REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
LAW
ON STATE BORDER PROTECTION
I. THE PROCEDURE FOR STATE BORDER PROTECTION
Article 1.
State border protection shall be the assurance of the in
violability of the state border, that is:
the execution of the Law on the State Border of the
Republic of Lithuania;
the state border guard and the exploitation of technical
devices;
the frontier regime; and
the measures and operational activities for the elimination
of state border violations, and for the detention of violators.
Article 2.
State border protection shall be carried out by the State
Border Protection Service of the Ministry of National Defense.
Article 3.
The State Border Protection Service shall be guided by
the Provisional Basic Law (Constitution) of the Republic of
Lithuania, international agreements of the Republic of
Lithuania, the Law on the State Border of the Republic of
Lithuania, this and other laws, directives of the Government,
statutes of national defense services, as well as by orders
of the Minister of National Defense, and orders and
instructions of the chief of the state border protection
service.
Article 4.
The frontier shall be established at the state border of
the Republic of Lithuania.
The frontier shall be a land strip up to 5 kilometers in
width, stretching out into the territory from the state border
line or coast line if the border lies through the water.
The frontier zone shall be the 5 meter-wide part of the
frontier which is close to the state border or coast. Any
activities which are not related to the protection of the
border shall be prohibited. The frontier regime shall be in
force in the frontier and other places which are established by
the Government in accordance with the Law on the State Border.
Bounds of the frontier and the regime regulations shall be
approved by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania on the
motion of the Ministry of National Defense.
The State Border Protection Service shall operate in
the frontier, as well as in other places where the frontier
regime is in force.
II. THE ORGANIZATION OF STATE BORDER PROTECTION
Article 5.
The State Border Protection Service shall be headed by its
chief, who shall be appointed and dismissed by the Minister of
National Defense on the approval of the Government.
The chief of the State Border Protection Service shall be
under the direct chain of command of the Minister of National
Defense.
The structure of the State Border Protection Service shall
be established by the Government.
Article 6.
State border protection service shall be carried out by
active service soldiers who are not younger than 19 years of
age and who are fit for this service.
Civilians of the Republic of Lithuania may also be hired
for this service upon concluding a fixed period service contract.
During their service soldiers and hired persons of the state
border protection service may not be members of any political
organizations.
Article 7.
Soldiers and hired persons of the state border protection
service shall take the following oath to the Republic of
Lithuania:
"With you as witness, I, (name, surname):
swear to defend the State of Lithuania and its independence,
even if it means sacrificing my strength and life;
swear to protect and defend the inviolability of the state
border of Lithuania;
swear to faithfully implement my duties, the laws of the
Republic of Lithuania and orders of my chiefs, and to sacredly
protect all state secrets confided to me.
So help me God."
*Note. The last sentence may be omitted from the oath.
The procedure for administering the oath shall be
established in the Internal Order Statute of the National
Defense Service.
Article 8.
Officers and soldiers of the state border protection shall
wear the national defense service uniform with the emblem and
insignia of the state border protection service.
Article 9.
The State Border Protection Service shall cooperate
with other structures of national defense, the Office
of the Prosecutor, police, internal affairs and state security
services, customs, and frontier services of neighbouring states.
The police, internal affairs and state security services,
customs, and local governments must furnish information
concerning state border protection to the State Border Protection
Serv ice.
The activities of other departments shall be allowed in the
frontier if it is not directly interfering with state border
protection. The activities of all departments in the premises of
the State Border Protection Service must be coordinated with the
frontier post chief.
It shall be prohibited for the State Border Protection Serv
ice to engage in economic-commercial activities.
Article 10.
Local governments shall provide office premises for
subdivisions of the State Border Protection Service, on the
conditions and procedure coordinated with the Government.
Telephones shall be installed in homes of officers of the
State Border Protection Service out of turn.
III. THE COMPETENCE AND GUARANTEES OF THE ACTIVITIES OF OFFICERS
Article 11.
Officers of the state border protection service performing
official duties shall be governmental representatives.
Article 12.
While executing state border protection, the State Border
Protection Service shall:
1) independently or with other law-enforcement bodies
define, investigate and remove causes and conditions for
violations of the Law on the State Border;
2) provide and implement measures which prevent violations
of the state border, violations of the frontier regime, and of
fences in the frontier; 3) fulfill the function of the body of
interrogation.
Article 13.
In cases of attacks, disturbances, natural calamities, or
catastrophes in the frontier, or after the declaration of
sanitary quarantine or a state of emergency, officers of the
state border protection service shall settle rising issues in
cooperation with law-enforcement bodies, local governments,
citizens, enterprises, institutions, and organizations situated
in the frontier.
Article 14.
Officers of the state border protection service must:
1) identify themselves while performing official duties and
upon personal requests, and present their official
identification card;
2) ensure the health of persons who are detained, and if
necessary, provide medical aid;
3) respect and preserve human rights and dignity.
Article 15.
In the procedure established by laws, while performing
official duties in the places where the frontier regime is in
force, officers of state border protection service shall have
the right to:
1) cease the unlawful actions of persons and officials;
2) check personal documents of persons and officers, as
well as documents of vehicles and their loads;
3) detain, conduct personal searches, inspect goods and
bring violators to the official premises of state border
protection, law-enforcement bodies and customs to conduct an
interrogation and perform actions for the establishment of
personal identity;
4) halt and inspect any means of transportation, and, after
establishing violations of the frontier regime, seize means of
transportation.
If persons who are in the vehicle refuse to obey, officers
may use measures of influence provided in Article 19 of this Law
and may enter the vehicle by force;
5) conduct a seizure in the frontier or other place where
the frontier regime is in force (not on customs territory), when
seeking to suspend goods and documents which are prohibited.
6) in cases provided in Article 15 of this Law and, also,
for reasons of traffic safety or for official purposes, restrict
the entry into and presence in certain frontier territory or the
premises of the frontier post;
7) photograph and make audio and video recordings in the
frontier, customs and state border protection premises.
Article 16.
The chief of the state border protection frontier post shall
investigate administrative violations of law related to the
frontier regime and which are committed on the territory of the
frontier post, and shall impose administrative penalties.
Article 17.
Officers and soldiers of the state border protection service
shall have the right to possess and use firearms and special
equipment, the conditions of acquisition, registration,
possession, delivery, and utilization of which are regulated
by the procedure established by the Government.
If persons in the frontier refuse to comply with the lawful
demands of officers and soldiers of the state border protection
service, the officers and soldiers shall have the right to use
force, handcuffs, special devices or firearms, but only to the
extent necessary to carry out official duties, and after all
other possible measures of persuasion prove to be ineffective.
The city (district) prosecutor's office shall immediately
be informed of every case in which firearms are used. The
official report shall be written on the use of special devices.
Article 18.
By the order of the Minister of National Defense or the
chief of the state border protection service, operational
measures may be used to supervise the activities of officers and
soldiers of the state border protection service. The procedure of
the use of operational measures shall be established by the
Minister of National Defense in coordination with the
Prosecutor General of the Republic of Lithuania.
IV. FINAL REGULATIONS
Article 19.
The Law on the State Border Protection of the Republic of
Lithuania shall enter into force on 1 July 1992.
After the entry into force of this Law, the Provisional Law
on the Frontier Protection Service shall become void.
Vytautas Landsbergis
President
Supreme Council
Republic of Lithuania
Vilnius
25 June 1992
No.I-2673