SEIMAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
Statute
5 October 1993 No.I-260
Vilnius
Part 1
Status of the Seimas Member
Chapter 1.
The Powers and Oath of the Seimas Member
Article 3. The main rights and duties of a member of the
Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania shall be defined by the
Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and by this Statute,
and other rights and duties of Seimas members shall also be
established by other laws of the Republic of Lithuania.
In carrying out their duties, Seimas members shall act in
observance with the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania,
the interests of the State, and their own consciences, and may
not be restricted by any mandates.
Article 3-1. The term of office of Seimas members shall
commence from the day that the newly-elected Seimas convenes for
the first sitting. The powers of the previously elected Seimas
members shall expire upon commencement of said sitting.
Elected Seimas members shall only acquire all of the rights
of a representative of the nation upon taking an oath in the
Seimas to be loyal to the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 3-2. The text of the oath of the Seimas member of
the Republic of Lithuania shall read as follows:
"I (full name)
swear to be faithful to the Republic of Lithuania;
swear to respect and observe its Constitution and laws, and
to protect the integrity of its territory,
swear to the best of my ability to strengthen the
independence of Lithuania, and to conscientiously serve my
Homeland, democracy, and the well-being of the people of
Lithuania.
So help me God!
The oath may be taken omitting the last sentence.
Article 3-3. The oath of the Seimas member shall be
administered by the Chairperson of the Constitutional Court of
the Republic of Lithuania, or, in the absence of the chairperson
or in the event that the chairperson is temporarily unable to
discharge his or her duties, by the acting judge of the
Constitutional Court.
Each Seimas member shall take the oath while standing in
front of the person who is administering the oath and reading the
oath, holding his or her hand on the Constitution of the Republic
of Lithuania.
Upon reading the entire text of the oath, each Seimas member
shall sign the nominal oath sheet.
Nominal oath sheets shall be handed over to the officer of
the Constitutional Court who administered the oath. Upon checking
the nominal oath sheets, said officer shall read the list of
those Seimas members who have acquired all of the rights of a
representative of the nation.
Article 3-4. Seimas members who do not take the oath in the
manner prescribed by law, or who take a conditional oath, shall
lose the mandate of the Seimas member. The Seimas shall adopt a
resolution thereon.
The text of the oath may not be amended or changed with the
exception of the omission of the last sentence. Seimas members
who do not comply with this provision, who refuse to sign the
nominal oath sheet, or who sign the sheet with a stipulation,
shall not be considered to have taken the oath. In such cases,
the Seimas member shall lose the mandate pursuant to Article 59
of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania.
Seimas members whose powers were terminated pursuant to the
Constitution and laws of the Republic of Lithuania and who have
again become Seimas members must take the oath again.
Article 3-5. The duties of Seimas members, with the
exception of their duties in the Seimas, shall be incompatible
with any other duties or jobs in State institutions and
organisations as well as in business, commercial and other
private institutions and enterprises. For the term of office,
Seimas members shall be exempt from the duty to perform national
defence service.
A Seimas member may be appointed only as Prime Minister or
Minister.
Article 3-6. It shall be prohibited to utilize the mandate
of a Seimas member for any other purpose, i.e. not in the
interests of the nation, State or constituents.
Activities of Seimas members which violate this provision
must be investigated by the Commission of Ethics and Procedures
or by a provisional commission of control established for this
purpose, which must also prepare conclusions for the Seimas.
Article 3-7. Each Seimas member shall have a certificate and
a Seimas member badge which shall be presented thereto after the
oath. Seimas members may use their Seimas member certificates and
badges during the period of their term of office.
Samples of the Seimas member certificate and badge shall be
approved by the Seimas Board.
Article 3-8. The powers of a Seimas member shall be
terminated:
1) upon the expiration of the term of his or her powers, or
when the Seimas elected in pre-term elections convenes for its
first sitting;
2) upon his or her death;
3) upon his or her resignation;
4) if he or she is declared legally incapable by the court;
5) if the Seimas revokes his or her mandate in accordance
with impeachment proceedings;
6) if the election is recognised as invalid, or if the law
on election is grossly violated;
7) if he or she takes a job, or does not resign from a job
which is incompatible with the duties of a Seimas member within 3
months;
8) if he or she is deprived of citizenship of the Republic
of Lithuania.
Chapter 1a. The Activities of Seimas Members
Article 4. Members of the Seimas of the Republic of
Lithuania shall have the right to:
1) vote on all issues considered at the sittings of the
Seimas or the committee of which they are members;
2) elect and be elected to any institution of the Seimas
according to the procedure established by this Statute;
3) participate in discussions concerning all issues under
consideration, and express their opinion, vocally or in writing;
4) participate in the sittings of all committees and
commissions of the Seimas as well as in the sittings of the
Government without the right to vote;
5) submit the texts of their speeches to the chair of the
sitting for inclusion into the shorthand record of the sitting;
6) propose the consideration of an issues;
7) prepare and submit for consideration adequately prepared
drafts of laws and other legal acts as well as to propose motions
relative to the laws which are to be debated in the Seimas;
8) submit inquiries to the members of the Government and the
heads of other state institutions, and to submit questions to
them and to the Seimas officers;
9) pose, during sittings of the Seimas, questions to
reporters and supplementary reporters;
10) make statements and remarks, speak on voting motives,
propose motions relative to the conduct of the sitting, the
procedure, prejudicial questions, termination of discussions, and
postponement or rejection of questions;
11) obtain, directly or through an assistant, copies of laws
and bills, as well as copies of laws and other documents passed
by the Seimas, the Seimas Speaker, the Board, or the meeting of
Spokesmen.
12) obtain, directly or through an assistant, copies of
resolutions, directives, decrees and other legal documents passed
by local governments, the Government, or the President of the
Republic.
The procedure for the implementation of these and other
rights shall be established by other Articles of this Statute.
Article 5. Seimas members must participate in Seimas
sittings during votings which were planned in advance. A voting
which was announced at least two days prior to the day of the
voting shall be considered to have been planned in advance.
Each member of the Seimas, with the exception of the members
of the Seimas Board and the Government, must be a member of a
committee and must participate in the work thereof, and must also
be an alternate member of another committee. The Speaker of the
Seimas may not be a member or alternate member of a committee. A
single Seimas member may be a member of only one committee.
Article 6. While participating in sittings of the Seimas and
the committees, Seimas members must adhere to this Statute.
If a Seimas member cannot attend a sitting of the Seimas
during which a voting has been planned for in advance, he or she
must inform the secretariat of the sittings thereof, stating the
reason for absence.
If a Seimas member cannot attend a sitting of the committee
or commission, he or she must inform the chairperson of the
committee or commission, and in the chairperson's absence -- the
deputy chairperson.
During a session Seimas members must notify the chairperson
(in the absence of the chairperson -- the deputy chairperson) of
the committee of which they are members of all of their trips
beyond the boundaries of the Republic of Lithuania, and during
the sittings of the Seimas -- of their trips within the territory
of the Republic of Lithuania.
Upon returning from a business trip, a Seimas member must
present a report to the Seimas Board or the committee on which he
or she is a member concerning the fulfillment of assignments.
Article 7. Seimas member must regularly hold meetings with
their constituents. They shall have the right to invite officials
of state institutions and local government bodies and deputies to
participate in the meetings.
Seimas members elected in single-candidate electoral
districts must systematically, normally every Friday, meet with
the constituents in their respective electoral district.
A Seimas member shall consider proposals, appeals and
complaints and, as necessary, shall refer them to appropriate
state institutions for consideration.
Article 8-1. Officials to whom a Seimas member's appeal was
addressed including proposals, appeals and complaints of citizens
must consider said appeals within 20 days of the receipt thereof.
Seimas members shall have the right to attend sittings of
state and government institutions when issues submitted by them
or any other issues that are of interest to them, with the
exception of those which are considered to be top secret, are
being considered. The procedure for participating in the decision
of top secret issues shall be established by laws.
Chapter 1b. Maintenance and Guarantees of the
Activities of Seimas Members
Article 8-2. Local governments and their executive bodies,
as well as heads of state enterprises, institutions and
organisations, must provide Seimas members with conditions
enabling them to meet with constituents, must notify them of the
time and place of such meetings, and must provide them with other
necessary assistance and information.
Respective local governments must allot and maintain
permanent premises for Seimas members to receive constituents.
Article 8-3. Seimas members shall have the right to demand
to be received without delay at state enterprises, institutions
and organisations concerning issues which pertain to their
activities, as well as the right to be provided with necessary
information.
Seimas members shall have the right to unrestricted access
of all enterprises, institutions and organisations. The
visitation procedure for enterprises, institutions and
organisations whose activities are associated with state secrets
shall be established by laws.
Article 8-4. Seimas members shall have the right to make use
of the state radio and television free of charge on issues which
pertain to their activities.
Article 8-5. Compensation for the work of Seimas members, as
well as expenses related with their parliamentary activities,
shall be covered by the State Budget.
The salary of Seimas members and the procedure for payment
thereof shall be established by the Seimas. Resolutions of the
Seimas concerning changes in the salaries of Seimas members shall
become effective only from the day that the newly-elected Seimas
convenes for the first sitting.
Seimas members who at the same time hold office at the
Seimas shall be paid supplemental salaries, the amount of which
shall be established by the Seimas, for their work.
Seimas members may not receive any other salary, with the
exception of payment for creative activities.
Payments made to Seimas members for creative activities
shall include royalties for works of art and literature, as well
as hourly salaries for educational, scientific and consultative
work performed by Seimas members who have scientific degrees.
Article 8-6. Seimas members shall be entitled to have
personal secretary-assistants or joint secretary-assistants with
other members of their respective parliamentary groups, whose
salaries shall be paid from the State Budget; they are also
entitled to have assistants who work on a voluntary basis.
Seimas members shall be allocated additional funds for the
reimbursement of office, postal, telephone, telegraph,
transportation, and other expenses incurred from parliamentary
activities -- the amount and the procedure for payment thereof
shall be established by the Seimas Board.
Seimas members who do not have a place of residence in
Vilnius or who have the right to state support for the
acquisition of a place of residence in Vilnius, shall be
provided, free of charge and together with their families, with a
place of residence in Vilnius for the term of office. At the same
time said members shall retain the right to utilize rented
quarters in their permanent place of residence.
Seimas members who have the right to state support for the
acquisition of a place of residence shall retain this right and
may remain on the list to acquire state support.
Seimas members shall have the right to use all forms of
state transportation within the territory of the Republic of
Lithuania, with the exception of taxis, free of charge; they
shall also have the right to acquire hotel rooms out of turn.
Seimas members shall use diplomatic passports on trips
abroad.
Article 8-7. Upon expiration of the term of office and in
the cases specified in paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 38 of this
Statute, Seimas members must be provided with the job or office
which they held in state institutions, enterprises and
organisations prior to the elections, except to be elected to
governmental institutions and be a member of the Government. If
such is not possible due to the abolition of former office or the
liquidation of the enterprise, institution, or organisation, the
Seimas member shall be provided with another equivalent job or
office in the same institution, enterprise, or organisation, or,
if the Seimas members agrees, in another enterprise, institution,
or organisation.
The period of parliamentary activity of Seimas members shall
be included in the total length of service.
The election of Seimas members shall not interrupt
membership in creative unions or in unions of free professions.
Article 8-8. Upon establishing that civil rights and laws
have been violated, a Seimas member shall have the right to
directly demand that the violation be corrected, or may address
the appropriate institutions and officers.
Violations shall be indicated in the minutes taken together
with the representatives of law enforcement or control body.
If the legitimate demands of a Seimas member are not carried
out, a disciplinary punishment may, according to the procedure
established by law, be imposed on the officer who is responsible;
said officer may also be dismissed from his or her office. In
cases established by laws, said officer shall incur criminal
responsibility.
Article 8-9. Persons and officers who prevent a Seimas
member from carrying out his or her powers, or who encroach upon
the life health, honor, or dignity of a Seimas member as a
representative of the people, shall be liable according to laws.
Chapter 1d. Discipline and Immunity of Seimas Members
Article 140. During sittings of the Seimas, the Commission
of Ethics and Procedures shall register, in advance, the Seimas
members who are not participating during planned voting or voting
taking place at a planned time; said Commission shall regularly
announce this data in the press. The salaries of such Seimas
members may be decreased for a certain period of time according
to the procedure established by the Seimas.
Article 141. If during a sitting a Seimas member begins to
argue with Seimas members or other participants in the sitting or
creates a disturbance in the hall, he or she may be called to
order by the officer presiding over the sitting.
If said persons does not heed the warning of the officer
presiding over the sitting, the warning may be recorded in the
minutes of the sitting. Warnings recorded in the minutes of the
sitting may be immediately administered to the Seimas member as a
public threat to colleagues, as assault of a Seimas member or a
group thereof, or as dishonesty in voting or violation of the
principle of personal voting.
Such warnings shall be administered by the officer presiding
over the Seimas sitting or on the motion of the Commission of
Ethics and Procedures without debate and by simple majority vote
of the Seimas members participating in the sitting. A Seimas
member to whom administration of such warning is proposed, shall
have the right to explain his or her actions to the Seimas for a
maximum of 3 minutes prior to the voting.
Article 143. The Seimas may temporarily dismiss a Seimas
member from the chamber if he or she:
1) continues, after being called to order, to interrupt the
work of the Seimas;
2) during a sitting, calls for the use coercion or uses it
personally;
3) publicly assaults or threatens the President of the
Republic, the Seimas, the Speaker of the Seimas, Seimas members,
the Government, or the Prime Minister during a sitting.
Article 144. Decisions concerning the expulsion of a Seimas
member from the chamber shall be adopted without debate on the
proposal of the officer presiding over the sitting or of the
Commission of Ethics and Procedures.
The term of temporary expulsion from the chamber shall be
established by the Seimas in each case, but may not be more than
one day of a sitting. If the term is not indicated, it shall be
assumed that the Seimas member is expelled until the end of the
sitting.
During the period of expulsion from the chamber, the
expelled Seimas member may not participate in voting.
Article 145. If a Seimas member upon who has been dismissed
from the chamber refuses to heed the order, the sitting shall be
temporarily interrupted and security officers shall escort said
Seimas member to the chamber door. In such a case, the term of
expulsion from the chamber may be extended for the period of five
sittings.
Article 146. The person of a Seimas member shall be
inviolable.
A Seimas member may not be found criminally responsible, may
not be arrested, and may not be subjected to any other
restrictions of personal freedom without the consent of the
Seimas, except in cases when he or she is caught in the act of
committing a crime (in flagranti). In such cases the Prosecutor
General must immediately notify the Seimas thereof.
A Seimas member may not be persecuted for his or her voting
or speeches in the Seimas. However, legal actions may be
instituted against Seimas members according to the general
procedure if they are guilty of personal insult or slander.
Article 146-1. A Seimas member who refuses to give evidence
in a criminal case, shall, on the decision of the Seimas, be
brought to court to give evidence.
Article 147. For the consideration of motions of the
Prosecutor General concerning the deprivation of the
inviolability of the person of a Seimas member, an investigatory
commission shall be formed according to the procedure provided
for in Article 63 of this Statute.
When investigating issues concerning the deprivation of the
inviolability of the person of a Seimas member, the commission
must hear said Seimas member or other Seimas member authorised
thereby and a representative from the Prosecutor's Office.
Article 148. After the investigatory commission has prepared
and announced its certificate (reference) and the draft
resolution, issues concerning the deprivation of the
inviolability of the person of a Seimas member shall be included
on the agenda of the next Seimas sitting.
Consideration of this issue, as well as of the submitted
resolution, shall be limited only to the interpretation,
assessment or definition of facts provided for in the motion.
Discussions concerning draft resolutions shall be attended
by the reporter of the commission, the concerned Seimas member or
another Seimas member representing him, and no more than two
Seimas members who speak out "in favour" and two members who
speak out "against" the draft resolution. If the draft resolution
provides for the satisfaction of the motion of the Prosecutor
General, it may be adopted if more than half of the Seimas
members vote in favour of the draft.
Upon the receipt of the consent of the Seimas to institute
criminal proceedings against a Seimas member, said Seimas member
may not be arrested within the house of the Seimas.
Ceslovas Jursenas
Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania