The Constitutional Court has initiated a case regarding possible discrimination in prisons
The Second Panel of the Constitutional Court has initiated a case “On Compliance of the Amount of Toilet Soap Provided for in Appendix 3 of the 19 December 2006 Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No. 1022 “Regulations Regarding the Norms of Material Provision for Food and Household Needs of Prisoners” with Article 91 and Article 111 of the Satversme (Constitution) of the Republic of Latvia”.
Article 91 of the Satversme, among other things, provides that human rights shall be realized without discrimination of any kind, whilst Article 111 provides that the State shall protect human health and guarantee a basic level of medical assistance for everyone.
The contested norm prescribes providing prisoners with accessories of hygiene, including household soap. Only women, however, are provided with toilet soap.
The case has been initiated having regard to the constitutional claim of Roberts Matulis. The applicant indicates that household soap cannot be regarded as soap that can be used for body wash. He also draws attention to the fact that the contested norm provides for discrimination by gender.
The Cabinet of Ministers was asked to submit a reply, before 16 Mach 2009, containing an account of factual circumstances and legal justification thereof. The deadline for adjudication of the case is 11 May 2009.
Linked case: 2009-03-03