THE LEGAL CONSEQUENCES BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT’S STATEMENT THAT A LAW OR OTHER LEGAL ACT IS IN CONFLICT WITH THE CONSTITUTION Cover Image

TEISINĖS PASEKMĖS, KURIAS SUKELIA KONSTITUCINIO TEISMO KONSTATAVIMAS, JOG ĮSTATYMAS AR KITAS TEISĖS AKTAS PRIEŠTARAUJA KONSTITUCIJAI
THE LEGAL CONSEQUENCES BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT’S STATEMENT THAT A LAW OR OTHER LEGAL ACT IS IN CONFLICT WITH THE CONSTITUTION

Author(s): Vytautas Sinkevičius
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence
Published by: Mykolas Romeris University
Keywords: the Constitution; the powers of the Constitutional Court; the legal consequences of rulings of the Constitutional Court; the prohibition against overruling the power of rulings of the Constitutional Court.

Summary/Abstract: The Constitutional Court investigates the compliance of law (part thereof) or other legal act (part thereof) with the Constitution according to: 1) the contents of norms; 2) the extent of regulation; 3) the form; 4) the procedure of its adoption, signing, publication, and entry into effect, which is established in the Constitution. Law (or part thereof) or other act (or part thereof) of the Seimas, act of the President of the Republic, act (or part thereof) of the Government may not be applied from the day of the official publication of the decision of the Constitutional Court that the act in question (or part thereof) is in conflict with the Constitution. The Constitutional Court, having assessed the emergence of a possible legal situation after the entry into effect of the Constitutional Court’s ruling recognising that a law or other legal act is recognised to be in conflict with the Constitution, has the powers to establish a later date of the publication and entry into effect of its ruling that recognised a particular law or other legal act to be in conflict with the Constitution. The concept of the provisions of the Constitution as presented by the Constitutional Court is binding on all institutions that apply law, as well as on their officials and on all courts. The power of a decision (ruling) of the Constitutional Court recognising a law or another legal act as unconstitutional may not be overruled by a repeated adoption of the same law or legal act by the Seimas or another law-making entity. The general rule “the power of decisions of the Constitutional Court is directed to the future” consolidated in the Constitution is not absolute. The Constitutional Court, having found that an impugned legal act (part thereof) is not only in conflict with the Constitution, but also essentially negates the fundamental constitutional values – the independence of the State of Lithuania, democracy, the republic, or the innate nature of human rights and freedoms – enjoys the powers to rule that the consequences of the application of that legal act (part thereof) are unconstitutional.

  • Issue Year: 21/2014
  • Issue No: 4
  • Page Range: 939-956
  • Page Count: 18
  • Language: Lithuanian