The council was granted judicial powers and became an appellate instance, subordinate to the King and acting in the absence of him, who remained the chief justice.
The council's legislative powers were limited under the subsequent edition of the Lithuanian Statute of 1566, as a result of a growing role of szlachta and its Sejms.
The Council carried out executive functions in the state since 1445 because the majority of Lithuanian Grand Dukes resided in Poland.
A majority of the members were Roman Catholic ethnic Lithuanians;[4] however, the influence of Ruthenian magnates was constantly increasing.
The highest ranked statesmen in the Lithuanian Council of Lords were voivodes of Vilnius and Trakai, while the Elders of Samogitia (self-elected by the Samogitian nobility and confirmed by the Grand Duke of Lithuania) were the third most important.