THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF
THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
RULING
On the compliance of Article 9, 93, 96,10 and 101 of Part
II of the Statute of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania
with the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania
24 February 1994, Vilnius
The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania,
composed from the Justices of the Constitutional Court
Algirdas Gailiūnas, Kęstutis Lapinskas, Zigmas Levickis,
Vladas Pavilonis, Pranas Vytautas Rasimavičius, Stasys
Stačiokas, Teodora Staugaitienė, Stasys Šedbaras and Juozas
Žilys,
the secretary of the hearing - Rolanda Stimbirytė,
the petitioner - Zita Šličytė, representative of the
group of Seimas members,
the party concerned - Juozas Bernatonis, the Seimas
representative, Deputy Chairman of the Seimas,
pursuant to Part 1, Article 102 of the Constitution of
the Republic of Lithuania and Part 1, Article 1 of the Law
on the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania, in
its public hearing of 15 February 1994 conducted the
investigation of Case No 9/93 subsequent to the petitions
submitted to the Court by a group of the Seimas of the
Republic of Lithuania members requesting to investigate the
compliance of Articles 9, 93, 96,10 and 101 of Part II of
the Statute of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania with
Articles 66 and 89 of the Constitution of the Republic of
Lithuania.
The Constitutional Court
has established:
On 20 May 1993, the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania
adopted Part II of the Statute of the Seimas named
"Structure of the Seimas" (Parliamentary Record, No 17 -
428, 1993). In the first part of Article 9 of this Part it
is established: "Sittings of the Seimas shall be presided
over by the Chairperson of the Seimas or Deputy Chairperson
of the Seimas. There shall be three Deputy Chairpersons of
the Seimas". In the second part of Article 93 it is set
forth: "The Seimas Board shall consist of the Chairperson of
the Seimas, three Deputy Chairpersons and the Chancellor of
the Seimas".
In Article 96 it is determined: "The Chairperson of the
Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania shall: - 4) propose
candidates to the posts of Deputy Chairpersons and the
Chancellor of the Seimas to the Seimas".
In Article 10 it is stipulated: "At the behest of the
Chairperson of the Seimas, Deputy Chairpersons shall perform
certain functions of the Chairperson. The Seimas Board may
determine the guidelines of the activities of the Deputy
Chairpersons.
In the event that the Chairperson of the Seimas is
temporarily absent or has fallen ill and by reason thereof
is unable to fulfill his or her duties of office, at the
behest of the Seimas, the duties of the Chairperson of the
Seimas shall be performed by one of the Deputy Chairpersons
for a specified period.
If, in the case specified in Article 89 of the
Constitution, the Chairperson of the Seimas is temporarily
carrying out the duties of the President of the Republic,
and as the result thereof has lost his or her powers in the
Seimas, the duties of the Chairperson of the Seimas shall be
temporarily carried out by a Deputy Chairperson at the
behest of the Seimas.
Resolutions (preliminary or adopted for a particular
case) concerning the temporary performance of the duties of
the Chairperson of the Seimas or substituting the
Chairperson of the Seimas shall be adopted by the Seimas on
the motion of the Seimas Chairperson".
In the first and the second parts of Article 101 it is
specified: "The Chairperson of the Seimas, or, in the
absence of the Chairperson, the Deputy Chairperson, may
voice his or her opinion or the opinion of the Seimas Board
on the issues under consideration out of turn provided that
he or she is not presiding over the sitting.
During the session, the Chairperson of the Seimas, the
Deputy Chairpersons and the Chancellor of the Seimas shall,
at least once a month, answer questions concerning the
performance of their duties submitted beforehand by the
Seimas members".
The petitioner - a group of the Seimas members -
request the Constitutional Court to recognize that Articles
9, 93, 96,10 and 101 of Part II of the Statute of the Seimas
contradict Article 66 of the Constitution of the Republic of
Lithuania specifying that: "The Chairperson or Deputy
Chairperson of the Seimas shall preside over sittings of the
Seimas", and the first part of Article 89 of the
Constitution which prescribes: "In the event that the
President dies, resigns or is removed from office according
to impeachment proceedings, or if the Seimas resolves that
the President of the Republic is unable to fulfill the
duties of office for reasons of health, the duties of the
President shall temporarily be passed over to the Seimas
Chairperson. In such a case, the Chairperson of the Seimas
shall lose his or her powers in the Seimas, and at the
behest of the Seimas, the duties of Chairperson shall
temporarily be carried out by the Deputy Chairperson".
The petitioner bases his request on the fact that three
Deputy Chairpersons are stipulated in Article 9, 93, 96, 10
and 101 of Part II of the Seimas Statute, whereas, Articles
66 and 89 of the Constitution provide for only one Deputy
Chairperson, therefore, the petitioner requests to recognize
that the provision that there shall be three Deputy
Chairpersons, of the Seimas, specified in Article 9, 93, 96,
10 and 101 of Part II of the Seimas Statute, is not in
compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of
Lithuania.
A petitioner's representative explained in the court
hearing that, conforming to Articles 66 and 89 of the
Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, the Chairperson
of the Seimas and the Deputy Chairperson of the Seimas are
two officials of the constitutional rank. In case prescribed
by the first part of Article 89 of the Constitution, when
the Seimas Chairperson loses his or her powers in the Seimas
at the behest of the Chairperson, the duties of Chairperson
shall temporarily be carried out by the Deputy Chairperson.
During preliminary investigation of the case and in the
court hearing, a representative of the party concerned
explained that, in his opinion, Articles 9, 93, 96, 10 and
101 of Part II of the Statute of the Seimas do not
contradict the Constitution and submitted the following
arguments:
1. In the first part of Article 66 of the Constitution
the procedure of presiding over the sittings of the Seimas
is established. It is stipulated in this norm of the
Constitution, which two officials shall alternatively
preside over sittings of the Seimas. Thus, there is no doubt
that one - person principle and not collegiate one of
presiding over sittings of the Seimas is prescribed by
Article 66 of the Constitution. This Article does not define
the number of Deputy Chairmen of the Seimas but specifies
who shall preside over sittings of the Seimas.
2. The statement of the petitioner's representative,
that a conclusion is to be drawn upon the first part of
Article 89 of the Constitution that there may be only one
Deputy Chairperson, is groundless. In said Article of the
Constitution not the number of Deputy Chairpersons is
established but the regulation that, in the event that the
Chairperson of the Seimas shall lose his or her powers in
the Seimas in case prescribed by this Article, at the behest
of the Seimas, the duties of Chairperson shall temporarily
be carried out by the Deputy Chairperson. This means that,
not the number of Deputy Chairpersons is determined in said
Article of the Constitution but the powers of the Seimas are
restricted in it, i.e. it is specified that the duties of
the Chairman of the Seimas may temporarily be delegated only
to the Deputy Chairperson of the Seimas and not to any
Seimas member.
3. The statement of the petitioner's representative
that there must be only one Deputy Chairman of the Seimas,
contradicts the logical meaning of the first part of Article
89 of the Constitution, as it is established in this
Article, that, at the behest of the Seimas, the duties of
Chairperson shall temporally be carried out by the Deputy
Chairperson. Such authorisation is necessary only in cases
when there are more than one Deputy Chairmen. If only one
Deputy Chairperson were elected, the Seimas, upon his or her
election, would resolve the issue who in case the
Chairperson of the Seimas loses his or her powers in the
Seimas, must temporarily perform his or her duties as the
Constitution does not provide for another alternative.
4. The Structure of the Seimas is not determined in the
Constitution - neither the Seimas Board, nor Assembly of
Spokesmen, nor Committees, nor Commissions, nor factions are
stipulated in it. This does not mean, however, that the
formation of said structural derivatives contradict the
Constitution. In Article 76 of the Constitution it is
emphasized: "The structure and procedure of activities of
the Seimas shall be determined by the Statute of the
Seimas". This means, that the Constitution has entitled the
Seimas to the prerogative to establish such inner structure
and procedure of activities that would ensure the
possibility to implement the powers prescribed in the
Constitution and provide every Seimas member with conditions
to exercise the powers of the People's representative.
The representative of the party concerned has
maintained that Articles 9, 93, 96,10 and 101 of Part II of
the Seimas Statute do not contradict the Constitution also
according to the extent of regulation and form.
The Constitutional Court
holds that:
In Article 4 of the Constitution it is prescribed that
the People shall exercise the supreme sovereign power vested
in them either directly or through their democratically
elected representatives, and in the first part of Article 5
it is specified: "In Lithuania, the powers of the State
shall be exercised by the Seimas, the President of the
Republic and Government, and the Judiciary". The procedure
of forming these institutions of power, the term of office,
competence and democratic principles of their activities are
determined in the Constitution.
The Seimas as an institution of legislation while
implementing its powers is independent within the limits
prescribed by the Constitution, but it always must ensure
permanent implementation of its powers stipulated in the
Constitution.
In Chapter 5 of the Constitution titled "The Seimas"
the Seimas composition and the procedure of its elections,
the term of office, rights and duties of the Seimas members,
the Seimas competence, the main procedures of law enactment
as well as other prerogatives of the Seimas as an
institution of legislation are established.
The main provisions of legal status of state powers are
set forth in the Constitution, however, the issues of
organizing their internal activities as well as some other
issues concerning their functioning are not resolved there,
therefore a legislator shall adopt laws by which the legal
status of institutions of power is given concrete
expression. Law on the President of the Republic, Law on the
Government, Law on the Constitutional Court, Law on Courts,
also the Statute of the Seimas, which has the power of law,
are of aforementioned kind.
The Constitution does not contain the norms regulating
the structure of the Seimas. In Chapter 5 of the
Constitution under the title "The Seimas" even the procedure
of the election of the Seimas Chairperson is not
established, though other powers, along with presiding over
the sittings, are vested in him (Articles 70, 71, 89, 103,
140 and 149 of the Constitution).
In Article 76 of the Constitution it is prescribed that
the structure and procedure of activities of the Seimas
shall be determined by the Statute of the Seimas. Thus, the
Seimas is entitled to the right to establish its own
structure and procedure of activities.
The structure of the Seimas is a system of inner sub-
units established in the Statute of the Seimas, which must
ensure working capacity and effective functioning of the
parliament, i.e. must provide the Seimas with necessary
conditions and prerequisites for permanent implementation of
its functions prescribed by the Constitution. The governing
body of the Seimas is the most significant part in the
system of structural units as only its functions are
determined in the Constitution.
In the Constitution it is set forth that sittings are
the main form of the Seimas activities. In the first part of
Article 66 of the Constitution it is stipulated that the
Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson of the Seimas shall
preside over sittings of the Seimas. Although only two
duties of office of the governing body of the Seimas are
mentioned in said Article, the contents of this norm has the
meaning of organizational function, because said Article
only specifies who shall preside over sittings of the
Seimas, therefore, the conclusion that, issues concerning
the structure shall be regulated by this norm, i.e. the
number of Deputy Chairmen shall be established, may not be
drawn.
Conforming to the Constitution, the Chairperson of the
Seimas is an official of the Seimas in whom independent
constitutional powers are vested, and Deputy Chairperson of
the Seimas, in accordance with the first part of Article 66
of the Constitution, may perform only one function, i.e.
preside over sittings of the Seimas. The constitutional
powers of the Chairperson of the Seimas shall be passed to
the Deputy Chairperson of the Seimas only in the case
prescribed by Article 89 of the Constitution, i.e. when he,
at the behest of the Seimas, shall temporarily perform the
duties of the Chairperson of the Seimas.
The interpretation that, in compliance with the first
part of Article 89 of the Constitution, there must be only
one Deputy Chairperson of the Seimas, is groundless. In the
first part of Article 89 of the Constitution it is
established that, in case when the duties of the President
of the Republic shall be temporarily passed over go to the
Chairperson of the Seimas, the latter shall lose his or her
powers in the Seimas, and at the behest of the Seimas, the
duties of the Chairperson shall temporarily be carried out
by the Deputy Chairperson. This constitutional provision
establishes not the number of Deputy Chairpersons but the
Seimas prerogative at its behest to constitute the
delegation of the powers of Chairperson of the Seimas to
another person - Deputy Chairperson of the Seimas. This
means, that nobody else except the Seimas may change the
status of the Deputy Chairperson of the Seimas, i.e. to
entitle him to the right since concrete date for definite
term to temporarily perform constitutional powers of the
Seimas Chairperson. Such procedure of constituting is
grounded on the Seimas' absolute right to resolve the issues
concerning its inner structure and formation of its
governing body. The Seimas itself in its Statute determines
the procedure of resolving said issues.
Taking the constitutional status of the Seimas as
legislative authority into consideration, there must be
created such structure and democratic procedure of
activities of the Seimas that would enable the People's
representative to constructively, effectively and
permanently implement the supreme sovereign power of the
People. Thus, the explanation, that the first part of
Article 66 of the Constitution provides for only one Deputy
Chairperson of the Seimas, is also groundless. When in cases
prescribed by the first part of Article 89 of the
Constitution, the Deputy Chairperson temporarily acting for
the Chairperson of the Seimas falls ill or is unable to
fulfill the duties of office for other reasons, this might
cause disorder in the activities of the Seimas as there
would be no official being capable of legally performing the
constitutional function - presiding over sittings of the
Seimas. In said event, elections of temporary Deputy
Chairperson would become problematic, i.e. as a matter of
fact, the activities of the Seimas would be disturbed.
Neither Article 66 nor Article 89 restrict the Seimas
in establishing the number of the Deputy Chairpersons of the
Seimas. The Seimas, in accordance with Article 76 of the
Constitution having established three Deputy Chairpersons in
Article 9 and 93 of Part II of the Statute of the Seimas,
and having used the notion "Deputy Chairperson" in Articles
96,10 and 101, only implemented the right to determine the
structure and procedure of activities of the Seimas, vested
in him by the Constitution.
Conforming to Article 102 of the Constitution of the
Republic of Lithuania as well as Articles 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 taken the following
ruling :
To recognize that Article 9, 93, 96,10 and 101 of Part
II of the Statute of the Seimas are consistent with the
Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania.
This Constitutional Court ruling is final and not
subject to appeal.
The ruling is promulgated on behalf of the Republic of
Lithuania.
Justices of the Constitutional Court:
Algirdas Gailiūnas Kęstutis Lapinskas
Zigmas Levickis
Vladas Pavilonis Pranas Vytautas Rasimavičius
Stasys Stačiokas
Teodora Staugaitienė Stasys Šedbaras
Juozas Žilys