Constitutional Court rules some intelligence law provisions unconstitutional

The Constitutional Court of Lithuania has ruled that certain provisions of the country’s Intelligence Law violate the Constitution and the principle of a state under the rule of law, LRT reports.

The decision came in response to an individual complaint filed by Raimondas Kurlianskis, the former vice president of the MG Baltic concern, who was convicted in a political corruption case. Kurlianskis is currently serving a 5-year and 6-month prison sentence in an open-type facility, with half of his term set to be completed this August.

Courts have so far denied him conditional release, citing insufficient engagement in resocialisation and a formal attitude toward his crimes, with a tendency to justify his actions.

During criminal proceedings, Kurlianskis and his lawyers argued that his surveillance, which lasted over a decade, was disproportionate and unlawful. His defence claimed that the State Security Department (VSD) monitored him from 2005 to 2018, using information obtained in one case for another, in violation of the Criminal Procedure Code.

In his complaint to the Constitutional Court, Kurlianskis requested clarification on whether the Intelligence Law’s provisions—particularly those lacking defined time limits for surveillance methods such as monitoring electronic communications, correspondence, and other personal data—comply with the Constitution and the rule of law principle. He also raised concerns about the absence of clear regulations on the storage, processing, use, and sharing of intelligence data.

Law enforcement secretly recorded Kurlianskis’ meetings with politicians and business figures, with these recordings later used as evidence in his criminal case. The complaint was reviewed in writing without oral arguments.

Institutions including the Seimas Chancellery, Prosecutor’s Office, Ministry of Justice, VSD, Mykolas Romeris University, the Intelligence Controller’s Office, and the Lithuanian Bar Association submitted responses to the case.

In the final and unappealable court ruling on the political corruption case, it was stated that MG Baltic, through Kurlianskis, maintained close ties with political parties and their members, providing financial support and leveraging its media outlets to influence political decisions in its favour. The court found that Kurlianskis’ meetings with former Seimas members were systematic and coordinated with ongoing political issues relevant to the concern.

Bribes to politicians and parties for favourable decisions were disguised as support for legal entities or discounts on political advertising, according to the verdict.