Lithuanian lawmakers ask Constitutional Court to review whether government orders to State Audit Office violate Constitution

A group of 30 Lithuanian parliamentarians has filed a request with the Constitutional Court to examine whether the ruling majority’s practice of assigning unplanned audits to the State Audit Office (VK) violates constitutional principles, LRT reports.

The lawmakers, led by the conservative Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) faction, argue that current legal regulations allow the Seimas (parliament) to impose an unlimited number of politically initiated audits, effectively turning the independent audit institution into an executor of political orders. This disrupts the VK’s ability to carry out its planned annual work, they claim.

In their submission, the MPs highlight that the existing law permits the Seimas to commission additional audits without defined criteria or resource allocations. They stress that the Constitution only allows such directives to be given to subordinate institutions, whereas the State Audit Office operates as an autonomous and independent body accountable to—but not controlled by—the parliament.

The request also cites public statements by State Auditor Irena Segalovičienė, who has warned that excessive ad hoc assignments duplicate existing checks and significantly disrupt the institution’s workflow. The lawmakers further point to international criticism, including European Parliament resolutions and European Commission remarks, which have condemned attempts to exert political pressure on Lithuania’s independent institutions through administrative measures.

The group has urged the Constitutional Court to prioritise the review. The dispute follows a December decision by the Seimas to order the VK to conduct an audit of defence procurement spending between 2021–2025. Last year, the office also carried out unplanned audits of the national broadcaster LRT and an offshore wind farm project led by the state energy group Ignitis.