Composition of the Council of Judges: changes in regulation in Lithuania in 1994–2019

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/0208-6069.93.04

Keywords:

special judicial institution, the council of judges, judicial self-government, the independence of judges

Abstract

The article examines the changes in the legal regulation of the composition of the special institution of judges provided for in Paragraph 5 of Article 112 of the Constitution, which is enshrined in the current Law on Courts from the establishment of this institution in 1994 until the last amendments made in 2019. In carrying out the tasks assigned to it by the Constitution, the Council of Judges acts as a counterweight to the President of the Republic in questions of the formation of the judicial corps and as one of the most important institutions of judicial self-government and fulfills a very important mission to protect the independence of the judiciary and judges. The article examines the ruling of the Constitutional Court of 9 May 2006, which determined the fundamental changes in the composition of the Council of Judges, in which it was clarified that only judges may be members of this institution. The authors make suggestions that, in their opinion, would create preconditions for improving the efficiency of the Council of Judges: to establish a ban on electing the Presidents of the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania, to reduce the excessive influence of judges of higher courts and chairmen of courts in the self-government of courts, to set proportional quotas for the representation of judges of all courts, to elect all elected members of the Council of Judges at the General Meeting of Judges and to include not only judges in the composition of the Council of Judges.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Lietuvos Respublikos Teismų įstatymas. 1994. Valstybės žinios. 46–851.
Google Scholar

Lietuvos Respublikos Teismų įstatymo pakeitimo ir papildymo įstatymas. 1998. Valstybės žinios. 38–1001.
Google Scholar

Lietuvos Respublikos Teismų įstatymo pakeitimo įstatymas. 2002. Valstybės žinios. 17–649.
Google Scholar

Lietuvos Respublikos Teismų įstatymo 119, 120 ir 121 straipsnių pakeitimo įstatymas. 2006. Valstybės žinios. 60–2121.
Google Scholar

Lietuvos Respublikos Teismų įstatymo 33, 34, 36, 38, 39, 42, 43, 47, 51, 551, 57, 61, 63, 64, 691, 81 straipsnių, IX skyriaus pavadinimo, 83, 84, 85, 86, 90, 98, 101, 103 straipsnių, XII skyriaus antrojo skirsnio pavadinimo, 106, 107, 108, 119, 120, 122, 124, 127, 128, 129, straipsnių pakeitimo ir papildymo, 89, 109, 110, 111, 112, 125 straipsnių pripažinimo netekusiais galios ir įstatymo papildymo 531, 532 straipsniais ir IX skyriaus trečiuoju skirsniu įstatymas. 2008. Valstybės žinios. 81–3186.
Google Scholar

Lietuvos Respublikos Teismų įstatymo 119 straipsnio pakeitimo įstatymas. 2012. Valstybės žinios. 129–6476.
Google Scholar

Lietuvos Respublikos Teismų įstatymo Nr. I-480 7, 36, 39, 45, 48, 53–1, 53–2, 54, 55–1, 57, 61, 63, 69–1, 76, 78, 84, 85, 88, 91–2, 91–3, 91–4, 91–5, 93, 94, 98, 101, 102, 106, 119, 121, 122, 124, 128, 130 straipsnių pakeitimo, Įstatymo papildymo 44–1 straipsniu ir nauja VII dalimi ir 95 straipsnio pripažinimo netekusiu galios įstatymas. 2019. TAR. 12836.
Google Scholar

Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucinio Teismo 1995 m. gruodžio 6 d. nutarimas. Valstybės žinios. 101–2264.
Google Scholar

Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucinio Teismo 1999 m. gruodžio 21 d. nutarimas. Valstybės žinios. 109–3192.
Google Scholar

Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucinio Teismo 2006 m. gegužės 9 d. nutarimas. Valstybės žinios. 51–1894.
Google Scholar

Opinion no. 10(2007) of the Cosultative Council of Europeans Judges (CCJE) to the attention of the Committee of Ministers if the Council of Europe on the Council for the Judiciary at the service of society. Adopted by the CCJE at it‘s 8th meeting in Strasbourg on 21–23 November 2007. https://rm.coe.int/168074779b [žiūrėta: 3.10.2020].
Google Scholar

European Charta on the Statute for Judges. 1998. https://rm.coe.int/16807473ef [žiūrėta: 3.10.2020].
Google Scholar

Judicial Independence in Eastern Europe, South Caucasus and Central Asia. Challenges, Reforms and Way Forward. Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. Meeting report. 2010. http://www.osce.org/odihr/71178?download=true [žiūrėta: 3.10.2020].
Google Scholar

Šinkūnas, Haroldas. 2004. Teisėjų nepriklausomumo įtvirtinimas Lietuvos teisinėje sistemoje. Daktaro disertacija: socialiniai mokslai, teisė (01 S). Vilnius: Vilniaus universitetas.
Google Scholar

The Universal Charter of the Judge. Adopted by the IAJ Central Council in Taiwan on November 17th, 1999, updated in Santiago de Chile on November 14 th, 2017. https://www.unodc.org/res/ji/import/international_standards/the_universal_charter_of_the_judge/universal_charter_2017_english.pdf [žiūrėta: 3.10.2020].
Google Scholar

Published

2020-12-30

How to Cite

Šinkūnas, H., & Driukas, A. (2020). Composition of the Council of Judges: changes in regulation in Lithuania in 1994–2019. Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Iuridica, 93, 61–74. https://doi.org/10.18778/0208-6069.93.04

Issue

Section

Articles