Employees of the Constitutional Court on an experience–sharing visit to the Court of Justice of the European Union
From 5 November to 8 November, the Advisor of the Constitutional Court Gatis Bārdiņš, as well as the Assistants to Justices Elīna Semeņuka and Baiba Bakmane visited the Court of Justice of the European Union to share experience. During the visit, they met with the Judge of the Court of Justice of the European Union Egils Levits, the Judges of the General Court Ingrīda Labucka and Inga Reire, as well as a number of Court’s employees.
The employees of the Constitutional Court had the opportunity to attend two court hearings, to study in detail the legal proceedings and the course of work at the Court of Justice of the European Union and the General Court, to discuss with foreign colleagues relevant issues of law as well as to present the database of the judicature of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Latvia. The employees also visited the library of the Court of Justice and presented to it, on behalf of the Latvian Constitutional Court, several editions with collections of the rulings by the Constitutional Court and conference papers.
From the left: Assistant to the Judge of the Constitutional Court Baiba Bakmane and Elīna Semeņuka, Advisor of the Constitutional Court Gatis Bārdiņš. Photo: Archive of the Constitutional Court.
Following the visit, the employees of the Constitutional Court recognised that both Courts were facing similar challenges. One of the examples for that could be ensuring uniform judicature, where information technologies have a decisive role to play. Likewise, the employees of the Constitutional Court admitted that, during the visit, they had gained valuable information and knowledge that would be helpful in the future in performing their duties.
The visit was organised by the Bureau of the Judge of the Court of Justice of the European Union Egils Levits in cooperation with the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Latvia, with the aim of promoting judicial dialogue and sharing of experience, upscaling knowledge, as well as adopting new skills for increasing the effectiveness of work. There are plans to continue this initiative.
From the left: Adviser to the Secretariat of the Council of Justice Dace Šulmane, Judge of the General Court of the European Union Ingrīda Labucka, Judge of the European Union Court Egils Levits, Judge of the General Court of the European Union Inga Reine, Assistant of the Judge of the Constitutional Court Baiba Bakmane, Advisor of the Constitutional Court Gatis Bārdiņš and Assistant of the Judge of the Constitutional Court Elina Semenuka. Photo: Archive of the Constitutional Court.