# Constitutional Court of Lithuania

Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania (in Lithuanian: Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucinis Teismas) is the constitutional court of the Republic of Lithuania, established by the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania of 1992. It began the activities after the adoption of the Law of Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania on 3 February 1993. Since its inception, the court has been located in Vilnius.
The main task of the court is judicial review. It may therefore declare the acts of the Seimas unconstitutional and thus render them ineffective. As such, it is comparable to the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany or, in a limited scope, to the Supreme Court of the United States. However, it differs from it and other supreme courts in that it is not part of the regular judicial system, but more a unique judicial branch. Most importantly, it does not serve as a regular court of appeals from lower courts or as a sort of "superappellate court" on any violation of national laws.
Its jurisdiction is focused on constitutional issues, the integrity of the Constitution. Moreover, it adjudicates on the conformance of the acts of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania to the laws, compliance with the Constitution of international agreements, as well as their ratification, and takes a final decision on voting infringements.

## Activities

The Court has played a substantial role in the development of the Lithuanian legal system, declaring a number of national laws unconstitutional. On 31 March 2004, it issued a ruling acknowledging the breach of the oath of office by the President Rolandas Paksas. He was removed from office by Seimas following the impeachment on 6 April 2004; this has been the first successful case of impeachment of the head of state in the history of Europe. The ruling interpreted the Constitution as precluding a person, who was pleaded guilty for the breach of oath, from assuming any future position in public service, which requires taking an oath.
On 9 December 1998, the Constitutional Court declared that article 105 of the criminal code of the Republic of Lithuania, which established the death penalty, violated several articles of the Constitution. This ruling was a big step in humanizing the punishment system.

## Composition

The Court comprises nine justices, appointed by the Seimas, for a nine-year non-renewable term of office. Only Lithuanian citizens of an impeccable reputation, who are trained in law, and who have served for at least 10 years in the legal profession, or in an area of legal education are eligible for appointment. Usually, notable legal scholars and highly experienced judges qualify for the position. The court is renewed by a third every three years. The candidates are nominated by the Chairman of the Seimas, the President of Lithuania and the President of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Lithuania, the Seimas then decides on appointing them. The Seimas appoints the President of the Court from among the justices upon the nomination by the President of the state.

## Members
### Current members

| Name | Date of birth | Hometown | President | Date appointed | Mandatory retirement year | Law School | Prior judicial office |
| Gintaras Goda | (1965-06-13) 13 June 1965 (age 59) | Švenčionys | Grybauskaitė | 14 March 2017 | 2026 | Vilnius University Goethe University Frankfurt | Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania Supreme Court of Lithuania |
| Daiva Petrylaitė | (1977-08-23) 23 August 1977 (age 47) | Raseiniai | Grybauskaitė | 14 March 2017 | 2026 | Vilnius University | |
| Janina Stripeikienė | (1955-03-08) 8 March 1955 (age 69) | Kelmė | Grybauskaitė | 14 March 2017 | 2026 | Vilnius University | Court of Appeal of Lithuania Supreme Court of Lithuania |
| Giedrė Lastauskienė | (1967-06-02) 2 June 1967 (age 57) | Šilalė | Nausėda | 15 January 2021 | 2029 | Vilnius University | |
| Algis Norkūnas | (1962-08-24) 24 August 1962 (age 62) | Trakai | Nausėda | 15 January 2021 | 2029 | Vilnius University | Ignalina District Local Court Vilnius Regional Court Supreme Court of Lithuania |
| Vytautas Mizaras | (1974-08-20) 20 August 1974 (age 50) | Babrai | Nausėda | 9 June 2021 | 2029 | Vilnius University Goethe University Frankfurt | |
| Tomas Davulis | (1975-05-29) 29 May 1975 (age 49) | Vilnius | Nausėda | 16 March 2023 | 2032 | Vilnius University University of Freiburg | |
| Aurelijus Gutauskas | (1972-05-22) 22 May 1972 (age 52) | Vilkaviškis | Nausėda | 16 March 2023 | 2032 | Mykolas Riomeris University | |
| Stasys Šedbaras | (1958-02-10) February 10, 1958 (age 67) | Tūjainiai | Nausėda | 16 March 2023 | 2029 | Vilnius University | |

### Historical composition

1993–1996
* Juozas Žilys (President)
* Algirdas Gailiūnas
* Kęstutis Lapinskas
* Zigmas Levickis
* Vladas Pavilonis († 2003)
* Pranas Vytautas Rasimavičius († 2002)
* Teodora Staugaitienė
* Stasys Stačiokas
* Stasys Šedbaras
1996–1999
* Juozas Žilys (President)
* Egidijus Jarašiūnas
* Kęstutis Lapinskas
* Zigmas Levickis
* Augustinas Normantas
* Vladas Pavilonis (†2003)
* Jonas Prapiestis
* Pranas Vytautas Rasimavičius (†2002)
* Teodora Staugaitienė
1999–2002
* Vladas Pavilonis (President) (†2003)
* Egidijus Jarašiūnas
* Egidijus Kūris
* Zigmas Levickis
* Augustinas Normantas
* Jonas Prapiestis
* Vytautas Sinkevičius
* Stasys Stačiokas
* Teodora Staugaitienė
2002–2005
* Egidijus Kūris (President)
* Egidijus Jarašiūnas
* Augustinas Normantas
* Armanas Abramavičius
* Kęstutis Lapinskas
* Zenonas Namavičius
* Jonas Prapiestis
* Vytautas Sinkevičius
* Stasys Stačiokas
2005-2008
* Egidijus Kūris (President)
* Vytautas Sinkevičius
* Stasys Stačiokas
* Kęstutis Lapinskas
* Armanas Abramavičius
* Zenonas Namavičius
* Romualdas Kęstutis Urbaitis
* Toma Birmontienė
* Ramutė Ruškytė
2008-2011
* Kęstutis Lapinskas (President)
* Armanas Abramavičius
* Zenonas Namavičius
* Romualdas Kęstutis Urbaitis
* Toma Birmontienė
* Ramutė Ruškytė
* Pranas Kuconis
* Egidijus Šileikis
* Algirdas Taminskas
2011-2014
* Romualdas Kęstutis Urbaitis (President)
* Toma Birmontienė
* Ramutė Ruškytė
* Pranas Kuconis
* Egidijus Šileikis
* Algirdas Taminskas
* Dainius Žalimas
* Egidijus Bieliūnas
* Gediminas Mesonis
2014-2017
* Dainius Žalimas (President)
* Pranas Kuconis
* Egidijus Šileikis
* Algirdas Taminskas
* Gediminas Mesonis
* Elvyra Baltutytė
* Vytas Milius
* Vytautas Greičius
* Danutė Jočienė
2017-2020
* Dainius Žalimas (President)
* Gediminas Mesonis
* Elvyra Baltutytė
* Vytas Milius
* Vytautas Greičius
* Danutė Jočienė
* Gintaras Goda
* Daiva Petrylaitė
* Janina Stripeikienė
2020-2023
* Danutė Jočienė (President)
* Elvyra Baltutytė
* Vytautas Greičius
* Gintaras Goda
* Daiva Petrylaitė
* Janina Stripeikienė
* Giedrė Lastauskienė
* Algis Norkūnas
* Vytautas Mizaras
2023-2026
* Gintaras Goda (President)
* Daiva Petrylaitė
* Janina Stripeikienė
* Giedrė Lastauskienė
* Algis Norkūnas
* Vytautas Mizaras
* Tomas Davulis
* Aurelijus Gutauskas
* Stasys Šedbaras