Lithuania’s Constitutional Court to assess whether parliament’s unscheduled audits violate constitution

The Constitutional Court of Lithuania has agreed to examine whether a parliamentary decision to order unscheduled audits by the State Audit Office violates the constitution, public broadcaster LRT reports.

A group of lawmakers had petitioned the court to review a December 2025 Seimas resolution mandating the State Audit Office (VK) to conduct an unplanned audit of defence procurement spending between 2021–2025. The petitioners argue that current legal provisions allow the ruling majority to impose an unlimited number of ad-hoc audits, effectively turning the independent institution into a tool for political directives.

According to the lawmakers, the constitution permits such mandates only for subordinate bodies, whereas the State Audit Office operates as an autonomous and independent institution accountable to—but not subordinate to—the Seimas. They claim the parliament’s move undermines the office’s constitutional independence and its ability to plan annual work programs.

The petition also highlights public statements by State Auditor Irena Segalovičienė, who warned before the resolution’s adoption that excessive mandates would disrupt the institution’s workflow and duplicate existing checks without additional resources. “Current regulations allow the Seimas to assign audits without criteria or limits, yet no extra funding is allocated for these unplanned tasks,” the petitioners emphasised.

The State Audit Office previously conducted a high-profile audit of Lithuania’s public broadcaster LRT, whose findings informed a controversial draft law that later sparked protests outside parliament.