THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
DECISION
ON ACCEPTING THE PETITION OF THE SEIMAS OF THE
REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA, THE PETITIONER, SET FORTH IN
ITS RESOLUTION NO. XI-246 "ON APPLYING TO THE
CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA WITH
A PETITION REQUESTING TO INVESTIGATE WHETHER ITEMS 1
AND 2 OF RESOLUTION OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC
OF LITHUANIA NO. 22 'ON ASSENTING TO A DRAFT AGREEMENT
ON PURCHASE AND SALE OF 34 PERCENT OF THE SHARES
(WHICH BELONG TO THE STATE BY RIGHT OF OWNERSHIP) OF
THE JOINT-STOCK COMPANY "LIETUVOS DUJOS", ANNEXES TO
THIS AGREEMENT, AS WELL AS TO A DRAFT AGREEMENT OF
SHAREHOLDERS' OF 9 JANUARY 2004, RESOLUTION NO. 292 '
ON A DRAFT SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONG-TERM GAS SUPPLY
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE JOINT-STOCK COMPANY "LIETUVOS
DUJOS" AND THE PUBLIC JOINT-STOCK COMPANY "GAZPROM"'
OF 18 MARCH 2004, ACCORDING TO THE CONTENT OF THE
NORMS, THE EXTENT OF REGULATION AND THE PROCEDURE OF
ADOPTION, ARE NOT IN CONFLICT WITH ARTICLE 5, THE
THIRD AND FIFTH PARAGRAPHS OF ARTICLE 46, THE FIRST
PARAGRAPH OF ARTICLE 128 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE
REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA AND THE PRINCIPLE OF A STATE
UNDER THE RULE OF LAW" OF 5 MAY 2009
14 May 2009
Vilnius
The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania,
composed of the Justices of the Constitutional Court Armanas
Abramavičius, Toma Birmontienė, Pranas Kuconis, Kęstutis
Lapinskas, Zenonas Namavičius, Ramutė Ruškytė, Egidijus Šileikis,
Algirdas Taminskas and Romualdas Kęstutis Urbaitis,
with the secretary of the sittingDaiva Pitrėnaitė,
at a procedural sitting of the Constitutional Court
considered the petition of the Seimas of the Republic of
Lithuania, the petitioner, which was set forth in its Resolution
No. XI-246 "On Applying to the Constitutional Court of the
Republic of Lithuania with a Petition Requesting to Investigate
Whether Items 1 and 2 of Resolution of the Government of the
Republic of Lithuania No. 22 'On Assenting to a Draft Agreement
on Purchase and Sale of 34 Percent of the Shares (Which Belong to
the State by Right of Ownership) of the Joint-Stock Company
"Lietuvos dujos", Annexes to this Agreement, as well as to a
Draft Agreement of Shareholders' of 9 January 2004, Resolution
No. 292 'On a Draft Supplement to the Long-Term Gas Supply
Agreement Between the Joint-Stock Company "Lietuvos dujos" and
the Public Joint-Stock Company "Gazprom"' of 18 March 2004,
according to the content of the norms, the extent of regulation
and the procedure of adoption, are not in conflict with Article
5, the Third and Fifth Paragraphs of Article 46, the First
Paragraph of Article 128 of the Constitution of the Republic of
Lithuania and the Principle of a State under the Rule of Law" of
5 May 2009 (hereinafter referred to as Seimas resolution No. XI-
246 of 5 May 2009), wherein it is requested to investigate
whether Items 1 and 2 of Resolution of the Government of the
Republic of Lithuania No. 22 "On Assenting to a Draft Agreement
on Purchase and Sale of 34 Percent of the Shares (Which Belong to
the State by Right of Ownership) of the Joint-Stock Company '
Lietuvos dujos', Annexes to this Agreement, as well as to a Draft
Agreement of Shareholders" of 9 January 2004, Resolution No. 292
"On a Draft Supplement to the Long-Term Gas Supply Agreement
Between the Joint-Stock Company 'Lietuvos dujos' and the Public
Joint-Stock Company 'Gazprom'" of 18 March 2004, to the extent
that the Government assented to the provisions of Annex H and
Item 9.1 of Agreement No. 2/108 on Purchase and Sale of 34
Percent of the Shares (Which Belong to the State by Right of
Ownership) of the Joint-Stock Company "Lietuvos dujos", which was
concluded between the state enterprise State Property Fund and
the Russian Federation public joint-stock company "Gazprom" on 23
January 2004, and, subsequent to these provisions, undertook
obligations not to regulate the prices of natural gas and to
reimburse the losses, are not in conflict, according to the
content of the norms, the extent of regulation and the procedure
of adoption, with Article 5, Paragraphs 3 and 5 of Article 46,
Paragraph 1 of Article 128 of the Constitution of the Republic of
Lithuania and with the constitutional principle of a state under
the rule of law.
The Constitutional Court
has established:
1. On 5 May 2009, the Seimas, the petitioner, adopted
resolution No. XI-246 in Article 1 whereof it set forth a
petition requesting to investigate whether Items 1 and 2 of
Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No. 22
"On Assenting to a Draft Agreement on Purchase and Sale of 34
Percent of the Shares (Which Belong to the State by Right of
Ownership) of the Joint-Stock Company 'Lietuvos dujos', Annexes
to this Agreement, as well as to a Draft Agreement of
Shareholders" of 9 January 2004, Resolution No. 292 "On a Draft
Supplement to the Long-Term Gas Supply Agreement Between the
Joint-Stock Company 'Lietuvos dujos' and the Public Joint-Stock
Company 'Gazprom'" of 18 March 2004, to the extent that the
Government assented to the provisions of Annex H and Item 9.1 of
Agreement No. 2/108 on Purchase and Sale of 34 Percent of the
Shares (Which Belong to the State by Right of Ownership) of the
Joint-Stock Company "Lietuvos dujos", which was concluded between
the state enterprise State Property Fund and the Russian
Federation public joint-stock company "Gazprom" on 23 January
2004, and, subsequent to these provisions, undertook obligations
not to regulate the prices of natural gas and to reimburse the
losses, are not in conflict, according to the content of the
norms, the extent of regulation and the procedure of adoption,
with Article 5, Paragraphs 3 and 5 of Article 46, Paragraph 1 of
Article 128 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and
with the constitutional principle of a state under the rule of
law.
2. This petition of the Seimas, the petitioner, was
officially published in the official gazette "Valstybės žinios"
on 14 May 2009 (Official Gazette Valstybės žinios, 2009, No. 55-
2154); it was registered at the Constitutional Court on 13 May
2009.
The Constitutional Court
holds that:
1. Under Paragraph 1 of Article 102 and Item 2 of Paragraph
2 of Article 105 of the Constitution, investigation of the
compliance of acts of the Government with the Constitution shall
be attributed to the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court.
2. Under Paragraph 3 of Article 106 of the Constitution, not
less than 1/5 of all the Members of the Seimas, the courts, as
well as the President of the Republic, shall have the right to
apply to the Constitutional Court concerning the conformity of
acts of the Government with the Constitution. Under Paragraph 4
of the same article, the resolution of the Seimas asking for an
investigation into the conformity of an act with the Constitution
shall suspend the validity of the act.
While construing these provisions in a systemic manner, it
needs to be held that the Seimas in corpore has the
constitutional powers to apply, by means of a resolution, to the
Constitutional Court and request to investigate the compliance of
acts of the Government with the Constitution.
3. Under Paragraph 1 of Article 26 (wording of 28 October
2003) of the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Republic of
Lithuania, in cases when the Constitutional Court receives a
resolution of the Seimas wherein it is requested to investigate
whether a law is in compliance with the Constitution, the
preliminary investigation of that material must be carried out
not later than within 3 days, and the issue of whether to accept
the petition for consideration in the Constitutional Court must
be settled during its organisational sitting.
The corresponding decision of the Constitutional Court on
accepting the petition neither approves of nor denies the
arguments upon which the Seimas, the petitioner, grounds its
position; when adopting such decisions, the fact of essential
significance is whether the petition of the petitioner is
grounded on legal reasoning (Constitutional Court decisions of 15
December 2006, 8 January 2008, 8 October 2008 and 3 April 2009).
4. The petition set forth in Seimas Resolution No. XI-246 of
5 May 2009 is grounded on legal reasoning.
5. It has been mentioned that, under Paragraph 4 of the
Article 106 of the Constitution, the resolution of the Seimas
asking for an investigation into the conformity of an act with
the Constitution shall suspend the validity of the act. Under
Paragraph 1 of Article 107 of the Constitution, an act (or part
thereof) of the Government may not be applied from the day of
official promulgation of the decision of the Constitutional Court
that the act in question (or part thereof) is in conflict with
the Constitution. While construing these provisions in a systemic
manner, it needs to be held that the decision of the
Constitutional Court to accept a petition set forth in the Seimas
resolution requesting to investigate whether the provisions of
acts of the Government comply with the Constitution suspends the
validity of the corresponding provisions.
Under Paragraph 2 of Article 26 (wording of 28 October 2003)
of the Law on the Constitutional Court, if the Constitutional
Court adopts a decision to accept a petition for consideration,
the President of the Constitutional Court shall immediately give
an official announcement about it in the official gazette
"Valstybės žinios" as well as on the Internet website of the
Constitutional Court. In this announcement, the President of the
Constitutional Court must state the exact title of the disputed
act, the date of its adoption, and that, in accordance with
Article 106 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, the
validity of the aforementioned act (part thereof) is suspended
from the day of this official announcement until the ruling of
the Constitution Court concerning this case is published.
Under Paragraph 3 of Article 26 (wording of 28 October 2003)
of the Law on the Constitutional Court, in cases when the
Constitutional Court, having considered a case, adopts a ruling
that the disputed act or part thereof is not in conflict with the
Constitution, the President of the Constitutional Court shall
immediately make an official announcement about it under
procedure established in Paragraph 2 of this article; in this
announcement, the President of the Constitutional Court shall
state the exact title of the disputed act, the date of its
adoption, the essence of the ruling of the Constitutional Court
concerning this issue, the date of its adoption, and that the
validity of the suspended act (part thereof) shall be restored
from the day that this ruling is published.
Conforming to Item 2 of Paragraph 2 of Article 105 of the
Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and Articles 26, 28 and
63 of the Law on the Constitutional Court of the Republic of
Lithuania,
The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania has
passed the following
decision:
To accept the petition of the Seimas of the Republic of
Lithuania, the petitioner, set forth in its Resolution No. XI-246
"On Applying to the Constitutional Court of the Republic of
Lithuania with a Petition Requesting to Investigate Whether Items
1 and 2 of Resolution of the Government of the Republic of
Lithuania No. 22 'On Assenting to a Draft Agreement on Purchase
and Sale of 34 Percent of the Shares (Which Belong to the State
by Right of Ownership) of the Joint-Stock Company "Lietuvos
dujos", Annexes to this Agreement, as well as to a Draft
Agreement of Shareholders' of 9 January 2004, Resolution No. 292
'On a Draft Supplement to the Long-Term Gas Supply Agreement
Between the Joint-Stock Company "Lietuvos dujos" and the Public
Joint-Stock Company "Gazprom"' of 18 March 2004, according to the
content of the norms, the extent of regulation and the procedure
of adoption, are not in conflict with Article 5, the Third and
Fifth Paragraphs of Article 46, the First Paragraph of Article
128 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and the
Principle of a State under the Rule of Law" of 5 May 2009
requesting to investigate whether Items 1 and 2 of Resolution of
the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No. 22 "On Assenting
to a Draft Agreement on Purchase and Sale of 34 Percent of the
Shares (Which Belong to the State by Right of Ownership) of the
Joint-Stock Company 'Lietuvos dujos', Annexes to this Agreement,
as well as to a Draft Agreement of Shareholders" of 9 January
2004, Resolution No. 292 "On a Draft Supplement to the Long-Term
Gas Supply Agreement Between the Joint-Stock Company 'Lietuvos
dujos' and the Public Joint-Stock Company 'Gazprom'" of 18 March
2004, to the extent that the Government assented to the
provisions of Annex H and Item 9.1 of Agreement No. 2/108 on
Purchase and Sale of 34 Percent of the Shares (Which Belong to
the State by Right of Ownership) of the Joint-Stock Company
"Lietuvos dujos", which was concluded between the state
enterprise State Property Fund and the Russian Federation public
joint-stock company "Gazprom" on 23 January 2004, and, subsequent
to these provisions, undertook obligations not to regulate the
prices of natural gas and to reimburse the losses, are not in
conflict, according to the content of the norms, the extent of
regulation and the procedure of adoption, with Article 5,
Paragraphs 3 and 5 of Article 46, Paragraph 1 of Article 128 of
the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and with the
constitutional principle of a state under the rule of law.
This Constitutional Court decision is final and not subject
to appeal.
The decision is promulgated in the name of the Republic of
Lithuania.
Justices of the Constitutional Court: Armanas Abramavičius
Toma Birmontienė
Pranas Kuconis
Kęstutis Lapinskas
Zenonas Namavičius
Ramutė Ruškytė
Egidijus Šileikis
Algirdas Taminskas
Romualdas Kęstutis Urbaitis