Šiauliai city council rebuked by court for violating local governance law

A Lithuanian regional court has ruled that Šiauliai city council overstepped its authority by establishing a mayoral and council secretariat, a structure not provided for under the updated Local Self-Government Law, LRT reports.

The Regional Administrative Court in Kaunas found that the council’s 2023 decision to create the secretariat—defining its functions, rights, and operational rules—violated the 2022 amendments to the law, which took effect the following year. Under the revised legislation, council and mayoral administrative support must be provided by one or more designated civil servants (secretaries), with optional assistance from the municipal administration. The law explicitly prohibits the formation of a collegial body like a secretariat for this purpose.

A warning from Rimvydas Pilibaitis, the government’s representative for Šiauliai and Telšiai counties, went unheeded, prompting legal action. The council had argued that its broad authority to organise its own work permitted the secretariat’s creation, emphasising that the secretary’s role must remain independent of the municipal administration to preserve the supremacy of elected councils over executive bodies—a principle enshrined in Lithuania’s constitution.

The court rejected this reasoning, citing established case law that public administration bodies may only act within explicitly granted powers. “For public administration entities, unlike private individuals, the principle applies that anything not explicitly permitted is prohibited,” the ruling stated. “Actions exceeding authorised competence, including administrative acts, are therefore unlawful.”

Šiauliai officials have 30 days to appeal the decision to the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania.