Court says Seimas did not breach Constitution in chancellor’s dismissal

Lithuania’s Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday that the dismissal of Seimas Chancellor Modestas Gelbūda did not breach the Constitution, saying he received the due-process guarantees required by it. LRT reported that the case concerned a parliamentary vote to remove him before his term ended.

The case was referred to the Constitutional Court by the Supreme Administrative Court, which is considering Gelbūda’s request to have his dismissal declared unlawful. It asked whether the procedure used to adopt the Seimas resolution on March 21, 2024, complied with the constitutional principles of the rule of law and responsible governance.

The Supreme Administrative Court questioned whether Gelbūda’s right to an effective defence had been hindered after new reasons for distrust were raised during the parliamentary debate, leaving him too little time to respond. The Constitutional Court said a parliamentary procedure to remove an official is not the same as a court proceeding. Seimas members may consider relevant circumstances beyond those cited by the motion’s initiators, it said.

The court also rejected the argument that Gelbūda had insufficient time to prepare. He was informed on March 19 that the motion of no confidence would be discussed two days later, and was able to address the Seimas and respond to the arguments against him, the ruling said. The court added that, because the Seimas statute requires the dismissal procedure to begin immediately after a motion of no confidence is filed, it does not have to set a specific advance-notice period.

Gelbūda was appointed to a five-year term on April 27, 2021. On March 20, 2024, then-Seimas Speaker Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen proposed his dismissal, citing a statement signed by 74 members of parliament. They criticised delays in work on the approaches to the Seimas, Independence Square and its fountain, the implementation of civil service reform, and the uninterrupted operation of the parliament’s cafeteria and medical post, among other issues. In a secret ballot, 95 members voted for his dismissal and 13 against.