Lithuanian MPs refer new LRT law to Constitutional Court over independence concerns

A group of 37 Lithuanian MPs from the Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD), the Liberal Movement, and the Democrats “For Lithuania” factions have submitted a request to the Constitutional Court to assess whether recent amendments to the law governing the Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) comply with the Constitution, ELTA reports.

The MPs argue that the new regulations, adopted on June 2, fail to guarantee LRT’s independence from political influence. They claim the law creates an unclear mechanism for dismissing the LRT director and potentially violates the principles of the rule of law.

The amendments change the model for forming the LRT Council and the procedure for dismissing the director-general, raising legal doubts about their compliance with constitutional provisions guaranteeing freedom of the press and prohibiting censorship.

“The public broadcaster is one of the pillars of democracy. Its independence from politicians and the political majority is a constitutional principle. Therefore, the shortening of the LRT Council members’ terms, the possibility of reappointment, and unclear selection criteria create a system where loyalty to the government and political majority may become more important than the public interest,” said Laurynas Kasčiūnas, elder of the TS-LKD faction in the Seimas, as quoted in the request.

The MPs highlight several concerns in their appeal, including the alleged politicisation of the LRT Council’s formation. Under the new law, the 15-member Council will include 8 members appointed by political institutions (the President and the Seimas). Additionally, the term of Council members is reduced to 4 years with the possibility of renewal, while the transparency requirements for candidate selection remain minimal.

According to the initiators, this model ties LRT’s governance to political cycles and fails to provide sufficient institutional guarantees against direct or indirect political influence.

The law also does not define the procedure for dismissing the LRT director-general. While the law states that the director can be dismissed before the end of their term for “gross violation of official duties,” it does not specify what constitutes such a violation or how it should be investigated, nor does it establish an independent investigation mechanism. The MPs argue that this leaves too much discretion to the LRT Council and could make the dismissal process a tool for indirect pressure on LRT’s management and editorial decisions.

The MPs also note that the new, stricter, and undefined dismissal criteria are being applied retroactively to the current LRT director-general, who was appointed under the previous procedure. They claim this grossly violates the principles of legal certainty and protection of legitimate expectations. The MPs point out that the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe has also drawn attention to this issue, emphasizing that new rules should only apply to future appointees.

For these reasons, the group of MPs asks the Constitutional Court to examine the compliance of the aforementioned LRT law provisions with Article 25 (the right to freely express convictions, receive, and disseminate information), Article 44 (prohibition of mass media censorship), Article 5 (limitation of government powers) of the Constitution, and the constitutional principle of the rule of law.

MPs Giedrė Balčytytė, Simonas Kairys, and Agnė Širinskienė are designated as representatives in the Constitutional Court proceedings.

ELTA recalls that there have been several protests against the ruling parties’ proposed amendments to the LRT law. The new amendments were prepared after the ruling parties’ representatives in the Seimas sought to adopt other changes last December to simplify the procedure for dismissing the LRT director-general. The initial project proposed by the ruling parties suggested that the appointment and dismissal of the LRT director-general should be voted on secretly.