Judge Valdimaras Bavejanas said at the hearing that the merger ban could run counter to the Constitution and the Law on Political Parties, consequently upholding the earlier of a Vilnius court that allowed the merger.
„The conclusion is that there are no reasons to annul the judgment under appeal,“ – said the judge.
The ruling of the Court of Appeals is final and not subject to further appeals.
The prosecutor had asked the court to restrict the Labor Party's operations and thus bar it from merger with the Order and Justice party, saying the move would render the Labor Party non-existent and make it impossible bring it to justice.
However, the Vilnius court ruled that, under the law, the new legal entity would be held liable for the Labor Party's operations for a period of three years.
The Labor Party is charged with failing to include more than 24 million litas (EUR 6.9 mln) in income and 23 million litas in spending into its books in the 2004-2006.
The party's leader Viktor Uspaskich, Parliamentary First Vice-Speaker Vytautas Gapsys and MP Vitalija Vonzutaite are currently standing trial for organizing bookkeeping fraud while holding top positions at theLabor Party's Vilnius bureau in 2004-2006. In addition to the three parliamentarians, charges in the case have been brought against the party as a legal entity and its former financial officer Liutkeviciene.
The Labor Party's members strongly deny the accusations, saying the case is politically-motivated. The case reached court back in 2008.
