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Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania | |
---|---|
Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucinis Teismas | |
54°41′17″N25°16′23″E / 54.688°N 25.273°E | |
Established | 1992 |
Jurisdiction | Republic of Lithuania |
Location | Gediminas Avenue, Vilnius, Lithuania |
Coordinates | 54°41′17″N25°16′23″E / 54.688°N 25.273°E |
Composition method | Renewed by a third every three years, each judge nominated by the President, Speaker of Seimas and the Head of the Supreme Court and appointed by Seimas [1] |
Authorized by | Constitution of Lithuania |
Judge term length | 9 years (only one term allowed) [1] |
Number of positions | 9 |
Website | lrkt.lt |
President | |
Currently | Gintaras Goda |
Since | 18 June 2021 |
Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania (in Lithuanian : Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucinis Teismas) is the constitutional court of the Republic of Lithuania, established by the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania of 1992. It began the activities after the adoption of the Law of Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania on 3 February 1993. Since its inception, the court has been located in Vilnius.
The main task of the court is judicial review. It may therefore declare the acts of the Seimas unconstitutional and thus render them ineffective. As such, it is comparable to the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany or, in a limited scope, to the Supreme Court of the United States. However, it differs from it and other supreme courts in that it is not part of the regular judicial system, but more a unique judicial branch. Most importantly, it does not serve as a regular court of appeals from lower courts or as a sort of "superappellate court" on any violation of national laws.
Its jurisdiction is focused on constitutional issues, the integrity of the Constitution. Moreover, it adjudicates on the conformance of the acts of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania to the laws, compliance with the Constitution of international agreements, as well as their ratification, and takes a final decision on voting infringements.
The Court has played a substantial role in the development of the Lithuanian legal system, declaring a number of national laws unconstitutional. On 31 March 2004, it issued a ruling acknowledging the breach of the oath of office by the President Rolandas Paksas. He was removed from office by Seimas following the impeachment on 6 April 2004; this has been the first successful case of impeachment of the head of state in the history of Europe. [2] The ruling interpreted the Constitution as precluding a person, who was pleaded guilty for the breach of oath, from assuming any future position in public service, which requires taking an oath.
On 9 December 1998, the Constitutional Court declared that article 105 of the criminal code of the Republic of Lithuania, which established the death penalty, violated several articles of the Constitution. [3] This ruling was a big step in humanizing the punishment system. [4]
The Court comprises nine justices, appointed by the Seimas, for a nine-year non-renewable term of office. Only Lithuanian citizens of an impeccable reputation, who are trained in law, and who have served for at least 10 years in the legal profession, or in an area of legal education are eligible for appointment. Usually, notable legal scholars and highly experienced judges qualify for the position. The court is renewed by a third every three years. The candidates are nominated by the Chairman of the Seimas, the President of Lithuania and the President of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Lithuania, the Seimas then decides on appointing them. The Seimas appoints the President of the Court from among the justices upon the nomination by the President of the state.
1993–1996
1996–1999
1999–2002
2002–2005
2005-2008
2008-2011
2011-2014
2014-2017
2017-2020
2020-2023
2023-2026
Politics of Lithuania takes place in a framework of a unitary semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the president of Lithuania is the head of state and the prime minister of Lithuania is the head of government, and of a multi-party system.
The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, or simply the Seimas, is the unicameral legislative body of the Republic of Lithuania. The Seimas constitutes the legislative branch of government in Lithuania, enacting laws and amendments to the Constitution, passing the budget, confirming the Prime Minister and the Government and controlling their activities.
The Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania defines the legal foundation for all laws passed in the Republic of Lithuania. The first constitution of the contemporary republic was enacted on 1 August 1922. The current constitution was adopted in a referendum on 25 October 1992.
Lithuanian law is a part of the legal system of Lithuania. It belongs to the civil law legal system, as opposed to the common law legal system. The legal system of Lithuania is based on epitomes of the French and German systems. The Lithuanian legal system is grounded on the principles laid out in the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and safeguarded by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania.
Danutė Jočienė is a Lithuanian lawyer.
Pranas Kūris is a Lithuanian lawyer. He is the first representative of Lithuania in the European Court of Justice and European Court of Human Rights.
Egidijus Kūris is a Lithuanian judge, professor and PhD in law. He is the former President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania and current representative justice for Lithuania to the European Court of Human Rights.
The Third Seimas of Lithuania was the third parliament (Seimas) democratically elected in Lithuania after it declared independence on 16 February 1918. The elections took place on 8–10 May 1926. For the first time the Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party were forced to remain in opposition. The coalition government made some unpopular decisions and was sharply criticized. Regular Seimas work was interrupted by a military coup d'état in December 1926 when the democratically elected government was replaced with the authoritarian government of Antanas Smetona and Augustinas Voldemaras. The Third Seimas was dissolved on 12 March 1927 and new elections were not called until 1936.
The Fourth Seimas of Lithuania was the fourth parliament (Seimas) elected in Lithuania after it declared independence on 16 February 1918. The elections took place on 9 and 10 June 1936, a bit less than ten years after the Third Seimas was dissolved by President Antanas Smetona. The Seimas commenced its work on 1 September 1936. Its five-year term was cut short on 1 July 1940 when Lithuania lost its independence to the Soviet Union. It was replaced by the People's Seimas in order to legitimize the occupation. Konstantinas Šakenis was the chairman of the Seimas.
Kęstutis Lapinskas is an expert of Constitutional law and current President of Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania, who replaced Egidijus Kūris at this position. Kęstutis Lapinskas is one of the signatory of the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania, former President of the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania.
Parliamentary elections were held in Lithuania in two stages on 20 October and 10 November 1996. All 141 seats in the Seimas were up for election; 70 based on proportional party lists and 71 in single member constituencies. Where no candidate gained more than 50% of the vote on 20 October, a run-off was held on 10 November.
The Supreme Court of the Republic of Lithuania is the only court of cassation in the Lithuania for reviewing effective judgements and rulings passed by the courts hearing criminal cases at the first and appeal instances as well as decisions and rulings in civil cases passed by the courts of appeals. It is the highest court of cassation, but it cannot interpret the constitution, since that is under the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court of Lithuania.
Capital punishment in Lithuania was ruled unconstitutional and abolished for all crimes on 9 December 1998. Lithuania is a member of the Council of Europe and has signed and ratified Protocol 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights on complete abolition of death penalty. From March 1990 to December 1998, Lithuania executed seven people, all men. The last execution in the country occurred in July 1995, when Lithuanian mafia boss Boris Dekanidze was executed.
The Sixth Seimas of Lithuania was the first parliament (Seimas) elected in Lithuania after it restored independence on 11 March 1990. Elections took place on 25 October 1992, with the second round on 15 November. In a surprisingly decisive outcome, the elections were won by Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania (LDDP), with 73 seats. The result reflected widespread dissatisfaction with the economic situation and the policies of the ruling Sąjūdis political movement in the preceding Supreme Council of Lithuania.
The Second Vagnorius Cabinet was the 8th cabinet of Lithuania since 1990. It consisted of the Prime Minister and 17 government ministers.
The Twelfth Seimas of Lithuania is a parliament (Seimas) in Lithuania. Elections took place on 9 October 2016, with the run-off on 23 October. The Seimas commenced its work on 14 November 2016 and served a four-year term, with the last session taking place on 10 November 2020.
Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania is the prime source of law of Lithuania concerning criminal offences.
Virginijus Sinkevičius is a Lithuanian politician who was serving as European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries in the European Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen from 2019 to 2024. In the 2024 European elections he was elected and became a member of the European Parliament. He previously was a Member of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania and Minister of the Economy and Innovation of the Republic of Lithuania.
The Lithuanian order of precedence is a nominal and symbolic hierarchy of important positions within the Government of Lithuania. Administered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the hierarchy does not determine the order of succession for the office of President of the Republic of Lithuania, which is instead specified by the Constitution of Lithuania.
Dainius Žalimas is a Lithuanian lawyer, jurist and politician who served as the chairman of the Constitutional Court of Lithuania from 2014 to 2021. He was the candidate of the Freedom Party in the 2024 Lithuanian presidential election. In the 2024 European Parliament election he won a seat for the Freedom Party.