The Republic Of Lithuania

68:1 Preface

The Republic of Lithuania is the largest of the three Baltic States with a territory of 65,300 sq. km (around 25,200 sq. miles). The country is situated on the Eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. To the north, the Republic of Lithuania borders Latvia; to the east and the south, Belarus; and to the southwest, it has common borders with Poland and the Kaliningrad Region of the Russian Federation.

The population of the Republic of Lithuania is 2.9 million.1 The official language of the country is Lithuanian. The main religion is Roman Catholicism. Ethnic Lithuanians constitute approximately 83.45% of the total population. The capital is Vilnius, which is also the largest city in the Republic of Lithuania, with a population of 635,812.2 The other major cities are Kaunas, Siauliai, and Klaipeda.

Following a 90% positive vote in a referendum, the Republic of Lithuania joined the European Union on May 1, 2004, and adopted the euro (¬) on January 1, 2015.3

68:2 Preface—State structure

The government system in the Republic of Lithuania is a parliamentary democracy. The state structure is based on the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, adopted by referendum held on October 12, 1992, with later numerous amendments. The parliament, the president, the government, and the courts exercise the state's power.

Legislative power lies with the unicameral parliament (Seimas), which consists of 141 members elected for a fouryear period1 Most state competencies and responsibilities are in the hands of the government,2 considered to be the highest executive authority. The state government is divided into 19 ministries, headed by the prime minister.3

The administrative division of the Republic of Lithuania is made up of 10 districts (Apskritys). The districts comprise 17 urban and 43 rural municipalities (Savivaldybes). The representative body of a municipality is the municipality council (Savivaldybes Taryba), elected for a period of four years.4

68:3 Preface—Courts, arbitration courts

Lithuanian courts are organized in a four-level, three instance court system, which consists of (1) local courts, district courts and Vilnius District Court, (2) the Court of Appeal and (3) the Lithuanian Supreme Court.1

Non-criminal cases are divided into civil and administrative disputes. The latter are defined in the Code of Administrative offences2 and are dealt with within the administrative courts system, which consists of district administrative courts...