A case initiated regarding the compliance of the amount of financing set in the State budget of 2019 for State-founded institutions of higher education with the Satversme
On 25 November 2019, the 4th Panel of the Constitutional Court initiated the case “On compliance of the programmes 03.00.00 “Higher Education”, 02.03.00 “Higher Medical Education”, 20.00.00 “Cultural Education” and sub-programme 22.02.00 “Higher Education” of the Law “On the State Budget for 2019”, insofar these do not envisage annual increase of the State-allocated financing for studies in State-founded institutions of higher education in the amount no less than 0.25 per cent of the gross domestic product, as provided for in Section 78 (7) of the Law on Higher Education Institutions, with Article 1 and Article 66 of the Satversme of the Republic of Latvia”.
The contested norms
Programmes 03.00.00 “Higher Education”, 02.03.00 “Higher Medical Education”, 20.00.00 “Cultural Education” and Sub-programme 22.02.00 “Higher Education” of the Law “On the State Budget for 2019” determine the amount of State-allocated financing for studies in State –founded institutions of higher education for 2019.
The Norms of Higher Legal Force
Article 1 of the Satversme of the Republic of Latvia (hereafter – the Satversme): “Latvia is an independent democratic republic.”
Article 66 of the Satversme: “Annually, before the commencement of each financial year, the Saeima shall determine the State Revenues and Expenditures Budget, the draft of which shall be submitted to the Saeima by the Cabinet. If the Saeima makes a decision that involves expenditures not included in the Budget, then this decision must also allocate funds to cover such expenditures. After the end of the budgetary year, the Cabinet shall submit an accounting of budgetary expenditures for the approval of the Saeima.”
The Facts
The case was initiated on the basis of an application by thirty-one members of the 13th convocation of the Saeima. The applicant refers to Section 78 (7) of the Law on Higher Education Institutions, which provides: “In submitting the annual draft law on the State budget to the Saeima, the Cabinet shall provide therein an annual increase of financing for studies in State-founded higher education institutions of not less than 0.25 per cent of the gross domestic product until the State-allocated financing for studies in State-founded higher education institutions reaches at least two per cent of the gross domestic product.” Since this norm came into effect, starting with 2014, the amount of State-allocated financing for studies in State- founded institutions of higher education had not been increased in the amount set defined in it. In 2019, this financing had increased only by approximately 0.007% of the gross domestic product.
The applicant noted that the legislator had not abided by and, accordingly, had not envisaged the necessary increase in the financing for studies in State-founded institutions of higher education as stipulated in Section 78 (7) of the Law on Higher Education Institutions. Therefore the contested programmes and sub-programme of the law “On the State Budget for 2019” are incompatible with the general principles of law enshrined in Article 1 of the Satversme – the principle of the rule of law, the principle of legal certainty, and the principle of good legislation. Moreover, by not allocating sufficient financing for the development of higher education, which is very significant for the national development, the principle of sustainability, included in Article 66 of the Satversme, had not been complied with.
The Legal Proceedings
The Constitutional Court has requested the institution, which issued the contested act, the Saeima, to submit a written reply on the facts of the case and the legal reasoning by 27 January 2020.
The term for preparing the case is 25 April 2020. The Court will decide on the type of procedure and the date for hearing the case after it has been prepared.
Linked case: 2019-29-01