Delegation of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe visits the Constitutional Court
Today, on 13 September, a delegation of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe [hereinafter – the Congress] visited the Constitutional Court in the framework of its monitoring visit. The Vice-president of the Constitutional Court Sanita Osipova, the Justice of the Constitutional Court Daiga Rezevska and the Head of the Legal Department of the Constitutional Court Alla Spale met the delegation.
Representatives of the Constitutional Court provided to the delegation extensive information on the model of constitutional review in Latvia, as well as on legal regulation that grants to local-government councils the right to submit an application to the Constitutional Court. The jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court in examination of these applications, as well as the existing case law with respect to cases that had been initiated on the basis of applications submitted by local-government councils were brought to the delegation’s attention. Members of the delegation were informed about the binding nature of judgements by the Constitutional Court and enforcement thereof. During the discussion the delegation was interested in finding out, whether Latvian local-governments had the right to issue bidding regulations of local-governments and whether persons could contests such regulations at the Constitutional Court.
The monitoring visit of the Congress’ delegation in Latvia takes place from 12 to 14 September. The purpose of the visit is to verify compliance with the European Charter of Local Self-Governments in Latvia. Following the visit, the delegation will prepare a report on the findings, summarising information obtained during the visit. In the framework of this visit the delegation has planned to meet Latvia’s official delegation to the Congress, as well as other officials, among them – the Minister for Finances Dana Reizniece – Ozola, the Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development Jānis Eglītis, the Chairman of the Saeima Budget and Finance (Taxation) Committee Jānis Vucāns, the Ombudsman Juris Jansons and the State Auditor Elita Krūmiņa, as well as representatives of the Latvian Association of Local and Regional Associations and several local-governments.
Latvia ratified the European Charter of Local-Governments in 1996.
On the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe
The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe (CLRAE) was established on 14 January 1994. The Congress is an advisory institution of the Council of Europe, which played an important role in the drafting and adoption of the European Charter of Local-Governments. Currently the main tasks of the Congress are representing the opinion of European local-government and regions in the Council of Europe, to cooperate closely with national and international organisations of local-governments; to prepare reports on the implementation of the principles of the European Charter of Local-Governments in the Council of Europe member states, regularly following the development of local democracy; to provide practical assistance to new member states in creating effective local and regional self-governments.