Aija Branta

President of the Constitutional Court
Aija Branta was born on August 28, 1957.

In 1983 she graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Latvia, where in 2003 she acquired a Master’s degree in social sciences. In 1995 she mastered human rights at the Institute of European Law of the University of Birmingham, in 2002 – European Community and international law at the Riga Graduate School of Law, and in 2004 – international criminal law at the University of Florence.

She has been working in court system since 1983, from 1984 until 1992 being a judge at the Court of First Instance and from 1992 until 2004 – a justice of the Chamber of Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Latvia.

She has taken part in seminars in numerous European countries, reporting on human rights, independence of judiciary, problems of preventing juvenile delinquency, alternative penalties for minors, as well as issues of international co-operation. From 2000 until 2003 she participated in activities of an expert committee established by the Council of Europe “The New Way of Dealing with Juvenile Delinquency and the Role of Courts,” and from 2000 until 2002 was an expert in a study course organized by the Association of the Universities and Colleges of Canada “Reform for Dedication of Latvian-Canadian Cooperation in the Field of Youth Justice.”

In 2006 became a member of the Consultative Council of European Judges and also a member of the European Commission for the Efficency of Justice.

In 2004 the Parliament of the Republic of Latvia confirmed her appointment as a judge of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Latvia. In June 2011, she was elected the Vice President of the Constitutional Court, but on February 28, 2014 – the President of the Constitutional Court.

Her term of office expired on April 24, 2014.