The opening formal session of the Constitutional Court year emphasises the importance of sustainability and the Satversme
On Friday, 4 February, a formal session of the Constitutional Court was held remotely to open the new year of the Court’s work. The President of the Constitutional Court, Sanita Osipova, presented a report on the achievements of the Constitutional Court in strengthening the rule of law in Latvia in 2021. Dainis Īvāns, the First Chairman of the Latvian Popular Front, was the guest of honour of the Constitutional Court and gave a presentation on the restoration of independence of the Republic of Latvia and the functioning of the Satversme.
In her address, the President of the Constitutional Court reflected on the past year of the Court’s work and emphasised the role of sustainability in the development of the State and society.
“We have come to believe that the purpose of the state is to ensure prosperity. But, as the Satversme teaches, prosperity cannot exist in isolation from sustainability. Alongside everyday concerns, we must also think about the sustainability of the nation, the state, the people, humanity and the world,” said Sanita Osipova.
In his address on the restoration of Latvia’s independence, Dainis Īvāns, the guest of honour at the formal sitting, highlighted the role of the Satversme in the restoration of statehood.
“When we realised that nobody would give us freedom anyway and that we would have to fight for it, the Satversme held us in balance as if on a knife’s edge,” noted the First Chairman of the Popular Front of Latvia.
Anyone interested could watch the Constitutional Court’s formal session on the YouTube channel of the Constitutional Court. The session was joined remotely by the heads of the constitutional institutions of the State, as well as by former Presidents of the State of Latvia, former judges and chairpersons of the Constitutional Court, and other public officials.
About the Press Conference
After the formal session, a press conference was held, where Sanita Osipova, the President of the Constitutional Court, and Aldis Laviņš, the Deputy President of the Constitutional Courtprovided more information on the work of the Constitutional Court in 2021 and presented the published annual report.
Sanita Osipova highlighted information on the indicators of the Constitutional Court’s activity and emphasised the main findings of the Constitutional Court’s case-law.
Aldis Laviņš, Deputy President, emphasised the importance of the dialogue between the Constitutional Court and society, constitutional institutions, foreign constitutional courts and school youth in a democratic state governed by the rule of law.
Presentations by Sanita Osipova, the President of the Constitutional Court, and Dainis Īvāns, the First Chairman of the Latvian Popular Front, are available here:
Text of the solemn address of Sanita Osipova, the President of the Constitutional Court available here.
A video recording of the press conference is available here:
Overview of the work of the Constitutional Court in 2021 in PDF format available here.