Jautrite Briede, the senator of the Department of Administrative Cases of the Senate and associated professor of the Faculty of Law of the UL, had a telephone talk to Ilma Cepane, the Saeima deputy last weekend. The conversation was about possible nomination of the senator for the post of ombudsman, but Jautrite Briede refused from this post.

The senator thinks that agreement to become a candidate would be waste of time. “As I am founder and member of Delna association, then, having watched what happened to Andrejs Judins, when his candidature was directed for the post of the judge of the Supreme Court, when one says one thing, and goes about something different, I had an impression I would not be elected for this post”, Jautrite Briede admits.

Another reason for refuse is that the senator doesn’t want to change her work of the judge and associated professor that she is gratified about, and body of the department of the Senate.

Jautrite Briede also indicates that good ombudsman has to have great identification and publicity, but she doesn’t want to have it.

Procedure of nomination of ombudsman has been discussed in media of late weeks intensively. Although information has been spread that the senator Jautrite Briede was mentioned informally as the most solid candidate for the post of the ombudsman with party “Unity” (“Vienotiba”), neither any political power nor any person invited her to nominate her candidature for the post of the ombudsman and nobody negotiated with her.

On Friday, the 4th of February Jautrite Briede made an announcement, in which she mentioned that she evaluates the discussion initiated by elections of the ombudsman and role of this authority in Latvia and possible candidates for this post positively. However, the fact that candidate’s name, moreover, if this candidate is a judge, without any ground has been linked with concrete party of political power, is inadmissible.

Saeima has to nominate candidates for the post of ombudsman until the 10th of February. Term of office of Romans Apsitis, the present ombudsman, ends on the 1st of March.


Information prepared by

Head of the Division of Communications of the Supreme Court Rasma Zvejniece

E-mail: rasma.zvejniece@at.gov.lv, telephone: 7020396, 28652211