The president registered draft amendments to the Law on Citizenship following media reports that former Lithuanian basketball players Žydrūnas Ilgauskas would lose Lithuanian citizenship after becoming a citizen of the United States.
The proposed amendments would allow people with exceptional merits to Lithuania to keep their Lithuanian citizenship after becoming citizens of other countries.
“Discussions should be held on whether the legalization of such a new exception does not run counter to the constitutional concept of citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania, enshrined in the Constitution and defined in the Constitutional Court‘s doctrine on dual (multiple) citizenship,” the Office of the Seimas’ Legal Department said in its conclusion.
The amendments were scheduled to be put before the Seimas on Tuesday but the bill was removed from the agenda following the critical conclusion. The bill’s compliance with the Constitution will be discussed by the parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs.
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