On Thursday, 20 March, the Supreme Court was visited by patriotic and curious young people from the Riga Youth Guard Centre. Jānis Pleps, Senator of the Department of Administrative Cases, gave the youth guards a law lecture and introduced them to the judicial system, the Supreme Court and the judicial work.

The idea to register the young people for a study visit to the Supreme Court came from the instructor of young guards Edgars Černijs, who explained his decision by stating that "the young people are active, they have been working in the forest and in the natural environment, they have undergone defence training. In order to learn about national security and public protection, they have got to know the work of the police. Yet it is also important to learn about the work of other law enforcement institutions, including what the courts and judges do to strengthen the rule of law in our country".

In a conversation with the young guards, Senator Janis Pleps talked about the role of the judicial system in the country and the interaction of Latvian courts with European law. The visitors learnt what legal literacy is and whether we can trust everything we read. The Senator encouraged the young people to put themselves in the shoes of a judge and to solve a legal case, reaching a fair judgement and ensuring human rights.

After the meeting, the guards toured the historic Palace of Justice.

 

Baiba Kataja, Communication Specialist of the Supreme Court

Telephone: +371 67020365; e-mail: baiba.kataja@at.gov.lv