A case has been initiated on a norm prohibiting a person convicted of a deliberate criminal offence from being in the State Fire and Rescue Service
A case has been initiated before the Constitutional Court on compliance of Section 4, Clause 4 of the Law on the Course of Service of Officials with Special Service Ranks Working in Institutions of the System of the Ministry of the Interior and the Prison Administration, insofar as it prohibits a person who has been convicted for committing an intentional criminal offence from being in the service of the State Fire and Rescue Service, irrespective of the expungement or removal of the conviction, with Article 101, Paragraph One, and the first sentence of Article 106 of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia.
The contested norm provides that such a person may serve who has not been punished for an intentional criminal offence — irrespective of expungement or removal of the conviction.
The application has been brought before the Senate, which is hearing an administrative case brought on the application of a person for annulment of an administrative act by which he was dismissed from the State Fire and Rescue Service because he had been punished for committing an intentional criminal offence. The Senate holds that the contested norm disproportionately restricts the right of a person to perform public service and the right to freely choose an occupation and workplace.
On 11 June 2021, the Constitutional Court adopted a judgement in Case No. 2020-50-01, in which it recognised the contested norm as compatible with the first part of Article 101 and the first sentence of Article 106 of the Constitution, in so far as it prohibited the performance of service in the State Police. The applicant, on the other hand, requests that the contested norm be assessed with regard to the prohibition to be in the State Fire and Rescue Service. This claim is therefore different in substance from the claim assessed in Case No. 2020-50-01.
The Constitutional Court invited the institution that has issued the contested act – the Saeima – to submit to the Constitutional Court a reply with the explanation of the actual circumstances of the case and the legal basis by 2 January 2025. The deadline for the preparation of the case is 30 March 2025. The Court will decide on the procedure and date for hearing the case once the case is prepared.
Linked case: 2024-28-01