SEIMAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
STATUTE
14 October 1993 No. I-276
PART 7
SUPERVISORY ACTIVITIES OF THE SEIMAS
Chapter 28. Accountability of the Government and other State
Officers to the Seimas
Article 242. Within 2 workdays after every sitting of the
Government of the Republic of Lithuania, the number of copies of
the decrees and directives adopted by the Government which has
been fixed by the Seimas Chancellor must be delivered to him. The
Chancellor shall distribute said copies among all the Committees
and parliamentary groups.
Article 243. At the request of the Seimas, the Government or
individual ministers must account to the Seimas for their
respective activities. The above shall also apply to heads of
other State institutions who are either appointed by the Seimas
or for whose appointment the approval of the Seimas is required,
with the exception of courts.
The invited persons shall answer the questions posed by the
Seimas members, and shall furnish other information concerning
their own activities and the activities of the institutions
subordinate to them.
When drawing up the week's work programme of the Seimas,
it shall be established who of the State institution heads shall
that week answer the question and interpellations of the Seimas
members.
Article 244. As a rule, during a session of the Seimas,
members of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania shall for
the period of 1 hour answer questions of the Seimas members
submitted through the Secretariat of the sittings no later than 2
workdays prior to the sitting. The list of questions which are
planned to be answered and the sequence of their presentation
shall be established by the Seimas Speaker and shall be
distributed among the Seimas members before the sitting.
Time permitting, members of the Seimas may ask the members
of the Government participating in the sitting other questions
either orally or submit said questions in writing.
Article 246. During a session of the Seimas, at least once a
month, the State Controller and other heads of State institutions
who are either appointed by the Seimas or whose appointment
requires the approval of the Seimas, with the exception of
courts, must answer the questions submitted by the Seimas members
in advance. The procedure for submitting and registering the
questions shall be as specified in Article 244.
Time permitting, the Seimas members may ask the above
officers other questions either orally or in writing.
Article 247. Criminal action may not be taken against the
Prime Minister or Ministers or judges, and said officials may
not be arrested, or their liberty may not be in any other way
restricted without the prior consent of the Seimas or, in the
period between the sessions of the Seimas, without the prior
consent of the President of the Republic.
Should a motion be submitted by the Procurator General of
the Republic of Lithuania to institute criminal proceedings
against the Prime Minister, an individual Minister or a judge, a
commission of inquiry shall be formed and other acts shall be
performed pursuant to Articles 147 and 148 of this Statute.
Chapter 29. Interpellations
Article 248. A member of the Seimas or a group of members
shall address a written interpellation to the member of the
Government or any other head of State institution who is
appointed by the Seimas or whose appointment requires the
approval of the Seimas, with the exception of courts, requesting
that the officer present information concerning his activities
and adopted decisions.
Only a question of national or public significance, in
respect whereof a member of the Seimas or a group of Seimas
members have applied to State institutions but which question, in
their opinion, has not been given due consideration or has been
settled negatively, shall be considered as an interpellation. A
question, the national or public significance whereof is
recognised by the Seimas or the Seimas Board or a Committee or a
parliamentary group, may also be considered as an interpellation.
Article 249. The person who submits an interpellation must
name the officer whom he is addressing and specify whether he
expects an oral or a written reply. In the event that the form
of reply is not specified, it shall be given in writing, shall be
distributed to the Committees and parliamentary groups, and shall
not be considered in the sitting of the Seimas.
The Secretariat of the sittings shall register the
interpellations and hand them over to the Chancellor who shall
notify the Seimas thereof and shall deliver the interpellation to
the appropriate officer.
The person who submits an interpellation shall have the
right to withdraw it at any time.
Article 250. The period whithin which a reply to a written
interpellation must be given may not be longer than 2 weeks and,
during its consideration in the Seimas sitting during a session,
no longer than 3 weeks from the day of the lodging of the
interpellation.
In the event that the officer to whom the interpellation is
addressed cannot reply within the established period, he must
give a written substantiation thereof and propose his own date,
but no later than by the end of the session. However, should the
interpellators object to the substantiation, the consideration of
the interpellation must be held at the fixed date.
Article 251. During sessions, interpellations shall be
considered at least twice a month at the sittings of the Seimas.
Should at least 1/5 of the Seimas members request consideration
of the interpellation, the interpellation shall be considered in
the mandatory manner.
The list of interpellations shall be presented to the Seimas
members no later than one day before the consideration thereof.
The interpellators (at least one repsesentative of them)
must participate in the consideration of the interpellation. If
the interpellator is absent from the sitting, the consideration
of the interpellation shall be postponed or cancelled, should the
interpellator be absent without prior notice.
The interpellator may not preside over the sitting in which
his interpellation is considered.
Article 252. An interpellation shall be considered at the
sitting of the Seimas according to the following procedure:
1) a speech delivered by the interpellator (for up to 5
minutes);
2) a reply given by the officer to whom the interpellation
is addressed (for up to 15 minutes); and
3) a discussion, should it be requested by any Committee or
parliamentary group. During the discussion, the floor shall, as a
rule, be granted in turn to those members of the Seimas who
approve of the reply to the interpellation and to those who
object thereto. No more than 4 members of the Seimas shall be
granted the floor, unless the Seimas decides to prolong the
discussion.
In the event that the interpellators are dissatisfied with
the reply to the interpellation, they may submit a draft
resolution for consideration in the Seimas, in which resolution
the Seimas shall evaluate the reply.
Chapter 30. Removal from Office of the Seimas officers and Heads
of other State Institutions
Article 253. A proposal to remove from office a Seimas
officer or a head of a State institution who is appointed by the
Seimas, with the exception of cases of institution of impeachment
proceedings provided for in the Constitution, must be considered
when it is presented by a justified letter by the Seimas Board, a
Committee, a parliamentary group or at least 1/5 of the Seimas
members. A Committee may not propose to remove from office the
Chairman of another Committee.
The procedure for removing from office the State Controller,
the Chairman of the Board of the Lithuanian Bank shall be
established in the laws regulating the activities of these State
institutions.
Article 254. A petition concerning the removal from office
of an officer shall be filed with the Seimas Chairman, whereas
the petition to remove from office the Seimas Chairman shall be
lodged with the Seimas Chancellor. Such petition must be announce
in the next sitting of the Seimas.
The same members of the Seimas may not repeatedly request
during one session to remove from office the same officer.
Article 255. An officer of the Seimas, whose removal from
office is under discussion, may not preside over the sitting.
During the discussion concerning the removal from office of
an officer of the Seimas or head of a State institution, the
first person to be granted the floor shall be the representative
of the initiators of removal from office (for up to 10 minutes),
thereafter, the floor shall be granted to the officer whose
removal from office is under consideration (for up to 30
minutes). The subsequent discussion shall be continued in the
general manner.
Article 256. The decision concerning the removal from office
of the Seimas officers or heads of State institutions shall be
adopted by secret ballot by the majority vote of more than a half
of all Seimas members.
Chapter 31. Interpellations and Non-Confidence in the
Government
Article 257. During a session, a group of no less than 1/5
of the Seimas members may submit an interpellation to the Prime
Minister or an idividual minister requesting that said officers
elaborate on the motives of the decisions they have adopted and
on the directions of their further activity from the point of
view of certain aspects of Government policy.
No signature may be cancelled after the interpellation has
been filed with the Seimas Chancellor who shall immediately
register the interpellation and refer it to the appropriate
member of the Government.
The same group of the Seimas members may not repeatedly
interpellate the same member of the Government during one
session.
Article 258. Upon receipt of interpellation, a member of the
Government mutt no later than within 2 weeks deliver a written
reply to the Seimas Speaker; the Seimas members shall be
familiarised with said reply.
During a session, upon receiving a reply to an
interpellation, the Seimas must consider it at its sitting no
later than within 5 workdays.
Article 259. An interpellation shall be considered at the
sitting of the Seimas according to the following procedure:
1) a speech by the representative of the persons who
submitted the interpellation (for up to 10 minutes);
2) a reply by the officer who received the interpellation
(for up to 30 minutes);
3) replies to the questions posed by the Seimas members to
the officer who received the interpellation;
4) a discussion during which, as a rule, the floor shall be
granted in turn both to those members of the Seimas who approve
and those who object to the reply to the interpellation;
5) the final speech of the officer who has received the
interpellation; and
6) the forming of the drafting commission according to the
requirements set forth in Article 63 of this Statute for drawing
up the draft resolution concerning the interpellation. The
members who submitted the interpellation must constitute at least
1/3 of the commission members.
Article 260. A draft resolution concerning the
interpellation must be presented to the Seimas for consideration
no later than on the next day of sittings. The Seimas' approval
or disapproval of the reply of the Prime Minister or individual
minister may be stated in the draft of the resolution concerning
the interpellation.
In the event that non-confidence in the Prime Minister or an
individual minister is declared in the draft resolution, said
draft may be adopted by secret ballot by a majority vote of more
than a half of all the Seimas members. Should such resolution be
adopted, the Government in corpore or the individual minister in
whom non-confidence has been declared must resign.
Article 2601. During a session of the Seimas, a group of no
less than 1/5 of the Seimas members may submit a draft of a
justified resolution wherein non-confidence in the Government is
declared. Such draft resolution shall be considered in the same
manner as an interepellation to the Prime Minister.
Chapter 32. Ad Hoc Commissions of Control or Inquiry
Article 261. The ad hoc commissions of control or inquiry
shall be formed for exercising ocontrol over the implementation
of the decisions of the Seimas, for collecting and presenting to
the Seimas information and conclusions required for dealing with
a pending problem and adopting a decision thereon, as well as in
other cases provided for in this Statute.
Article 262. The right of initiative to form ad hoc
commissions of control or inquiry shall be vested in the Seimas
Board, Committees, and parliamentary groups, unless in special
cases this Statute provides otherwise. The initiators must
present to the Seimas a draft resolution concerning the forming
of an ad hoc commission of control or inquiry, in which
resolution the objective of forming the commission as well as its
tasks and powers shall be specified.
The Seimas Speaker must notify the Prosecutor-General and,
as necessary, the Government of the inititative to form an ad hoc
commission of control or inquiry. If the Prosecutor-General
notifies in writing that criminal proceedings have been
instituted in connection with the facts which determined the
initiative of forming the commission, such commission shall not
be formed; in the event that it has already been formed, its
activities must be terminated by a decision of the Seimas.
Article 263. The ad hoc commissions of control or inquiry
shall be formed according to the procedure set forth in Article
63 of this Statute of no less than 4 members and the chairman.
The chairman of the commission shall be appointed by the Seimas.
For its work the commission may enlist an appropriate number
of specialists.
The period of work of the ad hoc commissions of control or
inquiry shall be up to 6 months.
Article 264. The sittings of the ad hoc commissions of
control or inquiry shall be closed to all persons, with the
exception of those persons are invited and whose list shall be
drawn up according to the requests of the commission members. The
information collected by the commission during its work period
shall not be made public.
The ad hoc commissions of control or inquiry shall have the
right to request the enterprises, institutions and organisations
present the required information concerning their respective
activities, the officers of the law enforcement bodies and the
prosecutor's office present documents and give evidence, and that
any citizen of the Republic of Lithuania give evidence.
Article 265. Upon completing the work it was charged with,
upon having collected and generalised the data, the ad hoc
commission of control or inquiry shall present to the Seimas the
obtained conclusions and the prepared draft resolution.
A resolution shall be adopted at the sitting of the Seimas
concerning the issue which has been considered by the ad hoc
commission of control or inquiry. Non-confidence in the
Government, a minister or any other head of State institution
appointed by the Seimas, with the exception of judges of the
Constitutional Court, Supreme Court and other courts, may be
declared or motions concerning the proposed impeachment
proceedings may be presented in the resolution. In the case of
non-confidence, the requirements set forth in Articles 256 or 260
shall apply.
Chapter 33. Control of State Budget Performance
Article 266. The general permanent control of State Budget
performance shall be exercised by the Committee on Budget and
Finance. Other Committees of the Seimas may control the
performance of the Budget chapters which are within their
competence.
The State Budget performance shall be considered at the
sitting of the Seimas at least once in 6 months. In such event,
the Government and the State Controller shall present the State
Budget statement for consideration. The Budget performance shall
be considered at the sittings of Committees at least three times
during the performance period.
Article 267. The Government shall prepare and by the 31st of
March present to the Seimas Speaker the State Budget statement
for the previous year. Also, the State Controller must by the
above date present to the Seimas Chancellor a report on the State
Budget performance.
The Seimas Chancellor shall within 2 workdays present copies
of the above statement and of the State Controller's statement to
the Committee on Budget and Finance, other Committees, and
parliamentary groups.
The report of the Government on the State Budget performance
statement shall be heard at the next sitting. Within 3 weeks from
the sitting the Committees shall consider the State Budget
performance statement and prepare conclusions.
Article 268. The State Budget performance statement must be
considered at the sitting of the Seimas no later than by the 1st
of May.
A report of the Committee on Budget and Finance, conclusions
of other Committees shall be heard at the sitting. Upon the
completion of discussions, a resolution of the Seimas concerning
the performance of the State Budget shall be adopted.
Article 269. In the event that the statement is not
approved, the Seimas shall decide the issue concerning the
restoration of legality of revenues or expenditures. An
appropriate resolution shall be prepared for the purpose, and a
vote on the non-confidence in the Government or its individual
members may be taken according to the procedure established in
Article 260 of this Statute.
Speaker of the Seimas Ceslovas Jursenas
Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania