A case initiated with respect to a higher special service rank required for the office of a college director
On 28 December 2020, the 1st Panel of the Constitutional Court initiated the case “On compliance of Annex 1 to Cabinet Regulation No 810 of 13 December 2016 on classification of offices of officials with special service ranks working in institutions of the Ministry of the Interior and the Prisons Administration, insofar as it requires a Group 2.1, Level VII college director to hold a higher special service rank – colonel, with the first sentence of Article 91 and the first sentence of Article 106 of the Satversme of the Republic of Latvia”.
Contested Provision
Pursuant to Annex 1 to Cabinet Regulation No 810 of 13 December 2016 on classification of offices of officials with special service ranks working in institutions of the Ministry of the Interior and the Prisons Administration, the office of Group 2.1, Level VII college director requires a higher special service rank – colonel.
Provisions of Superior Legal Force
The first sentence of Article 91 of the Satversme of the Republic of Latvia (hereinafter – the Satversme): “All human beings in Latvia shall be equal before the law and the courts.”
The first sentence of Article 106 of the Satversme: “Everyone has the right to freely choose their employment and workplace according to their abilities and qualifications.”
Facts of the Case
The case has been initiated following an application filed by Ainars Penčs. The Applicant served in the State Fire and Rescue Service until 2011. After that an employment agreement was signed with the Applicant on filling the office of the Director of the Fire Safety and Civil Defence College; the employment agreement was terminated in 2019. The employment agreement was terminated on account of the fact that there had been no grounds for signing the agreement, as, pursuant to the contested provision, the office of the Director of the Fire Safety and Civil Defence College, allegedly, may only be filled by an officer with a special service rank.
The Applicant has appealed to the Constitutional Court because, in their opinion, the contested provision affects the basic rights granted to them under the first sentence of Article 91 and the first sentence of Article 106 of the Satversme.
It is the Applicant’s opinion that the contested provision unjustifiably requires an officer filling the office of the director of a college subordinated to institutions in the structure of the Ministry of the Interior to hold a special service rank, because responsibilities of this office do not include the performance of direct functions of the State Fire and Rescue Service. The College Director only performs economic and administrative functions, and the College Director does not have to perform functions requiring the officer to hold a special service rank.
Legal Proceedings
The Constitutional Court has requested the Cabinet of Ministers to submit a written reply stating the facts of the case and the legal reasoning by 26 February 2021.
The case is to be prepared by 28 May 2021. The Court will decide on the type of proceedings and the date of hearing once the case has been prepared.
The decision to initiate the case is available here.
Press release in PDF is available here.
Linked case: 2020-66-03