A case on the amount of the State compensation to be paid to victims of a criminal offence has been initiated
Following an application of the Administrative District Court, a case has been initiated before the Constitutional Court on compliance of Section 7(1) and Section 7.1(4) of the Law on State Compensation to Victims with the third sentence of Section 92 of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia.
The contested provision provides that the maximum amount of the State compensation to be disbursed to one victim of a criminal offence shall be five minimum monthly wages determined in the Republic of Latvia. The amount of the State compensation to be disbursed shall be calculated, by taking into account the amount of the minimum monthly working wage determined at the time when the person was recognised as the victim. If as a result of a criminal offence death of a person has occurred and several persons have been recognised as victims in criminal proceedings, the State compensation shall be disbursed to such persons dividing it in proportion to the number of victims.
The first instance of the applicant examines an administrative case initiated according to the application of several natural persons on issuance of more favourable administrative acts. A State compensation of EUR 620 was paid to each person in accordance with decisions of the Legal Assistance Administration. The persons did not agree with the amount of the compensation and contested the initial decisions asking for issuance of more favourable administrative acts. By decisions of the Ministry of Justice, issuance of more favourable administrative acts has been refused.
The applicant holds a view that the maximum amount of the State compensation provided under the contested provisions to be divided in proportion to all victims in the case of death of a person as a result of a criminal offence does not provide for a fair and proportionate compensation to victims of crime. Namely, the legislator has not granted the right neither to the institution, nor the Court to evaluate whether the amount of the State compensation to be paid to the persons should be deemed as an adequate indemnity which would be proportion to the infringement of the person’s right in the relevant actual and legal situation.
The Constitutional Court invited the institution that has issued the contested law – 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 17 June 2024.
The deadline for preparing the case is 16 September 2024. The Court will decide on the procedure and date for hearing the case once the case is prepared.
Related Case 2024-07-01
Linked case: 2024-07-01