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Professor of Constitutional Law Vytautas Sinkevičius BNS stressed that the country’s main legal act provides for two reasons for declaring a state of emergency in the State or in a part of it, that is, if the constitutional order or the seriousness of society is seen threatened.
“Are migrants a threat to the constitutional order? It would probably be difficult to find arguments that our democratic order is in danger. Whether they represent a serious threat to society is a more complex question. But that threat must be real, or must be right at the door, “said the expert.
According to him, such a threat in the context of illegal migration could be a continuous riot, physical confrontations of migrants with officials or residents, robberies.
“In other words, there must be objective facts, a real threat, not just a presumption that can emerge in half a year. In my opinion, there are no real threats yet, “said V. Sinkevičius.
Dainius Žalimas, former president of the Constitutional Court, did not rule out that the processes related to illegal migration may also pose a threat to the constitutional order, as protesters and the Belarusian side have heard speeches about aspirations to change the Lithuanian government.
“It all depends on the methods used to try to change the current government. Suppose that certain protests spread en masse throughout the country, which I would not call purely national, because some of the organizers of the protests show some sympathy for the dictator. Belarusian. Sometimes governments are replaced by the demonstration of so-called soft power, “said D. Žalimas.
However, he emphasized that the threat scenario of a serious threat to society now seems more realistic.
“It seems that in certain places where these migrants could be housed, such a threat is completely real, on both sides (migrants and locals – BNS). In this case, the control of migrants could be of a greater degree (…), because probably several criminal structures may also appear there, ”said D. Žalimas.
Photo by Vidmantas Balkūnas / 15min / Vytautas Sinkevičius
According to V. Sinkevičius, with the appearance of constitutional grounds, the introduction of such a situation would only be possible by a decision of the Seimas, it could not last more than half a year, but it could be extended. In urgent cases between sessions of the Seimas, the president has the right to make such a decision, but must immediately call and discuss an extraordinary session of the Seimas on this matter; the Seimas would approve or reject the president’s decision.
V. Sinkevičius says that the Constitution also establishes rights that can be restricted, but the Seimas should specifically determine which specific rights are restricted and in which territories and for how long. The Seimas can also extend the state of emergency.
“Those rights are few, there are six articles. For example, freedom of movement may be restricted, the secrecy of correspondence may be violated, the inviolability of the home may be differentiated, the right to hold parties and peaceful meetings may be restricted, “he said.
V. Sinkevičius emphasized that roadblocks, disobedience to officials, and other hooligan actions are no longer peaceful gatherings, so such actions can be restricted without the above-mentioned legal mechanism.
A state of emergency can be imposed statewide, in individual municipalities, and in the border section. According to V. Sinkevičius, the state of emergency would already allow the use of the army, its reserve and other structures.
“In other words, there are more people on the border, there is physical protection, entry into the Lithuanian state is not allowed,” he said.
According to D. Žalimas, the state of emergency would allow a more effective fight against illegal immigrants, as well as a control to help in the border municipalities.
“First, it would be indisputably legal to detain all migrants without a court order. Second, if Lithuania cannot cope with the influx of migrants, it would be possible to completely close the state border and refuse to accept even migrants who they are requesting asylum. And finally, in those areas where a state of emergency would be introduced, especially in the border sections, all meetings would be prohibited, “explained D. Žalimas.
“We would definitely not see such events taking place at the Public Security Service base (Rūdninkai landfill – BNS) on Monday,” he added.
According to V. Sinkevičius, international law cannot prohibit a state from protecting its borders from invasion by citizens of other states if the constitutional order of the state and the seriousness of society are threatened, but such decisions must be immediately notified to the Secretary of the UN. General and the Secretary General why these actions are being taken.
According to the professor, although the state of emergency allows for more effective border protection, it does not change the situation when migrants already enter the territory of Lithuania and request political asylum; then the country must consider their asylum applications in accordance with international law. .
“The state of emergency does not completely change the situation in this case: if migrants enter the territory of Lithuania, the usual procedures are applied, it does not mean that you can push them back to the territory of Belarus, because there will be a Belarusian border guards and not It will allow them (…) Legally, the introduction of a state of emergency does not change anything, it only allows the strengthening of border protection so that they do not enter Lithuania “, emphasized V. Sinkevičius.
“Those migrants who would somehow cross the Lithuanian border illegally would be detained without a judicial decision and kept in a special center throughout the emergency period,” emphasized D. Žalimas.
The Minister of the Interior, Agnė Bilotait informó, reported on Tuesday that it is proposed to the Government to consider the possibility of introducing a state of emergency in the border municipalities. National Defense Minister Arvydas Anušauskas says there are no preconditions for this, and President Gitanas Nausėda asserts that the state of emergency should be a last resort, using all the resources now available.
The state of emergency is a special legal regime that allows temporary restrictions on the exercise of the rights and freedoms of natural persons, to introduce a curfew.
The state of emergency can be imposed when a state of emergency or crisis threatens the constitutional order or the seriousness of society and cannot be remedied without resorting to the emergency measures provided for in the Constitution and the law.
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