Right to submit an application
According to Constitutional Court Law the right to submit an application regarding initiation of a case regarding compliance of laws or international agreements signed or entered into by Latvia with the Constitution (also until the confirmation of the relevant agreement in the Saeima), compliance of other regulatory enactments or parts thereof with the norms (acts) of a higher legal, as well as compliance of Latvian national legal norms with those international agreements entered into by Latvia that are not in conflict with the Constitution is held by:
1) the President;
2) the Saeima;
3) not less than twenty deputies of the Saeima;
4) the Cabinet;
5) the Prosecutor General;
6) the Council of the State Audit Office;
7) a local government council;
8) the Ombudsman, if the authority or official, who has issued the disputed act, has not rectified the established deficiencies within the time period specified by the Ombudsman;
9) a court, on adjudicating a civil case, criminal case or administrative case;
10) the Land Register Office judge in performing an entry of immovable property or associated corroboration of rights thereof in the Land Register;
11) a person in the case of the fundamental rights being infringed upon as defined in the Constitution;
12) the Judicial Council in the frameworks of jurisdiction established by law.
The right to submit an application regarding initiation of a case regarding compliance with law of other acts of the Saeima, the Cabinet, the President, the Speaker of the Saeima and the Prime Minister, except for administrative acts is held by:
1) the President;
2) the Saeima;
3) not less than twenty deputies of the Saeima;
4) the Cabinet; and
5) the Judicial Council in the frameworks of jurisdiction established by law.
The relevant council has the right to submit a request regarding the initiation of a case regarding compliance of such an order with law, with which a minister authorised by the Cabinet has suspended a decision taken by the local government council.
Any person, who considers that his or her fundamental rights included in the Satversme of the Republic of Latvia have been infringed upon by a law or other regulatory enactment, may submit a constitutional complaint or an application to the Constitutional Court*.
In submitting the constitutional complaint, it must be taken into consideration that it is the ultimate measure for protecting fundamental rights. Prior to turning to the Constitutional Court, the person must try to defend his or her rights by using general legal remedies. For example, if an institution has infringed upon a person’s rights, first of all a complaint must be submitted to a higher standing institution. If its decision is not satisfactory, it is possible to turn to the court of first instance (district or municipal court), the ruling of which may be appealed against at an appellate instance court (regional court). Usually the rulings by this court may be appealed against to a cassation instance court (the Supreme Court). If the ruling by the Supreme Court is not satisfactory either and the problem is based upon incompatibility with the Satversme, the person may turn to the Constitutional Court.
Court rulings – judgements or decisions – cannot be appealed against at the Constitutional Court. I.e., the Constitutional Court does not decide, whether the particular civil case, criminal case or administrative case has been adjudicated correctly. The Constitutional Court, in difference to other courts, is “the court of laws”. This means, that the Constitutional Court verifies, whether the law is not incompatible with the fundamental rights established in the Satversme. For example, if the Supreme Court has based its ruling upon a legal norm, which the person considers to be incompatible with the Satversme, then the person may request the Constitutional Court to recognise the particular norm as being invalid. If the Constitutional Court recognizes the norm as being invalid, then the person will be able to submit an application to the Supreme Court and request a new hearing of the case.
A constitutional complaint must be submitted to the Constitutional Complaint within six months after the ruling by the final institution (for example, the Supreme Court) has entered into force. If the fundamental right cannot be defended by general legal remedies, then the constitutional complaint may be submitted within six months after the moment when the violation of fundamental rights occurred.
The complaint must be submitted to the Constitutional Court in writing. It should include information about the applicant, the institution, which adopted the contested act or norm, the facts of the case, the legal substantiation of the complaint, as well as the claim to the Constitutional Court.
A constitutional complaint must include the legal substantiation. The legal substantiation must contain arguments pertaining to the infringement of the applicant’s fundamental rights by the contested norm. It must also prove that all general legal remedies have been exhausted or that such are non-existent. Analysis of the content of legal norms, explanations about the way the contested norm restricts the applicant’s fundamental rights, assessment of the legality of procedure in which the contested norms have been adopted are to be considered the legal substantiation of the application. If the legal substantiation is obviously insufficient for satisfying the claim, the Constitutional Court may refuse to initiate a case.
A constitutional complaint may be submitted to the Secretariat of the Constitutional Court at 1 Jura Alunāna Street, Rīga, LV-1010, or sent by mail to the address indicated above. The phone number of the Chancery of the Constitutional Court is +371 67210274.
At the same time, it must be noted that the Constitutional Court does not provide legal advice on drawing up a constitutional complaint and about legal substantiation.
* A person’s fundamental rights have been defined in Chapter 8 of the Satversme. These are, among other, the right to life, the right to freedom and integrity of a person, the right to the freedom of speech, the right to unite in public organisations, the right to submit applications to state and local government institutions and receive an answer on the merits of the case, the right to social security in old age, in case of incapacity for work or unemployment, etc.