On Monday, 9 September, at the Plenary Session of the Supreme Court, Senator Anita Kovaļevska was elected as the Chair of the Senate’s Department of Administrative Cases.

29 out of 31 senators present voted in favour of election of Anita Kovaļevska.

The term of office of a chair of the Senate’s departments is five years.

Anita Kovaļevska prioritizes the reduction of length of proceedings and of backlog of cases in the Department. According to her, the way for achieving this is by redistributing cases among senators and by conducting an in-depth analysis of the approval procedure of cases for examination in cassation, ensuring that rulings and their reasoning are written in a laconic manner.

Other areas of the Supreme Court Strategy for 2021-2025 will also be supported, with particular emphasis being placed on cooperation between Senate’s departments and with lower courts. Participation in activities of building public awareness of court work will also continue, but to a lesser extent than in the past, as reducing the backlog of cases is now a top priority.

When nominating Anita Kovaļevska as the Chair of the Department, the senators of the Department of Administrative Cases emphasised that Anita Kovaļevska is an authority both among her colleagues and in the legal community, she has the ability to solve problems in a balanced and rational manner, and has a collegial and supportive ways of cooperation.

Moreover, colleagues note that Anita Kovaļevska has a deep understanding of the court’s role in ensuring rights of every member of Latvian society and in protecting the democratic order and constitutional values of our country. She has extensive knowledge of human rights and judicial ethics.

Anita Kovaļevska has been a senator of the Department of Administrative Cases since 2018. Before that, she was a judge at the District Administrative Court and the Regional Administrative Court, interned at the European Court of Human Rights, and was a judge’s assistant at the Constitutional Court.

She was a member of the Judicial Ethics Commission and the Chair of the said Commission. Since 2022, she has been a member of the Disciplinary Court.

Anita Kovaļevska holds a Master's degree in Social Sciences in Science of Law from the University of Latvia. Since 2006, she has been a lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the University of Latvia. She is a co-author of the Commentaries on the Constitution and the Commentaries on the Administrative Procedure Law, as well as a co-author of the textbook "Administrative Law".

 

Information prepared by

Rasma Zvejniece, Head of the Division of Communication of the Supreme Court

E-mail: rasma.zvejniece@at.gov.lv, telephone: +371 67020396, +371 28652211