Problems of the implementation of the criminal jurisdiction for citizens of the Republic of Lithuania, who according to national law enjoy immunity

The article examines the problems related to the application of the Lithuanian criminal jurisdiction towards those citizens who enjoy immunity under national law. In analysing the immunity of the head of state, the author emphasises that this is a centuries-long tradition. Meanwhile, the immunity of the members of parliament, judges and some of the persons running for high office from criminal jurisdiction is a relatively new and contentious issue, especially in those cases, when immunity is used as a cover against prosecution. In the author’s opinion, the restrictions on the prosecution of the members of parliament and government ministers, judges, presidential candidates, and municipal council members that are established in the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and other national laws are unreasonable and grant to them an unjustified privilege. The article also notes that whenever there is a question regarding the consent or permission to prosecute a particular person, the first problem is the meaning of the term “prosecution”. The author argues that the term “prosecution” cannot be related to the intermediary phases of the criminal procedure because a person is considered to be “prosecuted” only when a sentence is passed and comes into effect. Therefore, requests for permission to prosecute persons who enjoy immunity from criminal jurisdiction should be made only when sending their criminal cases to court