Ar Konstitucijos 125 straipsnio pataisa neprieštarauja Konstitucijai?

Abstract

The article deals with the issue of whether the Republic of Lithuania’s Law Amending Article 125 of the Constitution that was adopted by the Seimas on 25 April 2006, in view of the procedure of its adoption, is not in conflict with the Constitution. Under Paragraph 1 of Article 147 of the Constitution, a motion to alter or supplement the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania may be submitted to the Seimas by a group of not less than 1/4 of all the members of the Seimas or not less than 300,000 voters. The Seimas Committee on Legal Affairs changed substantially the contents of the amendment to Article 125 of the Constitution that had been initiated by 1/4 of all the members of the Seimas. The article maintains that, under Paragraph 1 of Article 147 of the Constitution, the Seimas Committee on Legal Affairs did not have the right to make any substantial changes in the contents of the amendment to Article 125 of the Constitution that had been submitted by the group of 1/4 of all the members of the Seimas, that this Committee was not allowed to submit the constitutional amendment in its new contents to the Seimas, whilst the Seimas did not have any right to adopt the amendment to Article 125 of the Constitution that had been drafted by the Seimas Committee on Legal Affairs. The article draws the conclusion that the Law Amending Article 125 of the Constitution, in view of the procedure of its adoption, is in conflict with Paragraph 1 of Article 147 and Paragraph 2 of Article 5 of the Constitution, as well as with the constitutional principle of a state under the rule of law. In addition, the respective provisions of the Statute of the Seimas that allow the Seimas Committee to change, in substance, the contents of an amendment to the Constitution that has been submitted by the group of 1/4 all the members of the Seimas and to submit such a constitutional amendment in its new contents to the Seimas are also in conflict with the Constitution.