Case No. 14/94-15/94
THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF
THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
DECISION
On the dismissal of the commenced legal proceedings
27 June 1994, Vilnius
The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania, composed from the Justices of the
Constitutional Court: Algirdas Gailiūnas, Kęstutis Lapinskas, Zigmas Levickis, Vladas Pavilonis,
Pranas Vytautas Rasimavičius, Stasys Stačiokas, Teodora Staugaitienė, Stasys Šedbaras, and Juozas
Žilys
The court reporter—Rolanda Stimbirytė
The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania, in its procedural sitting, has
examined the issue pertaining to the dismissal of the initiated legal proceedings in case No. 14/9415/94.
The Constitutional Court
has established:
The petitioners—the Panel of Civil Cases of the Supreme Court and the 2nd Vilnius District
Court—request an investigation into whether Item 1 of Paragraph 1 of Article 26 of the Code of
Civil Procedure of the Republic of Lithuania is in compliance with the first paragraph of Article 109
of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania.
The Panel of Civil Cases of the Supreme Court, while investigating the civil case under
cassation procedure pursuant to the suit of the stock-company “Transferas” lodged against the
Panevėžys city board, faced the issue of the jurisdiction of the case. The Panel of Civil Cases of the
Supreme Court has stated that, under Item 1 of Paragraph 1 of Article 26 of the Code of Civil
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Procedure, this case as well as other cases pertaining to the disputes, the subjects of which are state,
public, co-operative enterprises, establishments and organisations, are not within the jurisdiction of
courts. The material, gathered for the suspended case, can prove that the issue of said dispute being
under the jurisdiction of State Arbitration was raised. Meanwhile, in accordance with the first
paragraph of Article 109 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, the courts shall have the
exclusive right to administer justice. Besides, Article 124 of the Constitution establishes that acts
adopted by municipalities in violation of the rights of citizens and organisations, may be appealed
against in court. Due to the above-mentioned reasons, the investigation of the case was suspended
and it was decided to address the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania.
The 2nd Vilnius District Court, while investigating the civil case pursuant to the suit of the
plaintiff—the joint-stock company “TELE-3”—brought against the defendant—the Radio and TV
Centre of Lithuania—also faced the jurisdictional issue of the case. The representatives of the
defendant have specified that, in conformity with Article 26 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the
Republic of Lithuania, the case is not within the jurisdiction of the court, and said dispute among
parties should be settled by the State Arbitration. Therefore, the 2nd Vilnius District Court
suspended said civil case and passed the ruling to apply to the Constitutional Court.
In the first paragraph of Article 109 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania it is
determined that the courts shall have the exclusive right to administer justice. While realising this
constitutional provision, the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania on 12 April 1994 adopted the
Provisional Law on the Economic Court. In the first paragraph of Article 1 of this Law it was set
forth that: “A specialised court of the Republic of Lithuania, called the Economic Court of the
Republic of Lithuania, is established instead of State Arbitration of the Republic of Lithuania, to
ensure the court investigation of economic disputes arising from commercial activity”. In the
second paragraph of this Article it is determined that “The Economic Court shall start its activity on
the next day after the oath taken by the appointed judges to the Republic of Lithuania”.
On 25 May 1994, the President of the Republic of Lithuania, by decree No. 300 appointed
judges of the Economic Court. On 26 May 1994, these judges took an oath for the Republic of
Lithuania. Taking into consideration the fact that the State Arbitration of the Republic of Lithuania
was liquidated by said acts, establishing the Economic Court instead, the case under investigation is
actually left without the subject matter of the dispute. The Constitutional Court holds that this is a
ground for the dismissal of the initiated legal proceedings.
Conforming to the fourth paragraph of Article 69 of the Law on the Constitutional Court of
the Republic of Lithuania, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania adopts the
following
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decision:
To dismiss the commenced legal proceedings of case No. 14/94-15/94.
Justices of the Constitutional Court:
Algirdas Gailiūnas
Kęstutis Lapinskas
Zigmas Levickis
Vladas Pavilonis
Pranas Vytautas Rasimavičius
Stasys Stačiokas
Teodora Staugaitienė
Stasys Šedbaras
Juozas Žilys