Today, on the 24th of March, the Saeima decided to dismiss Pavels Gruzins from the post of the judge of the Supreme Court as from the 1st of April. The senator, the Chair of the Department of Criminal Cases of the Senate and depute of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court leaves this post of his own free will due to pensioning off.

However, P. Gruzins doesn’t keep back that he leaves the post of the judge with exacerbation about superior attitude that has been expressed by legislative power and executive power towards independent judiciary during last year. The judge has pointed it out in the letter sent to Ilma Cepane, the Chair of the Legal Commission of the Saeima.

Previously opinion of P. Gruzins about legal state were based on theory of division of state power, namely, that independent judiciary exists as a basis of each democratic state beside legislative power and executive power. “While providing opportunity to act independently to each of these powers, democracy and rule of law are secured. In my opinion, observation of power division principle is a guarantee of legitimacy and freedom”, the senator points out in his letter. P. Gruzins also indicates that the weakest element is judiciary, as it has no specific tools to defend itself and it depends on legislative power and executive power solicitude and is easily influenced from both sides.

“I found an approval of what I say in attempts of the first two powers to show “the right place to judiciary” during the last year, confronting it to all the society, placing the third power against the legislative and executive power. I am not sure that it will bring positive result,” says P. Gruzins in his letter to parliamentarians.

P. Gruzins cites historian, the professor Heinrihs Strods that “the most dangerous time for the state is time of outstanding victories, time of power orgasm,” and finishes his letter with words said by Arthur Wellington, the winner of the Battle of Waterloo that “next to a battle lost, the greatest misery is a battle gained.” P. Gruzins wished to representatives of nation elected in 10th Saeima to serve to people and be free in their decisions.

At the same time the senator thanks all those parliamentarians whom he worked with in different committees and subcommittees of the Supreme Council and Saeima, as a representative of the Supreme Court since 1990, in the time, when old laws were improved and new ones prepared, including such a fundamental laws as Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure Law.

Pavels Gruzins has worked as the judge for 32 years, inter alia 24 – in the Supreme Court. Since 1990, when the Supreme Court of the independent Republic of Latvia was restored, he has been the deputy of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for more than 20 years, and since the creation of the Senate in 1995 he has been the Chair of the Department of Criminal Cases. He had worked in Judicial Disciplinary Committee for a long time, and since 2010 he has been its Chair. P. Gruzins was awarded with the Order of Three Stars and the Mark of Honour of Judicial System of I tier.


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