As the new academic year commences, students take the opportunity to attend court hearings of the Senate (Supreme Court). On September 14, 93 students of law faculties of different universities attended two hearings of the Department of Criminal Cases of the Senate.

The subject matter of the issues under consideration attracted great interest. The Senate examined the prosecutor's applications for the renewal of two criminal proceedings due to newly discovered circumstances, as the person, in respect of whom the criminal proceedings were once terminated due to her death, had not died.

The person was detained within the framework of new criminal proceedings. During the course of the investigation, it was established that the person's fingerprints and palm prints correspond to the data available in the archive of the Biometric Data Processing System in respect of two criminal proceedings, which were terminated due to the death of the person.

The Senate cancelled the rulings adopted by the lower courts, renewed the criminal proceedings and remitted the cases to the court of first instance for reconsideration.

One case was examined by the Senate in an extended composition of judicial panel of five senators, as according to the Criminal Procedure Law, an application due to newly discovered circumstances regarding a case in which a decision was made by the court of cassation shall be examined by a judicial panel of five senators. The second case was examined by one senator, as the case was previously examined only by the court of first instance.

For several years now, the Supreme Court has been notifying law faculties of universities about the cases to be considered in oral proceedings in the Senate, so that students can attend them as listeners.

 

Information prepared by Baiba Kataja, the Press Secretary of the Supreme Court

Tel.: +371 67020396; e-mail: baiba.kataja@at.gov.lv