Virginijus Sinkevičius supports constitutional court review to prevent future errors

Virginijus Sinkevičius, leader of the Democrats “For Lithuania” party, has expressed support for separate appeals to the Constitutional Court (KT) initiated by the Seimas opposition and Social Democrats, stating that the court’s clarification will help prevent past mistakes from recurring, LRT reports.

According to Sinkevičius, the Constitutional Court can provide clear answers regarding potential violations in the formation of governments led by both conservative Ingrida Šimonytė and Social Democrat Mindaugas Sinkevičius.

“Of course, it is necessary. If there are questions, they need to be answered. We must respect the Constitution and act within its framework. In this case, I see no problems with that. The Constitutional Court will provide clarification,” Sinkevičius told ELTA.

He added that he hopes the ruling will ensure that errors made during the formation of Šimonytė’s government—and any potential errors in the formation of M. Sinkevičius’ government—will not be repeated, ensuring that one of the most important state processes adheres to constitutional principles.

However, Sinkevičius confirmed that the Democrats “For Lithuania” do not intend to sign any of these appeals. “I think there will be enough parliamentarians without the Democrats. If any colleagues wish to sign and support, we always support appeals to the Constitutional Court for clarification to ensure these issues do not recur,” he said.

He also stated that he personally has no questions regarding the formation of M. Sinkevičius’ government, noting that the timing of document submission to the system is the key consideration. “I personally do not have any, but I am glad that the opposition is active. It is a pity they did not notice this when forming their own government, but now they have seen it in the formation of M. Sinkevičius’ government. Everything is fine, I think the Constitutional Court’s clarification will provide very clear points and allow this political process to proceed even more smoothly in the future,” he said.

As reported, representatives of the opposition Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) and the Liberal Movement factions began collecting signatures on Monday morning for appeals to the Constitutional Court. They request a ruling that the Seimas resolution on the Social Democrat M. Sinkevičius government’s program violates several articles of the Constitution, as well as the principles of the rule of law and accountable governance.

They also ask the court to assess whether Article 194 of the Seimas Statute, due to its lack of legal regulation, complies with the Constitution.

In response, the ruling Social Democrats announced they would begin collecting signatures for their own appeal to the Constitutional Court regarding the approval procedure of the 2020 government program led by I. Šimonytė. The LSDP asks whether the Seimas resolution on a specific government program’s adoption procedure can begin before the presidential decree on that government’s composition takes effect.

They also request an evaluation of whether the Seimas resolution complies with constitutional provisions governing the entry into force of legal acts, their adoption procedures, the granting of powers to the government, as well as the constitutional principles of the rule of law and accountable governance.

Appeals to the Constitutional Court require the signatures of 29 Seimas members.

ELTA notes that public discussions on this issue began after Vilnius University law professor Egidijus Kūris told the news portal 15min that Prime Minister-designate M. Sinkevičius submitted the government program project before the cabinet was confirmed. The government program project was registered in the Seimas on July 3, while President Gitanas Nausėda signed the decree confirming the composition of the 21st government on July 6. M. Sinkevičius stated that the government program was presented at the Seimas session after the president signed the decree.

The leader of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) argued that the opposition is manipulating concepts.