CONSTITUENT PARTS OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
1. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA ON THE STATE OF LITHUANIA
The Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania,
taking account of the fact that during the general poll (plebiscite) held on 9 February 1991, more than three-fourths of the population of Lithuania with the active electoral right voted by secret ballot in favor of “the State of Lithuania being an independent democratic republic”,
emphasising that by this expression of sovereign powers and will, the Nation of Lithuania once again confirmed its unchanging stand on the issue of the independent State of Lithuania;
interpreting the results of the plebiscite as the common determination to strengthen and defend the independence of Lithuania and to create a democratic republic, and
executing the will of the Nation of Lithuania,
adopts and solemnly proclaims this Law.
Article 1
The statement “The State of Lithuania shall be an independent democratic republic” is a constitutional norm of the Republic of Lithuania and a fundamental principle of the State.
Article 2
The constitutional norm and the fundamental principle of the State formulated in the First Article of this Law may be altered only by a general poll (plebiscite) of the Nation of Lithuania where not less than three-fourths of the citizens of Lithuania with the active electoral right vote in favor of it.
2. CONSTITUTIONAL ACT OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA ON THE NONALIGNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA TO POST-SOVIET EASTERN UNIONS
The Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania,
invoking the 16 February 1918 and 11 March 1990 Acts on the Restoration of the Independent State of Lithuania and basing itself on the will of the entire Nation as expressed on 9 February 1991, and
seeing the attempts to preserve in any form the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics with all its conquered territories and the intentions to draw Lithuania into the defence, economic, financial and other “spaces” of the post-Soviet Eastern block,
resolves:
- To develop mutually advantageous relations with each state which was formerly a component of the USSR, but to never join in any form any new political, military, economic or other unions or commonwealths of states formed on the basis of the former USSR.
- The activities seeking to draw the State of Lithuania into the unions or commonwealths of states specified in the First Article of this Constitutional Act shall be regarded as hostile to the independence of Lithuania and liability for them shall be established by laws.
- There may be no military bases or army units of Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States or its constituent states on the territory of the Republic of Lithuania.
3. LAW OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA ON THE PROCEDURE FOR ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
Article 1
Upon the entry into force of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, the Provisional Basic Law of the Republic of Lithuania shall become null and void.
Article 2
Laws, other legal acts or parts thereof, which were in force on the territory of the Republic of Lithuania prior to the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, shall be effective inasmuch as they are not in conflict with the Constitution and this Law, and shall remain in force until they are either declared null and void or brought in line with the provisions of the Constitution.
Article 3
Provisions of the laws of the Republic of Lithuania which regulate the status of the supreme institutions of State power and governance of the Republic of Lithuania, of deputies and municipal councils shall be in force until the elected Seimas decides otherwise.
Article 4
The powers of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania and its deputies shall cease from the moment when the elected Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania convenes for its first sitting.
The members of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania shall convene for the sitting on the third working day after the official announcement by the Central Electoral Commission, following both election rounds, that not less than 3/5 [three-fifths] of all the Members of the Seimas have been elected.
Article 5
The following text of the oath for the Member of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania shall be established:
“I (full name),
swear to be faithful to the Republic of Lithuania,
swear to respect and execute its Constitution and laws and to protect the integrity of its lands;
swear to strengthen, to the best of my ability, the independence of Lithuania, and to conscientiously serve my Homeland, democracy, and the welfare of the people of Lithuania.
So help me God.”
The oath may also be taken omitting the last sentence.
Article 6
During the period when there is still no President of the Republic, the legal situation shall be equivalent to the situation which is provided for in Article 89 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania.
As necessary, the Seimas may, by a majority vote of more than half of all the Members of the Seimas, extend the terms provided for in Article 89, but for no longer than a four- month period.
Article 7
Justices of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania and, from among them, the President of the Constitutional Court, must be appointed not later than one month after the election of the President of the Republic.
When justices of the Constitutional Court are appointed for the first time, three of them shall be appointed for a three-, three for a six-, and three for a nine-year term.
The President of the Republic, the Speaker of the Seimas, and the President of the Supreme Court, when proposing to appoint Constitutional Court justices, shall indicate who of them should be appointed for a three-, who for a six-, and who for a nine-year term.
The justices of the Constitutional Court who will be appointed for three-or six-year terms may hold the same office for one more term of office after an interval of not less than three years.
Article 8
The provisions of the Third Paragraph of Article 20 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania shall become applicable after the laws of the Republic of Lithuania on criminal procedure have been brought in line with this Constitution.
4. CONSTITUTIONAL ACT OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA ON MEMBERSHIP OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA IN THE EUROPEAN UNION
The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania,
executing the will of the citizens of the Republic of Lithuania expressed in the referendum on the membership of the Republic of Lithuania in the European Union, held on 10–11 May 2003;
expressing its conviction that the European Union respects human rights and fundamental freedoms and that the Lithuanian membership in the European Union will contribute to a more efficient securing of human rights and freedoms,
noting that the European Union respects national identity and constitutional traditions of its Member States,
seeking to ensure a fully-fledged participation of the Republic of Lithuania in the European integration as well as the security of the Republic of Lithuania and welfare of its citizens,
having ratified, on 16 September 2003, the Treaty Between the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Hellenic Republic, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, Ireland, the Italian Republic[,] the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Austria, the Portuguese Republic, the Republic of Finland, the Kingdom of Sweden, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Member States of the European Union) and the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia, the Slovak Republic Concerning the Accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia, the Slovak Republic to the European Union, signed on 16 April 2003 in Athens,
adopts and proclaims this Constitutional Act:
- The Republic of Lithuania as a Member State of the European Union shall share with or confer on the European Union the competences of its State institutions in the areas provided for in the founding Treaties of the European Union and to the extent that, together with the other Member States of the European Union, it would, together with other Member States of the European Union, meet its membership commitments in those areas as well as enjoy the membership rights.
- The norms of the European Union law shall be a constituent part of the legal system of the Republic of Lithuania. Where it concerns the founding Treaties of the European Union, the norms of the European Union law shall be applied directly, while in the event of collision of legal norms, they shall have supremacy over the laws and other legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania.
- The Government shall inform the Seimas about the proposals to adopt acts of European Union law. As regards the proposals to adopt the acts of European Union law regulating the areas which, under the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, are related to the competences of the Seimas, the Government shall consult the Seimas. The Seimas may recommend to the Government a position of the Republic of Lithuania in respect of these proposals. The Seimas Committee on European Affairs and the Seimas Committee on Foreign Affairs may, according to the procedure established by the Statute of the Seimas, submit to the Government the opinion of the Seimas concerning the proposals to adopt the acts of the European Union law. The Government shall assess the recommendations or opinions submitted by the Seimas or its Committees and shall inform the Seimas about their execution following the procedure established by legal acts.
- The Government shall consider the proposals to adopt the acts of European Union law following the procedure established by legal acts. As regards these proposals, the Government may adopt decisions or resolutions for the adoption of which the provisions of Article 95 of the Constitution are not applicable.
