On June 4, judges and prosecutors from several European Union countries visited the Supreme Court of Latvia for an experience exchange visit. The guests were welcomed by Viktorija Soņeca, Legal research counsel to the Department of Civil Cases of the Supreme Court.

During the presentation, Viktorija Soņeca introduced the delegation to the Latvian judicial system, the structure of the Senate (Supreme Court) and its competences, statistical data of received and examined cases, the competence of each Supreme Court department, and the functionality of the archive of case-law rulings. Moreover, the most outstanding and topical cases of each department were presented, which sparked discussions, during which the members of the delegation shared the experience of their countries in specific issues. For example, cases regarding the determination of restrictions on capacity to act with property due to a person's mental disability or other health disorders, and cases regarding human dignity, when unjustified delay in burying a dead person means an infringement of the right to respectful treatment of a person’s body were analyzed.

The guests also walked the corridors of the Palace of Justice, had a look in the historic courtroom of the Senate and gained an insight into the history of the Court at the Supreme Court Museum.

The international exchange visit of judges and prosecutors is organized by the Latvian Judicial Training Centre and the Prosecution Office of the Republic of Latvia within the framework of the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN) project. The project aims to promote the mutual recognition of legal practices by strengthening the single European legal area.

 

Information prepared by Iveta Jaudzema, Communication specialist of the Supreme Court

E-mail: iveta.jaudzema@at.gov.lv; telephone: +371 67020396