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Law on the Seimas Ombudsmen Article 1. The Seimas Ombudsmen shall investigate citizens' complaints concerning abuse of official position or bureaucracy of state and local government officials. The Ombudsmen shall investigate citizens' complaints concerning abuse of official position or bureaucracy of the following officials: employees of the institutions of State government and administration, employees of local government Councils and their departments, or the authorized persons whose duties embrace the performance of organisational, managerial or administrative functions. The jurisdiction of the Ombudsmen shall not encompass investigation of the activities of the President of the Republic, the mernbers of the Seimas, the judges of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and other courts, the procedural actions of prosecutors, investigators or interrogators, the activities of the Prime Minister, the State Controller and the Government (as a collective institution), or local government Councils and their Boards (as collective institutions). Article 2. Citizens of the Republic of Lithuania who have an impeccable reputation, who are trained in law and who have served in the legal profession or who have been employed in the institutions of State government and administration for at least 5 years shall be eligible for appointment as Ombudsmen. Article 3. The Ombudsmen shall be appointed by the Seimas for the term of 4 years from the candidates nominated by the Speaker of the Seimas. If an Ombudsman dies or is removed from office for reasons specified in Article 4 of this Law, the Seimas shall appoint a new Ombudsman for the remaining period of office. The number of terms of office of the Ombudsmen shall not be limited. Article 4. An Ombudsman may be removed from office before the expiration of his term of office if more than a half of the Seimas members express nonconfidence in him. An Ombudsman shall also be removed from office in the following cases: 1) on personal request; 2) upon reaching the pensionable age established pursuant to the Law on Pensions; 3) upon the expiration of his term of office, if he is not reappointed; 4) if he is elected to another office or transferred to another job with his consent; 5) if the Ombudsman is incapable of fulfilling his duties for reasons of health, i.e. if in the course of one year he is ill for more than 4 months; and 6) if a court sentence concerning him becomes effective. In the cases prescribed in Par. 2 hereof, the decision concerning the removal of an Ombudsman from office shall be adopted by the Seimas by simple majority vote. Article 5. The Seimas shall appoint 5 Ombudsmen: 2 Ombudsmen for the investigation of activities of state institution officials, 1 Ombudsman for the investigation of activities of military institution officials and officials of institutions having the status of military institutions, and 2 Ombudsmen for the investigation of activities of officials of local government institutions. When nominating candidates for the office of Ombudsmen, the Seimas Speaker shall specify the institutions for the investigation of activities whereof they are appointed. Article 6. All the Seimas Ombudsmen shall have equal rights and duties, and each of them shall function independently. Together with the ancillary personnel, they shall form the Ombudsmen's Office, which shall be a legal person. Its structure, staffing, and financing shall be approved by the Seimas. The Seimas Speaker shall appoint the head of the Ombudsrnen's Office who, alongside with the direct duties of the Ombudsman, shall also perform necessary administrative functions: on the recommendation of the Ombudsmen, he shall employ or dismiss from office deputies of the Ombudsmen, shall employ or dismiss other employees of the Office, shall monitor their work, shall represent the Office, and shall organize the preparation of annual reports. In the absence of the Ombudsman who is the head of the Office, the eldest Ombudsman shall substitute for him. The internal regulations of the Ombudsmen's Office, the issues concerning the activities of the Ombudsmen as well as other issues shall be regulated by the Statute of the Ombudsmen's Office approved by the Seimas. Article 7. If an Ombudsman is incapable of performing his duties by reason of illness, departure abroad, or other reasons, the head of the Office shall empower another Ombudsman to act in his place. If an Ombudsman is incapable of impartially investigating a certain complaint because of relationship by blood or affinity, or for any other valid reasons, the head of the Ombudsmen Office shall charge another Ombudsman to investigate the complaint. In the event that the head of the Office is incapable of investigating a certain complaint due to the above reasons, he must refer it over to another Ombudsman for investigation. Article 8. The Ombudsmen may not hold any other elective or appointive office, nor may they be employed in other trade, commerce or any other government, public or private institutions or firms, or receive any other remuneration except the salary established according to their office and remuneration for creative activities. Article 9. The Ombudsmen shall be paid a salary which is equal to that of the Supreme Court judges. The head of the Ombudsrnen's Office shall be paid a salary which is 10 percent more than the salary of the Ombudsmen. Article 10. When discharging their functions, the Ombudsmen shall act in pursuance of the Constitution and laws, and shall be independent of Seimas members, other institutions, officers or persons. Article 11. If an Ombudsman detects other violations which are not specified in the citizens’ complaints, he shall investigate them on his own initiative provided that the appropriate issues are within his competence, or he shall refer them over for investigation to other competent state institutions. Article 12. Abuse of an official position shall be the actions or lack of action of an official whereby the official position is used not in the interests of the office, or is used contrary to laws or other legal acts, or in pursuit of mercenary ends (unlawful appropriation or conveyance to other persons of property finances, etc. which do not belong to him, etc.), or in pursuit of other personal goals (revenge, jealousy, career advance or provision of illegal services, etc.), as well as the actions of the official whereby he exceeds his powers, or his arbitrary actions. Article 13. Bureaucracy shall be the actions of officials when, rather than settling matters in essence, they systematically maintain unnecessary or made-up formalities, groundlessly refuse to settle issues which are within their jurisdiction or delay adopting decisions or fulfilling their duties. The style of work of officials characterized by failure to perform the duties established by laws or other legal acts as well as unsatisfactory performance of such duties shall also be considered bureaucracy. Article 14. Every citizen shall have the right to file complaints with the Ombudsman concerning abuse of official position or bureaucracy of officials of state or local government institutions which are assigned to the Ombudsman's competence. The Ombudsrnen shall also investigate citizens' complaints referred to them by Seimas members, provided that the complaints correspond to the requirements set forth in this Law. The Ombudsmen shall not investigate complaints arising frorn legal relations of employment and other complaints the investigation whereof is assigned to the competence of courts. Article 15. Complaints must be submitted within 3 months after the action in question was committed. Complaints filed after the expiration of the time limit, as well as anonyrnous complaints, shall not be investigated unless the Ombudsman decides otherwise. Article 16. The complaint must indicate: 1) the addressee - the Ombudsman; 2) the complainant's name, surname and address; 3) the name, surname and official position of the officials against whom the complaint is brought, as well as the name of the institution where they are employed: 4) the name of the decision against which the complaint is brought and the date of the adoption thereof, or a description of the actions complained against, and the time and circumstances of their commission; 5) the complainant's position; 6) a distinctly phrased application addressed to the Ombudsman; 7) a list of the documents attached to the complaint; and 8) the date of the complaint and the complainant's signature. Attached to the complaint may be: 1) a copy of the contested decision; 2) available evidence or description thereof; and 3) a list of the persons to be questioned as proposed by the complainant, specifying their address and the circumstances which may be confirmed by each of them. Article 17. The Ombudsman shall refuse to investigate the complaint and return it to the cornplainant no later than within 7 days if: 1) he makes a conclusion that the matter complained against is insignificant; 2) the complaint is brought after the expiration of the time limit for complaints established in Article 15 of this Law; 3) the circumstances referred to in the complaint are not within the Ombudsmen's competence; 4) an analogous complaint has been investigated or is being investigated in court; and 5) a criminal action has been brought or preliminary investigation is in progress on the case concerning the complaint. If the complaint is returned to the complainant, grounds for refusal to investigate the complaint must be specified. In the cases when the complaint is not within the competence of the Ombudsmen, the refusal to investigate it must also specify the institution which the complainant might address on the matter. A complaint filed repeatedly after investigation shall not be investigated unless the Ombudsman decides otherwise. Article 18. When investigating a complaint, the Ombudsman must ascertain: 1) whether the decisions referred to in the complaint have been adopted and whether there have been grounds for complaint (actions or failure to act, or instances of conduct); 2) on what grounds and under what circumstances the above mentioned was committed; 3) whether the decisions or actions referred to in the complaint contradict laws and other legal acts, and whether in the activity of the official there are instances of abuse of official position or bureaucracy; 4) what officials committed the violations, for what reasons (or in pursuit of what goals), and what is the culpability of concrete officials and how the officials who committed the violation account for their actions; and 5) what facts or evidence confirm the committed violation. All circumstances clarified and evidence collected in the course of investigation as well as the legal evaluation of the investigated activities shall be set forth in the statement which in all cases shall be signed by the Ombudsman. If the accusations brought out in the complaint prove groundless, notification of this shall be given in the statement which shall also contain the description of the circumstances which have been established and the characterization of the investigatory actions which have been carried out. The statement shall be delivered to the complainant. Article 19. At the Ombudsman's request, officials of state and local government institutions must immediately present information, documents and material which are necessary for the Ombudsman to carry out his functions. Article 20. The Ombudsman shall investigate complaints both on his own and by commissioning his assistants on the staff to carry out separate investigatory actions. The Ombudsman shall have the right to enlist the services of police officers if he or his assistants are hindered from entering civil or military institutions which are investigated by them, or if they are refused access to required documents or material. In said cases, police officers must seize the documents and material requested by the Ombudsman. Article 21. The Ombudsman shall have the right to request that the officials whose activities are under investigation present a written explanation; he may also question the required persons. In the event that the Ombudsman is refused explanation or evidence, a report shall be drawn up thereon. Upon completion of the investigation, the head of the office wherein the investigation was conducted as well as the official whose actions were investigated and the complainant shall be acquainted with the results. Article 22. The Ombudsman and the ancillary personnel must guard State, professional or other secrets which are protected by law and which come to their knowledge in the course of their duties. The same pledge of secrecy shall also be incumbent on persons who are not employed in the Ombudsmen's Office but who participated in the investigation of the complaint. Article 23. Upon completing an investigation, the Ombudsman shall adopt one of the following decisions: 1) to refer the material to investigative bodies if elements of crime are found; 2) to bring a court action recommending that the court dismiss from office officials guilty of abuse of official position or bureaucracy, with the exception of officers who are appointed by the President or who are appointed or elected by the Seimas, and to suggest that moral and material damage which the person suffered by reason of the violations committed by officials be compensated; 3) to recommend that the departmental collective institution or head of the institution wherein the investigation was conducted or a superior institution impose disciplinary penalties on the officials guilty of violation; 4) to bring the fact of negligence in work, noncompliance with laws, or violation of professional ethics or bureaucracy to the attention of the officials concerned; 5) to reject the complaint if the violations specified therein are not confirmed; or 6) to notify the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania or the President of the Republic of the violations committed by Ministers or other officials accountable to the Seimas or the President (with the exception of officials enumerated in Par. 3 of Article 1). When adopting decisions on the official's abuse of his official position or acts of bureaucracy the Ombudsman may not revise or revoke the official's decisions. Upon establishing that while adopting the decision the officer abused his position, the Ombudsman must apply measures to revoke the decision in the manner established by law. The Ombudsman's recommendation to revise the unlawful decision of the official must be examined in the institution to which the official is accountable.The decision of the court to remove from office, on the recommendation of the Ombudsman, officials guilty of abuse of official position or bureaucracy shall be obligatory to the employer and shall constitute grounds for terminating the employment contract. Article 24. Complaints must be investigated and the complainant must be given a response no later than within 1 month of the day of receipt of the complaint. As necessary, the Ombudsman may extend the period of investigation for up to one more month. He must notify the complainant thereof. Article 25. Officials specified in Par.2 of Article 1 of this Law may address the Ombudsman with a request for a conclusion on whether or not the decisions will bring about consequences which later might be appealed against to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman may refuse to present such a conclusion. Article 26. If numerous or flagrant violations of law are established during investigation, the Ombudsman must notify the Seimas, the Government, or the corresponding local government Council thereof. Article 27. If during the investigation the Ombudsman becomes aware of shortcomings, contradictions or loopholes in statutory law or other legal acts, he shall notify the Seimas, the Government, or the corresponding local government Council thereof. Article 28. Each year, the Ombudsman shall submit a written report on his general activities during the previous calendar year to the Seimas by 15 March; the report must be made public and considered in the Seimas. The report shall also contain generalized information stating in which of the institutions specified in Par.2 of Article 1 of this Law the greatest number of violations committed by the officials has been established, which statutory laws or other legal acts encourage abuse of official position, and what measures should be applied so that the abuse of official position by officials would be diminished. At the same time, the information concerning the activities of the Ombudsmen's
Office presented by the Committee on Human and Citizen's Rights and Nationalities
Affairs as well as proposals how to improve said activities shall be submitted
and considered in the Seimas. Statute of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office of the Republic of Lithuania
of 22 February 1995 I. General Provisions Article 1. The Statute of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office of the Republic of Lithuania shall regulate the organisational structure, powers and internal order of the Office and establish the guarantees of the Ombudsmen's activities and other guarantees. Article 2. The Seimas Ombudsmen's Office is an independent State institution consisting of the Ombudsmen appointed by the Seimas as well as the personnel which ensures technical, business and financial servicing of the Ombudsmen. Article 3. All the Seimas Ombudsmen shall have equal rights and duties, and each one of them shall act independently when investigating citizens' complaints concerning the abuse of official position or bureaucracy of state or local government officials. Article 4. In their activities the Ombudsmen shall be guided by the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, the Law on the Seimas Ombudsmen, this Statute, other laws, international treaties and agreements. The Ombudsmen shall base their activities on the principles of lawfulness and openness as well as their conscience. Article 5. The Seimas Ombudsmen's Office is a legal person. It shall be financed with the funds from the State Budget. Article 6. The Seimas Ombudsmen's Office shall have its seal with
the Lithuanian State emblem and the name "The Seimas Ombudsmen's
Office of the Republic of Lithuania" imprinted thereon. The head
of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office shall be responsible for the use and
keeping of the seal of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office. II. The Structure of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office Article 7. The Seimas Ombudsmen's Office shall comprise the Ombudsmen, the Board of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office, assistants of the Ombudsmen, departments and other structural divisions approved by the Board of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office. The Seimas Ombudsmen's Office shall be directed by the head of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office. Article 8. The competence of the structural divisions of the Seimas Ombudsmen's
Office and the Office employees shall be determined by the rules of the
Seimas Ombudsmen's Office approved by the Board of the Seimas Ombudsmen's
Office. III. Spheres and Objects of Investigation of the Seimas Ombudsmen Article 9. The Ombudsmen of the Republic of Lithuania shall investigate citizens' complaints concerning the abuse of official position or bureaucracy of officials of State and local government institutions as well as military institutions and institutions equated to them. Equated to military institutions are the Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Security Department and institutions subordinate to them. The division of spheres of action by the Ombudsmen investigating citizens' complaints concerning State and local government institutions shall be approved by the Board of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office. Article 10. When referring a complaint over to another Ombudsman for investigation on the grounds specified in Article 7 of the Law, the head of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office shall first of all refer it over to another Ombudsman who investigates complaints of the same category, and in case he is not in the position to investigate it - to any other Ombudsman. Article 11. On the instructions of the Ombudsmen, individual actions may be performed by their respective assistants.
IV. Guarantees of the Ombudsmen's Activities and other Guarantees Article 12. When performing his duties, the Ombudsman shall have the right to: 1) request that information, documents and material required for the discharge of his functions be presented without delay, as well as familiarise himself with documents which are deemed confidential and constitute a State secret. As necessary, for the implementation of the right the assistance of police officers shall be enlisted and an appropriate act concerning the seizure of documents shall be drawn up; 2) enter the premises of controlled institutions, organisations. The territory and premises of military institutions and institutions equated to them shall be entered with the officers of the institutions accompanying; 3) request that the officials whose activities are being investigated give a written or oral explanation; 4) take part in the sittings of the Seimas, the Government and local government institutions when issues related to the activities of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office are being considered; 5) inform the Seimas or the Council of the appropriate local government of gross violations of law or shortcomings, contradictions or loopholes in laws or other legal acts; and 6) recommend to the Seimas, the Government or other state institutions that laws or other standard acts restricting human rights and freedoms be amended. The assistants of the Ombudsmen who investigate complaints on the instruction of the Ombudsmen shall also have the rights specified in items 1-4 of Par. 1 hereof. Article 13. Without the consent of the Seimas criminal proceedings may not be instituted against an Ombudsman, he may not be arrested or have his freedom restricted in any other way. Article 14. It shall be permitted to enter the Seimas Ombudsman's office or residential premises, to make a search of the premises, as well as to make an inspection, search or seizure in his official vehicle only provided that criminal proceedings have been instituted in accordance with the established procedure. Article 15. The salary of the Ombudsman may not be lower than the average salary of the Supreme Court judge. Article 16. The Ombudsmen shall have social guarantees established by law with regard to the State Controller. Article 17. The powers of the Ombudsman may be terminated only on the grounds provided for by the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and the Law on the Seimas Ombudsmen.
V. The Board of the Seimas
Ombudsmen's Office Article 18. The Board of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office shall consist of five Ombudsmen. The Board of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office shall: 1) consider the most urgent issues of the Ombudsmen's activities and hear out other issues put forward by the Ombudsmen; 2) approve the division of spheres of activity among the Ombudsmen; 3) hear out the reports of departments of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office on the issues of work organisation; 4) approve the rules of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office; 5) submit proposals concerning the financing of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office; 6) approve the structure of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office, list of staff and the salary coefficients; 7) give material incentives to the employees of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office; 8) approve annual reports; and 9) send the Ombudsmen and employees of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office on business trips and to training courses abroad, as well as on business trips or to training courses in Lithuania if the duration of the trip or training period exceeds one month. Article 19. The meetings of the Board shall be presided over by the head of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office, and, in his absence, by the eldest Ombudsman. The Board of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office shall issue resolutions on issues within its competence which shall be passed by majority vote of the Board members. The procedure of work of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office shall be established by rules of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office.
VI. The Head of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office Article 20. The head of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office shall be appointed by the Seimas on the recommendation of the Seimas Speaker. Article 21. In addition to his direct functions as the Ombudsman, the head of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office shall also perform the following functions: 1) convene the meetings of the Board and preside over them; 2) direct the work of the Office and represent the Office; 3) on the recommendation of the Ombudsmen, employ or dismiss from office the assistants of the Ombudsmen; 4) employ or dismiss other employees of the Office; 5) supervise the work of the Office employees and adopt decisions concerning the improvement of work of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office; 6) determine the salaries of the employees; 7) grant vacations to the Ombudsmen and the Office employees; 8) address issues concerning the improvement of qualifications of the employees, training courses and business trips in Lithuania if the duration thereof is not in excess of one month; 9) present the structure of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office, the staff list and the salary coefficients to the Board for approval; 10) impose disciplinary penalties on the employees; 11) propose to the Board to fix salary supplements and bonuses for the employees; 12) form provisional work groups of employees for the urgent settlement of certain issues; 13) organise the preparation of annual reports; 14) charge another Ombudsman to temporarily act for the Ombudsman who is incapable of performing his duties by reason of illness, vacations, departure abroad, etc.; and 15) in accordance with the procedure set forth in Article 10 of this Statute, charge another Ombudsman to investigate a certain complaint if the Ombudsman who must investigate the complaint is incapable of investigating it impartially because of relationship by blood or affinity, or any other reasons. Article 22. The head of the Office shall exercise his authority by issuing orders. In the absence of the head of the Office, the eldest Ombudsman shall substitute for him. VII. Complaint Acceptance and Investigation Article 23. The Seimas Ombusdmen shall accept citizen's (natural persons') complaints for investigation, concerning the abuse of official position and bureaucracy of the employees of government and state institutions and military institutions or the institutions having the same status as military institutions, or persons authorised by them, who perform organisational, managerial or administrative functions. The Seimas Ombudsmen shall not investigate the activities of the President of the Republic, the members of the Seimas, the judges of the Constitutional Court, and other courts, as well as the procedural actions of prosecutors, investigators or interrogators, the activities of the Prime Minister, the State Controller and the Government (as collegiate institutions). The Seimas Ombusdmen shall not investigate the complaints arising from legal labour relations and other complaints that are subject to court investigation, and they shall not investigate the validity and legitimacy of court decisions and sentences. Article 24. The complaints shall be lodged in writing. The procedure for the registration and transfer of complaints shall be prescribed by the regulations of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office. If complaints are voiced verbally, received by phone or if the Seimas Ombudsmen have established the indications of abuse of office or bureaucracy from the press and other mass media, the Seimas Ombudsmen may start investigation on their on initiative. Article 25. The complaint must state: 1) the addressee - the Seimas Ombudsman; 2) the complainant's name, surname and address; 3) the name, surname and official position of the officials against whom the complaint is lodged, and their place of employment; 4) the name of the decision against which the complaint is brought and the date of its adoption, or the description of actions against which the complaint is brought, the date and circumstances of the commitment thereof; 5) the complainant's stand; 6) a distinctly phrased application addressed to the Ombudsman; 7) a list of documents attached to the complaint; and 8) the date on which the complaint was drawn up and the signature of the complainant. Complaints must be submitted within 3 months after the commitment of actions against which the complaint is lodged. Complaints lodged after the expiration of this term as
well as anonymous complaints shall not be investigated unless the Ombudsman
decides otherwise. Article 26. Attached to the complaint may be: 1) a copy of the contested decision; 2) available evidence or the decision thereof; and 3) a list of persons to be questioned as proposed by the complainant, indicating their addresses and circumstances which may be substantiated by each of them. Article 27. The Ombudsman shall refuse to investigate the complaint and return it to the complainant no later than within 7 days, provided: 1) he makes a conclusion that the matter complained against is insignificant; 2) the complaint is lodged after the expiration of the term prescribed by Article 15 of the Law on the Seimas Ombudsmen of the Republic of Lithuania; 3) the circumstances referred to in the complaint do not qualify for the investigation by the Ombudsmen; 4) the complaint concerning the same matter has already been investigated or is being investigated in court; and 5) a criminal action has been brought against or a preliminary investigation is in progress on the matter against which the complaint is lodged. Article 28. A complaint lodged repeatedly after its investigation shall not be investigated unless the Ombudsman decides otherwise. Article 29. If the complaint is returned to the complainant, grounds for the refusal to investigate it must be specified. In the cases where the complaint is not within the competence of the Seimas Ombudsmen, it must be specified in the refusal to what institution the complainant may address this matter. Non-compliance with the form of complaint prescribed by law or failure to specify the requisites may not serve as the grounds for refusal to investigate the complaint, with the exception of cases where it is impossible to commence investigation due to the lack of facts and the complainant refuses to furnish them. Article 30. When investigating the complaint, the Ombudsman shall be entitled to request that the official whose activities are under investigation give his explanations. Such explanation must be given within the 5 business days. If said explanation is not received, the Seimas Ombudsman shall have the right to address to the senior official (collegiate body), who must either demand and obtain the explanation or give explanations himself within the time limit set by the Seimas Ombudsman. Article 31. Upon the completion of the investigation of the complaint, a statement shall be drawn up, in which the circumstances revealed in the course of investigation, the collected evidence and legal evaluation of the official's activities shall be provided. The statement shall be signed by the Seimas Ombudsman. The head of the office in which investigation was conducted as well as the official whose actions were investigated and the complainant shall be familiarised with the findings of the investigation. Article 32. The complaint must be investigated and the response must be given to complainant within one month from the receipt of complaint. Where necessary, the Seimas Ombudsman may extend the term of investigation for up to one more month and the complainant shall be notified thereof. Article 33. Upon completing the investigation, the Ombudsman shall pass one of the following decisions: 1) to refer the material to investigation agencies if indications of a crime are revealed; 2) to bring a court action and recommend to remove from office the officials guilty of the abuse of their official position and bureaucracy, with the exception of those who are appointed by the President of the Republic or elected by the Seimas, and to propose that moral and material damage caused to the person by reason of the violations committed by the officials be compensated; 3) to bring a court action or to appeal to a superior institution in order to repeal the decision concerning the official's abuse of his official position; 4) to recommend that the departmental collegiate institution, head of the institution in which the investigation is conducted, or the superior institution impose disciplinary penalties on the officials guilty of violations; 5) to bring the fact of negligence in work, non-compliance with laws, or violation of professional ethics or bureaucracy to the attention of the officials concerned; 6) to reject the complaint if the violations indicated therein are not substantiated; 7) to report to the Seimas or President of the Republic about the violations
committed by the ministers or other officials accountable to the Seimas
or the President of the Republic. VIII. Procedure for the Preparation of Annual Reports Article 34. The preparation of annual reports shall be organised by the head of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office. The annual report on the activities during the preceding calendar year shall be prepared annually and submitted in writing to the Seimas by 15 March. Article 35. The Seimas Ombudsmen shall prepare and present to the head of the Ombudsmen's
Office information about their activities by 1 February. The information
received shall be generalised and the draft report shall be prepared,
stating in which government and state institutions, municipal Councils
and Boards, military and other institutions having similar status the
greatest number of violations have been established, what the causes of
these violations are, which laws or legal acts encourage abuse of one's
official position or bureaucracy, what measures should be taken in order
to reduce the number of cases of the abuse or bureaucracy. IX. The Openness of the Activities of the Seimas Ombudsmen Article 36. The Seimas Ombudsmen shall provide information according to the spheres of investigation or with their consent, representative of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office for public relations and information shall provide information for the press and other mass media about the cases of abuse of office, committed by the officials, or bureaucracy. Information which according to the list of news of the Republic of Lithuania constitutes state secret shall not be divulged to the public. Article 37. The activities of a representative of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office for public relations and information shall be regulated by the Regulations of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office. Article 38. A representative of the Seimas Ombudsmen's Office for public relations and information must record the information published in the press, or transmitted by radio and television relative to the activities of the Seimas Ombudsmen and the decisions passed by them, and shall immediately notify the appropriate Seimas Ombudsmen. Article 39. The Seimas Ombudsmen's Office shall publish an information bulletin.
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