The exhibition "Latvian Association of Judges: 95 years since foundation, 30 years since renewal" has been created in the Supreme Court of Latvia. Court visitors can view it in the Supreme Court lobby, yet other interested persons may apply and arrange the visit time with the Division of Communication.

The Latvian Association of Judges was founded in 1929 and is one of the oldest associations of judges in Europe. It operated until the occupation of the Republic of Latvia in 1940.

Following the restoration of Latvia's independence, judges decided on the renewal of the Latvian Association of Judges; in 1993 the renewed Association was registered in the Enterprise Register. The Statutes stipulate that the Association is the successor to the rights and obligations of the Latvian Association of Judges which was founded in 1929.

The exhibition tells about the Latvian Association of Judges and its leaders in the first period of its operation – until 1940, about the renewal of the Association, and its current activities.

The exhibition includes a copy of the founding minutes of the Latvian Association of Judges from the meeting of judges that took place on April 2, 1928 in the Riga Regional Court, as well as documents and photo evidence about the main activities of the Association at that time – the fight for the approval of judges without a time limit, the refusal of secondary positions and the improvement of the material conditions of judges, the organization of social evenings and evenings of essay-readings, and the establishment of amicable relations with Estonian and Lithuanian colleagues.

During the interwar period, the presidents of the Latvian Association of Judges were Jēkabs Stumbergs, the deputy chair of the Riga Regional Court, and Aleksandrs Būmanis, the chair of the Riga Regional Court, as well as Fricis Zilbers and Jānis Skudre, the senators of the Latvian Senate. The exhibition presents them as having versatile personalities.

The minutes of the meetings of the working group for the development of the Statutes, the minutes of the renewal plenary meeting of February 1, 1992, and other documents can be viewed in the exhibition’s section dedicated to the renewal of the Association of Judges. Moreover, there is the agreement and the decision on the establishment of the Council of Judges' Associations of the Baltic States, signed by the chairs of the Judges' Associations of all three Baltic States and the presidents of the Supreme Courts, thus acknowledging that "the agreement is eternal, just as the countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are eternal". The renewed Latvian Association of Judges also laid the foundations for other important processes, namely it was one of the founders of the Latvian Judicial Training Centre, it commenced organizing Latvian Judges’ Conference, and developed the first Code of Ethics for Judges. All of this can be evidenced in the exhibition.

The first chair of the renewed Latvian Association of Judges was Voldemārs Šubrovskis, the then chair of the Sigulda Court. After that, the Association was headed by Andrejs Lepse and Ivars Bickovičs, the chairs of the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court, Iveta Andžāne, the chair of the Bauska District Court, Juris Siliņš, the judge of the Zemgale Regional Court (positions as when they were the chairs of the Association). Each time period has had its own challenges and priorities, defending the interests of the members of the Association and ensuring the prestige of the position of judge. Since 2020, Adrija Kasakovska, the chair of the Zemgale District Court, has been the chair of the Association of Judges, and some exhibits tell stories about the challenges of her time – there are photographs and souvenirs of the Conferences of the International Association of Judges, and a gift from Ukrainian colleagues in gratitude for their support in the fight against the Russian aggression.

The exhibition was opened on November 24 following the general meeting of the Latvian Association of Judges.

 

 

Information prepared by

Rasma Zvejniece, the Head of the Division of Communication of the Supreme Court

E-mail: rasma.zvejniece@at.gov.lv, telephone: +371 67020396, +371 286522