A case on remuneration for imprisoned persons has been initiated
The First Panel of the Constitutional Court initiated a case “On Compliance of Section 51 Paragraph 13 Indent 1 of the Latvian Penalty Execution Code with Article 107 of the Satversme of the Republic of Latvia”.
The contested norm establishes that the minimum salary per hour and the minimum monthly wage for convicts that serve their sentence in a closed or partially closed type of prison shall be 50 percent of the minimum salary per hour and the minimum monthly age of the State.
The applicant Mārtiņš Ēcis holds that the contested norm does not comply with Article 107 of the Satversme and maintains that imprisoned persons who serve their sentence at a prison, like any other person, has the right to receive a commensurate remuneration for the work done, which shall not be less than the minimum wage established by the State.
It has been indicated in the application that an incommensurable wage does not motivate prisoners to work, which hampers fulfilment of the function of re-socialization.
The Saeima was asked to provide, before 21 December 2010, a reply regarding facts of the case and legal justification thereof. The term of preparation of the case is 21 March 2010.
Linked case: 2010-67-01