Report by President of the Constitutional Court Irēna Kucina on the Development of Constitutional Law in Latvia in 2024
Honourable President,
Honourable Former President of the Republic of Iceland,
Excellences,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear audience – both here, in the courtroom of the Constitutional Court, and online,
Colleagues and friends of the Court in Latvia and abroad,
Dear people of Latvia,
Already for the seventh successive time, the solemn hearing of the Constitutional Court symbolically completes the previous judicial year and opens the new judicial year of the Court. In this way, we all together look back at the cases heard by the Constitutional Court during the previous year and highlight the findings, included in the rulings, that are essential for reinforcing democracy and the rule of law in Latvia.
The report on the development of constitutional law in Latvia and the work done by the Constitutional Court constitutes a direct link with the people of Latvia because it is the people of Latvia and nobody else who defines the priorities in our legal proceedings through their applications and the problems identified therein. In the current geopolitical circumstances, the issues pertaining to values that are essential for Latvia’s existence – protection of our national security, constitutional foundations, democracy, sustainability, as well as an inclusive and respectful society – take a special place on the Court’s agenda.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Summing up the Court’s performance indicators, I can inform you that last year the Constitutional Court reviewed 18 cases, delivering 17 judgements and adopting one decision on terminating legal proceedings. The constitutionality of 30 legal provisions has been reviewed in the judgements. 22 legal provisions were recognised as being compatible with the Constitution, 8 legal provisions were deemed to be unconstitutional, whereas legal proceedings regarding the constitutionality of one legal provision were terminated. Likewise, one decision on requesting a preliminary ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union was adopted in the case regarding making information about the shareholders of a joint stock company public. Whereas one preliminary ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union was received concerning three cases before the Constitutional Court in which legal provisions of Criminal Procedure Law regarding proceeds of crime have been contested.
I would like to highlight several cases that were reviewed by the Constitutional Court last year:
- The Constitutional Court has implemented the protection of the Latvian language as an integral part of the constitutional identity of the Latvian State in cases regarding the transition to education in the official language in both private and State and local government institutions of education. In both cases, the educatees’ native language was the language of an ethnic minority. The applicants held that, due to the contested provisions, they would no longer have the possibility to acquire education in their native language. In these cases, the Court underscored that the State had to facilitate and reinforce the use of the Latvian language at all levels of education to ensure that the Latvian language performed the functions of an official language effectively. At the same time, private institutions of education enjoy sufficient discretion to ensure a curriculum that is related to the identity of ethnic minorities, inter alia, in the framework of interest-related education. The interest-related educational programme, created by the State, ensures appropriate safeguarding and development of the language, culture and ethnic singularity of ethnic minorities.
- The case regarding the requirement set for the Russian citizens to have proficiency in the official language in order to receive repeatedly residence permits in Latvia is essential for the protection of national security. In this case, the Constitutional Court emphasised that the citizenship of the Russian Federation currently was a factor that was related to a threat to Latvia’s national security and, thus, individual assessment of all citizens of Russia, residing in Latvia, had to be conducted as soon as possible. Application of certain requirements directly to the largest group of Russian citizens, residing in Latvia, was logical and aimed at protecting public security.
- The Constitutional Court sees Latvia as a sustainable and prosperous home for all people residing in it and for future generations. In the case regarding the felling of younger trees, the Constitutional Court recognised that the provision, by which the diameter of the main cut had been decreased, was not compatible with everyone’s right to live in a benevolent environment. The case was initiated on the basis of an application by environmental organisations which held that the contested provision would have a negative impact on the forest ecosystem and the opportunity for forests to contribute to climate change mitigation. The Court underscored that legal regulation that might have a significant impact on the environment required comprehensive assessment, balancing the interests of public welfare, environmental and economic interests. In the long term, Latvian forests have a multifunctional role and are significant both in ensuring the health and well-being of inhabitants, public interests, and economy, as well as biological diversity and ability to adjust to climate change.
- During the previous year, the Court continued to fill with content the requirement of a state governed by the rule of law to create such an inclusive society where each individual was treated with respect. A person’s past should not influence their future forever. However, where restrictions are established for life and no individual assessment has been envisaged, a person is prohibited from exercising their rights and, in the eyes of society, is inseparably linked to their former actions, without taking into account the further course of their lives. I draw attention to the fact that, in regulatory enactments, such restrictions have been determined for a number of professions, on the basis of a similar principle. Therefore, the responsible public authorities have the task of reviewing these regularly, taking into account the findings expressed in the Constitutional Court’s judgements, because such restrictions are justifiable only in very special cases where the previous actions, substantially, are incompatible with the exercise of particular rights.
Esteemed audience,
Also this year, the range of cases to be reviewed will be very extensive since 145 applications have been received last year , with respect to which 33 decisions to initiate a case have been made. Similarly to previous years, the majority of initiated cases concern fundamental rights. The most important cases that have been initiated and will be reviewed this year pertain to:
- The use of the official language in pre-election campaigns. The Court is already reviewing this case, assessing whether the regulation that permits pre-election campaigns only in the official language, including the written Latgalian and the Livonian language, with translation into the official languages of the Member States of the European Union, is compatible with the right to the freedom of speech. The political party that submitted the application points out that the candidates it has proposed and its members may not communicate in public with the voters in a minority language, which leaves adverse impact on the diversity of opinions in the political discourse.
- At the beginning of this year, four cases regarding the legal provisions of Criminal Procedure Law on the proceedings related to proceeds of crime will be reviewed. In these cases, participants in such proceedings contested the regulation, unfavourable to them, that restricted access to materials in cases regarding proceeds of crime, regulated submission of evidence and proving the proceeds of crime, as well as determined the procedure for appealing a court’s decision on the confiscation of proceeds of crime.
- During the first half of the year, the so-called “credit cases” will be examined. This pertains both to the obligation of a credit institution to pay the borrower protection levy and compensate for the interest payments of mortgages to borrowers, as well as the obligation imposed upon credit service providers to pay a corporate tax surcharge.
- On 15 April, we shall start reviewing, in written proceedings, the case regarding the provisions, by which the Saeima suspended the activities of the Rēzekne State City Council, appointing provisional administration and determining its composition, which will function until the next election of the Council. The dismissed Council is the applicant in the case.
- The so-called “nicotine cases” will be reviewed in the second half of the year. The prohibition to place liquids for electronic smoking devices and flavoured tobacco substitute products on the market will be reviewed in these cases. The application was submitted by merchants engaged in the commercial activity of producing and distributing the respective products.
- In the second half of the year, we shall review also the case regarding the use of minority languages in public electronic mass media. The application was submitted by 20 Members of the Saeima. They hold the opinion that the obligation of public electronic mass media to create a certain amount of radio and television programmes in minority languages decreases the value of the only official language and poses a threat to national security.
- It is not ruled out that, at the end of the year, the case that has been just initiated regarding the inclusion of the rural territories of Murmastiene and Varakļāni and the town of Varakļāni into the Madona Region might be heard. In it, 20 Members of the Saeima hold that the legislator has disregarded the provisions of Law on Historical Regions of Latvia because the Varakļāni Region, which belongs to Latgale as the historical region, is merged with the Madona Region, which almost entirely falls within the historical region of Vidzeme.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The preparation of rulings at the Constitutional Court is continuously evolving, and the rulings become increasingly clearer, easier to understand and more transparent. Therefore, together with legal experts and experts from other areas we are searching for possibilities of making the Constitutional Court’s rulings even more easier to perceive and clearer.
The Constitutional Court’s communication is closely linked to the function of conducting legal proceedings. We aim to be open to the people of Latvia, inter alia, paying increasingly greater attention to informing society about the actions and tasks of the State and the Court. Since yesterday, we have started informing society about the substantive performance indicators and statistics regarding the work done in each calendar month. We educate young people because the crises, experienced during the last years, have impacted their lives and future choices. The Constitution is a compass of values; therefore, we see young people as the ambassadors of the constitutional values. This is attested by the numerous and qualitative creative submissions for the pupils’ contest “The State Language – Shared Value of Latvia”. Our Judges and employees have also created a lesson “ApTver Satversmi” [Comprise the Constitution] , which will soon be on its way to secondary school students throughout Latvia.
Last year, the Constitutional Court completed major work, considering the possible improvements to Constitutional Court Law and sent these to the Ministry of Justice for further transfer to the Government and the Saeima. We believe that the proceedings before the Constitutional Court can be made even more effective, e.g., my holding preparatory hearings or, in exceptional circumstances, envisaging hearing of the case in urgent proceedings. The amendments propose, inter alia, clearer regulation on the dialogue between the Constitutional Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union, as well as other procedural matters. In general, it could be said that these amendments are a reform of the proceedings before the Constitutional Court, needed by the State.
In cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, the Court Administration and the Latvian Council of Sworn Advocates, work is ongoing to align the legal regulation on granting the State-provided legal aid in order to improve the proceedings. It is envisaged that, already at the initial stage of the process, it could be established whether, in the case of an alleged violation of the fundamental rights of a socially vulnerable person, chances of having a positive outcome in the case before the Constitutional Court are seen. At the same time, a person’s obligation to turn to the Constitutional Court before applying for the legal aid should be abolished. This is one more step closer to making the State-provided legal aid easier to access for those who need it the most.
Colleagues,
Just like previously, also last year the Constitutional Court was active internationally. Multilateral international cooperation is a necessity rather than a whim because law develops dynamically and creates new challenges, therefore, it is important to be in the centre of its evolution and be able to foresee, to think “one step ahead”. International cooperation is an opportunity for Latvia to explain, also on the judicial level, our constitutional identity and the special historical context.
Following the changes in the geopolitical situation, which began with the war that Russia launched in Ukraine, the Constitutional Court’s opinion receives special attention within the international area, taking into account that the issues of militant democracy that have been relevant for Latvia during the last decades now are on the agenda of the entire continent.
This is the reason for having our guest of honour at the solemn hearing – former President of the Republic of Iceland and Professor at the University of Iceland Guðni Jóhannesson who will share his vision on how the lessons of the past can be used in the present turbulent times. In his public work, he is always underscoring that democracy can be implemented in the best version of itself if there are no gaps and defects in the communication between the State power and the people. Therefore, in times of geopolitical challenges, national security and resilience of democracy is ensured both by the State in general and the individual actions by every one of us.
Esteemed audience,
The Constitutional Court’s stance in our international cooperation is that it is the duty of all constitutional courts of the world to emphasise the need to restore the international legal order and make liable those who have violated it. The Bureau of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice, in which the Constitutional Court represents the interests of all European constitutional courts, upheld the resolution submitted by us and agreed that the military conflicts in the world and devaluation of protection for human rights in these zones of conflict required not only politicians but also the family of the constitutional courts of the world to express their position actively.
Last spring, the Constitutional Court held an international conference in Rīga “The Role of the Constitutional Courts in Concretising the Shared Values Uniting Europe”, which was organised to honour the 20th anniversary of Latvia’s accession to the European Union. The message that harmonious interaction between national constitutional identities and shared European values promoted the protection of every European’s fundamental rights ran through the findings expressed at the conference.
Continuing our international cooperation, we have organised also bilateral meetings with the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland, the European Court of Human Rights, as well as a trilateral meeting of the constitutional courts of the Baltic States.
Last year, jointly with the European Union and the Council of Europe, we launched an important project of international cooperation “Support to Development of Constitutional Justice in Ukraine”. Already in April, as part of this project, we shall organise an international-level discussion of the challenges affecting democracy, the rule of law and pluralism, as well as respect for human dignity and human rights. A lot of work has gone into it, and we appreciate it very highly that the Ukrainian Judges, at time of war, not only continue administering justice but also advance the highest development aims, reinforcing the rule of law and helping the people to bring European values into their country. Improvements to the entire system begin with a person’s faith in one’s State, the rule of law, the good that their nation needs.
Dear people of Latvia,
In conclusion, I would like to highlight the essential role of the Constitutional Court in protecting and strengthening the democratic order of this State. During the last decade, democracy as the form of state order has found itself in a difficult situation in Europe and elsewhere in the world. In a number of countries, including some Member States of the European Union, the so-called “backslide” of democracy can be observed when various principles and institutions necessary for its functioning are formally or informally circumvented. This is often manifested in the attempts made by populistic forces to diminish the role of judicial power in modern democracy. Moreover, this happens not only in young but also in mature democracies.
Such trends ignore the fact that, in a modern state, democracy and the rule of law are in balance because democracy without “the backbone” of the rule of law is not sustainable. The rule of law, in turn, can be implemented only if the judicial power is independent. In this context, I would like to highlight the previous stability of the Latvian democratic state order, in which our society’s high trust in the Constitution plays a very important role.
The Constitution was reinstated in full in 1993, and three significant additions to the Constitution followed:
– the Constitutional Court was established; – the Chapter on Fundamental Rights of the Constitution was adopted; – and, finally, the Preamble, included in the Constitution, underscored the purpose and the meaning of the existence of the Latvian State – to guarantee the existence and development of the Latvian nation, its language and culture through centuries. At the same time, it clearly defined the basic principles for the order of our democratic State – Latvia is a democratic state, governed by the rule of law, a socially responsible and nation state. Additionally, the Constitutional Court specified already in 2017 that Latvia was not just any state but, exactly, a Latvian nation State.
These three additions made the Constitution into a modern constitution, fit for the age, which, moreover, is resilient in the face of various challenges. Among others, those that the current era is throwing at us.
The Constitutional Court has been given a special role in the protection of the Constitution, and, already in the initial stage of its functioning, the Court has recognised that Latvia’s democracy is militant.
This principle not only allows but also demands our State institutions and citizens to protect against internal and external threats both the State of Latvia and its democratic state order. In the conditions of hybrid warfare, the palette of these treats, targeting Latvia and other democratic states, has become broader and more diverse. Hence, also the palette of measures for responding to these threats must be expanded accordingly.
In this context, the issue or protecting democracy against an important element in the hybrid warfare – the so-called “information war”, in which Russia and other adversaries of democracy, aiming to destabilise democracy, are attempting to influence the public opinion and political processes of a democratic state in their favour, has gained relevance. As Kaja Kallas, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, recently underscored, manipulation with information and interfering into the democratic processes of other states is a fundamental part of Russia’s military activities.
Therefore, I would like to emphasise that the State should not be afraid of using all legal remedies targeting threats to the State and democracy. If the existing remedies do not suffice then the State, if needed, must create new remedies. The principle of militant democracy is “a living instrument”, which flexibly adjusts to the changing circumstances. The proportionality of measures used is the decisive criterion. This means – the stronger the threat the more far-reaching the measures for fighting it may be.
The executive power and the legislator have the primary task of constantly assessing the level of this threat. Whereas the institution of judicial power, which reviews, meticulously and with the highest sense of responsibility, the proportionality of the chosen measures to the seriousness of the existing threat, is the Constitutional Court, as well as other courts of Latvia. Being responsible both for an individual and this State and society in general because the existence of our own and democratic State is invaluable asset. We, all of us together, must guard it.
Dear audience,
Last year, the Constitutional Court went through significant process of replacing Judges and now continues working in a new composition of seven Judges. At the same time, the work done by the current composition of the Court, as well as by the now former colleagues Aldis Laviņš, Gunārs Kusiņš and Artūrs Kučs contributed to the achievements of the previous year.
I express my gratitude to my colleagues, Judges of the Constitutional Court, who appreciated the achievements made in this process of changes, by electing me President of the Court. Likewise, I thank the Court’s employees for cooperation, understanding and determination in reaching the outcomes in the Court’s work.
I thank all of you who participated in the solemn hearing today and Latvia’s society for appreciating the work of the Constitutional Court. The result of this work is reflected in the lives of everyone in Latvia and is a strong foundation for the future.
The Constitution guards our State, however, not on its own – we all are able to and are doing it because together we are stronger than apart.
I am honoured to serve the Constitution!