Legislative Process
Description of the Process of Adopting a Government Resolution
Draft legal acts are registered with the Government Chancellery.
How to register a legal act? This can be done in several ways:
The Prime Minister, ministers, municipal councils and social partners (associations, trade unions, non-governmental organisations) have the right to submit draft laws, resolutions and other legal acts to the Government.
It is important that draft legal acts submitted by the Prime Minister must be signed by the Prime Minister, and draft legislation submitted by a minister must be signed by the minister.
For example, draft legal acts submitted by municipal councils and social partners must be signed by the minister responsible for the relevant area. A draft legal act submitted to the Government, which has been prepared and submitted by a specific institution, must be coordinated with other institutions in accordance with the established rules of procedure of the Government.
Legal acts may also take the form of requests and complaints from individuals and petitions from citizens.
Requests and complaints addressed to the Government or the Prime Minister are forwarded by the Chancellor of the Government to the responsible institutions, and the person who submitted the request or complaint is notified thereof.
The conclusions of the Government Petitions Committee on the satisfaction or rejection of the requirements and proposals set out in the petition are registered with the Government Chancellery. The conclusions are then forwarded to the relevant institutions so that appropriate legislation can be drafted to implement the requirements of the petition.
Then the public can also get involved in the legislative process by submitting their proposals.
The public is usually consulted at the initial stage of the initiative, providing interested parties (individuals, associations, non-governmental organizations, trade unions, state and municipal institutions and agencies) to submit comments and proposals on draft legal acts.
Proposals submitted for a draft legal act must be accompanied by an assessment of the feasibility of implementation and conclusions from the Government Chancellery. The Chancellery prepares its conclusions in consultation with the responsible ministries. Proposals and comments on the draft legal act are coordinated with the drafters and submitted to the Chancellor of the Government for inclusion in the draft agenda of the Government meeting.
The institution preparing the draft legal act, the Government Commission, must ensure that the draft legal act is properly prepared, that the public is consulted, and that the deadlines are met. Together with the draft legal act, the preparer shall also submit an assessment of the comments and proposals received from the institutions concerned.
The draft, revised in accordance with the comments and proposals presented in the conclusions of the Government Chancellery departments, is submitted to the Government. The Prime Minister may propose that the draft law be considered by the relevant Government committee or at a Government meeting.
Government consultations and meetings
The Chancellor of the Government submits proposals to the Prime Minister regarding the agenda for Government consultations and meetings. The Prime Minister shall determine the date and time of Government consultations and meetings. Government consultations and meetings shall be chaired by the Prime Minister. Members of the Government shall participate in government consultations and meetings.
Government consultations
Consultations take place before Government meetings, during which the most important issues are discussed. Government decisions and resolutions are discussed and adopted during Government consultations.
Government meeting
Issues agreed upon at Government consultations are discussed at Government meetings. Government resolutions are adopted by a majority vote of Government members.
Government resolutions
Government resolutions are forwarded to the responsible institutions: the Seimas and the President of the Republic.