SEIMAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
STATUTE
20 May 1993 No. I-158
Vilnius
PART 2
STRUCTURE OF THE SEIMAS
Chapter 2. General Issues of Structure
Article 9. Sittings of the Seimas shall be presided over by
the Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the Seimas. There shall be three
Deputy Speakers of the Seimas.
The competence of the Speaker of the Seimas and the Deputy
Speakers shall be defined by the Constitution and this Statute.
The drafting of Seimas documents and the consideration of drafts
shall be monitored by the Chancellor of the Seimas.
A person who is elected the Speaker of the Seimas or who is
temporarily carrying out the Speaker's duties must suspend his or
her activities in factions of Seimas members.
Article 9-1. The Seimas shall form committees from among its
members for the consideration of draft laws and other issues
assigned to its competence by the Constitution. The list of the
committees shall be established by this Statute.
For resolving short-term issues or issues of a more narrow
scope, as well as for carrying out concrete assignments, the
Seimas may, from among its members, form commissions of inquiry,
control, auditing, preparatory, and drafting as well as other
commissions.
The work of the committees and commissions shall be directed
by the chairpersons of said groups.
Article 9-2. Political parties and organisations shall form
parliamentary groups of Seimas members for expressing their
respective political views and for implementing their political
programmes and goals.
Parliamentary groups shall be registered in accordance with
the procedure established by this Statute.
A parliamentary group shall be headed and represented in the
Seimas by its speaker.
Article 9-3. A Seimas Board shall function within the
Seimas; the principle task of the Seimas Board shall be the
resolution of organisational issues of the work of the Seimas.
The Seimas Board shall consist of the Speaker of the Seimas,
the three Deputy Speakers, and the Chancellor of the Seimas.
Article 9-4. The Assembly of Spokespersons, comprising the
members of the Seimas Board and representatives of the
parliamentary groups, shall be formed in the Seimas. Each
parliamentary group shall appoint one representative for every
ten members of the group. Groups consisting of less than ten
members shall each appoint one representative to the Assembly of
Spokespersons.
The principle task of the Assembly of Spokespersons shall be
to consider and approve the work programme and the agendas of
sittings of the Seimas, to coordinate issues concerning the
organisation of the work of the Seimas Committees and groups, and
to submit drafts of the decisions of said issues to the Seimas
and the Board.
Article 9-5. Issues concerning the conditions of work and
everyday life of the members of the Seimas and the staff of the
Seimas apparatus shall be settled by the administrative
commission; the administrative commission shall also submit
drafts of decisions of said issues to the Seimas and the Board.
The administrative commission shall be formed from among the
Seimas members in accordance with the principle of proportional
representation of parliamentary groups.
Chapter 3. The Seimas Board
Article 9-6. The Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of
Lithuania shall:
1) direct the work of the Seimas;
2) certify with his or her signature the authenticity of
laws passed by the Seimas and referred to the President of the
Republic; sign the resolutions of the Seimas, the Statute of the
Seimas and amendments thereto, the minutes of sittings of the
Seimas, the resolutions of the Seimas Board, the minutes of the
Assembly of Spokespersons and other acts passed by the Seimas, as
well as laws of the Republic of Lithuania which are not signed by
the President of the Republic within the time period established
by the Constitution;
3) temporarily carry out the duties of the President of the
Republic and temporarily substitute for the President of the
Republic in the cases specified in Article 89 of the
Constitution;
4) propose candidates to the posts of Deputy Speakers and
the Chancellor of the Seimas to the Seimas;
5) propose candidates to Constitutional Court judge to the
Seimas in accordance with the procedure established by the
Constitution;
6) nominate to the Seimas the candidatures of the Seimas
ombudsmen for appointment;
7) submit candidates for appointment to the posts of heads
of State institutions specified by law to the Seimas unless the
Constitution provides otherwise;
8) preside over the sittings of the Seimas and the Seimas
Board;
9) submit drafts of the work programmes of a session and
draft agendas of week- or day-long sittings to the Assembly of
Spokespersons; and
10) submit draft agendas of the sittings of the Seimas
Board.
Article 10. At the behest of the Speaker of the Seimas,
Deputy Speakers shall perform certain functions of the Speaker.
The Seimas Board may determine the guidelines of the activities
of the Deputy Speakers.
In the event that the Speaker of the Seimas is temporarily
absent or has fallen ill and by reason thereof is unable to
fulfill his or her duties of office, at the behest of the Seimas,
the duties of the Speaker of the Seimas shall be performed by one
of the Deputy Speakers for a specified period.
If, in the cases specified in Article 89 of the
Constitution, the Speaker of the Seimas is temporarily carrying
out the duties of the President of the Republic, and as the
result thereof has lost his or her powers in the Seimas, the
duties of the Speaker of the Seimas shall be temporarily carried
out by a Deputy Speaker at the behest of the Seimas.
Resolutions (preliminary or adopted for a concrete case)
concerning the temporary performance of the duties of the
Speaker of the Seimas or substituting the Speaker of the Seimas
shall be adopted by the Seimas on the motion of the Seimas
Speaker.
Article 10-1. The Speaker of the Seimas shall issue decrees
while carrying out his or her duties.
The Speaker of the Seimas, or, in the absence of the
Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, may voice his or her opinion or the
opinion of the Seimas Board on the issue under consideration out
of turn provided that he or she is not presiding over the
sitting.
During the session, the Speaker of the Seimas, the Deputy
Speakers and the Chancellor of the Seimas shall, at least once a
month, answer questions concerning the performance of their
duties submitted beforehand by the Seimas members beforehand.
Article 11. The Seimas Chancellor shall:
1) supervise the consideration of draft laws submitted to
the Seimas and the drafting of the documents of the Seimas and
the Board thereof;
2) supervise the consideration of issues, inquiries and
interpellations submitted to the Government and the heads of
other State institutions;
3) consider the issues raised by members of the Seimas
concerning the functioning of the Seimas apparatus; supervise the
implementation of the decisions of the Seimas Board by the
divisions of the Seimas apparatus as well as their compliance
with the provisions and internal rules which regulate the
functioning thereof;
4) assist the Speaker of the Seimas in preparing session
work programmes as well as draft agendas for week- and day-long
sittings;
5) assist the Speaker of the Seimas in preparing draft
agendas for sittings of the Seimas Board as well as the material
on issues subject to consideration;
6) work out draft agendas for the Assembly of Spokespersons;
7) give approval to official documents prior to their being
submitted to the Speaker of the Seimas for signing and, to the
extent of his or her competence, sign official documents;
8) be responsible for the use and keeping of the Seimas Seal
bearing the State Emblem;
9) propose members to the vote calculation group in
accordance with the procedure provided for in this Statute;
10) provide information concerning the agendas of the
forthcoming sittings of the Seimas to representatives of the
radio, television and press;
11) regularly submit information summaries to the Seimas
concerning proposals, wishes and letters received from voters;
and
12) submit information summaries to the Committee on Mandate
and Procedure from the statistics of the registration of the
Seimas deputies and vote calculation group concerning the
participation of the Seimas members in the sittings of the
Seimas.
Article 13. The sittings of the Seimas Board shall be
convened and presided over by the Speaker of the Seimas.
Other members of the Seimas, as well as representatives of
the President of the Republic and the Government may participate
in the sittings of the Board as observers. Other individuals may
also be invited to sittings of the Board.
Article 14. Decisions of the Seimas Board shall be adopted
by ordinary vote and simple majority of those in attendance,
provided that the sitting of the Seimas Board is attended by at
least three Board members. A tie vote shall be decided by the
vote of the Speaker or, in the absence of the Speaker, of the
Deputy Speaker who is presiding over the sitting.
Article 15. Issues for consideration may be submitted to the
Seimas Board by the Board members, committees, parliamentary
groups, administrative commission and the chief of the Seimas
staff.
Draft documents of the Seimas Board which are submitted for
consideration shall be signed by their initiators and handed over
to the Chancellor of the Seimas.
Article 16. The members of the Seimas shall be informed of
the decisions of the Seimas Board through the committees and
parliamentary groups within three business days during a session
or within a week of the beginning of the next session. When
necessary, the Seimas member may get a copy of the document of
the Seimas Board which is of interest to him or her.
Committees and parliamentary groups may submit proposals to
the agenda of the Seimas sittings for the forthcoming week
concerning the consideration of resolutions adopted by the Seimas
Board which they disapprove of.
Article 17. The Seimas Board shall:
1) distribute funds; discuss and approve estimated expenses;
2) on the motion of the parliamentary committees and groups,
consider and send the Seimas members on business trips with tasks
of the Seimas, the Board, and committees;
3) on the motion of parliamentary committees and groups and
during session, consider, and, taking into account the expediency
and significance of said trips, either approve or disapprove of
trips of Seimas members which are financed not from the funds of
the Seimas;
4) when necessary, consider draft agendas for forthcoming
week- or day-long sessions, and submit recommendations to the
Assembly of Speakers or the Seimas;
5) when necessary andy on the motion of committees, form
working groups for drafting laws and carrying out the
instructions of the Seimas or the Seimas Board;
6) submit draft laws and other draft acts of the Seimas to
committees for preliminary or additional consideration and
presentation of findings and proposals thereon;
7) assist in organising joint work of committees on issues
which fall within the competence of several committees;
8) appoint the Chief of the Seimas Staff who shall be
responsible and accountable to the Board;
9) approve the structure of the Seimas apparatus, draw up a
list of the staff of the Seimas apparatus, and fix salaries
thereof;
10) on the motion of the Chief of the Seimas Staff, appoint
and dismiss the heads and deputy heads of all the structural
units of the Seimas;
11) approve the bylaws of the structural units of the
Seimas, the regulations of internal activities and the
instructions for office-work;
12) register factions of Seimas members and changes
thereof; and
13) settle other issues related to the organisation of the
activities of the Seimas which are not ascribed to other
institutions or officials of the Seimas by virtue of this
Statute.
CHAPTER 4. ASSEMBLY OF SEIMAS SPOKESPERSONS
Article 24. During session, the sittings of the Assembly of
Spokespersons shall be organised regularly, usually twice a week
at a time specially allocated for this purpose. Extraordinary
sittings of the Assembly of Spokespersons shall be organised at
the request of the Speaker of the Seimas, the Board, the
Chairperson of the Assembly of Spokespersons, or the
representatives of at least two parliamentary groups. The members
of the Assembly of Spokespersons shall be given notice of the
time and agenda of extraordinary sittings at least 6 hours prior
to the beginning thereof.
Sittings of the Assembly of Spokespersons shall be chaired
by the chairperson; the duties of the chairperson, according to
the schedule approved by the Assembly of Spokespersons, shall be
discharged in turn by the spokespersons of each parliamentary
group for one week. The opening sitting of the Assembly of
Spokespersons held during the first session shall be presided by
the eldest Spokesperson of a parliamentary group.
With the exception of weekly or daily agendas, the
resolutions of the Assembly of Spokespersons shall be
consultative with regard to the Seimas and the Seimas Board.
Consultative resolutions of the Assembly of Spokespersons as
well as resolutions concerning the organisation of the work of
the Assembly itself shall be adopted by simple majority vote of
the members of the Assembly taking part in the sitting.
Resolutions concerning the programme of the activities of the
Seimas, as well as draft weekly or daily agendas shall be adopted
provided that they are opposed by no more than one member of the
Assembly of Spokespersons of all participants of the sitting.
Resolutions of the sittings of the Assembly of Spokespersons
shall be recorded in the minutes of the sitting.
Questions ascribed to the competence of the Assembly of
Spokespersons may be proposed for consideration thereof by the
members of the Assembly of Spokespersons, the Government, as well
as other members of the Seimas who submit draft laws. The draft
agenda of sittings of the Assembly of Spokespersons shall be
drawn up by the Chancellor of the Seimas according to such
proposals.
Other members of the Seimas as well as representatives of
the President and Government may attend sittings of the Assembly
of Spokespersons with the right of observers. Other individuals
may also be invited to sittings of the Assembly of Spokespersons.
Article 24/1. During its sittings, the Assembly of
Spokespersons shall:
1) consider and coordinate rising contradictions related to
the schedule of activities during a session;
2) consider and approve the agendas of the forthcoming week-
or day-long sessions;
3) consider and coordinate contradictions concerning other
organizational issues of the work of the Seimas;
4) hear the proposals of the chairpersons of committees and
speakers of the parliamentary groups on mutual relations between
committees and parliamentary groups and submit proposals thereon
to the Seimas or the Board;
5) submit recommendations to the Seimas Board concerning the
resolution of issues which are ascribed to its competence; and
6) perform the function of a coordinative (conciliatory)
committee in the event of principal disagreements concerning top
priorities cosidered in the Seimas.
Chapter 5. Parliamentary Groups
Article 25. Political parties and organisations and their
coalitions whose members have been elected to the Seimas from the
same list of candidates, and the members of the same parties and
organisations who have been elected to the Seimas in one-
candidate electoral areas, shall form one parliamentary group.
Parliamentary groups may not be established on the basis of
individual, professional or internal interests. A member of the
Seimas may be a member of only one parliamentary group.
Political parties and political organisations represented by
Seimas members who were elected not from the list of candidates
may form a parliamentary group of Seimas members who have been
elected in one-candidate electoral areas, provided such a
parliamentary group includes at least one-fifth of all the
members of the Seimas.
Parliamentary groups may join into coalitions which may act
as one parliamentary group on agreed issues.
The Seimas Board shall be notified in writing of any changes
in the composition, leadership or name of a parliamentary group,
of the termination of the activities of a parliamentary group or
of its break- up no later than on the following business day;
the said parliamentary group shall inform the Seimas thereof and
furnish such information through the press.
Statements of parliamentary groups shall be signed by their
speakers or deputy speakers. The manner of the internal
activities of a parliamentary group shall be established by the
parliamentary groups themselves.
Article 26. Parliamentary groups shall be registered by the
Seimas Board.
Parliamentary groups must be registered within one week
provided it has submitted the decision of a party or political
organisation to establish a parliamentary group or a political
declaration signed by all members of such a parliamentary group
which, besides the statute of the political group, must include
the commitment to act in compliance with the Constitution and
laws of the Republic of Lithuania, seek the strengthening of
Lithuania's independence, and defend its territorial integrity.
The declaration shall be announced to all members of the Seimas
and furnished through the official press. In order to be
registered, a political group must present its name and the names
of the spokesperson and deputy spokesperson, and must comply with
other terms specified in this Chapter.
In the event that the Seimas Board refuses to register a
parliamentary group due to reasons which are not provided for in
this Statute, a group of members of the Seimas may appeal the
said issue to the Seimas which shall consider it at the next
sitting.
Article 27. While drawing up agendas for sittings of the
Seimas, a certain amount of time (at least 6 business hours per
week) shall be allotted to sittings of the parliamentary groups.
At this time sittings of neither the Seimas nor its committees
shall be scheduled.
After the formation of parliamentary groups, upon their
wish, the Chancellor of the Seimas, in conjunction with the
representatives of the parliamentary groups shall arrange the
seats in the sittings hall for the members of the parliamentary
groups and for those members of the Seimas who do not belong to
any parliamentary group and shall allocate premises for the
sittings of the parliamentary groups.
Other rights of parliamentary groups shall be consolidated
in this Statute.
Article 28. Parliamentary groups or their coalitions which
disagree with the Governmental programme may declare themselves
opposition parliamentary groups.
To this effect, opposition parliamentary groups or their
coalitions shall proclaim in the Seimas political declarations
where the provisions distinguishing them from the parliamentary
majority shall be set forth. Opposition parliamentary groups or
their coalitions shall announce alternative Governmental
programmes.
Opposition parliamentary groups or their coalitions shall be
guaranteed all the rights of parliamentary groups or coalitions
which are provided for in this Statute. Any reason may not
provide for the restriction of such rights.
The spokesman of one parliamentary group constituting a
part of an opposition coalition may be elected the leader of the
opposition coalition and the Seimas shall be given a public
notice of such election.
CESLOVAS JURSENAS
SPEAKER OF THE SEIMAS OF THE
REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA