The President of the State Raimonds Vejonis at the meeting of 2 March with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Ivars Bickovics stressed that in order to promote public confidence in courts and the judiciary, involvement of judges and judiciary in resolving the issues, as well as openness to discussions with the society and readiness to embrace change is highly important.

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court pointed out that the Supreme Court, recognizing its role in the judicial system of Latvia, has set two strategic objectives when developing the Strategy 2017-2019: effective and qualitative administration of justice and strengthening the authority of the Supreme Court. These objectives correspond to steps for ensuring the legal environment emphasized in conversation with the President of the State, namely, court judgments have to be comprehensible to public and legal certainty has to be ensured, as well as cases have to be adjudicated within reasonable periods of time, and active involvement of judges in important political debates related to law is anticipated.

The Chief Justice noted a proposal for amendments to the Law by the President of the State, submitted already last year. Intended amendments relate to expanding the authority of the Council for the Judiciary in improving the judicial work and in judges’ career issues. Currently the Parliament is responsible for deciding on amendments to the law.

The Chief Justice informed the President on the previous year's results and current developments at the Supreme Court and the judiciary as a whole. The officials discussed the progress of judicial reform, which established that the Supreme Court is merely the cassation instance since January of this year. The President welcomed the reduction in the duration of proceedings in civil cases, and invited the Court to use its own resources for finding solutions to make the adjudication of cases faster. Furthermore, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court pointed out that the reform has led to difficulties for the Supreme Court to develop a uniform case-law and penal policy, as the court of cassation do not adjudicate the case on its merits, but examine the observation of the principle of rule of law regarding the application of legal provisions. Consequently, the role of regional courts has increased in formation of uniform case-law.

The President of the State handed his speech to be presented during the plenary session of the Supreme Court, to be held on Friday, 3 March, to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. In turn, Ivars Bickovics invited the President to visit the Supreme Court to meet face to face with the judges and court staff. The President has accepted the invitation and promised to schedule the visit.

 

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 28652211