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PARLIAMENTARY FORUM FOR DEMOCRACY NEWS
legal acts drafted by the public authorities of the SSRS that were adopted and ratified by the Supreme Council are valid in Lithuania . Their validity could be suspended or restricted by the resolution of the Supreme Council . Having established the fundamental principle of the rule of law in the Constitution , new legislation was being rapidly drafted and the new legislation aimed at breaking the old legal system and laying legal foundations of the new independent state . One piece of such legislation was the Law on Citizenship and the need for such a law was emphasised even in the early documents of Sąjudis as well as in its later activities . At the beginning of 1989 , first legal models11 for regulation of citizenship were presented in the press , discussions on the content of the draft law on citizenship were initiated . Upon the assignment of the Presidium of the Supreme Council , the Ministry of Justice prepared the first official draft Law on Citizenship . The reform movement Sąjūdis submitted their own version . The key question then was how persons who were Lithuanian citizens or were entitled to the citizenship according to the Law should be described13 . Legal regulation of citizenship was one of the key political issues of that time . The issue was widely debated by the public , since the description of citizenship would have defined who can take part in the elections and referendum , i . e . who will be granted full political rights . On 3 November 1989 , the Supreme Council expressed common accord and adopted the Law on Citizenship One of the main features of this law was that it established continuity of Lithuanian citizenship : Individuals who held citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania , their children and grandchildren were granted the Lithuanian citizenship . Individuals who permanently resided in the present-day territory of Lithuania until 15 June 1940 , their children and grandchildren permanently residing in Lithuania also retained the right to the Lithuanian citizenship . The right to citizenship was maintained to individuals , who were deported from or left Lithuania since 1940 , to their children and grandchildren . Other Lithuanians are entitled to the citizenship of Lithuania when they settle back in Lithuania and take an oath to the Republic of Lithuania .
The reform of the legal framework : Stage 1 :
• The reform of the legal framework ,
• Development of the staff ,
• Hiring of the staff ,
• Creation of the financial and material basis .
Stage 2 :
• Fully-fledged functioning of the reformed judiciary institutions ;
• New institutions are set up .