A case initiated with respect to prohibition to import mink into the territory of Latvia
On 7 July 2022, the 2nd Panel of the Constitutional Court initiated the case “On Compliance of Para 244 of the Cabinet Regulation of 28 September 2021 No. 662 “Epidemiological Safety Measures for the Containment of the Spread of Covid-19 Infection” with Article 105 of the Satversme of the Republic of Latvia”.
The Contested Norm
Para 244 of the Cabinet Regulation of 28 September 2021 No. 662 “Epidemiological Safety Measures for the Containment of the Spread of Covid-19 Infection” provides that it is prohibited to import mink into the territory of Latvia from another country.
The Norm of Higher Legal Force
Article 105 of the Satversme of the Republic of Latvia (hereafter – the Satversme): “Everyone has the right to own property. Property shall not be used contrary to the interests of the public. Property rights may be restricted only in accordance with law. Expropriation of property for public purposes shall be allowed only in exceptional cases on the basis of a specific law and in return for fair compensation.”
The Facts
The applicants are commercial companies whose commercial activity includes importing and breeding of mink, obtaining, processing and exporting of mink fur. The applicants point out that mink have always been bought in other countries of the European Union and imported into Latvia, where they are bred to obtain fur. In view of the prohibition, included in the contested norm, to import mink into the territory of Latvia, the applicants have suspended their commercial activities in Latvia.
Thus, the applicant’s right, included in Article 105 of the Satversme, to continue the commenced commercial activity has been infringed upon.
Legal Proceedings
The Constitutional Court had invited the institution, which issued the contested act, i.e., the Cabinet, to submit to the Constitutional Court by 7 September 2022 a written reply, presenting the facts of the case and legal reasoning.
- The term for preparing the case is 7 December 2022.
The Court shall decide on the procedure and date for hearing the case after the case is prepared.
The decision on initiation of the case is available here.
Press release in PDF is available here.
Linked case: 2022-28-03