On Friday, September 15, having visited the Supreme Court of Japan, the delegation of the Supreme Court of Latvia and the Judicial Council of Latvia concluded their familiarization with the Japanese judicial system. The President of the Supreme Court of Latvia Aigars Strupišs and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Japan Saburo Tokura agreed that both Courts, although being different, still share the same values that they protect.

During the meeting of the Latvian delegation with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Japan, issues of court efficiency were discussed. The Japanese side shared their experience.

The issue of judicial training was also discussed. Japan has single system of legal education and continuing legal education for advocates, prosecutors and judges. Having created such a system, the Japanese have considered that taking care of the quality of legal education is a strategic objective of national importance.

Attention was paid to the issue of digitalization of processes in courts. In Japan, the digitalization of courts is in its early stages, and electronic signatures have not been widely implemented. Currently, the concept of digitalization of courts is being developed. The Latvian delegation introduced the Japanese colleagues with our system, explaining that judges sign judgments electronically and court hearings can be held via videoconferencing. The Japanese colleagues were interested in Latvia's experience regarding the implementation of the electronic case management system (e-case). Our delegation presented the challenges of court digitalization and implementation difficulties.

Ways of future cooperation were also discussed. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Japan stated that Japanese justices also do internships in Europe, so visiting Latvia could be one of the possibilities.

At the conclusion of the visit, the Latvian delegation had a brief tour of the building and courtrooms of the Supreme Court of Japan.

 

About the experience exchange visit

The purpose of the experience exchange visit of the delegation of the Supreme Court and the Judicial Council of Latvia was to meet with the heads of Japanese judicial institutions, to learn about the work of courts, as well as to build cooperation between Latvian and Japanese judicial institutions.

During the visit, the Latvian delegation visited the Legal Training and Research Institute, the first instance courts and appellate courts in Tokyo, as well as the Supreme Court of Japan. The delegation also met with Zigmārs Zilgalvis, the Ambassador of Latvia to Japan, and they received professional support from the Embassy in organizing and conducting the visit.

The Latvian delegation included Aigars Strupišs, the Chair of the Judicial Council and the President of the Supreme Court, Dzintra Balta, the Vice-Chair of the Judicial Council and the Senator of the Department of Civil Cases of the Supreme Court, Guntars Ploriņš, the Member of the Judicial Council, the Chair of the Valmiera Courthouse of the Administrative District Court, and Alla Spale, the Head of the Secretariat of the Judicial Council.

 

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