Constitutional Court of Lithuania

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox high court

Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania (in Template:Langx) 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.

Activities

File:LRKT by Augustas Didzgalvis.jpg

Headquarters of Constitutional Court in Vilnius

Template:Sidebar with collapsible lists 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.^[1] 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.^[2] This ruling was a big step in humanizing the punishment system.^[3]

Composition

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.

Members

Current members

Name	Date of birth	Hometown	President	Date appointed	Mandatory retirement year	Law School	Prior judicial office
Template:Sortname	Template:Birth date and age	Šilalė	Nausėda	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Vilnius University
Template:Sortname	Template:Birth date and age	Trakai	Nausėda	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Vilnius University	Ignalina District Local Court Vilnius Regional Court Supreme Court of Lithuania
Template:Sortname	Template:Birth date and age	Babrai	Nausėda	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Vilnius University Goethe University Frankfurt
Template:Sortname	Template:Date of birth and age	Vilnius	Nausėda	16 March 2023	2032	Vilnius University University of Freiburg
Aurelijus Gutauskas	Template:Birth date and age	Vilkaviškis	Nausėda	16 March 2023	2032	Mykolas Riomeris University
Stasys Šedbaras	Template:Birth date and age	Tūjainiai	Nausėda	16 March 2023	2032	Vilnius University
Artūras Driukas	Template:Birth date and age	Švenčionėliai	Nausėda	19 March 2026	2035	Vilnius University	Druskininkai City District Court Court of Appeal of Lithuania Supreme Court of Lithuania
Haroldas Šinkūnas	Template:Birth date and age	Ignalina	Nausėda	19 March 2026	2035	Vilnius University Goethe University Frankfurt
Artūras Drigotas	Template:Birth date and age	Joniškis	Nausėda	19 March 2026	2035	Vilnius University	Vilnius City District Court Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania