RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE GOVERNMENT IN THE INTERWAR LITHUANIA: WAS SUCH LEGAL DOCUMENT VALID?
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Abstract
It seems that during the Interwar period the legal act on the working procedure of the interwar Lithuanian executive authorities was not adopted. If it was, it was not published in the Government Gazette, although the statutes of other institutions, such as the Institute of Lithuanian Studies, the National Economic Council, and the Secondary Music Schools, were published.
During this period, several attempts were made to adopt such a legal act, called either the Statute of the Cabinet of Ministers or the Statute of the Administrative Order. The drafts of this legislation were produced in 1919, 1925–1927, and 1939.
The most comprehensive was the draft of the Statute of the Administrative Order, initiated by the Council of State in 1939. The intention was that this document should regulate not only the composition, competences, and working arrangements of the Council of Ministers, but also the legal status of the Prime Minister, their relationship with the Head of the State, and the text of the oath of the Prime Minister and other ministers. It would also regulate social guarantees, including restrictions on ministerial activities and official responsibility, and the administrative structure of ministries. It was the first time that the procedure of receiving and examining complaints and requests in the ministries was regulated by the norms of the Statute.
The failure to adopt such a document within two decades can be explained by the fact that at first the young state faced major challenges which had to be dealt with immediately, including the Territory of Vilnius, the Memel Territory, foreign policy, and state credits. Later it faced challenges such as the establishment of the authoritarian regime and the unclear division between state powers, and the fact that other acts related to the executive power – the Law on the Civil Service, the Law on the Administrative Court – were not adopted in the interwar period at all.
This study was mainly based on documents kept in the Central State Archives of Lithuania.
During this period, several attempts were made to adopt such a legal act, called either the Statute of the Cabinet of Ministers or the Statute of the Administrative Order. The drafts of this legislation were produced in 1919, 1925–1927, and 1939.
The most comprehensive was the draft of the Statute of the Administrative Order, initiated by the Council of State in 1939. The intention was that this document should regulate not only the composition, competences, and working arrangements of the Council of Ministers, but also the legal status of the Prime Minister, their relationship with the Head of the State, and the text of the oath of the Prime Minister and other ministers. It would also regulate social guarantees, including restrictions on ministerial activities and official responsibility, and the administrative structure of ministries. It was the first time that the procedure of receiving and examining complaints and requests in the ministries was regulated by the norms of the Statute.
The failure to adopt such a document within two decades can be explained by the fact that at first the young state faced major challenges which had to be dealt with immediately, including the Territory of Vilnius, the Memel Territory, foreign policy, and state credits. Later it faced challenges such as the establishment of the authoritarian regime and the unclear division between state powers, and the fact that other acts related to the executive power – the Law on the Civil Service, the Law on the Administrative Court – were not adopted in the interwar period at all.
This study was mainly based on documents kept in the Central State Archives of Lithuania.
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