Proposal to amend statute on Seimas sessions during mobilization or wartime

Seimas Speaker Juozas Olekas has proposed amending the parliament’s statute to regulate how sessions would be conducted during mobilization or wartime, LRT reports.

The proposed changes aim to create a flexible and rapid legal mechanism allowing lawmakers to respond promptly to evolving situations and make necessary decisions. Under the current rules, extraordinary sessions are subject to administrative restrictions, including time limits, mandatory breaks between sessions, and a requirement to discuss only issues submitted by the session’s initiators.

If approved, the amendments would remove these formal constraints during mobilization or wartime. Extraordinary sessions would be held at least once a month, and their duration would not be limited—they could continue until the start of the next regular session. Lawmakers would be notified of extraordinary sessions no later than four hours before they begin.

The proposal also addresses the president’s authority to convene extraordinary sessions. If the president calls a session to declare mobilization or introduce martial law, the Seimas would have the power to extend the session if needed after confirming or rejecting the president’s decision.

Olekas stated in the explanatory note that the proposal is based on Ukraine’s wartime experience, which has shown that parliamentary work and session organization are often disrupted by military-related factors and security challenges. The amendments seek to ensure more flexible session regulation and reduce potential security risks arising from frequent gatherings of lawmakers in extreme conditions.

Currently, the statute stipulates that extraordinary sessions are convened by the Seimas Speaker upon a written request from at least one-third of all parliament members, or by the president in cases specified in Articles 142 and 144 of the Constitution, which govern the introduction of a state of emergency, martial law, mobilization, and the use of armed forces. Under the existing rules, if mobilization or martial law is declared during a Seimas session, plenary meetings are held only by decision of the parliament’s board, but no less than once a week. The schedule for these sessions is neither prepared nor approved in advance.