Limits of the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania

The Constitution is composed of not only its text or the legal norms set forth in it, but also of its principles. It is only the Constitutional Court that can officially construe the Constitution. The Constitution provides that the Constitutional Court shall decide whether the laws and other acts issued by Seimas are not in conflict with the Constitution and whether acts issued by President of the Republic and the Government are not in conflict with the Constitution or laws. The powers of the Constitutional Court are established in the Constitution in a very laconic manner, therefore the limits of the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court depend on how the provisions of the Constitution are interpreted. The analysis of the rulings of the Constitutional Court permits to draw a conclusion that the Constitutional Court gradually widens the limits of its jurisdiction. The Constitutional Court has the powers to consider whether not only valid legal acts but also non-valid (abolished, amended) legal acts are in conformity with the Constitution. Under the Constitution, the Constitutional Court has the powers to consider the conformity of the legal acts, which have not yet come into force with the Constitution provided the said acts have been officially published. If one requests to consider the conformity of a sub statutory legal act with the Constitution, the Constitutional Court has to consider also whether the disputed sub statutory legal act is in conformity with the law on the basis whereof it has been adopted, also to consider whether the said law is in conformity with the Constitution. The Constitutional Court has the powers to consider whether a law is in conformity with a constitutional law, whether a constitutional law is in compliance with the Constitution. The Constitutional Court has the powers to consider whether a law or other legal act is not in conflict with the principles of the Constitutio