The Seimas coordinates the path of the return of Paksas: the last points are completed

It is proposed to establish that a person removed by impeachment may, at least ten years after the impeachment, perform other functions specified in the Constitution, the beginning of which is related to taking the oath provided for in the Constitution.

No further conditions are proposed. This would pave the way for Rolandas Paksas, who was indicted in 2004, to run again not only in the Seimas, but also in the presidential elections.

In addition to the aforementioned proposal, constitutional law experts had formulated another possible option for the committee: it allowed a politician removed by impeachment to run for the Seimas alone.

However, the commission decided to approve the second proposal, which would allow the deposed politician to re-run after the deadline for any position related to the taking of oath provided for in the Constitution.

Sabatauskas: the project must be registered in this session of the Seimas

As Julius Sabatauskas, a member of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) faction, told the portal, the Social Democrats supported the latter option. J. Sabatauskas also worked in parliament during the impeachment of R. Paksas: he was vice-chairman of the special commission of inquiry of the Seimas on the impeachment of R. Paksas.

“I think that the second simplest option (option – aut.p) is much better, because it involves a person who has been removed from office by impeachment, if he would have lost the mandate of a member of Seimas, if he is president or a judge. In this case, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has made it clear in your case that there cannot be a perpetual ban and that such a ban can be limited; a reasonable time limit must be set. 10 o 15 years is through the eyes. In my opinion, up to ten is enough, “said J. Sabatauskas.

It has not yet been definitively agreed how many years a politician dismissed by impeachment may not run again for a position related to the oath provided for in the Constitution.

In the opinion of J. Sabatauskas, such amendments to the Constitution, the wording of which was announced by the Committee of the Future, would fully comply with the decision of the ECHR.

“For many decades, there has been a tendency that there can be no permanent insurance for professions that perform a certain job or are engaged in a certain activity. Therefore, this prohibition must be limited to a certain period so that the regulations are not violated. rights of that person ”, emphasized the politician.

He recalled that it is at least necessary to register the draft amendments to the Constitution as soon as possible, since Lithuania faces sanctions for non-compliance with the ECHR ruling.

“It would be news once again if Lithuania really intends to correct this, because, as you know, we have tried many times and still failed. This spring session should be registered, the autumn session should start and the first vote on adoption could take place at the end of the fall session. Each step will be monitored, we will report that we are trying, “said J. Sabatauskas.

Razma: The faction will not break spears as a result.

For his part, Jurgis Razma, First Deputy Elder of the ruling Lithuanian Christian Democratic Union-National Union (TS-LKD) faction, also confirmed that the faction was discussing possible amendments to the Constitution.

“It’s been talked about briefly in our group, and it’s like we’ve agreed that we have to try to adopt that amendment at the end, because it’s really abnormal when we haven’t been able to adopt that amendment for so many years.” Delphi Said Mr. Razma.

He did not hide the fact that the party had previously taken the position that a politician who had been removed from office by impeachment could, after a certain period of time, run for office only in the Seimas.

“We just realized that there were divisions with other factions. (…) The fact that these divisions complicated the adoption of the amendment may eventually lead to a broader path, because it still needs to be accepted, somehow agreed.

When we have a majority in the Seimas and our responsibility, it is apparently that the initiators of the committee consulted with the factions and decided on the option supported by the majority of the factions. I don’t think our group will break spears as a result either, “said J. Razma.

He shared the view that the draft constitutional amendments could be registered for this spring session.

“We are constantly waving these sanctions, we have not received them yet, but the patience of the Council of Europe may also end. Better to get along. I hope we solve it this time, because I think everyone is tired of that story,” added the first elder deputy of the TS-LKD faction.

The proposal is supported by both the opposition and the ruling: one question remains

Possible amendments to the Constitution formed by the Committee of the Future are also supported by the recently formed opposition group from Lithuanian regions.

“The group agrees. I don’t remember exactly, but it seems to have agreed to a period of 10 years. Those years have passed, that’s one thing. The other thing is that the EU procedures have already started, we will be punished immediately and As a state, we will suffer losses. We must solve those things, we must have done it a long time ago. We are very late. ” Delphi said the oldest of the group, Jonas Pinskus.

The ruling Freedom Group also expressed support for the writing.

“It just came to our knowledge then. Just with regard to the ten-year period, both our group position and the general discussion, this is still the minimum period for it to be 15 years. That may change. Ten years is the limit. lower, the number may be higher, “said faction elder Ieva Pakarklytė.

“It just came to our knowledge then. Still, a decision must be made,” the deputy said.

For his part, Agnė Širinskienė, a member of the Lithuanian Peasants and Greens Union (LVŽS) faction, also emphasized that the peasants were always in favor of choosing a ten-year term and allowing a person removed from office by trial politician to run again. for all political offices.

“The question is whether 15 years is a proportionate term. (…) That provision was also discussed in our committee during the last term. The fear persisted that if the first option was chosen, some members of the Seimas would be discriminated against and they would lose the opportunity to be ministers ”, commented A. Širinskienė on the first option proposed by the experts, which was rejected.

Therefore, according to the politician, I am glad that the members of the Seimas finally seem to have reached a consensus.

“We have not implemented both the decision of the Constitutional Court and the decision of the ECHR for a long time, and we are caught in very complicated control procedures, when the state has to give explanations to the Council of Europe almost every six months. that problem somehow, “said a member of the LVŽS faction.

He said he believed it was possible to register the project and even pass the presentation stage in this spring session.

“It would be wise for the spring session. If the spring session has started, you may even be keeping up with your reading. When there is an adoption stage, an interval of three months is required between the two votes. When the Constitution is reformed, that interval of texts is counted for the summer, because then it automatically passes between sessions and that time is not lost. If it is presented now in the fall, the adoption could be expected in the spring of 2022 in the best case, ”said A. Širinskienė.

The formed wording of the amendments to the Constitution is also supported by the Labor Party faction.

“Our group talked about it, we proposed that decision to the Committee on the Future so that ten years from now a person could run again and let the voters rally. In my personal opinion, the factions think it is ten years, “said Vigilijus Jukna, the eldest of the faction.

The Seimas is coordinating an amendment on Paksas

The Seimas Future Committee announced last week that it was proposing a drafting amendment to the Constitution regarding post-impeachment candidacy, which would be allowed after a ten-year period.

Raimundas Lopata, head of the Future Committee and spokesman for the Liberal Movement, said that a consensus had been reached among representatives of different political forces on the proposal to implement the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

“Lithuania has not been implementing the ECHR ruling in the R. Paksas case for ten years, the Committee of the Future, acting as a platform for debate at the political level, has managed to mobilize the representatives of the factions and find consensus on the constitutional amendments that implement the judgment of the ECHR that could have political support in the Seimas “, in the report.

In 2011, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the current ban on lifetime participation in the Seimas elections for the dissolved president Paksas is disproportionate.

Without in any way adopting constitutional amendments that would open the way for R. Paksas to the elections, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which oversees the execution of judicial decisions in Strasbourg, has applied the so-called enhanced supervision procedure to Lithuania. .

R. Paksas was removed from the post of president in 2004, and since then he cannot be elected head of the country and a member of the Seimas.

The Constitutional Court recognized that R. Paksas had broken his oath and had seriously violated the Constitution by exceptionally granting Lithuanian citizenship to his financial sponsor Yuri Borisov.

The court has clarified that a person who has lost his position due to impeachment cannot, for life, hold a position that requires a constitutional oath. According to him, to modify this provision it is necessary to modify the Constitution.