Lithuanian Legal Acts

The Constitutional Court of Lithuania is not part of the overall judicial system, but is an independent judicial body empowered to determine whether laws and other legal acts are compatible with the Constitution and whether acts adopted by the President and the Government comply with the Constitution or the rest of the legal framework. The electronic version of the jurisprudential and practical journal “Justitia” can be consulted on the website of the legal literature publisher Justitia. Only a few of the articles in each issue are full-text. It is possible to search for journal content or read part of an article and search for the author`s name or keywords from the title of the article. It is useful that the archives of “Justitia” articles are grouped according to legal topics. The language of the articles is Lithuanian. The legal system of independent Lithuania between the two world wars was influenced by the fact that three separate civil law systems governed different parts of the country, while the autonomous region of Klaipėda had its own legal instruments. The notable difference with the rest of the state was the possibility of a secular civil marriage in the 1930s and 1940s. The development of Lithuanian legal systems took decades and was not completed until World War II. During the Soviet occupation, Lithuania was governed by the adapted law of the USSR. “Teises zinios” is a supplement to the jurisprudential and practical journal “Justitia”. The archive of “Teises zinios” articles is also grouped by legal subject.

Only a few articles are available in full text. The language of the articles is Lithuanian. On this page you will find information about the Lithuanian legal system and an overview of Lithuanian law. In addition, you can find the legal acts of recent years on the government`s homepage by selecting the link Teisine informacija (Legal Information) and then the link Nutarimai ir potvarkiai (Resolutions and Decisions). The selection of the link Teises aktu projektai after the selection of the corresponding ministry provides draft legal acts of various ministries of the Republic of Lithuania. Many legal acts (ministerial orders – Ministro isakymai, etc.) of various ministries of the Republic of Lithuania can be consulted on the website of the competent ministry. The system of courts, their competence and the system of organization and administration of courts, as well as the system of autonomy of courts, the status of judges and their appointment, their careers and other matters related to judicial activity are regulated by the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, the Law on Courts and other legal acts. The Legal Acts section of the Bank of Lithuania`s website contains some laws governing the activities of the Bank of Lithuania and credit institutions. The “Laws Governing the Activities of Lithuanian Banks”, published by the Bank of Lithuania, are available in electronic form in the Publications section of the Bank of Lithuania`s website. The English version of the Lithuanian legal portal INFOLEX is aimed at foreign users looking for legal and economic information from Lithuania. INFOLEX provides a summary of the Lithuanian press and economic news and provides information on the main Lithuanian legal institutions.

There is a link to the guide Doing Business in Lithuania. The English version of the INFOLEX portal not only provides texts of legal updates prepared by several law firms, but also offers the possibility to search for information by legal entity, e.g. civil law, etc. Lithuania has a Roman legal system. Legal precedents are subordinate to laws, but also recognized. Laws are drafted and passed by Parliament. Institutions and municipalities may issue ordinances that do not contradict laws passed by Parliament. The Lithuanian legal system is based on the legal traditions of continental Europe. During the Soviet occupation, the Lithuanian legal system was adapted to that of the USSR, but since 1990 the imposed norms and practices have been eradicated. Abstracts and full text of articles are available in the journal`s archives, which are published on the Law Institute`s website.

The archives can be searched by issue and subject. The origins of Lithuanian law can be traced back to the first written source, the Casimir Code of Law (Lithuanian: Kazimiero teisynas), which was published in 1468 by Lithuanian Grand Duke Casimir Jagiellon to the Lithuanian Council of Lords. It is considered the first codified law of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The statutes of Lithuania, published three times (1529, 1566 and 1588), were the most influential legal texts of Lithuania. The third variant of the law was in force on the territory of Lithuania until 1840, when it was replaced by Russian laws. Under the rule of the Russian Empire, however, there were three distinct civil law systems in Lithuania: in Suvalkija, the Napoleonic Code continued to apply, while in the Klaipėda region, German law was in force. After regaining independence in 1990, the vastly changed Soviet legal systems were in force for about a decade. Lithuania`s modern constitution was adopted on 25th July. It was adopted in October 1992.

In 2001, the Lithuanian Civil Code was adopted in the Seimas. It was replaced in 2003 by the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure. The criminal law approach is inquisitorial and not adversarial; It is usually characterized by an emphasis on formality and streamlining as opposed to practicality and informality. for legal acts related to this ministry by choosing the link – Teises The Lithuanian legal system is generally based on the legal tradition of continental Europe. Since the restoration of Lithuania`s independence in 1990, the legal system has been reformed to meet the demands of the modern open economy. EU law entered the Lithuanian legal order on 1 May 2004. It is often very useful on the website of a ministry or government institution to search for legal acts related to that ministry or institution by following the link – Teisinė informacija (Legal Information) or Teisės aktai (Legal Acts), etc. The draft legal acts of the various ministries can be consulted on the government`s website under the heading Teisės aktų projektai (Select the link of the ministry concerned). The judgments (nutartis) of the Supreme Court are divided into civil and criminal cases, and the other acts of the Court can be consulted on the official website of the Supreme Court. The database of Lithuanian legal acts (Lietuvos teisės aktų duomenų bazė) is owned by the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania and is managed by the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania. Regulatory acts, including laws, must be compatible with the Constitution.

International treaties and conventions automatically become part of the Lithuanian legal order from the date of accession. Treaties and conventions ratified by the Seimas shall prevail over national laws, whether adopted at the time of ratification of the treaty or convention or subsequently. The law enters into force upon its promulgation by the President and its publication in the Official Gazette. The mission of the legal information portal Teisingumas. LT disseminates comprehensive and relevant legal information to legal practitioners and the general public. The Teisingumas portal collects, organizes and publishes public information provided by the Ministry of Justice and its institutions. You can also find legislation and other legal documents in the Register of Legal Acts of Lithuania (Lietuvos teisės aktų registras). This website is managed by the National Registry Centre (valstybė įmonė Registrų centras) and supervised by the Ministry of Justice.

From 31 August 2013, the register will be kept by the Registry of the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania. The Faculty of Law of Vytautas Magnus University, in collaboration with the Florida Coastal School of Law, in cooperation with the Lithuanian-American Bar Association, published an online legal journal entitled “International Journal of Baltic Law”. The International Journal of Baltic Law publishes full-text articles with abstracts in Lithuanian or English. The legal portal INFOLEX offers the system for retrieving industrial legal acts – INFOLEX Teisės aktai. In the Lithuanian legal system, the main law is legal. The material branches of law are codified: there are also other publishers of legal information. The documents in this database are neither official nor legally binding. The publication “Lithuania at a glance”, prepared by the law firm Bernotas & Dominas Glimstedt, provides information on the Lithuanian legal system, types of legislation, gives an overview of codes, etc.