SEIMAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
STATUTE
19 October 1993 No. I-279
Vilnius
PART 5
LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURE
Chapter 21. Registration of Drafts of Laws and
other Standard Acts
Article 183. Drafts of laws of the Republic of Lithuania and
of other acts of the Seimas, as well as the proposals concerning
the enactment thereof, shall be submitted to the Seimas for
consideration by the institutions and persons who, pursuant to
the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, have the right of
legislative initiative. Submitted drafts and proposals must be
signed by representatives of the initiators thereof.
A supporting explanation shall be submitted together with
the draft law wherein, as a rule, the following shall be set
forth:
1) the objectives and goals of the draft law;
2) the current legal procedure in accordance with which the
issues considered in the draft law are being regulated;
3) what new provisions of legal regulation are planned, the
positive qualities of the newly regulated issues, and the
positive results which are foreseen;
4) possible negative consequences of the enacted law and the
measures which should be applied in order to avoid said
consequences; remaining imperfections of the law;
5) the incorporation of the draft law into the legal system,
which legal acts in said sphere remain effective (a list of these
acts shall be presented), and which of the effective legal acts
must be amended or repealed upon adoption of the draft;
6) in the event that executive acts are required for the
implementation of the draft law -- who should prepare them and
when, as well as the guidelines of said executive acts;
7) the evaluation and findings of specialists obtained
during the period that the law was drafted;
8) the author or group of authors of the draft law;
9) the notional words of the draft law required for the
inclusion of the draft into the computerised search system; and
10) other substantiations and explanations which the authors
believe to be necessary.
If the initiators of the draft law cannot present a
supporting explanation, they may apply to the Seimas Chancellor
with a request that the Legal Department assist in the drawing up
of the explanation or that they be permitted to submit the draft
without a supporting explanation.
As a rule, draft laws concerning the amendment, supplement,
or repeal of other laws which are requisite upon the enactment of
the proposed draft law as well as, if necessary, the draft
resolution regarding the procedure of implementing the law, shall
be submitted together with the draft law.
The requirements set forth in this Chapter, with the
exception of the requirement concerning the supporting
explanation, shall apply to the drafts of all laws and standard
acts of the Seimas (in this Chapter all of the above drafts shall
hereinafter be referred to as draft laws), with the exception of
special cases provided for in this Statute.
Article 184. All submitted draft laws and proposals shall be
registered in the register of draft laws and proposals received
by the Secretariat of the Seimas sittings. When registering, a
standard title page of the draft and a form shall be filled in,
all of the persons who prepared or initiated the draft shall be
specified, and the documentation presented thereby shall be
itemised. The draft shall be indexed in accordance with the
classifier of the areas of legislation.
During the consideration and further preparation of a draft,
all new versions thereof as well as the conclusions, amendments
and supplements which have been put forward and the names of the
persons who submitted them, shall be presented to and registered
by the Secretariat of the sittings. All of the above shall be
executed as a cover letter of the draft and shall be distributed
together with the draft and the supporting explanation.
The Legal Department shall furnish conclusions on the
registered draft law, stating whether or not the draft is in
conformity with the effective laws, and whether or not it
corresponds to the technical rules of law-making. Together with
the above conclusions, the registered draft law shall be handed
over to the Seimas Chancellor. If the scope of the draft is
large, the Seimas Chancellor shall have the right to extend this
term.
The Seimas Chancellor shall, within 3 days, refer the draft
law together with the supporting explanation and conclusions of
the Legal Department to appropriate Committees for preliminary
consideration. The Seimas Chancellor shall also furnish all other
Committees, parliamentary groups, the Government, the Office of
the President of the Republic, and, as necessary -- local
governments of the higher level, with the draft of the law. All
members of the Seimas shall also be notified of the draft.
Article 186. In the event that a draft law is submitted
together with amendments to the Constitution, both drafts shall
be discussed concurrently; however, a vote shall first be taken
on the Constitutional amendments in accordance with the procedure
for amending the Constitution. Drafts of laws on the amendment,
supplement or repeal of other laws requisite upon the adoption of
the proposed draft law shall also be discussed together with said
draft law.
If several alternative drafts of one law have been received,
they shall be concurrently considered prior to and during the
discussion at the sitting of the Seimas, and one of said drafts
shall be selected.
Article 187. As necessary, the Seimas Board may charge other
Committees to make a preliminary analysis of the draft law or to
propose that the Government prepare its conclusions. The Seimas
Board may also form a special working group of Seimas members,
representatives of interested State institutions, experts, and
scientists to prepare a draft law for consideration in the
Seimas. As necessary, draft laws may be referred to public
organisations for evaluation.
Chapter 21a. Preliminary and Supplementary Consideration of
Drafts of Laws and other Standard Acts in the Committees
Article 196. The Committee to which a draft law has been
referred for preliminary consideration must establish:
1) whether or not the draft is in conformity with the
Constitution and other laws of the Republic of Lithuania, and, if
it is not in conformity therewith, whether or not the Committee
approves of the amendment of said laws;
2) the approximate amount of the State budget resources
required for the implementation of the law;
3) the expediency of the draft from political, economic, and
social points of view;
4) whether or not the concept of the draft corresponds to
the approved programme of the Government;
5) whether or not the draft is in conformity with the
international obligations of the Republic of Lithuania;
6) whether or not the draft is analogous to other drafts
which have been rejected within the last six months; and
7) whether or not the draft corresponds to the criteria of
efficiency, concreteness, and completion, and whether or not it
is acceptable from the points of view of legal culture and the
technical rules of law-making.
Upon examining the draft in these aspects, the Committee
must draw preliminary conclusions in such a way that it would be
possible to decide how the draft should further be considered in
accordance with the requirements set forth in Articles 188-189.
If the Committee arrives at the conclusion that the draft
law does not comply with the Constitution of the Republic of
Lithuania and no draft amendments to the Constitution have been
presented, the Seimas Chancellor shall appoint an additional
session for consideration of the draft law at the Seimas
Committee on State and Law.
Article 197. Conclusions concerning a draft law, for the
enactment whereof an initiative group for the announcement of a
referendum has been formed, shall also be prepared in the above-
specified manner. Said group shall be familiarized with the
preliminary conclusions which have been obtained.
In the event that only a proposal to draft and enact a law
is submitted, a Committee must consider whether or not it is
expedient to carry out the proposal, applying the criteria which
are applied to a draft law. Upon refusing to carry out the
proposal, the Committee shall present its conclusion to the
Seimas.
The Committees must prepare preliminary conclusions within
10 days during the session of the Seimas. The initiators of the
draft shall be notified of the conclusions.
Article 198. The Committee to which a draft law has been
referred for additional consideration must present written
evaluation thereof in accordance with the criteria set forth in
Article 196 of this Chapter. Refusal to approve must be
substantiated.
Approval may be expressed in the three ways: without any
comments, with specific comments, or on the condition that
certain amendments shall be made to the draft. In the last case,
concretely formulated amendments may be proposed.
The Committee which is performing additional examination of
a draft law may also express its opinion at the sitting of the
principal Committee which is conducting the examination of the
draft law upon delegating its representative to the sitting.
Article 199. The Committee which is conducting additional
examination of a draft law, as well as other Committees, the
appointed members of the Seimas and the Government, shall submit
written comments, proposals and supplements to the principal
Committee examining the law no later than 2 days prior to the
consideration of the draft law in the Seimas.
For the extension of the term set for presenting preliminary
conclusions, Committees must address the Seimas Chancellor; for
the extension of the term set for presenting additional
conclusions, Committees must address the principal Committee
conducting the examination of the draft law.
Article 1991(185). The Seimas Chancellor shall not present
draft laws for consideration in the Seimas if the Seimas
Committee on State and Law draws a preliminary conclusion that
the laws are not in conformity with the Constitution of the
Republic of Lithuania and no draft amendments to the Constitution
have been presented in the established manner. In the event that
the same draft law or another draft law of analogous content has
been rejected by the Seimas within the last six months, the draft
shall not be accepted for repeat consideration.
Draft laws submitted by entities who are not vested with the
right of legislative initiative shall be registered, but shall
not be forwarded for consideration; however, competent Committees
shall be familiarized with them.
In all of the above cases, drafts with a corresponding visa
of the Seimas Chancellor shall be returned to the Secretariat of
the sittings, provided that there is the approval of a competent
Committee; at the Secretariat, the draft shall be recorded in the
register of rejected draft laws and proposals and shall
thereafter be sent to the archives. An announcement to this
effect must be made at the Seimas sitting, and the person who
presented the draft must be notified thereof.
Article 194. The initiators of a draft law shall have the
right to recall said draft before it is considered at a sitting
of the Seimas. Said persons must immediately notify the Seimas
Chancellor of the decision, and the Chancellor must notify the
Seimas. In such an case, a copy of the draft law shall be left
with the principal Committee and the Legal Department.
However, in the event that the recalled draft law is
officially supported and submitted no later than the next day by
another entity vested with the right of legislative initiative,
the consideration procedure of such draft shall be continued.
Chapter 21-b. Presentation of Drafts of Laws and other Standard
Acts at Sittings of the Seimas
Article 188. When the Committees present their preliminary
(positive or negative) conclusions, the Seimas Chancellor must,
within one month, propose that the presentation of the draft law
be included in the week's agenda of the Seimas sittings. If the
Committees fail to present their conclusions during the Seimas
session or within a month from the commencement of the Seimas
session, the Seimas Chancellor must notify the Seimas thereof.
A representative of the initiators of a draft law shall be
invited to attend the sitting of the Seimas where the draft is
presented. Said representative shall give a brief (maximum of 10
minutes) characterisation of the draft. Thereafter, the presiding
officer shall familiarize the members with the preliminary
conclusions of the Committees and the Legal Department and also
of the Government, provided that such conclusions have been
received, and, if said conclusions correspond in essence, shall
propose that a vote be taken on the proposals.
The Seimas must decide whether or not to include the draft
in the work programme of the session, whether or not to commence
the procedure of consideration (of the drafts which have already
been included in the work programme of the session), whether or
not to apply the urgency or special urgency procedure of
consideration, whether or not to reject the draft, and whether or
not to postpone consideration.
If the conclusions vary, or if the initiators of the draft,
parliamentary groups, Committees, or the Government object
thereto, a discussion shall commence.
Article 189. A discussion on the presentation of a draft law
shall be held according to the following procedure:
1) questions posed by Seimas members to the representative
of the initiators of the draft (maximum of 15 minutes);
2) elaboration on the conclusions of the Committees which
have performed preliminary examination of the draft (maximum of 5
minutes for each Committee);
3) elaboration on the Government's opinion if it has been
stated (maximum of 5 minutes);
4) presentation of the arguments of the representatives of
other Committees or parliamentary groups whose opinion and
motives do not coincide with those stated (maximum of 5 minutes
for each representative); and
5) a vote on the proposed decisions in accordance with the
procedure established in Article 188 of this Chapter.
Article 190. All decisions on the presentation and
consideration of a draft law at the sitting of the Seimas shall
be adopted by a simple majority vote of those present and voting,
with the exception of decisions to reject a draft, to return a
draft to its initiators, or to announce a draft for public
consideration, which shall be adopted provided that more than 1/3
of all the Seimas members vote in favour thereof.
Application of the urgency or special urgency procedures
shall be established in Chapter 24 of this Statute.
Article 191. The procedure for consideration may be
commenced only concerning drafts which are included in the work
programme of the session. The consideration procedure shall
consist of the following stages: consideration at the principal
Committee, consideration at the sitting of the Seimas, and
adoption.
Upon deciding to commence the procedure of consideration of
a draft law, the Seimas must at the same sitting appoint an
approximate date of consideration at the sitting of the Seimas
(no earlier than after a week, and no later than by the end of
the session), the principal Committee for further consideration
or revision of the draft, and other Committees performing
additional examination thereof. The Seimas may also form a
preparatory working group for the revision of the draft law.
A decision to propose that a draft law be made available to
the public may also be adopted at the sitting.
Article 192. In the event that State funding is required for
the implementation of a law, the proposals of the initiators of
the draft and the conclusions of the Committee on Budget and
Finance and the Government concerning the possible sources of
funding must be presented during further consideration of the
draft.
If amending the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania is
also necessary in order to enact the draft law, the conclusions
of the Committee on State and Law must be presented during
further consideration of the draft.
Article 195. If an initiative group for the announcement of
a referendum on the draft law has been formed, the issue shall be
considered at the next Seimas sitting during the Seimas session
after it has been confirmed that the required number of
signatures has been collected. Representatives of the initiators
of the referendum shall be invited to attend the sitting. During
the sitting, amendments approved of by the initiators of the
referendum may be made to the draft law taking into consideration
the received conclusions.
Should it be established that the draft is not in conformity
with the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, a referendum
on amendment of the Constitution shall be announced.
If the Seimas decides to discuss and enact a submitted draft
law within 15 days, the decision to announce the referendum may
be postponed. However, the referendum must be announced at the
sitting at which the Seimas rejects the submitted draft or
accepts it with an amendment whereto the initiators of the
referendum object. The referendum must also be immediately
announced in the event that the Seimas fails to enact the law
within the established period.
Chapter 22. Consideration of Draft Laws by Principal Committees
Article 195-1.The Committee which has been appointed by the
Seimas as the principal Committee for the examination of the
draft of a law, in respect whereof the consideration procedure
has been commenced, must, within one week, discuss at a sitting
the preparedness of the draft for examination by the Committee.
For the above purpose, responsible Committee members and experts
must be assigned, additional conclusions may be requested of
other Committees and State institutions, and other preliminary
decisions may be adopted. If the Committee is charged to revise
the draft, a working group may be formed for said purpose. As
necessary, the Committee may also discuss issues concerning the
preparedness of the draft for consideration at other sittings.
Article 195-2. The principal Committee which is examining a
law must send the draft law to all interested State institutions
and, as necessary, to public organisations, so that said
institutions and organisations could send their evaluations.
All material which has been received concerning a draft law
shall be evaluated and summarized by the principal Committee
which is examining the law. If it has been resolved in the Seimas
to consider the text of the draft presented by the initiators,
the principal Committee which is examining the draft law shall be
entitled to present alongside its own version for consideration
at the Seimas sitting.
If a draft law has been announced to the public for
consideration, the received proposals shall be referred to the
principal Committee which is examining the draft.
Article 195-3. Each draft law must be considered by the
principal Committee which is examining said draft law no later
than 5 workdays prior to the consideration thereof at a sitting
of the Seimas. The time and place of such deliberations must be
announced at a sitting of the Seimas.
Representatives of the initiators of the draft,
representatives of the Committees which are preparing additional
conclusions, experts, and experts who have been invited by the
parliamentary groups of the opposition shall be invited to the
deliberations by the principal Committee. Said persons must be
granted the floor at the sitting of the Committee.
Representatives of other interested State institutions and
public organisations may also be invited to the sitting. Upon the
consent of the presiding officer, they, as well as members of
other Committees present at the sitting, may also be granted the
floor.
Article 195-4. Decisions concerning the approval of a draft
law submitted by the initiators, or of a draft law revised by its
respective Committee, or of an alternative draft law, or of a
draft with stipulations, or concerning the announcement of a
draft to the public for consideration or the return of a draft to
its initiators for revision or rejection, must be adopted during
the deliberations in the principal Committee which is examining
said draft; the adopted decision shall be presented for
consideration of the draft at the Seimas sitting.
After deliberations by the principal Committee, the draft
which has been submitted by the initiators or revised by the
Committee shall be forwarded to the Documentation Department for
editing. The edited draft shall be coordinated with a
representative of the initiators thereof.
The edited text of the draft must be distributed among the
Seimas members and delivered to the Government no later than 2
days prior to deliberations at the Seimas sitting. Additional
data together with a cover letter shall be distributed among the
Seimas members no later than 1 workday prior to above
deliberations.
The Seimas Speaker must be notified of the Committee
reporters and additional reporters no later than 2 workdays prior
to the consideration of the draft law at the sitting of the
Seimas.
When possible, a recording shall be made during the
deliberations, and minutes shall be kept of the speeches which
are made.
Article 201. In the event that the principal Committee which
is examining the draft law fails to examine the draft law within
the established time period, it must address the Seimas for
extension of the term.
Chapter 23. Consideration of Draft Laws at Seimas Sittings
Chapter 202. During consideration at the Seimas sitting, the
expediency, conception and the basic provisions and principles of
the draft law shall be discussed and all the received amendments
and supplements shall be presented. At the Seimas sitting the
draft law shall be considered according to the following
procedure:
1) report of the principal Committee which is examining the
draft law;
2) a vote, should the principal Committee propose to return
the draft to its initiators or to reject it;
3) reports by representatives of initiators of alternative
drafts, should such be presented;
4) additional reports by other Committees;
5) a general discussion of the basic provisions of the draft
law -- statements of the Government, other Committees,
parliamentary group members, and individual Seimas members;
6) a special discussion of the structure, individual
sections, paragraphs, and articles of the draft. Should there be
no proposals to hold a special discussion, the Seimas may abandon
said discussion or hold it together with the general discussion;
and
7) a concluding word by the principal speaker and
representatives of the initiators of alternative drafts.
Article 203. After consideration, the Seimas shall decide:
1) whether or not to approve the draft prepared by the
initiators or revised by the Committee, or one of the alternative
drafts, and whether or not to appoint the date of passage of the
law after at least 4 workdays. As necessary, the principal
Committee examining the draft shall be charged to make the
necessary amendments and supplements in accordance with the
comments voiced during the discussion. In this case, the passage
of the law shall be prepared no sooner than after 7 days;
2) whether or not to announce the draft for public
consideration provided that the proposals specified in Par. 1
hereof have been adopted. The results obtained from the above
consideration shall be summarised by the principal Committee
examining the draft law and the entire procedure shall be
repeated beginning from the consideration in this Committee. As a
rule, the draft of one and the same law shall not be announced
for public consideration twice;
3) whether or not to return the draft for revision to the
principal Committee examining it. In such a case, the procedure
shall be repeated beginning from the consideration in the
principal Committee. The above decision may be adopted only once
during the consideration of the draft;
4) whether or not to adjourn the consideration of the draft
in the event that the consideration has not been completed at one
sitting, if it transpires that the Seimas members require
additional information for the passage of the law, or in the
cases provided for in Article 96 of this Statute. Adjournment may
not continue through to the next session;
5) whether or not to return the draft to its initiators for
fundamental revision. In such case, the full procedure of
considering the revised draft law shall be repeated; and
6) whether or not to reject the draft or charge the
preparation of a new draft.
Upon adopting a decision specified in Pars. 2 or 3, the
Seimas may charge the principal Committee or other Committees to
examine the draft.
Chapter 23a. The Passage of a Draft Law at a Seimas Sitting
Article 208. If the Committee presents a newly revised
version of a draft for adoption, said draft must be distributed
among the Seimas members and delivered to the Government at least
2 workdays before the sitting.
The Seimas members, parliamentary groups, Committees and the
Government must present all proposed amendments and supplements
to the draft law with their respective signatures to the
Secretariat of the sittings at least 24 hours before the
commencement of the sitting whereat the passage of the draft law
is planned. The Secretariat of the sittings shall hand the above
amendments and supplements over to the principal Committee which
is examining the law, shall make copies thereof, and shall
distribute them to all of the Seimas members.
The Government, Committees and parliamentary groups may
submit additional amendments before the commencement of the
passage of the law, provided that said amendments have been
prepared in writing and may be distributed to all of the members
of the Seimas.
During the passage of the law, new amendments and
supplements shall not be accepted, with the exception of
editorial corrections which shall be neither discussed nor put to
vote, but shall be submitted in writing to the principal
Committee which examined the draft law.
Amendments and supplements must be adequately formulated,
must correspond to the substance of the draft, and may not exceed
one article in volume.
Article 209. During the passage of a draft law the reporter
shall give a brief notification of the amendments made by the
Committee and shall discuss the additional proposals and
amendments which have been received, naming the persons who
submitted them.
Thereafter, separate parts of the draft law shall be
considered and voted on. The sections, chapters and articles of
the draft shall be discussed and voted on according to their
sequence, unless the Seimas decides otherwise. The officer
presiding over the sitting may put the articles which condition
the principles and structure of the draft to vote before voting
on other articles. Articles to which no amendments have been
submitted and concerning which no proposals have been made to
delete completely may be passed without vote, provided that not a
single member of the Seimas objects thereto. In other cases, a
vote shall be taken on each article, chapter, and section.
During passage, the floor may be granted only to the authors
of the submitted amendments and supplements (for up to 3 minutes
on each proposal), the reporter and additional reporters as well
as to members speaking on the motives of voting; the reporters
shall be asked no questions. Upon being granted the floor
concerning an amendment or supplement, the author thereof may not
speak on the motives of voting.
Article 210. A separate article of the law shall be
considered and passed in accordance with the following procedure:
1) the received proposals shall be announced -- either to
amend the entire article, to alter some statements of the
article, to supplement the article, or to delete the article.
Each proposal may be briefly commented on by the reporter or
additional reporters ( for a maximum of 3 minutes each);
2) during voting, alternative proposals shall be chosen.
When several proposals concerning one article have been received,
voting shall be conducted according to the sequence specified in
Par.1 hereof, with the exception of the proposal to delete the
article, and in the case of the specified sequence -- according
to the sequence in which the proposals have been submitted.
Amendments to the amendment shall be voted on prior to voting on
the principal amendment. Proposals contradicting those previously
adopted shall be rejected without voting by the officer presiding
over the sitting. When the reporter announces that the principal
Committee is adopting the proposal, a vote is not necessary,
provided that no members of the Seimas object thereto. Before
voting, the person who submitted the proposal may retract it;
3) the entire article shall be put to vote. Proposals to
delete the article shall be treated as voting against the
article.
Additional articles of the draft law which are submitted
shall be considered and adopted according to the same procedure
as for all the other articles of the draft law.
Article 211. If the reporter believes that it is necessary
to hold one more sitting of the Committee for the coordination of
the adopted proposals and so demands, passage may be adjourned
after voting on all articles, but for no longer than until the
next day of the Seimas sitting. After adjournment, amendments and
supplements made by the Committee which may not contradict the
content of the adopted articles shall be discussed and put to the
vote. During the discussion, other proposals concerning
amendments and supplements shall not be accepted.
In the event that the articles which condition the
principles and structure of the law, as well as separate sections
or chapters, are not adopted during voting, the reporter may
propose to postpone the voting and to amend the draft prior to
voting on the entire draft law. If the Seimas adopts said
proposal, the procedure shall be continued from the consideration
of the draft law at the principal Committee. During consideration
of a draft law, the above alternative may only be used once.
Article 212. During passage of a law, proposals to reject
the draft shall not be accepted. The draft may be rejected only
if it does not receive the required number of votes.
After all the articles of the law have been considered, the
entire draft law shall be put to the vote. If the law is not
passed, the Seimas may charge the initiators of the draft or the
principal Committee to either work out a new draft or announce a
referendum, provided that the required number of signatures of
Seimas members have been collected.
As necessary, a resolution concerning the enforcement of the
law shall be considered and passed, and the law repealing other
laws or articles thereof which are not in conformity with the
enacted law shall be considered and adopted during the passage of
the law.
Article 212-1. If the Statute of the Seimas is violated
during the passage of a law, the Seimas Speaker, a Committee, a
parliamentary group, or the Government may address the Seimas
with a justified petition proposing the revocation of the adopted
proposal, as long as the law has not yet been signed by the
President of the Republic. Should such a petition be received,
the Commission on Ethics and Procedures must present its
conclusions and proposals to the Seimas within 5 workdays.
In the event that the Commission on Ethics and Procedures
states that the legislative procedure or any other significant
provisions of this Statute have been grossly violated, and that
this conditioned the decision of the Seimas, the Seimas shall
decide by vote whether to revoke the disputed law or to leave it
in effect. Such a vote must be held with the participation of
more than a half of the Seimas members.
Should the Seimas revoke its former decision concerning the
draft, the consideration thereof may be continued from the stage
when the violation was committed.
Article 213. If the draft law or the proposal concerning the
passing thereof is rejected at any stage of consideration, it may
be submitted again, but no sooner than 6 months thereafter. The
rejected drafts shall be returned to the Seimas Chancellor.
Chapter 23b. Consideration at Seimas Sittings of Draft Laws
which have been Returned by the President of the Republic
Article 213-1. If, pursuant to Par. 1 of Article 71 of the
Constitution, the President of the Republic returns a draft law
which has been passed by the Seimas to the Seimas for repeat
consideration, the Seimas Speaker shall notify the Seimas thereof
at the next sitting.
The Seimas must decide by voting whether to consider the
returned law anew, or whether to deem the law as not having been
passed. In the latter case, the Seimas may charge one of the
Committees to prepare a new draft of the law or form a working
group for the above purpose. A discussion may precede voting.
Should the decision be made to consider the draft law anew,
the Seimas must decide at the same sitting which Committees the
returned draft law as well as the amendments and supplements
submitted by the President of the Republic shall be referred to
for examination.
Article 213-2. Consideration of the returned law in the
Committees and at the Seimas sitting shall be prepared in
accordance with the requirements set forth in Part 5 of this
Statute. However, said law may not be considered according to the
procedure of special urgency, and constitutional laws may also
not be considered according to the procedure of urgency.
During the above consideration a decision shall be passed on
whether to accept all of the amendments and supplements submitted
by the President of the Republic or whether to vote on the entire
draft law without amendments.
During consideration at the Seimas sitting, the Seimas may
pass a resolution to announce a referendum concerning the
enactment of the law returned by the President of the Republic,
provided that the required number of signatures of Seimas members
has been collected.
Article 213-3. During passage of the returned law, a vote
shall first of all be taken on whether or not to adopt all of the
amendments and supplements submitted by the President of the
Republic.
A law which has been repeatedly considered by the Seimas
shall be deemed passed provided that more than half (in the case
of a constitutional law -- at least 3/5) of all of the Seimas
members voted in favour thereof.
If during consideration the Seimas adopts all of the
amendments and supplements submitted by the President of the
Republic, the repeatedly considered law shall be deemed to have
been passed provided that the majority of the Seimas members
participating in the sitting (in the case of a constitutional law
-- more than half of all the Seimas members) voted in favour
thereof.
In all cases, 3/5 majority vote of all the Seimas members
shall be required for the adoption of amendments to a
constitutional laws, and 2/3 majority vote of all the Seimas
members shall be required for the adoption of laws concerning
amendments to the Constitution.
Chapter 24. Consideration of Laws according to
Procedures of Urgency or Special Urgency
Article 214. Projects of Seimas resolutions and, should the
Seimas so decide, draft laws, shall be considered according to
the procedure of urgency.
The above procedure shall be used upon the justified
proposal of the President of the Republic, the Seimas Board, the
competent Committee, parliamentary groups, or the Government. The
decision to consider a draft law according to the procedure of
urgency may as a rule be adopted during the presentation of a
draft law by a majority of voting members, provided that said
majority is more than 1/3 of all the Seimas members.
Article 215. If the urgent procedure of consideration is
applied, the time period between the stages of consideration--
consideration in the Committee, consideration in the Seimas
sitting, and passage -- shall be shortened. Said time periods
must not be shorter than 1 workday or longer than 3 workdays. The
Seimas shall establish the concrete terms in each case
separately, however, in each case, the draft law under
consideration must be distributed to the Seimas members at least
1 day prior to the sitting at which it will be considered or
passed.
Article 219. On the proposal of the Seimas Speaker, the
President of the Republic, or the Government, drafts of laws and
resolutions of the Seimas may be considered according to the
procedure of special urgency. The decision to apply the above
procedure shall be adopted by a majority vote of all the Seimas
members participating in the sitting, provided that said majority
is more than 1/3 of all the Seimas members, and only if no
parliamentary groups object thereto.
According to the above procedure, if the draft has been
distributed to the Seimas members and the requirements prescribed
in Chapter 21 of this Statute have been implemented, the
procedure of passage may be commenced immediately and the
requirements of parts 1 and 2 of Article 208 of the Statute shall
not be applied.
Chapter 25. Amendments to the Constitution of the
Republic of Lithuania and Consideration of Constitutional Laws
Article 220. The following shall be deemed to be
constitutional laws:
1) Constitutional amendments. The procedure of their
consideration and passage shall be established in Chapter 14 of
the Constitution, Article 153, and this Chapter of the Statute of
the Seimas; and
2) laws which are directly specified in the Constitution as
well as other laws which are included in the list of
constitutional laws and which give concrete expression to
constitutional norms. The procedure of their consideration and
passage shall be defined in Article 69 of the Constitution and in
this Chapter of the Statute.
Article 221. The list of constitutional laws referred to in
Par. 2 of Article 220 of the Statute of the Seimas shall be
established by the Seimas by a 3/5 majority vote of the Seimas
members. Laws which have already been passed may also be included
in the list if the Seimas arrives at the conclusion that said
laws are, according to their content and significance,
constitutional.
Drafts of constitutional laws as well as their amendments
and supplements must correspond to the requirements set forth in
Par. 2 of Article 220 of this Statute. Upon disagreement, legal
disputes shall be resolved by the Committee on State and Law.
Article 222. Consideration of the draft Law on Amendment of
the Constitution shall commence in the Seimas only in cases when
the draft is submitted by a group of at least 1/4 of the Seimas
members or at least 300,000 electors who have expressed their
will by putting their signatures under the text of the proposed
amendment, with the exception of cases provided for in the
Constitution which provide for Constitutional amendment only by
referendum.
The Constitution may not be amended during a state of
emergency or martial law.
Article 223. Drafts of constitutional amendments and other
constitutional laws shall be registered, submitted, considered,
and passed according to the procedure established in Chapters 21-
23b of this Statute, with the exception of provisions set forth
in this Chapter. Said drafts may not be considered according to
the procedures of urgency or special urgency.
Before commencing consideration of such a draft at a Seimas
sitting, the draft must be considered by the principal Committee
which is examining said draft within the 10-day period prior
thereto, and distributed to the Seimas members and delivered to
the Government within the 7-day period prior thereto. After
consideration at the Seimas sitting, the procedure of passing the
law shall commence no sooner than 10 days thereafter.
The Committee on State and Law shall be the principal
Committee examining drafts of laws on amendment of the
Constitution.
It shall be prohibited to restrict discussions on the
constitutional law which is under consideration, with the
exception of cases when such a decision is adopted by a 3/5
majority vote of the Seimas members.
Article 223-1. Laws on constitutional amendments shall be
passed in accordance with the double voting procedure: the draft
shall be considered, and voting in the Seimas thereon shall be
held, twice, with an adjournment of at least 3 months between
voting.
A law on amendment of the Constitution shall be deemed to
have been passed by the Seimas provided that at least 2/3 of all
the Seimas members voted in favour thereof during each voting,
and that the same text of the amendment, with the exception of
editor's corrections approved by the Seimas by a 2/3 vote, was
put to the vote each time.
A constitutional amendment which has not been passed may be
submitted to the Seimas for repeat consideration no sooner than 1
year thereafter.
Article 223-2. Other constitutional laws shall be deemed to
have been passed if more than a half of the Seimas members vote
in favour thereof.
Amendments to said constitutional laws or laws which repeal
or amend the laws which have been in effect prior thereto must be
passed by a 3/5 majority vote of all the Seimas members by taking
a single vote thereon.
Chapter 26. Adoption of Resolutions
Article 224. A resolution shall be a non-standard act of the
Seimas which shall be adopted when it is required to confirm in
writing the opinion of the Seimas on any issue which is of
national importance. Other non-standard acts of the Seimas
(appeals, declarations, etc.) shall be adopted in the same manner
as resolutions.
The right of initiative to submit a resolution shall be
vested in the President of the Republic, members of the Seimas,
Committees, parliamentary groups, and the Government. Proposals
to consider a resolution may be submitted during the discussion
of the agenda of a week's or a day's sittings.
Article 225. The text of the draft of a resolution must be
presented to the Seimas members at least one day prior to the
consideration thereof.
During consideration, a representative of the initiators of
the draft of the resolution shall be granted the floor and shall
answer questions; thereafter, a discussion shall be held
according to the general procedure.
Article 226. After consideration the Seimas shall resolve:
1) to adopt the resolution without amendment. Said proposal
may not be adopted if any of the parliamentary groups objects
thereto;
2) to edit the draft of the resolution; or
3) to reject the draft of the resolution or to charge the
preparation of a new draft.
Article 227. Should it be decided to edit the draft of the
resolution, the Seimas shall assign the date and time of its
consideration and shall form a drafting commission. No more than
9 members of the Seimas may be on the commission. The drafting
commission must include at least one initiator of the draft of
the resolution. Other members of the Seimas shall submit their
written proposals to the drafting commission.
Article 228. After the drafting commission announces the
revised text, new proposals may be considered only on the
decision of the Seimas.
Should the drafting commission reject the proposals which
have been submitted in advance, the Seimas shall take a vote on
said proposals at the request of the submitters thereof. Upon
completion of the voting on alternative proposals, the entire
text of the resolution shall be voted on.
Chapter 27. Approval of State Budget
Article 229. Upon drawing up the draft State Budget for the
following year, the Government shall submit said draft to the
Seimas Chancellor by the 15th of October. Upon receipt of the
draft, the Chancellor shall forward copies thereof to the
Committees and parliamentary groups within 2 workdays.
The report of the Government on the draft Budget shall be
heard at the next sitting of the Seimas. Thereafter, at least 10
days shall be assigned for consideration of the draft Budget in
Committees and parliamentary groups. Sittings of the Seimas shall
not be held during the above-specified period.
Article 230. The Committees shall examine the chapters of
the draft State Budget in accordance with their competence, and
shall formulate their conclusions and amendments and submit them
by the 5th day of November to the Committee on Budget and
Finance.
Representatives of the Government and the Committee on
Budget and Finance shall be invited to the sittings of Committees
during which the draft State Budget is to be examined. The
Government must furnish the Committees with all the data whereon
the draft Budget is based.
Article 231. At all stages of consideration of the draft
State Budget, Committees, parliamentary groups, and individual
members of the Seimas may propose an increase in the expenditures
provided for in the draft only on condition that they specify the
sources of financing said expenditure.
It shall not be permitted to propose a decrease in the
expenditures included in the draft Budget pursuant to laws, other
standard acts adopted by the Seimas, and international
obligations of the Republic of Lithuania. Should the Seimas
desire to reduce said expenditure, it must first of all amend the
appropriate standard acts.
Article 232. Proposals to increase or reduce the revenue
provided for in the draft Budget must be submitted as drafts of
laws on the amendment or repeal of taxation laws or other
standard acts which regulate State revenue, or as new draft laws.
The Seimas shall consider the above drafts according to the
general procedure together with the draft State Budget.
Article 233. Upon receipt of the conclusions of other
Committees and of the opinions and proposed amendments of
parliamentary groups, the Committee on Budget and Finance shall,
together with the representatives of the Government,
parliamentary groups, and other Committees, consider the draft
State Budget and formulate conclusions thereon.
The Committee on Budget and Finance must either adopt the
amendments to the Budget Law proposed by another Committee if
said amendments are within the competence of the Committee, or
reject said amendments, presenting a justified response.
All Committees of the Seimas shall also be entitled to
submit proposals to amend those chapters of the Budget which are
not within their competence. In such an event, the Committee on
Budget and Finance shall not be obligated to notify the Committee
of the adopted decision.
Article 234. The draft State Budget must be considered at
the Seimas sitting no later than by the 15th of November. At the
sitting, a report of the Committee on Budget and Finance shall be
heard, and conclusions of other Committees (if said conclusions
were not reflected in the report) as well as opinions and
commentaries of parliamentary groups and individual Seimas
members shall be submitted.
Article 235. The second deliberation of the draft State
Budget shall be conducted within 10 days after the primary
deliberation of the draft; at the second deliberation the
Government shall present the draft revised in accordance with the
received proposals and commentaries. During the sitting, a
representative of the Government shall announce which proposals
and amendments submitted by Committees, parliamentary groups, and
individual members have been included in the draft Budget and
which have been rejected, shall give reasons for said rejections,
and shall answer questions of the Seimas members.
After the discussion, a vote shall be taken on assigning at
one of the next Seimas sittings the passage of a law which
approves the State Budget. Prior to the commencement of the
sitting, new proposals and amendments shall be submitted to the
representative of the Government according to the procedure
established in Article 208 of this Statute. Should there be a
great number of significant comments concerning the draft Budget,
said draft may be returned to the Government for revision. No
more than 10 days shall be allotted therefor; thereafter, the
procedure of second deliberation shall be resumed.
Article 236. Alternative proposals and amendments which are
objected to by the Government but which meet the conditions set
forth in Articles 231 and 232 of this Chapter may be adopted only
after more than half of all the Seimas members vote in favour
thereof.
Upon considering the proposals and amendments and adopting
decisions thereon, the Seimas must vote on the entire draft State
Budget.
Article 237. In the event that the Seimas rejects the draft
State Budget, one more deliberation shall be assigned to be held
no sooner than 5 days, and no later than 10 days, after, during
which a draft revised in accordance with the comments of the
Committees, parliamentary groups, and members of the Seimas shall
be presented. The deliberation shall be conducted according to
the procedure provided for in Article 235 of this Chapter.
Article 238. The Budget shall be approved pursuant to the
indices established in the Law on Budgeting of the Republic of
Lithuania. The appropriations according to the chapters of budget
expenditure shall be also be concurrently approved. The
appropriations shall be mandatory to all executors of the Budget.
Article 239. Should the Government resign by reason of non-
approval of the State Budget, the draft Budget submitted by the
new Government shall be considered and approved according to the
procedure provided for in Articles 229-237 of this Statute. The
time of consideration shall be fixed by a resolution of the
Seimas which shall be adopted no later than on the next day of
sittings after the new Government has been granted authorization
to act.
Article 239-1. In the event of failure to approve the State
Budget within the established time limits, the monthly budgetary
expenditure in the beginning of the budget year may not exceed
1/12 of the State Budget expenditure of the preceding year.
Article 240. The Seimas may revise the Budget during the
budget year. The Budget shall be revised according to the
procedure of budget-making and shall be adopted and approved. As
necessary, the Seimas may approve an additional budget.
In the event that funds which cannot be allocated from the
Government Reserve Fund or additional funds which are obtained
during the performance of the Budget are required, the Government
shall submit to the Seimas a draft law on supplementary
appropriations. The purpose and amount of the required funds as
well as the source of the financing thereof shall be specified in
the draft.
Adhering to the conditions stipulated in Articles 231 and
232 of this Chapter, Committees, parliamentary groups or
individual members of the Seimas may propose a draft law on the
revision of certain budget expenditure clauses.
In the above case, a law shall be passed by a majority vote
of the Seimas members participating in the sitting provided that
the Government has no objections thereto. Otherwise, the
affirmative vote of more than a half of all the Seimas members
shall be required for passing the law.
Article 241. Resolutions of the Seimas concerning the
ratification or denunciation of international treaties may be
adopted if more than half of all the Seimas members vote in
favour thereof.
Part 5 of the Statute of the Seimas shall take effect on 1
January 1994.
Speaker of the Seimas
of the Republic of Lithuania Ceslovas Jursenas