflict with Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the Constitution of
the Republic of Lithuania.
10. To recognize that the provision "provided that these
persons or their children or grandchildren have not repatriated
from Lithuania" of Item 1 (wording of 2 July 1997, Official
Gazette Valstybės žinios, 1997, No. 67-1668) of Paragraph 1 of
Article 17 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship was in
conflict with Article 29 of the Constitution of the Republic of
Lithuania and with the constitutional principle of a state under
the rule of law.
11. To recognize that Paragraph 3 (wording of 19 October
1995, Official Gazette Valstybės žinios, 1995, No. 90-2014) of
Article 1 of the Republic of Lithuania Law "On the Procedure for
Implementation of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship"
was in conflict with Article 29 of the Constitution of the
Republic of Lithuania and with the constitutional principle of a
state under the rule of law.
12. To recognize that Paragraph 3 (wording of 2 July
1997, Official Gazette Valstybės žinios, 1997, No. 67-1669) of
Article 1 of the Republic of Lithuania Law "On the Procedure for
Implementation of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship"
was in conflict with Article 29 of the Constitution of the
Republic of Lithuania and with the constitutional principle of a
state under the rule of law.
13. To recognize that Item 1 (wording of 17 September
2002, Official Gazette Valstybės žinios, 2002, No. 95-4087) of
Paragraph 1 of Article 1 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on
Citizenship, to the extent that it entrenched that also the
persons specified in this item who held citizenship of another
state shall be citizens of the Republic of Lithuania, is in
conflict with Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the Constitution of
the Republic of Lithuania.
14. To recognize that the provision "provided that these
persons or their children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren
have not repatriated from Lithuania" of Item 1 (wording of 17
September 2002, Official Gazette Valstybės žinios, 2002, No. 95-
4087) of Paragraph 1 of Article 1 of the Republic of Lithuania
Law on Citizenship is in conflict with Article 29 of the
Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and with the
constitutional principle of a state under the rule of law.
15. To recognize that Paragraph 3 (wording of 17
September 2002, Official Gazette Valstybės žinios, 2002, No. 95-
4087) of Article 17 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on
Citizenship, to the extent that it does not establish the
requirement to renounce the held citizenship of another state
when implementing the right to citizenship of the Republic of
Lithuania, is in conflict with Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the
Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania.
16. To recognize that the provision "provided that these
persons or their children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren
have not repatriated" of Item 1 (wording of 17 September 2002,
Official Gazette Valstybės žinios, 2002, No. 95-4087) of
Paragraph 1 of Article 17 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on
Citizenship is in conflict with Article 29 of the Constitution of
the Republic of Lithuania and with the constitutional principle
of a state under the rule of law.
17. To recognize that Paragraph 2 (wording of 17
September 2002, Official Gazette Valstybės žinios, 2002, No. 95-
4087) of Article 18 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on
Citizenship was in conflict with Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the
Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania.
18. To recognize that Paragraph 2 (wording of 6 April
2006, Official Gazette Valstybės žinios, 2006, No. 46-1645) of
Article 18 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship is in
conflict with Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the Constitution of
the Republic of Lithuania.
19. To recognize that Paragraph 2 (wording of 6 April
2006, Official Gazette Valstybės žinios, 2006, No. 46-1645) of
Article 20 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Citizenship, to
the extent that it established that a person who wants to restore
citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania shall not be required to
renounce the held citizenship of another state, is in conflict
with Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the Constitution of the
Republic of Lithuania.
20. To recognize that the provision "Citizenship of the
Republic of Lithuania may also be granted by way of exception
without applying conditions for the granting of citizenship
provided for in Article 12 of this Law when it is related to
public interest or glorification of the name of the Republic of
Lithuania by representing Lithuania" of Paragraph 1 (wording of
18 July 2006, Official Gazette Valstybės žinios, 2006, No. 81-
3186) of Article 16 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on
Citizenship is in conflict with Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the
Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania.
21. To recognize that Paragraph 2 (wording of 17
September 2002, Official Gazette Valstybės žinios, 2002, No. 95-
4088) of Article 2 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on the
Implementation of the Law on Citizenship is in conflict with
Article 29 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and
with the constitutional principle of a state under the rule of
law.
22. To recognize that the provision "departure for one's
ethnical homeland or settlement there shall be considered as
repatriation" of Paragraph 4 (wording of 15 March 1994, Official
Gazette Valstybės žinios, 1994, No. 22-347) of Item 2 of the
Republic of Lithuania Supreme Council Resolution "On the
Procedure for Implementation of the Republic of Lithuania Law on
Citizenship" of 10 December 1991 was in conflict, as to its form,
with Article 12 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania
and with the constitutional principle of a state under the rule
of law, and, as to its content, it was in conflict with Article
29 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and with the
constitutional principle of a state under the rule of law.
23. To recognize that the provision "departure for one's
ethnical homeland or settlement there shall be considered as
repatriation" of Paragraph 5 (wording of 18 July 1994, Official
Gazette Valstybės žinios, 1994, No. 56-1098) of Item 2 of the
Republic of Lithuania Supreme Council Resolution "On the
Procedure for Implementation of the Republic of Lithuania Law on
Citizenship" of 10 December 1991 was in conflict, as to its form,
with Article 12 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania
and with the constitutional principle of a state under the rule
of law, and, as to its content, it was in conflict with Article
29 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and with the
constitutional principle of a state under the rule of law.
This ruling of the Constitutional Court is final and not
subject to appeal.
The ruling is promulgated in the name of the Republic of
Lithuania.
Justices of the Constitutional Court: Armanas Abramavičius
Toma Birmontienė
Egidijus Kūris
Kęstutis Lapinskas
Zenonas Namavičius
Ramutė Ruškytė
Vytautas Sinkevičius
Stasys Stačiokas
Romualdas Kęstutis Urbaitis