Parliament Speaker J. Olekas has proposed A. Drigotas as a new candidate for the Constitutional Court judge after canceling the previous appointment of J. Sabatauskas due to constitutional concerns.
The Speaker of the Parliament of Lithuania, J. Olekas, has registered a new candidate for the Constitutional Court judgeship, proposing A. Drigotas. This announcement follows the cancellation of the prior appointment of social democrat Julius Sabatauskas, who was deemed unfit for the role by the Constitutional Court. In January, the Court determined that Sabatauskas's appointment contradicted constitutional requirements after reviewing a request from a group of parliament members.
The request for a review highlighted that Sabatauskas, who previously chaired the Law and Order Committee, did not meet the 10-year legal or academic teaching experience required for judges of the Constitutional Court. In response to this ruling, Speaker Olekas has now nominated Drigotas, who has been serving as a judge at the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania since 2002 and also teaches at Mykolas Romeris University. His prior experience includes serving as a judge at the Vilnius District Court.
Drigotas graduated from law studies at Vilnius University, making him a qualified candidate following the Constitutional Court's recent decisions regarding eligibility. The Lithuanian Parliament had previously appointed Artūras Driukas and Haroldas Šinkūnas to the Constitutional Court through a secret vote, excluding Sabatauskas amidst ongoing scrutiny of his qualifications.
