Constitutional Court of Lithuania

Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania (in Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucinis Teismas) is the constitutional court of the Republic of Lithuania, established by the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania of 1992. It began the activities after the adoption of the Law of Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania on 3 February 1993. Since its inception, the court has been located in Vilnius.

The main task of the court is judicial review. It may therefore declare the acts of the Seimas unconstitutional and thus render them ineffective. As such, it is comparable to the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany or, in a limited scope, to the Supreme Court of the United States. However, it differs from it and other supreme courts in that it is not part of the regular judicial system, but more a unique judicial branch. Most importantly, it does not serve as a regular court of appeals from lower courts or as a sort of "superappellate court" on any violation of national laws.

Its jurisdiction is focused on constitutional issues, the integrity of the Constitution. Moreover, it adjudicates on the conformance of the acts of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania to the laws, compliance with the Constitution of international agreements, as well as their ratification, and takes a final decision on voting infringements.

Activities
The Court has played a substantial role in the development of the Lithuanian legal system, declaring a number of national laws unconstitutional. On 31 March 2004, it issued a ruling acknowledging the breach of the oath of office by the President Rolandas Paksas. He was removed from office by Seimas following the impeachment on 6 April 2004; this has been the first successful case of impeachment of the head of state in the history of Europe. The ruling interpreted the Constitution as precluding a person, who was pleaded guilty for the breach of oath, from assuming any future position in public service, which requires taking an oath.

On 9 December 1998, the Constitutional Court declared that article 105 of the criminal code of the Republic of Lithuania, which established the death penalty, violated several articles of the Constitution. This ruling was a big step in humanizing the punishment system.

Composition
The Court comprises nine justices, appointed by the Seimas, for a nine-year non-renewable term of office. Only Lithuanian citizens of an impeccable reputation, who are trained in law, and who have served for at least 10 years in the legal profession, or in an area of legal education are eligible for appointment. Usually, notable legal scholars and highly experienced judges qualify for the position. The court is renewed by a third every three years. The candidates are nominated by the Chairman of the Seimas, the President of Lithuania and the President of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Lithuania, the Seimas then decides on appointing them. The Seimas appoints the President of the Court from among the justices upon the nomination by the President of the state.

Historical composition
1993–1996


 * Juozas Žilys (President)
 * Algirdas Gailiūnas
 * Kęstutis Lapinskas
 * Zigmas Levickis
 * Vladas Pavilonis († 2003)
 * Pranas Vytautas Rasimavičius († 2002)
 * Teodora Staugaitienė
 * Stasys Stačiokas
 * Stasys Šedbaras.

1996–1999


 * Juozas Žilys (President)
 * Egidijus Jarašiūnas
 * Kęstutis Lapinskas
 * Zigmas Levickis
 * Augustinas Normantas
 * Vladas Pavilonis (†2003)
 * Jonas Prapiestis
 * Pranas Vytautas Rasimavičius (†2002)
 * Teodora Staugaitienė

1999–2002


 * Vladas Pavilonis (President) (†2003)
 * Egidijus Jarašiūnas
 * Egidijus Kūris
 * Zigmas Levickis
 * Augustinas Normantas
 * Jonas Prapiestis
 * Vytautas Sinkevičius
 * Stasys Stačiokas
 * Teodora Staugaitienė

2002–2005


 * Egidijus Kūris (President)
 * Egidijus Jarašiūnas
 * Augustinas Normantas
 * Armanas Abramavičius
 * Kęstutis Lapinskas
 * Zenonas Namavičius
 * Jonas Prapiestis
 * Vytautas Sinkevičius
 * Stasys Stačiokas

2005-2008


 * Egidijus Kūris (President)
 * Vytautas Sinkevičius
 * Stasys Stačiokas
 * Kęstutis Lapinskas
 * Armanas Abramavičius
 * Zenonas Namavičius
 * Romualdas Kęstutis Urbaitis
 * Toma Birmontienė
 * Ramutė Ruškytė

2008-2011


 * Kęstutis Lapinskas (President)
 * Armanas Abramavičius
 * Zenonas Namavičius
 * Romualdas Kęstutis Urbaitis
 * Toma Birmontienė
 * Ramutė Ruškytė
 * Pranas Kuconis
 * Egidijus Šileikis
 * Algirdas Taminskas

2011-2014


 * Romualdas Kęstutis Urbaitis (President)
 * Toma Birmontienė
 * Ramutė Ruškytė
 * Pranas Kuconis
 * Egidijus Šileikis
 * Algirdas Taminskas
 * Dainius Žalimas
 * Egidijus Bieliūnas
 * Gediminas Mesonis

2014-2017


 * Dainius Žalimas (President)
 * Pranas Kuconis
 * Egidijus Šileikis
 * Algirdas Taminskas
 * Gediminas Mesonis
 * Elvyra Baltutytė
 * Vytas Milius
 * Vytautas Greičius
 * Danutė Jočienė

2017-2020


 * Dainius Žalimas (President)
 * Gediminas Mesonis
 * Elvyra Baltutytė
 * Vytas Milius
 * Vytautas Greičius
 * Danutė Jočienė
 * Gintaras Goda
 * Daiva Petrylaitė
 * Janina Stripeikienė

2020-2023

2023-2026
 * Danutė Jočienė (President)
 * Elvyra Baltutytė
 * Vytautas Greičius
 * Gintaras Goda
 * Daiva Petrylaitė
 * Janina Stripeikienė
 * Giedrė Lastauskienė
 * Algis Norkūnas
 * Vytautas Mizaras


 * Gintaras Goda (President)
 * Tomas Davulis
 * Aurelijus Gutauskas
 * Giedrė Lastauskienė


 * Vytautas Mizaras


 * Algis Norkūnas


 * Daiva Petrilaitė
 * Janina Stripeikienė
 * Stasys Šedbaras