Specific rights and additional authority will be bestowed on Lithuanian Armed Forces personnel for the event of emergency with rapidly increasing scope of the event and the need to restore basic conditions for the work of the police, State Border Guard Service or the Public Security Service under the Ministry of the Interior to prevent threats to public peace. Today, the Government approved the proposed amendments to the Law on the Organization of National Defence and Military Service and to the Statute on the Use of Military Force.
The draft amendments to the law aim to establish a legal mechanism for authorization of military personnel to have authority concerning non-subordinate persons in order to ensure efficient Armed Forces assistance in restoring basic conditions for civil safety system capabilities in case of emergencies.
“The additional powers will enable the military to better, assist the State Border Guard Service whose resources are currently intensely exploited. The amendments to the law stipulate the need of military assistance when responsible institutions run short of human resources,” said Minister Arvydas Anušauskas presenting the amendment.
Military personnel may be authorized as follows:
– to give mandatory instructions to natural and legal persons, other organisations and their subdivisions;
– to persecute and detain persons who do not follow the mandatory instructions, suspected of committing or committing criminal offences or other infringements of the law;
– to impose temporary limitation on access to designated territories or quarters, halt activities pursued, restrict or ban traffic in such areas;
– to inspect documents of persons, vehicles, weapons, and other items;
– to carry out search of persons and their belongings;
– to pull over, verify and search vehicles, cargo and other items, as well as persons and their luggage on board.
Military personnel would be allowed to use special measures, such as batons, handcuffs and restraints, signal guns, pyrotechnics, gas, service dogs, physical force, combat wrestling, and other measures approved by order of the Minister of National Defence.
As the draft law amendments stipulate, additional authorization could be given to military personnel by decision of the Minister of Defence only when the following conditions are met:
– national emergency is declared;
– the scope of the event is rapidly expanding and basic conditions for the police, State Border Guard Service or the Public Security Service under the Ministry of the Interior have to be recreated so as to prevent threats to public peace;
– a reasoned request document is issued by the Government Emergency Commission Chair (currently, the Minister of the Interior);
– the decision is agreed to by the President.
Military personnel could be used only in the emergency area and the additional authorisation could be given for the period not longer than three months. The term can be renewed again for an unlimited number of times that, however, does not exceed the duration necessary for restoring the conditions for the activity of national authorities.
The draft amendments will come into force if approved by the Seimas.
Photo credits: Lithuanian Armed Forces
