Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania
STATUTE
11 November 1993 No.I-304
Vilnius
PART 9
IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS
Article 270. Impeachment proceedings shall be the
parliamentary procedure which shall be applied by the Seimas to
members of the Seimas as well as to State officials of the
highest rank who are specified in Article 74 of the Constitution
of the Republic of Lithuania for their actions which discredit
the authority of powers, in order to solve the question of the
responsibility of such individuals. In the event that a concrete
individual is found guilty during this procedure, the person
shall be dismissed from his or her post or his or her mandate as
a Seimas member shall be abolished.
Article 271. Legal action, in accordance with the
impeachment proceedings, may be instituted against the President
of the Republic, the Chairperson and judges of the Constitutional
Court, the Chairperson and judges of the Supreme Court, the
Chairperson and judges of the Court of Appeals, and the members
of the Seimas.
Article 272. There shall be grounds for initiating
impeachment proceedings in the event that an individual specified
in Article 271 of this Statute has:
1) grossly violated the Constitution;
2) breached an oath; or
3) committed a felony.
Only one of the grounds specified in this Article shall
suffice to initiate impeachment proceedings.
Article 273. The right to request the initiation of
impeachment proceedings against a concrete for reasons specified
in Article 272 individual shall be granted to , any group of
Seimas members consisting of at least one fourth of all of the
Seimas members, the President of the Republic and the Judges'
Court of Honour if the case concerns the Chairperson or judges of
the Constitutional Court or the Court of Appeals.
Article 274. Upon establishing that persons referred to in
Article 271 of this Statute are suspected of having committed a
felony, the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Lithuania shall
immediately inform the Seimas thereon and submit appropriate
material thereto.
In the event that the President of the Republic is suspected
of having committed a felony, the Seimas shall carry out
preliminary impeachment proceedings provided for in Article 279 of
this Statute.
Upon hearing the Prosecutor General's report on a felony
committed by other persons, the Seimas shall decide whether to
give its approval to institute legal action against the concrete
person (according to the procedure provided for in Part 1 and
Chapter 28 of this Statute) or to initiate preliminary
impeachment proceedings.
Article 275. While bringing a charge concerning a committed
felony, the statutes of limitation provided for in criminal laws
shall be applicable. In other cases, no statutes of limitation
shall be applicable; however, the committed misdemeanor with
which an individual is charged must have been committed while he
or she was in office referred to in Article 271 of this Statute.
Article 276. Proposal to initiate impeachment proceedings
shall be submitted to the Seimas in writing - in the form of a
motion, while proposals made by the President of the Republic
shall be presented in the form of appeal by indicating the
concrete person, the charge formulated against said person,
arguments, major facts, and evidence or sources thereof.
Article 277. Proposal to initiate impeachment proceedings
may only be submitted during sessions of the Seimas. The Seimas
Chairperson shall immediately present such proposals to the
Seimas members and shall, within at least one week, submit a
proposal to the Seimas to consider the issue on a preferential
basis.
Article 278. Upon hearing a proposal made by the initiators
specified in Article 273 or their representative concerning the
initiation of impeachment proceedings against a concrete
individual, the Seimas shall form a commission to investigate
the validity and seriousness of the submitted charges and to
prepare the finding concerning the proposal to initiate
impeachment proceedings. In its work the commission shall be
governed by the provisions provided for in Chapter 32 of this
Statute.
Article 279. A special investigation commission shall be
formed from the Seimas members, representatives of the
initiators of the impeachment proceedings, and lawyers who are
employed at courts, investigative structures, or prosecutor's
office. Professional lawyers must comprise no more than one half
of the commission members. While working on the commission, the
lawyers shall enjoy equal rights with other members of the
commission, but they must strictly comply with the principle of
political impartiality. There may be no more than 12 members on
the commission. Members of the commission shall be proposed by
parliamentary groups and initiators of the impeachment
proceedings according to the principles set forth in Article 63
of this Statute which shall be entitled to propose 1/3 of all
the commission members.
Along with the formation of the commission, the Seimas shall
appoint the commission chairperson and deputy chairperson, and
shall fix the dates for the execution of investigation. At least
one of the heads of the commission must be a professional lawyer.
Article 280. Sittings of the special Seimas investigation
commission concerned with impeachment proceedings shall normally
be closed. Only the chairperson of the commission or a member
authorised by the chairperson shall inform the press and other
mass media about the course of investigation.
Article 281. The commission's sittings shall be recorded in
the minutes. Minutes shall be kept by a secretary appointed by
the commission, according to the regulations of keeping minutes
of court sittings. The minutes of the sitting shall be signed by
the chairperson and secretary of the commission.
During sittings, explanations as well as arguments of the
initiators of impeachment proceedings and defendants (or their
representatives) shall be heard, witnesses shall be questioned,
the list of whom shall be made up according to the proposals
submitted by all the members of the special investigation
commission and the defendant, and other evidence shall be
accumulated, examined and evaluated; when necessary, experts and
specialists shall be invited and discussions shall be held. The
defendant's lawyer may also take part in the sittings.
Article 282. Witnesses and experts shall be summoned and
questioned in accordance with the rules of the criminal code:
they shall be warned of their responsibility for avoiding or
refusing to give evidence as well as for giving knowingly false
evidence; the giving of such warnings shall be confirmed by
witnesses' signatures. Minutes concerning the questioning of
witnesses shall be recorded and, after a witness has read them,
may be supplemented or amended, and then must be signed by the
witness. Experts shall present their findings in writing after
having signed them.
Article 282-1. If the special investigation commission so
proposes, the Seimas may pass a decision to appeal to the
Constitutional Court concerning the conclusion whether concrete
actions of the Seimas members or state officers against whom
impeachment proceedings are initiated are in conformity with the
Constitution.
Article 283. Upon the conclusion of the investigation, the
special investigation commission shall present its findings
which shall contain: the essence of the charge, the place, time,
means, motives and other essential circumstances of the committed
felony; the established facts and evidence, and the explanations
of the defendant. In the event that the presented charges have
not been proved, it shall be indicated in the findings and the
actions of investigation which have been carried out shall be
described in brief. Taking into account the results of the
investigation, it shall be summarised at the end of the findings
whether there are grounds to institute impeachment proceedings in
the Seimas or whether such grounds do not exist.
At least half of the votes of all the commission members are
necessary for the approval of the findings. The results of the
voting shall be recorded in the minutes of the sitting. The
findings shall be signed by the chairperson or deputy chairperson
of the commission.
The commission shall prepare a draft resolution on the basis
of approved findings.
Article 284. Upon coming to the conclusion that there are
grounds for initiating impeachment proceedings in the Seimas, the
special investigation commission must also formulate concrete
charges. This may be done at the end of the commission's findings
or in a separate document.
The investigation commission shall also decide who on behalf
of the committee shall substantiate the charge and carry out other
functions of the prosecutor in the Seimas during the impeachment
proceedings. The commission may appoint up to 7 prosecutors --
members of the Seimas. The commission shall inform the Seimas of
their names and powers in writing.
Article 285. The commission shall submit the prepared
findings along with a draft Seimas resolution and other documents
to the Speaker, who shall submit these documents for the Seimas
consideration at its next sitting.
Chapter 36. Impeachment Procedure in the Seimas
Article 286. In the event that the special investigation
commission reaches the conclusion that there are no grounds for
the initiation of impeachment proceedings, the Seimas shall
consider the validity of motives and arguments which have been
formulated in the findings and shall decide whether said findings
shall be assented. If the Seimas approves the findings by a
majority vote of the Seimas members who attend the sitting, it
shall be held that there was no assent to initiate impeachment
proceedings. Impeachment proceedings based on the same charges
may only be instituted against the same person only after one-
year period , and only under the condition that new
circumstances have become evident.
In the event that the Seimas does not approve the
commission's conclusion that there are no grounds for the
initiation of impeachment proceedings, the Seimas must decide who
shall be charged with the execution of a repeat investigation -
the same investigation commission or a new one.
Article 287. Upon hearing the findings of the special
investigation commission according to which there are grounds to
initiate impeachment proceedings, the Seimas shall carry out
necessary arrangements and shall adopt the following decisions
necessary for the execution of this procedure:
1) shall adopt a resolution to initiate impeachment
proceedings in the Seimas against a concrete person;
2) shall establish of the commencement of the impeachment
proceedings not later than after 15 days and schedule of
sittings;
3) shall adopt a resolution to invite the Chairperson of
the Supreme Court or another judge thereof to preside over this
procedure;
4) as necessary, shall request the Constitutional Court to
provide findings whether concrete actions of a Seimas member or
other state official comply with the Constitution; and
5) shall perform other necessary preparatory actions.
Article 288. Impeachment proceedings shall start in the
Seimas on the fixed date. They shall be presided over by the
Chairperson of the Supreme Court or another judge thereof, or the
Chairperson of the Constitutional Court or another judge
thereof.One more judge of the Supreme Court or Constitutional
Court must take part in all sittings, from the first to the
last, of the impeachment proceedings, and, as necessary, shall
act for the Chairperson of the hearing.
Upon announcing the commencement of the impeachment
proceedings, the Seimas shall become an impeachment institution
in which investigation shall be carried out in compliance with
the principles and rules of criminal procedure if this Statute
does not provide otherwise.
The minutes of the hearing shall be kept by the secretary
appointed by the Chairperson according to the rules of recording
court hearings.
Impeachment proceedings in the Seimas shall be public. They
may be broadcast by television and radio.
Article 289. Impeachment proceedings in the Seimas shall be
comprised of the following major parts: the preparatory part, the
court investigation, court disputes, and the defendant's final
word concerning the articles of impeachment and voting on the
presented charges.
Article 290. During the preparatory part of the hearing the
essence of the impeachment case under investigation, the
defendant, and the prosecutors and their representatives shall be
introduced, their rights and duties shall be explained, their
requests shall be heard and decisions thereon shall be passed,
and the possibilities to continue investigation of the case shall
be clarified.
Article 291. The court investigation shall be commenced by
reading the material of the charge aloud and hearing the
defendant's explanations. Then the defendant and witnesses shall
be questioned, the findings of the experts shall be heard, and
the evidence shall be examined.
Prior to the end of the court investigation, the prosecutors
shall have the right to define the formulation of the charge and
remove technical errors which have been found therein. While
defining the formulations of the charge, the formulations must be
delivered in writing to the defendant and the chairperson of the
hearing, who shall immediately announce them to the Seimas
members. Upon receiving the defined formulations of the charge,
the defendant or the defendant's defender shall have the right
to demand the continuation or renewal of the court investigation.
Article 292. Court disputes shall be the speeches and
remarks of the prosecutor, the defendant and their
representatives. The right to the last remark shall always belong
to the defender, and in the event of his or her absence - to the
defendant.
In the end of court disputes the defendant shall be
granted the last word. It shall not be permitted to ask questions
or make remarks at that moment.
Article 293. Issues concerning procedure shall be settled by
the chairperson of the hearing. As necessary, the chairperson may
ask the Seimas to voice its opinion or request approval of his or
her decisions. Only upon the permission of the chairperson may the
members of the Seimas pose questions to the participants of the
proceedings. The members of the Seimas shall not be permitted to
speak about the essence of the case or to attempt to influence the
course of the proceedings in any other manner. However, they may
protest the chairperson's refusal to permit questioning or a hasty
decision to terminate interrogation, and may reject them by
voting.
Article 294. The defendant shall have the right to resign
from his office or to renounce the mandate of the Seimas member
by submitting an application in writing, in any stage of
impeachment proceedings but only prior to the beginning of
voting. Such applications must be immediately satisfied. In such
case, the impeachment proceedings shall be terminated and it
shall be made official by a resolution of the Seimas.
Article 295. The final part of the legal procedure - voting
for the articles of impeachment - shall start after the
defendant's final word.
Each article of impeachment shall be put on a separate
voting card. After the text of the charge, the alternative
variants of the response: "I charge" or "I do not charge" shall
be made thereon. Prior to distribution, voting cards shall be
marked by a special stamp of the chairperson of the hearing.
Article 296. A commission for the calculation of votes
shall be made in compliance with the requirements set forth in
Article 112 of this Statute.
Each article of impeachment shall be put to the vote
separately. Only the Seimas members shall take part in the
voting.
Upon calculating the votes, the chairperson of the hearing
shall announce the voting results on each article of impeachment
separately.
Article 297. If 3/5 of all the Seimas members vote for at
least one article of impeachment, it shall be considered that the
person has been impeached, i.e. the Seimas has found that the
person is guilty of the felony with which he or she has been
incriminated.
Following the report of the commission for the calculation
of votes, the chairperson of the hearing shall dictate the
following entry of the minutes:
"Upon the execution of impeachment proceedings in the Seimas
on ... (date), it has been found by a majority vote of all the
Seimas members that citizen ............(name, surname and post)
...(entry according to the text of the approved article of
impeachment)..., therefore, from this day the .... (date), (said
person) shall be removed from his (or her) post (or shall be
deprived of the mandate of Seimas member) by the decision of the
Seimas.
Then the chairperson shall sign this entry and publicly
announce it during the Seimas sitting.
Article 298. In the event that not a single article of
impeachment receives at least 3/5 of the votes of all the Seimas
members, it shall be considered that the Seimas has not approved
the impeachment. The chairperson of the hearing shall announce
this publicly and an appropriate entry thereon shall be made in
the minutes of the sitting.
In cases where less than 3/5 but more than 1/2 of all the
Seimas members voted for the article of impeachment which
corresponds to the indications of a criminal offence, it shall be
considered that the Seimas has assented to bringing a legal
action against a concrete person (with the exception of the
President of the Republic).
Article 299. The minutes of the Seimas sittings, wherein
the impeachment procedure shall be recorded, shall be signed by
the chairperson of the hearing and the secretary of the hearing
appointed by him or her.
Entries of the minutes concerning the voting results shall
be equaled to the resolutions of the Seimas. They shall enter
into effect from the moment of their announcement and must be
executed . Along with the voting results, they may not be
appealed against or subjected to review.
Article 300. When, according to the procedure of
impeachment, the Seimas finds that a concrete person is guilty,
he/she shall be considered to have been removed from his or her
post or to have been deprived of the mandate of Seimas member.
Legal liability may also be incurred on them for committed
felonies according to general procedure.
Individuals who have resigned from their posts of their own
accord or who have renounced mandates of a Seimas member shall
lose the right of inviolability established by the Constitution,
and shall therefore be subjected to criminal liability
according to the general procedure.
Ceslovas Jursenas
Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania