SEIMAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
STATUTE
24 June 1993 No. I-191
Vilnius
PART 4
SESSIONS OF THE SEIMAS
Chapter 10. The First Session of the Seimas
Article 66. The Seimas shall be deemed elected after the
Central Electoral Commission confirms that at least 3/5 of Seimas
members have been elected. The opening sitting of the newly-
elected Seimas must be held no later than 15 days after the
election of the Seimas and shall be convened by the President of
the Republic. If the opening sitting of the Seimas is not
convened by the President of the Republic, the Seimas members
shall themselves convene on the first working day after the
expiration of the 15-day period.
The opening sitting of the newly-elected Seimas shall open
at 12 o'clock noon in the building of the Seimas.
Article 67. The opening sitting of the Seimas shall be
commenced by the eldest member of the Seimas. In the event that
he or she is unable or refuses to open the sitting, it shall be
opened by the next eldest member of the Seimas. He or she shall
preside over the meeting until the Speaker is elected.
Other members of the Seimas Board shall thereafter be
elected.
Article 68. Upon the commencement of the first session, time
shall be assigned for the formation and registration of
parliamentary groups. Thereafter, the Seimas, in the following
order, shall:
1) approve or reject the candidature for Prime Minister
nominated by the President of the Republic;
2) form the Committees of the Seimas and approve their
respective Chairpersons;
3) consider the Programme of the Government submitted by the
Prime Minister and decide whether or not to approve it; and
4) draw up a work programme for the session in accordance
with the procedure established by the Statute of the Seimas.
Chapter 11. General Issues of Session Organisation
Article 69. The Seimas shall meet annually in two regular
sessions (spring and autumn). The spring session shall open on
March 10 and shall close on June 30. The autumn session shall
open on September 10 and close on December 23. The Seimas may
resolve to prolong a session. If the day of the opening of a
session is a non-working day, the session shall open on the first
working day following the scheduled commencement. The members of
the Seimas shall convene into ordinary sessions according to the
law and without a separate invitation.
Article 70. Extraordinary sessions shall be convened by the
Speaker of the Seimas on the written proposal of at least 1/3 of
all members of the Seimas, or, in cases specified in the
Constitution, by the President of the Republic. The Seimas Board
must notify all of the Seimas members of the extraordinary
session at least 2 days before the opening of the session. Only
issues submitted by the Seimas members on whose initiative the
extraordinary session was convened shall be considered at the
session. The duration of extraordinary sessions may not exceed 15
days. The work programme of extraordinary sessions shall be
approved by the Seimas.
Article 72. Sessions of the Seimas of the Republic of
Lithuania shall be held in the Seimas building in Vilnius. In the
event that the Seimas cannot convene in the building of the
Seimas, the Seimas Board may temporarily assign another place for
sittings to be held. All members of the Seimas must be notified
of such a decision. Having convened in a place designated by the
Seimas Board for a sitting, the Seimas shall hear the information
of the Seimas Board concerning the reasons which compelled them
to change the place of the sitting.
In sittings, sessions shall open and close with the State
anthem.
Article 73. The Secretariat of Seimas sittings shall provide
technical services during sittings and shall fulfil the related
assignments of the Seimas Speaker, his or her deputies and the
Chancellor. The Secretariat shall be formed of Seimas staff
members.
The Secretariat of Seimas sittings shall:
1) attend to adequate technical preparation of the sittings
and provide assistance to Seimas members during sittings;
2) see that material required for a sitting be presented to
Seimas members and the officer presiding over the sitting in
adequate time;
3) register all of the Seimas members participating in a
sitting, receive applications of Seimas members concerning their
inability to take part in a sitting, and inform the presiding
officer and the Seimas Speaker thereof;
4) accept written requests of Seimas members asking to be
given the floor and deliver said requests to the officer
presiding over the sitting;
5) accept and register questions and inquiries of Seimas
members, hand them over, as required, either to the Seimas
Speaker or the Chancellor, and assist in supervising the manner
said questions and inquiries are dealt with;
6) accept from Seimas members other written statements,
proposals, protests or requests and deliver them to the
addressees;
7) see that translations of the work of the sitting be
provided;
8) provide divisions of the Seimas apparatus with
information concerning the sitting;
9) register drafts of laws which are submitted; and
10) carry out other assignments of the Seimas Speaker, the
presiding officer, and the Chancellor.
Chapter 11a. Session Work Programmes and Sitting Agendas
Article 75. The preparation of sessions, with the exception
of the first session, shall be organised by the Seimas Speaker.
Together with the Seimas Chancellor, the Speaker shall prepare
drafts of the work programme of the session and of the agenda of
sittings held during the first week. Seimas members may obtain
said drafts at the Secretariat of sittings no later than 2
working days before the opening of the session. The Seimas
Committees responsible for the issues included in the programme
and the date on which an issue is planned to be presented at a
Seimas sitting must be specified in the draft work programme of
the session. The draft work programme shall be delivered to the
Government and the President of the Republic.
The draft of the session work programme shall be considered
by the Assembly of Spokesmen upon receiving the written proposals
of the Government and the President of the Republic. The Assembly
may amend and supplement the draft in the manner established in
Par. 4 of Article 24 of this Statute. The draft, along with the
amendments and supplements and the advisory findings made by the
Assembly of Spokesmen, shall be submitted to the Seimas for
debate.
At the first session after the elections, the Seimas shall,
as a rule, consider and approve the work programme at the time
specified in Article 68 of this Statute. Other sessions shall
open with the discussion and approval of the work programme. The
Seimas may later revise the work programme in accordance with the
procedure established in this Statute.
Individual items of the work programme shall be discussed
and put to the vote at the Seimas according to the same procedure
as the articles of laws during their passing. In this case, one
Seimas member may be given the floor to speak "for" and one -- to
speak "against" regarding the motives of voting.
Article 76. In accordance with the approved work programme
of the session, the Seimas Speaker, together with the Chancellor,
shall prepare a detailed draft agenda of the week's sittings and
submit it to the Assembly of Spokesmen for discussion. Proposals
shall be submitted by members of the Board, members of the
Assembly of Spokesmen, Committees, other members of the Seimas,
and the Government. The time of the sittings, the issues under
discussion, the draft registration number, the stage of debate,
and the speakers and extra speakers must be specified in the
agenda. The Seimas must also be informed of proposals which were
not accepted. If the time limit proves insufficient for analysing
any of the issues during a week's sittings, said issues shall be
included in the agenda of the first sitting of the next week.
With the exception of cases specified in this Statute, only
issues which are on the session work programme and with regard to
which, in accordance with the requirements set forth in Chapter
21 of this Statute, drafts of laws, resolutions or other acts
have been adequately drawn up shall be included in the week's
agenda.
The Assembly of Spokesmen shall decide at its sitting
whether or not to approve each item of the presented agenda in
accordance with the procedure established in Par. 4 of Article 24
of this Statute. In the event that any of the items are adopted
only by majority vote, they shall be presented to the Seimas as
recommendations.
If a decision is passed to work one day a week, the Assembly
of Spokesmen may simultaneously present the agenda of the next
day of sittings. In such a case, requirements applicable to the
agenda's preparation, adoption and amendment shall be the same as
those which apply to the preparation, adoption and amendment of
an agenda of a week's sittings.
Article 77. Draft agenda of a week's sittings approved at
the Assembly of Spokesmen shall be put to the vote at the Seimas
without preliminary discussion thereon.
The items of the agenda presented as recommendations by the
Assembly of Spokesmen as well as the entire draft agenda,
provided that it was not approved by vote at the Seimas, may be
discussed at the sitting of the Seimas. In such a case, proposals
may be submitted by the Seimas Board members, Committees,
parliamentary groups, and the Government. Before voting, one
Seimas member may speak "for" and one -- "against" each item.
If, for some reason, the Assembly of Spokesmen could not
approve the draft agenda of a week's sittings, the Seimas Speaker
may submit it to a sitting of the Seimas. In such an event, the
procedure established in Par. 2 hereof shall be applied.
Article 77-1. At the request of a group of at least 1/3 of
the Seimas members, inclusion of an issue in the session work
programme or in the agenda of the week or the next day shall be
mandatory, provided that the issue has been prepared and adequate
provisions for its discussion have been made in accordance with
the procedure established in this Statute. No more than 1.5 hours
shall be assigned for debating such issues unless the Seimas
decides to prolong the discussion period.
Article 78. In conjunction with the Seimas Chancellor, the
Seimas Speaker shall prepare, on the basis of the approved agenda
of the week's sittings, a detailed draft agenda of every day of
the sitting in which the speaker and the time of debate or voting
on every issue must be provided separately.
The above draft agenda shall be considered and adopted at
the Seimas on the preceding day of the sittings. In the event
that the draft agenda of a day's sitting is approved at the
Assembly of Spokesmen, the agenda shall be considered in
accordance with the procedure established in Article 77. In the
contrary case, members of the Seimas Board, Committees,
parliamentary groups and the Government may present additional
proposals, but only on the condition that they adhere to the
approved agenda of the week's sittings. Before voting on the
proposal, one Seimas member may speak "for" and one -- "against"
the proposal.
Article 79. The Seimas Board, the Assembly of Spokesmen and
the Government shall have the right to propose the inclusion of
additional issues in the adopted agenda of a week's or a day's
sittings. Such a proposal may be adopted provided it is voted for
by the majority of the Seimas members present at the sitting but
by no less than 1/3 of all the Seimas members. In the event that
such a proposal is not approved, it may only be presented again
on the next day.
Article 80. At the request of the President of the Republic,
the issues and reports presented by him shall be included in the
agenda of a sitting in the mandatory manner (without voting).
The Government of the Republic of Lithuania shall have the
right to request that the Government's report on an urgent issue
be included in the agenda of the Seimas sittings of the week. On
the decision of the Seimas, a discussion may follow such a
report.
Chapter 12. Sittings of a Session
Article 80-1. Sittings of the Seimas and its Committees
shall be held in the Lithuanian language. Guests, experts or
witnesses who do not know the language shall have the right to
speak in another language, provided that they notify the
Secretariat of the Seimas sittings thereof at least 6 hours
before the sitting; the Secretariat must see to it that a
translation is provided.
Article 80-2. As a rule, four sittings a week -- two on
Tuesday and two on Thursday -- shall be held during sessions of
the Seimas, and every 3 weeks plenary sittings of the Seimas
shall be adjourned for a week.
On Thursdays, the afternoon sitting shall be allotted to the
Government, inquiries, and replies to questions presented by the
Seimas members to the Seimas officers and heads of State
institutions appointed by the Seimas, with the exception of the
Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court. On other days of the
week and during the week when no plenary sittings are held,
sittings of the Seimas Board, the Assembly of Spokesmen,
parliamentary groups, Committees and commissions as well as
meetings of members of the Seimas with electors or
representatives of local governments shall be held; members of
the Seimas may also go on business trips. During sittings of the
Seimas, members of the Seimas shall be sent on business trips
only in connection with urgent State matters.
Article 80-3. The last half hour of the second sitting of
every day shall be allotted to the statements of the Seimas
members on urgent issues of electoral areas or state or
international problems. Persons wishing to speak shall submit a
written request to the Seimas Chancellor during the previous
day's sitting, giving a brief characterisation of the issue which
they would like to speak on. The Seimas Chancellor shall prepare
a supplement to the agenda of the sitting, specifying the persons
wishing to speak as well as the issues put forward by them. The
presiding officer shall grant the floor at his or her own
discretion, taking into account the urgency of the problem and
the requirement of proportional representation of the Seimas
majority and the parliamentary groups of the opposition. No
discussion shall be held on said statements. The Seimas may
without discussion approve of the speaker's proposal to charge an
appropriate Seimas committee or commission to investigate the
problem.
The agendas of the morning sitting of every third Thursday
shall be drawn up by the parliamentary groups of the opposition.
A week before the opening of such sittings, the Seimas Board,
taking into consideration the principle of proportional
representation of the parliamentary groups of the opposition,
shall appoint a parliamentary group or a coalition of
parliamentary groups who shall be responsible for the agenda of
such sitting. In such an event, the agenda shall not be approved
at the Seimas sitting.
Article 81. The morning sitting of the Seimas shall as a
rule be held from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and the afternoon
sitting -- from 3:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., with a 30 minutes recess
1.5 hours after the beginning of the sitting.
The Seimas members shall be registered at the beginning of
every sitting and before the voting planned in advance.
Article 82. A sitting which is not provided for in the
week's work programme must be held provided that its is requested
by 1/3 of the Seimas members, by the President of the Republic or
by the Seimas Board.
The issues submitted by the persons on whose initiative the
meeting is held shall be considered at such a sitting. Said
persons shall inform the Seimas members in the manner established
by the Seimas Board of the sitting and the issues proposed for
discussion no later than 6 hours before the commencement of the
sitting.
Article 83. Sittings of the Seimas shall be presided over by
the Seimas Speaker or a Deputy Speaker.
Speaking at sittings shall only be permitted with permission
from the presiding officer.
Article 84. As a rule, sittings of the Seimas shall be open.
The President of the Republic, members of the Government, the
Chairperson of the Constitutional Court, the Chairperson of the
Supreme Court and heads of State institutions formed by the
Seimas may attend the sittings without a special invitation and
may state their opinion during discussions of issues which are
connected with their work. Signatories of the Act of 11 March
1990, as well as representatives of the President of the Republic
and the Government may attend sittings as observers. The
participation of other persons in sittings shall be established
in Articles 85 and 85-1 of this Statute.
On the decision of the Seimas or at the request of the
Seimas Speaker, the President of the Republic, or the Prime
Minister, a closed sitting may be held by way of exception which,
in addition to Seimas members, may be attended only by persons
specially invited to the sitting and, as necessary, by the
members of staff of the Secretariat of sittings. The Seimas
Board, the Government, parliamentary groups and Committees shall
have the right to propose a closed sitting; a substantiation of
the proposal shall be requisite.
Article 85. The Seimas Speaker as well as the Seimas Board
may invite notable guests of the Republic of Lithuania -- heads
of foreign states, members of governments, heads of parliamentary
delegations, chairpersons of Lithuanian emigrant organisations --
to speak at a sitting. Other distinguished guests may be invited
as observers of the sittings of a session.
Article 85-1. Open sittings of the Seimas shall be public.
They may be attended by the assistants secretaries of Seimas
members, employees of the Seimas apparatus, representatives of
public organisations who have received invitations, as well as
radio, television and press journalists accredited to the Seimas.
The procedure for issuing invitations and accrediting shall be
established by the Seimas Board.
Only members of the Seimas, employees of the Secretariat of
sittings and persons who have been granted the floor may be
present in the front of the chamber.
Article 86. The Seimas may convene a meeting of all the
Seimas members for preliminary discussion of issues; the rules of
this Statute shall not be valid at such meetings. No decisions
shall be adopted by the Seimas at such meetings. The Seimas
members shall elect the chairperson of the meeting and may
establish provisional rules of procedure of the meeting.
Article 87. The officer presiding over the Seimas sitting
shall:
1) announce, by word and by banging the gavel, the opening
and closing of a sitting, and, as necessary, announce a recess
not provided for in the agenda;
2) attend to the order of work of the Seimas sittings,
supervise that this Statute be adhered to at the sittings, and
control the performance of the group of tellers and the
Secretariat of sittings of their duties;
3) refrain from taking part in discussions and influencing
in any other way the Seimas members concerning decisions which
are being adopted;
4) grant the floor to Seimas members, direct the discussions
and, when specifying the essence of proposals, pose questions to
the Seimas members;
5) keep track of the duration of speeches, and, if the time
limit is exceeded, shall warn the speaker, and cut the speaker
off after the second warning;
6) may prolong the time of a speech delivered on an urgent
issue provided that the Seimas does not object;
7) warn the speaker or may cut the speaker off after the
second warning in the event that the speaker digresses from the
issue under discussion;
8) may grant the floor to other persons provided that the
Seimas does not object;
9) formulate, on the basis of discussion results, questions
to be put to the vote; pursuant to this Statute, establish the
voting procedure; by word and by banging the gavel, announce the
beginning of voting; and, in accordance with the information
presented by the group of tellers or electronic voting machines,
announce the results of the voting;
10) call Seimas members to order if they do not adhere to
the Statute, if they make noise in the chamber, or if they insult
the President of the Republic, the Seimas, the Speaker, members
of the Seimas, the Government, or the Prime Minister or
ministers; and may submit proposals concerning the recording of
the warnings in the minutes or examination thereof in the
Commission on Ethics and Procedures or expulsion of the Seimas
member from the chamber;
11) make decisions to expel invited persons or
correspondents from the chamber if they interfere with the
sitting;
12) when adopting decisions and at the request of the Seimas
members, announce the article of the Statute which he or she is
acting in pursuance of; and
13) sign the minutes and the verbatim record of Seimas
sittings as well as official reports on sittings, and shall visa
laws and other acts passed at sittings.
Article 88. All reports shall be read at Seimas sittings
from the dais. In the cases set forth in Par. 2 of Article 93 of
this Statute, Seimas members may speak from their seats or into
the microphones installed in the chamber.
Article 89. As a rule, one principal report and one
additional report shall be made on every issue on the agenda
unless the Statute provides for a different procedure. The
duration of a report shall be fixed by the presiding officer in
coordination with the person delivering the report. Ordinarily,
reports should not exceed 30 minutes. Additional reports shall be
allotted a duration of up to 15 minutes; final words and
commentary on behalf of the Government, a committee or a
parliamentary group shall be granted up to 10 minutes; and
speeches said on behalf of the speaker himself shall be given up
to 5 minutes.
After reports, up to 30 minutes shall be allocated for
questions and answers; up to 15 minutes shall be allocated for
said purpose after additional reports. An answer to a single
question may not exceed 3 minutes, whereas the question itself
may not take longer than 1 minute. Only one question shall be
permitted at a time. A person shall be allowed to ask a second
question only once it is again his or her turn to ask. On the
decision of the Seimas, question and answer sessions may be
terminated before the fixed time, provided that at least one
other member of the Seimas supports such a proposal.
Article 90. Registration of persons wishing to speak shall
begin an hour before the first sitting of the day the issue is
planned to be discussed and shall close by the commencement of
discussion of the issue. Upon completion of registration, the
officer presiding over the sitting must announce the list of
persons participating in the discussion. Registration for
speaking shall be carried out either by submitting applications
to the presiding officer or by an electronic system.
Article 91. Speakers shall be granted the floor during
discussions according to the order in which they registered to
speak. The presiding officer may change the order for reason of
ensuring proportional representation of parliamentary groups and
Committees, and for presenting arguments "for" and "against".
Upon mutual agreement, the Seimas members may change the order of
speaking.
A speaker may waive his or her right to take the floor. If
the speaker leaves the chamber without giving prior notice to the
presiding officer and is not present when called upon to speak,
he or she shall be deemed to have waived his or her right to take
the floor.
Article 92. The President of the Republic, the Seimas
Speaker, and the Prime Minister shall have the right to take the
floor out of turn one time in a discussion.
If members of the Government or a representative named by a
Committee or a parliamentary group notify the Secretariat of the
sittings of their wish to be granted the floor prior to the
termination of a discussion, they shall retain the right to take
the floor even if it is resolved to terminate the debate.
Article 93. During debates, the Seimas members shall have
the right to take the floor not more than once for every item on
the agenda.
Questions, remarks, and speeches concerning the motives or
procedure of voting, prejudicial issues or issues related to the
termination of debate, and proposals to reject or postpone the
issue under consideration shall constitute an exception. In said
cases no advance registration shall be required. However, every
member of the Seimas shall have the right to make an inquiry,
speech, or remark only once on each given issue on the agenda,
and concerning the motives of voting -- once before every voting.
In said cases, members shall be granted the floor for no longer
than 2 minutes after the speaker has finished his or her speech.
If the speaker speaks on an issue other than the one for which he
or she was granted the floor, the presiding officer may revoke
his or her right to speak.
Speaking on issues concerning procedure, termination of
debate, or postponement or rejection of an issue shall have
precedence over the issue under consideration; once the speaker
finished speaking, the discussion shall be stopped. In the cases
specified in the Statute, a vote may be taken after such
speeches.
Article 94. Debates shall be terminated on the decision of
the Seimas, with the exception of cases where the Statute
provides for a different procedure for the termination of a
debate. Proposals to terminate a debate may be submitted after at
least two speakers have been given the floor and may be put to
the vote provided that at least one other member of the Seimas
supports the proposal. Prior to that, the presiding officer must
announce how many persons are registered to speak and how many
have already spoken.
Upon resolving to terminate a debate, the presiding officer
must grant the floor, according to the order, to one more member
of the Seimas as well as to everyone who still has the right to
be granted the floor pursuant to Article 92 of this Statute. In
addition, the speaker may be granted the floor for concluding
remarks.
The Seimas may in advance limit both the general duration of
debates on each issue and the number of speakers. In such cases,
proposals to terminate a debate shall not be accepted.
Article 96. In discussing each issue, the Seimas may take an
unscheduled recess of no more than an hour prior to the
commencement of voting or the discussion of the issue may be
postponed to the next sitting if the presiding officer, a
Committee, or a parliamentary group so requests. In discussing an
issue, such recesses and debate postponements may only be done
twice. Only one unscheduled recess may be taken in the same
sitting.
If the Statute has been expressly violated during discussion
of an issue, the Committee which prepared the draft of the law or
other legal act, a parliamentary group, or the Commission on
Ethics and Procedure shall have the right to request that the
discussion of the issue be postponed, but for no longer than one
week. Such a decision shall be adopted by voting after two
members of the Seimas have been granted the floor to speak "for"
and two --"against".
Article 97. If the conduct or words of a Seimas member are
presented in a distorted manner by other speakers, he or she
shall have the right to request that the presiding officer grant
him or her the floor to speak on a personal issue for up to 2
minutes. If the presiding officer does not oblige the request,
the Seimas member shall have the right to request that the issue
of whether or not he or she should be granted the floor to speak
on a personal question be put to the vote.
Seimas members shall be granted the floor to speak on
personal issues at the end of the sitting.
Chapter 13. Voting and Vote Calculation
Article 99. Voting on issues under debate shall be open, by
raising voting cards, with the exception of cases provided for in
this Statute.
On the decision of the Seimas or the presiding officer, a
vote may be taken either by standing up or by using an electronic
vote tallying system rather than by raising a card. As a rule,
the electronic vote tallying system shall be used when taking a
vote on separate provisions of the issue under debate, on
separate articles or statements of a law, and on resolutions of
the sitting and issues concerning the work procedure of a
session. A separate instruction approved by the Seimas Board
shall establish the procedure for using the electronic vote
tallying system.
Seimas members shall vote personally. The right to vote may
not be delegated to other persons.
Article 100. The presiding officer shall announce the
commencement of the voting procedure by word and by banging the
gavel after having made clear the precise issue being put to the
vote and having made sure that the Seimas members understood it,
and after the closing of speeches concerning the motives of
voting. The presiding officer must also inform the Seimas members
of the number of votes required for the decision to be adopted.
In voting by raising voting cards or by standing up, the
presiding officer shall vote only in the event that one vote is
needed to decide the result of the voting. In such a case, the
presiding officer shall vote after the voting results have been
tallied.
No issues shall be discussed and nobody shall be granted the
floor until the voting procedure is completed, except for the
time that the results of the voting by roll call or by ballot are
being counted. Walking in the chamber during voting shall be
prohibited.
Article 101. Laws of the Republic of Lithuania, resolutions
of the Seimas, and other decisions of the Seimas shall be adopted
at sittings of the Seimas by simple majority vote (i.e. more than
half) of the Seimas members participating in the sitting,
provided that the question is included in the agenda according to
the procedure established by this Statute and the required stages
of debate have been completed, with the exception of special
cases provided for in the Constitution and this Statute.
In voting on resolutions of the sitting (resolutions which
are recorded in the minutes), separate provisions of the issue
under debate, separate articles or statements of a law, or
questions concerning the work procedure of the session, decisions
shall be adopted by majority vote of all the voting members, or
may also be passed without voting (by unanimous consent), i.e.,
if no member responds to the presiding officer's question "Is
there any objection to...?", the presiding officer shall announce
"Adopted."
If, in the cases specified by the Constitution and this
Statute, a qualified majority vote of all the Seimas members is
required, the number of Seimas members who have acquired the
rights of a People's representative under Article 59 of the
Constitution and whose powers have not been terminated under
Article 63 of the Constitution shall be considered the number of
all the Seimas members.
Prior to the first voting of every sitting, the presiding
officer must check the number of Seimas members present. If,
prior to a voting, the presiding officer or any parliamentary
group has not requested to check the number of the Seimas members
present at the sitting, no doubts may later be raised concerning
this. The last number of Seimas members determined at a sitting
shall be considered the number of Seimas members present at the
sitting.
If a qualified majority vote of all the Seimas members is
required for passing a decision, the presiding officer must check
the number of Seimas members present at the sitting before the
voting.
Article 103. In adopting laws of the Republic of Lithuania,
resolutions of the Seimas, or other acts, with the exception of
personnel issues, roll call voting is permitted if it is so
requested by a parliamentary group. Such a request may be
submitted by the spokesman or deputy spokesman of a parliamentary
group only upon the closing up of a debate on the issue and prior
to voting on the entire draft.
In such a case, ballot papers shall be distributed to the
Seimas members prior to the commencement of voting for roll call
voting; upon receipt of said ballot papers, the Seimas members
shall sign the record of issued ballot papers. Upon announcement
of the commencement of voting, every Seimas member shall fill in
the ballot paper, sign it, and hand it over to the tellers'
group. Upon tallying the votes, the presiding officer shall
announce the vote of every Seimas member.
Article 104. Issues concerning the election of the Seimas
Speaker, non-confidence in the Government, the Prime Minister or
an individual minister, and dismissal of, or non-confidence in,
any officer of the Seimas or head of a state institution
appointed by the Seimas shall be voted on by secret ballot. On
the decision of the Seimas, other issues concerning official
persons may also be voted on by secret ballot.
In this manner, voting shall be done during recess. Ballot
papers shall be stamped and distributed by the tellers' group.
Upon receiving their ballot papers, Seimas members shall sign the
record of issued ballot papers.
There must be a voting booth and ballot box in the voting
place. The ballot box must be put in such a way that, upon
approaching it, the members casting their votes can cross the
secret ballot booth.
Article 105. Voting shall be done by open ballots when it is
necessary to elect several candidates to some posts from a larger
number of candidates and when it has not been resolved to vote by
secret ballot.
In open voting, the procedure for voting and establishing
the results shall be the same as in voting by secret ballot
except that secret ballot voting booths shall not be used and
ballot papers shall be filled out in the chamber. It is not
necessary to sign the ballot papers.
Article 106. A standard ballot paper for secret and open
voting shall be approved by the Seimas prior to voting.
Issues concerning the dismissal of an officer or declaration
of non-confidence in an officer shall be voted on with ballot
papers on which the propositions "Dismiss" and "Not dismiss" or
"Confidence" and "Non-confidence" shall be inscribed. With one
ballot paper it is only possible to vote on either the dismissal
of an officer or the declaration of non-confidence in a
collective institution or one of its members.
On one ballot paper it is only possible to write the
surnames, in alphabetical order, of candidates to the same post.
In all cases, ballot papers must have a heading which clearly
indicates the issue being voted on. On the ballot paper, the
member casting his or her vote shall cross out the surname of the
candidates against which he or she is voting or the proposition
which he or she does not accept.
Ballot papers which are not of the approved sample, as well
as ballot papers on which more surnames than the number of
officers being elected or more than one proposition given for
election is left, shall be deemed invalid. Additional surnames
and propositions which are written in shall not be counted.
The record of calculation of votes by ballot papers shall be
signed by the chairperson of the tellers' group and the presiding
officer.
Voting ballot papers shall be preserved in the Seimas
archives until the end of the term of office of the Seimas.
Article 108. One or two alternative propositions may be
presented to be voted upon. If one proposition is presented, it
shall be voted "for", "against" or "abstain". If two propositions
are presented, voting shall be "for the first proposition" or
"for the second proposition".
Alternative propositions shall be voted for in the order
that they were presented for discussion. If there are more than
two propositions, the presiding officer must group them according
to purport so that they are all decided upon after several votes
for one or two propositions. The proposition which collects the
most votes shall be adopted if the necessary majority is
collected; otherwise, it shall be presented for additional voting
to confirm the decision. If this fails to be done, the Seimas
members may either propose a compromise or postpone the issue.
At his or her own initiative or at the request of at least
two Seimas members, the presiding officer shall divide the issue
being put to the vote into two.
Article 109. The decision of whether to postpone or reject
an issue shall be voted on before voting on the main point of the
issue. Numbers shall be voted on in increasing order. If
necessary, the presiding officer may change the order of voting
if those who made the proposals do not object.
Article 110. If the commencement of voting has not yet been
declared, the members may explain their respective votes after
the presiding officer announces what is being voted on and asks
if anyone would like to explain his or her vote.
In voting for an entire issue or the passing of a draft law,
no more than five Seimas members may explain their votes "for"
and no more than five -- "against". In other cases, no more than
two Seimas members may explain their votes "for" and no more than
two -- "against".
Article 111. When the electronic tallying system is not
being used, the tellers' group shall organise the voting and
count the votes. The tellers' group shall also assist the
presiding officer in checking how many Seimas members are present
in the chamber and in revising their registration.
Members of the tellers' group shall vote according to the
general procedure.
Article 112. The Seimas shall alphabetically appoint the
tellers' group for the period of one month upon the proposal of
the Seimas Chancellor. The group may not be made up solely of
members of one parliamentary group. Members of the Seimas Board,
chairpersons of Committees and commissions, spokesmen of
parliamentary groups, and members of the Government shall not be
assigned to the tellers' group. The tellers' group shall elect a
chairperson from its members.
The Seimas may he declare non-confidence in the tellers'
group or one of its members by majority vote of the Seimas
members present at the sitting. In such an event, a new group or
group member shall be appointed, and, upon the decision of the
Speaker or the request of a parliamentary group, the voting which
took place before the declaration of non-confidence may be
repeated.
Article 113. The results of voting shall be announced by the
presiding officer based on the information provided by the
tellers' group or by the indicators of the electronic tallying
system.
Article 114. Voting carried out by raising cards or by using
the electronic system may be repeated once if so requested by the
presiding officer or a parliamentary group. This may be requested
if the issue put up to vote was not properly and clearly
formulated and only before another item on the agenda has begun
to be discussed. In this case, the chairperson or deputy
chairperson of the Commission on Ethics and Procedures, or in
their absence -- a member of the Commission, must confirm that
the request of the parliamentary group concerning the improper
formulation of an issue put to the vote is correct.
Chapter 15. Official Registration and Announcement of Seimas
Documents. Information concerning the Activities of the Seimas
Article 122. Minutes of Seimas sittings shall be compiled
and announced by the Documentation Department of the Seimas and
shall be signed by the presiding officer. Issues which are
discussed, speakers, adopted resolutions, and voting results
shall be recorded in the minutes. The full texts of resolutions
adopted during sittings shall be recorded in the minutes.
Supplementary materials (results of voting by roll call,
statements of Seimas members, etc.) shall be appended to the
minutes.
Minutes shall be distributed to Committees and parliamentary
groups by 2.00 p.m. of the next day of work of the sitting.
Seimas members may state their claims concerning the minutes
at the end of the first Seimas sitting of the next day. If there
are disputable questions, the Seimas shall adopt a decision
thereon by simple majority vote of the voting members after a
short explanation has been given by the officer who presided over
the previous sitting.
Article 123. The Seimas Documentation Department shall
compile and publish verbatim records of the Seimas sittings.
Their originals shall not be edited and shall be preserved in the
Documentation Department. Tape-recordings of the Seimas sittings
shall be preserved in the Documentation Department for a period
of at least one month.
Members of the Seimas and other persons who were granted the
floor during a sitting shall have the right to check, within a
fortnight after the Seimas sitting, the verbatim records of their
speeches edited for publication. Upon checking the text against
the tape-recording, they may revise the edited version of the
verbatim record of their speech provided that they do not change
the essence of the speech. If the speaker does not present any
claims concerning the text of the verbatim record, it shall be
assumed that he or she agrees with the text.
In the event of disputes or misunderstandings concerning the
edited text of a verbatim record, a decision thereon shall be
adopted by the presiding officer. Following a sitting, the
verbatim record shall be signed by the officer who presided over
the sitting.
Article 124. Verbatim records of closed sittings shall not
be published; only members of the Seimas shall have access
thereto. The Seimas Chancellor shall preserve the verbatim
records of closed sittings and shall create conditions for Seimas
members to familiarize themselves with said records. A speech of
a Seimas member may be quoted from the verbatim record of a
closed sitting only with his or her consent.
Article 125. Minutes shall be taken at sittings of the
Seimas Board and Assembly of Spokesmen; no verbatim records shall
be taken of the above sittings. Participants in the sitting,
issues which are discussed, speakers, adopted resolutions, and
voting results shall be listed in the minutes.
Seimas members shall familiarize themselves with said
minutes through Committees and parliamentary groups.
Article 126. Seimas Committees and commissions shall takes
minutes at their own sittings. Committee and commission
resolutions, conclusions, and minutes of sittings shall be signed
by the respective chairperson.
The minutes of sittings of committees and commissions are
official internal documents which may only be used by members of
the Seimas. Other persons may use these minutes only with the
consent of the chairperson of the Committee or commission. Upon
the completion of the calendar year, the minutes of sittings and
other documents of Committees and commissions shall be preserved
in the Committees or commission for the period of a year;
thereafter they shall be transferred to the Seimas archives.
All documents of interim commissions must be transferred to
the Seimas archives within 10 days of the expiration of the
authorized period of said commission.
Article 127. Draft laws of the Republic of Lithuania
submitted for public consideration shall be published in national
newspapers using State funds. In publishing such drafts, the
names of the persons who prepared and initiated them must be
indicated.
Draft laws given over to be published must be signed by the
chairperson of the Committee to which the draft was given for
preparation as well as by the Seimas Chancellor.
Article 128. Before being given to the President of the
Republic to be signed, adopted laws of the Republic of Lithuania
and other acts of the Seimas shall, together with the visas of
the chairperson of the Committee which prepared the draft and of
the Seimas Chancellor, as well as of the officer who presided
over the sitting whereat the act was adopted if the sitting was
not presided over by the Seimas Speaker, be presented to the
Seimas Speaker to be given a visa or to be signed.
Adopted laws which have a visa from the Seimas Speaker shall
immediately be given to the President of the Republic to be
signed.
The Seimas Speaker shall sign acts adopted by the Seimas
Board after they have been given a visa by the Seimas Chancellor.
Upon signing an act, the Seimas Speaker shall transfer said
act to the Seimas Chancellor to be promulgated.
Article 129. Laws of the Republic of Lithuania and other
documents of the Seimas shall be promulgated and shall become
effective pursuant to the law "On the Procedure for Promulgating
and Enforcing the Laws of the Republic of Lithuania and other
Legal Acts."
Laws of the Republic of Lithuania signed by the President of
the Republic as well as resolutions of the Seimas shall be sent
to the Government, the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court,
the State Controller, and, as necessary, to heads of other State
institutions and regional and town local governments within 3
working days after their signing.
Article 130. The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania shall
have two seals with the Lithuanian State emblem - the great seal
which is 38 mm in diameter, and the small seal which is 27 mm in
diameter. The Seimas Chancellor shall be responsible for the use
and preservation of the Seimas seals.
Article 131. The great seal of the Seimas with the
Lithuanian State emblem shall be imprinted on the laws,
resolutions and other official documents of the Seimas, as well
as on documents sent to institutions of State authority and
government of foreign states, international treaties and other
documents signed by the Seimas Speaker.
Article 132. The small seal of the Seimas with the
Lithuanian State emblem shall be imprinted on the identification
certificates and other documents signed by the Seimas Speaker,
his or her deputies, or the Seimas Chancellor.
Article 134. The Seimas Speaker, his or her deputies, and
the Seimas Chancellor shall have the right to speak on behalf of
the Seimas. The Seimas may also authorize a Seimas member or a
Speaker's Spokesman for the press appointed by the Seimas Board
to speak on behalf of the Seimas.
Chairpersons of Seimas Committee, their deputies, and
authorised Committee members may speak on behalf of their
respective Committees.
Article 136. The Lithuanian Radio and Television shall
regularly prepare coverage of open sittings of the Seimas. On the
resolution of the Seimas, separate sittings shall be broadcast in
full on the radio and television at a time acceptable by the
Lithuanian Radio and Television. In disputable cases, issues
shall be resolved by the Seimas at the request of parliamentary
groups.
Representatives of the radio and television shall be
informed of sitting agendas by the Seimas Chancellor.
Accredited journalists shall be supplied with documents
which are necessary for their job by the Seimas information and
analysis service.
Article 137. Official information concerning sittings of the
Seimas, the Seimas Board, and the Assembly of Spokesmen shall be
prepared and announced by the Seimas information and analysis
service and shall be signed by the presiding officer.
The Lithuanian Radio and Television and national newspapers,
when publishing or broadcasting coverage of Seimas sittings,
shall also announce an official report on these sittings.
Coverage must be separate from commentary on the activities of
the Seimas. (Amended 12 October 1993)
Article 138. After important sittings, Committees shall, as
a rule, prepare reports for the mass media on their work and
shall present said reports to the Seimas information and analysis
service.
Broadcasting or coverage of sittings of the Seimas Board,
the Assembly of Spokesmen, Committees, commissions and
parliamentary groups shall be made only with the consent of the
chief officer of the respective group.
Article 139. Documents intended for all members of the
Seimas, Committees or parliamentary groups shall be distributed
by the Secretariat of the sittings. The documents must be
registered at the Seimas Reception office and must be signed by
at least one member of the Seimas. The procedure for submitting,
registering and distributing drafts of laws and other standard
acts shall be established in Chapter 21 of this Statute.
Information concerning the activities of the Seimas shall be
prepared and, as necessary, presented to the Seimas members by
the Seimas information and analysis service.
Speaker of the Seimas
of the Republic of Lithuania Ceslovas Jursenas