Mažasis Seimas - ryškus epizodas Lietuvos parlamentarizmo raidoje

Abstract

The Little Diet which makes a significant episode in the history of Lithuanian parliamentarism was established by the Constituent Assembly on 22 October 1920 after the country was exposed to the danger of the Polish aggression. The article considers the prerequisites for the origination of the institution, analyses the provisions of the law on the establishment of the Diet with an emphasis on the fact that the Diet was established solely to fill in the break of the Constituent Assembly which occurred as a result of the war, when in the face of a threat for the country the functioning of the State powers had to be co-ordinated better, to operate more flexibly and actively. The Little Diet was authorized by the Constituent Assembly with nearly full jurisdiction, except for the constituent powers in defining the basics of the state and the ratification of international agreements. In setting up the Little Diet which consisted of seven members, the interfraction proportion of the Constituent Assembly was preserved. The article surveys an almost three–month–long history of the Little Diet.