Status of a Seimas Member

The Seimas is composed of 141 MPs who are elected on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot for a four-year term.

The main rights and duties of a member of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania shall be defined by the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and the Statute of the Seimas which has the power of law. In performing his duties, a Seimas member shall act in compliance with the Constitution, interests of the State, his own conscience, and may not be restricted by any mandate.

The term of office of Seimas members shall commence from the day that the newly elected Seimas convenes for the first sitting. The powers of the previously elected Seimas members shall expire as from the opening of the said sitting.

A Seimas member elect shall acquire all of the rights of a representative of the nation only upon taking an oath at a Seimas sitting to be loyal to the Republic of Lithuania.

The duties of a Seimas member, with the exception of his duties in the Seimas, shall be incompatible with any other duties in State institutions and organisations as well as with any job in business, commercial and other private institutions or enterprises. A Seimas member may be appointed only as Prime Minister or Minister.

The person of a Seimas member shall be inviolable, i.e. a Seimas member may not be persecuted for his voting or speeches in the Seimas - at sittings of the Seimas, Seimas committees, commissions and parliamentary groups, etc. A Seimas member may not be found criminally responsible, may not be arrested, and may not be subjected to any other restrictions of personal freedom without the consent of the Seimas. However, legal actions may be instituted against Seimas members according to the general procedure if they are guilty of personal insult or slander.

   Rights of a Seimas Member

A Seimas member shall have the right to:

1) vote on all issues being considered at sittings of the Seimas, committee or commission of which he is a member;

2) elect and be elected to any office in the Seimas;

3) participate in a discussion concerning all issues under consideration, and present his motions, observations, amendments, vocally or in writing;

4) submit the text of his speech, which has not been made, to the Chairman of a sitting for the inclusion in the verbatim record of the sitting;

5) propose issues to the Seimas for consideration;

6) prepare and submit to the Seimas for consideration drafts of laws and other legislative acts, as well as to put motions relative to the laws which are to be debated in the Seimas;

7) pose questions to reporters and supplementary reporters during the Seimas sittings;

8) make statements and remarks, speak on voting motives, put motions relative to the conduct, procedure of a sitting;

9) obtain, directly or through an assistant, copies of the registered drafts of laws, as well as copies of laws and other acts passed by the Seimas, decisions and draft decisions of the Board of the Seimas and the Assembly of Elders’ meeting, drafts of the legislative acts prepared by the Government, resolutions passed by other State government and administration institutions, and legislative acts of public officers;

10) attend sittings of all Seimas committees and commissions, and Government sittings, and, when necessary, attend sittings of State government and administration institutions at which issues submitted by him are discussed, as well as, upon advance notice, other sittings at which the issues he is interested in are discussed, except the sittings concerning State secrets the procedure for the consideration whereof shall be established by law;

11) make inquiries to the Government members, the heads of other State institutions, submit questions to them and to Seimas officers; and

12) together with other Seimas members:

a) submit a draft law on the amendment of the Constitution,

b) initiate impeachment,

c) start non-confidence, interpellation proceedings,

d) convene an extraordinary Seimas session and an extraordinary sitting,

e) appeal to the Constitutional Court,

f) otherwise act in accordance with the provisions of the Statute of the Seimas.

Participation of a Seimas Member in the Seimas Sittings

A Seimas member must participate in Seimas sittings during the voting which has been planned in advance. A voting for the passage of a law, which was officially announced at least one working day prior to the day of the voting shall be considered to have been planned in advance.

Each Seimas member, with the exception of the Chairman of the Seimas and the Prime Minister, must serve as a member of a committee and must participate in the work thereof, and he must also serve as a substitute for another member of the committee.

Each Seimas member may serve as a member of only one committee, except participation in the Committee on European Affairs.

The Chairman of the Seimas and the Prime Minister (if he is a Seimas member) may not serve as members of a committee or a substitute for a committee member.

While participating in sittings of the Seimas, committees and commissions, a Seimas member must adhere to the Statute of the Seimas.

Work of a Seimas Member with Voters

A Seimas member must regularly hold meetings with voters. He shall have the right to invite officers of State institutions and local authorities, as well as members of municipal councils to participate in the meetings.

A Seimas member shall examine proposals, requests and complaints and, when necessary, shall refer them to State institutions for consideration.

Complaints of voters which fall within the competence of a Seimas Ombudsman, may be referred to a Seimas Ombudsman for investigation. They shall be addressed in accordance with the procedure established by the Law on Seimas Ombudsmen.

All officers and heads of enterprises, institutions and organisations to whom an appeal of a Seimas member is addressed or to whom proposals, requests and complaints of voters have been referred by a Seimas member, must consider them and reply to a Seimas member not later than within 20 days of the receipt thereof.