Lithuania Constitution Fundamentals Exam Syllabus: Topics and Chapters
The exam is based on the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania of 1992 itself: 154 articles grouped into 14 chapters plus final provisions. You don't need to recite the entire text — the exam tests understanding of key principles, not word-for-word quotes from articles. Let's look at what's worth focusing on when preparing.
Main Topics and Chapters
Foundations of the State System
The form of government, the state's independence and sovereignty, the status of Lithuanian as the official language, state symbols — what the Constitution itself opens with and what everything else rests on.
The Individual and the State
Citizens' rights, freedoms, and duties: freedom of speech, religion, assembly, the right to work and education, and the right to privacy. This section is usually the largest and appears most often in test questions, so it's worth spending more time on it when preparing.
The Seimas
How parliament is formed, the term of office — 4 years, and its main functions: passing laws, approving the budget, and overseeing the government's work.
The President of the Republic of Lithuania
How the president is elected (by direct universal suffrage), their powers in foreign and domestic policy, and their role as head of state.
The Government
How it's formed, its accountability to the Seimas, and the division of powers between the government and the president — a topic often confused with the Seimas's powers if you prepare only superficially.
The Courts and the Constitutional Court
The structure of the court system, and the separate role of the Constitutional Court as the body of constitutional review — it is the Constitutional Court, not the Supreme Court, that checks whether laws comply with the Constitution.
Local Government, Finance, and the State Budget
How the system of local municipalities works, and where the country's budget comes from.
The Procedure for Amending the Constitution
A separate chapter is devoted to how and by whom amendments can be introduced — a topic that comes up less often in practice, but still appears periodically in test questions.
Related Laws
In addition to the Constitution's text itself, the exam syllabus includes select provisions from related laws — the Law on Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, which defines who can obtain citizenship and on what grounds, and the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens, which governs the status of foreigners in the country, including the grounds for a residence permit.
