The Interpretation of the Norms of the 1922 Constitution of Lithuania by the Supreme Tribunal

Abstract

There were six constitutions in the Republic of Lithuania during the period of 1918-1940: three provisional ones (enacted in 1918, 1919, and 1920) and three permanent ones (enacted in 1922, 1928, and 1938). A body of constitutional control, such as a constitutional court or a distinct highest administrative court did not exist those days. The surviving factual material gives grounds to assert that it is necessary to systematize the interpretation of the norms of the Constitutions that were in force in the Republic of Lithuania in the period of 1918-1940 mainly owing to the judgments and rulings of the Supreme Tribunal of the Republic of Lithuania, which carried out the interpretation of the norms of the Constitution and laws either in the context of solving civil, administrative and criminal cases, cases on issues of disciplinary liability of lawyers, and in rulings on requests for interpretation of the Constitution and laws by state institutions and courts. The first provisional Constitution (1918) established (in Article 24) that "In areas where the State of Lithuania has not issued new laws, those that existed before the war are temporarily left, as long as they do not contradict the basic laws of the Provisional Constitution". Applying the pre-war law, the Supreme Tribunal checked its constitutionality every time, which means it interpreted both the law and the constitution. Therefore, it can be said that the practice of the court in the interpretation of the constitution is very abundant. However, the Supreme Tribunal very rarely publicly interpreted the constitution, i.e., expressed his opinion expressis verbis, addressed it to other courts. The Supreme Tribunal could not strike down a law that contradicted the Constitution, but the refusal to apply the law was a message to other state institutions (but only the lower courts had to follow the Supreme Tribunal's position, and the executive authorities and parliament could have a different opinion). The paper represents an analysis of the cases, which were adjudicated by the Supreme Tribunal of the Republic of Lithuania in 1923-1928, where the Court discussed the application of the norms of the Constitution and their interpretation according to some peculiar legal disputes.

Keywords

• Constitutional Law
• the Republic of Lithuania (1918-1940)
• Supreme Tribunal of the Republic of Lithuania