When reviewing the application of a Russian Federation and European Union citizen regarding the decision of the Minister of the Interior to include her in the list of foreigners who are prohibited from entering Latvia, the Senate’s Department of Administrative Cases of the Supreme Court has found that such cases fall within the jurisdiction of the Regional Administrative Court.

The applicant had appealed to the Senate, referring to Paragraph 69 of Cabinet Regulation No 675 of 30 August 2011 "Procedures for the Entry and Residence in the Republic of Latvia of Citizens of the Union and their Family Members," which clearly states that such a decision may be appealed before the Senate. However, the Senate points out that there is a contradiction between the aforementioned provisions and Section 61, Paragraph six of the Immigration Law, which stipulates that such a decision shall be appealed to the Regional Administrative Court.

The Senate has already ruled in 2022 that in such situations the provisions of the law apply, not the provisions of Cabinet regulations, as the law has higher legal force. Consequently, in cases where the Minister of the Interior, on the basis of Section 61, Paragraph one of the Immigration Law, takes a decision to include a European Union citizen or a member of his or her family in the list of foreigners who are prohibited from entering Latvia, such a decision is subject to appeal to the Regional Administrative Court.

The Senate therefore concludes that, as of 27 September 2021, the review of the legality of the Minister of the Interior's decision on the entry ban falls within the competence of the Regional Administrative Court, not the Senate.

 

Kārlis Arājs
Communication adviser of the Supreme Court
Telephone: +371 67020302
E-mail: karlis.arajs@at.gov.lv