立陶宛政党法

REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA LAW ON POLITICAL PARTIES 25 September 1990 No I-606 (Last amended by 18 May 2010 – No XI-818) Vilnius Variety of political parties shall ensure democracy of the political system of the Republic of Lithuania. Political parties shall unify the citizens of the Republic of Lithuania for the implementation of common political goals, assist in shaping and expressing the interests and political will of the citizens of the Republic of Lithuania. CHAPTER ONE GENERAL PROVISIONS Article 1. Purpose of this Law This Law shall regulate formation, activities, rights, specific features of termination (reorganisation and liquidation) and restructuring of legal persons whose legal form is a political party. Article 2. Conception of a political party A political party shall be a public legal person who has its own name, has been established pursuant to this Law, and whose purpose is to meet political interests of its members, to assist in expressing the political will of the citizens of the Republic of Lithuania, in seeking to implement state power and the right to self-government. Article 3. The right to join political parties The citizens of the Republic of Lithuania shall have the right to freely join political parties, participate in their activities and secede from them. Article 4. Foundations of activities of political parties 1. Political parties shall act in compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania, this Law and other laws of the Republic of Lithuania, other legal acts, their own statutes and programmes. 2. Political parties and political organisations of other states, their branches may not be formed and operate within the territory of the Republic of Lithuania. 3. It shall be prohibited to establish and operate the political parties whose founding documents or programme-related documents propagate or who practise national, racial, religious, or social inequality and hatred, methods of authoritarian or totalitarian rule, forcible seizure of power, war and violence propaganda, violations of human rights and freedoms, public order, other ideas and actions conflicting with the Constitution of the republic of Lithuania, laws of the Republic of Lithuania and inconsistent with universally-recognized rules of international law. 4. The bodies and the seat of a political party must be located within the territory of the Republic of Lithuania. CHAPTER TWO ESTABLISHMENT, REGISTRATION AND TERMINATION OF POLITICAL PARTIES Article 5. Establishment of political parties 1. The citizens of the Republic of Lithuania aged 18 and over may be founders and members of a political party. 2. Founders of a political party shall become members of this political party from the recording of the political party in the Register of Legal Persons. During the same period a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania may be a founder or member only of one political party. 3. In order to establish a political party it shall be necessary that a political party would have in the Republic of Lithuania not less than one thousand founders. At their own or their representatives’ congress (meeting, conference), they must adopt a statute, a programme of the political party and elect management bodies of the political party as well as take a decision on the seat of the political party. A founder may, in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania, authorise any other person to represent him in a founding congress (meeting, conference) of the political party. Article 6. Founding document of a political party 1. Political parties shall act in compliance with their statutes. A statute shall be a founding document of a political party. 2. A statute of a political party shall indicate: 1) the name of the political party; 2) the legal form of the political party – political party; 3) the procedure for changing the seat of the political party; 4) objectives of activities of the political party. The must be defined expressly and properly, indicating the sphere and types of activities; 5) the conditions and procedure for joining the party and seceding, expelling from it; 6) the rights and duties of members of the political party; 7) the procedure for establishing branches of the political party, terminating their activities; 8) the competence, periodicity of a congress (meeting, conference) of the political party, as well as the procedure for convening it and taking decisions; 9) the collegiate management bodies of the political party, their competence, the procedure for electing and recalling them, the period of time for which the collegiate management bodies may be elected, the procedure for taking their decisions; 10) the procedure for electing and recalling the leader of the political party, the period of his competence for which he may be elected; 11) the procedure of accountability of the management bodies of the political party to a congress (meeting, conference) and the procedure of control over their activities; 12) the procedure for amending the statute and programme of the political party; 13) the symbols of the political party, if the political party plans to have them; 14) the procedure of control over the property and funds of the political party; 15) the duration of activities of the political party, if it is limited; 16) termination of the political party. 3. The statute may also provide for other provisions of activities of a political party that are in compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania, this Law and other laws. 4. The statue of a political party, which is being founded, must be signed by a representative authorised by the founders of a political party. The amended statute of the founded political party shall be signed by the leader of the political party. 5. The notary shall not attest the authenticity of the signatures of the persons who signed the statute of a political party. Article 7. Branches of political parties Political parties may set up branches, representative offices and other structural subdivisions. Branches, representative offices and other structural subdivisions of a political party shall not be legal persons. Branches and representative offices of a political party shall act in accordance with the statute approved by the political party. Having set up a branch or a representative office, a political party must, within 30 days from the setting-up, submit an application of a set form requesting to register the branch or representative office in the Register of Legal Persons in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Register of Legal Persons. The procedure for setting up and liquidating other structural subdivisions as well as their functions shall be set out by the statute of a political party. Article 8. Registration of political parties 1. Political parties shall be recorded in the Register of Legal Persons. 2. The regulations of the Register of Legal Persons shall set out the documents which must be submitted for recording and removal of political parties from the Register, lay down the procedure for recording, removing political parties from the Register, recording changes in data and amendments of statutes of political parties. 3. Reliability of the data presented by political parties to the Register of Legal Persons, compliance of statutes, programmes or their amendments with the requirements of laws shall be attested and the documents confirming that a political party may be registered because the requirements set out by this Law have been implemented and the circumstances provided for in this Law have emerged shall be written out by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter referred to as “the Ministry of Justice) within 30 days from the day of receipt of all the documents and data specified in the regulations of the Register of Legal Persons. 4. In the event of failure to present all the documents and data specified in the Register of Legal Persons, the Ministry of Justice shall, not later than within 15 days from the receipt thereof, inform in writing a representative authorised by the founders of a political party, specifying the shortcomings which must be eliminated. When all lacking documents and data are presented, a period of 30 days shall be counted anew from the day of presenting of these documents and data. 5. The Ministry of Justice shall refuse to attest the reliability of the submitted documents and the compliance of statutes, programmes or their amendments with the requirements of laws, if the purposes, objectives and methods of activities of a political party indicated in the statute, programme of the political party or the amendments thereof conflict with the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania, this Law and other laws, and the presented data do not conform to reality. When verifying the reliability of the presented data or attesting the compliance of the statutes, programmes, their amendments with the requirements of laws shall have the right to appeal to other state institutions and receive findings from them. 6. Refusal of the Ministry of Justice to attest the reliability of the data submitted a political party, the compliance of the statutes, programmes, their amendments with the requirements of laws may be appealed against to the court in accordance with the procedure laid down by law. 7. Political parties shall be deemed to be founded from their recording in the Register of Legal Persons. 8. Each year but no later than by 1 March political parties must, in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Government, submit to the Ministry of Justice lists of members of their respective political parties. If a political party was established after March 1, this party does not need to submit a list of its members with respect to elections which will take place prior to March 1 of the next year. The lists of the members of the political parties submitted to the Ministry of Justice must indicate the name, surname, personal number, residence address of a member of the political party. These data must be confirmed by the signature of the leader of the political party. A computer media containing the said lists shall be also submitted to the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Justice shall examine the lists of the members of the political parties and shall, no later than by April 1 of each year, notify the Central Electoral Committee if the number of the members of the political party meets the requirements of this Law. Article 9. Restructuring and termination of political parties 1. Political parties shall be restructured, terminated (reorganised or liquidated) in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania. 2. A decision to reorganise or liquidate a political party shall be taken by a congress (meeting, conference) of the political party or by the court in the cases set out by law. 3. When reorganising a political party by way of consolidation or division, when the conditions of reorganisation have been carried out, the political party shall, having discontinued its activities following the reorganization, submit to the Ministry of Justice the documents for its removal from the Register, and a new political party which was founded during the reorganization and which is a successor to the rights of the political party which discontinued its activities shall submit the documents for its recording in the Register. A political party, which discontinued its activities, shall be removed from the Register and a new political party, which was founded during the reorganisation, shall be founded recorded in the Register simultaneously. 4. When reorganising a political party by way of joining or parcelling out, when the conditions of reorganization have been carried out, a political party which joined another political party and which discontinued its activities shall submit to the Ministry of Justice the documents for its removal from the Register, and a political party which continues its activities and which takes over the rights and duties of the political party which discontinued its activities shall submit documents concerning the recording of amendments of the data and founding documents (if they have been amended). A political party, which discontinued its activities, shall be removed from the Register and the amendments of the data and founding documents of a political party, which continues its activities, shall be recorded simultaneously. 5. If less than one thousand members are left in a political party, the political party must, within 30 days in accordance with the procedure laid down by the regulations of the Register of Legal Persons, notify the Register of Legal Persons about such decrease in members. A political party shall be liquidated in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania, if within 6 months after the decrease in members the members of the political party do not decide to reorganise or restructure the political party. Article 10. Investigation of activities of political parties The procedure for investigating activities of a political party shall be laid down by the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania and the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Funding of Political Parties and Political Campaigns, and Control of Funding. CHAPTER THREE GUARANTEES OF ACTIVITIES OF POLITICAL PARTIES Article 11. Freedom of activities of political parties All political parties within the territory of the Republic of Lithuania shall act freely and independently. State and municipal institutions, their officers, other legal and natural persons shall be prohibited from interfering in internal affairs of political parties. Article 12. Restrictions on activities of political parties 1. A organisational structure of political parties shall be based only on the territorial principle. Branches of political parties may not be established and operate in workplaces. 2. In the cases provided for in the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Lithuania the persons referred to in these laws may not be members of political parties or must suspend their membership in a political party. 3. A person whose membership in a political party is suspended may not elect and be elected to the bodies of a political party and its branches, carry out their orders or participate in activities of the political party in any other way. Article 13. Declaration of decisions of the bodies of political parties null and void Decisions of the bodies of political parties may be declared null and void in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania. Article 14. Property and funds of political parties 1. For implementation of the purposes set out in the statutes political parties may possess current and fixed assets. 2. The procedure of fixing of the amount of membership fees and their payments shall be defined by the statutes of political parties. 3. Other sources of funding of political parties, the procedure of accounting of receipt, management and use of funds and property shall be set out by other legal acts. 4. Property and funds of a political party may not be distributed to its members. Article 15. Control of financial activities of political parties State institutions shall, within their competence, exercise control of financial activities of political parties. Article 16. The right to participate in elections to the office of the President of the Republic, the Seimas, municipal councils and the European Parliament All political parties shall have the equal rights to participate in elections to the office of the President of the Republic, the Seimas, municipal councils and the European Parliament. During elections all political parties participating in elections as well as their candidates for members of the Seimas, the European Parliament, municipal councillors and President of the Republic shall be granted the right to make use for free of the time of the Lithuanian National Radio and Television, they shall be provided with equal opportunities to make use of other means of mass media in accordance with the procedure laid down by the elections laws of the Republic of Lithuania. Article 17. The right to form coalitions, unions of political parties Political parties shall have the right to form coalitions, unions of political parties. Article 18. The right to disseminate information about activities of a political party 1. Political parties shall enjoy the right to freely disseminate information in writing, orally or in any other way about their activities, to propagate ideas, purposes and a programme. 2. Political parties shall enjoy the right to establish means of mass media and to make use of them. Article 19. The right to organise mass events Political parties shall, in accordance with the procedure laid down by law of the Republic of Lithuania, have the right to hold meetings, demonstrations and other assemblies according to the procedure established by law. Article 20. Liability of political parties A political party shall be liable for his obligations by his property, which it owns on the basis of the ownership right. A political party shall not be liable for the obligations of its member and the latter shall not be liable for the obligations of the political party. Article 21. International relations of political parties Political parties shall enjoy the right to maintain relations with political parties of other states, international and other organisations. http://www.legislationline.org/documents/action/popup/id/16509