Another case initiated regarding the norm providing for the amount of fee for lawful land use
On 15 June 2022, the 2nd Panel of the Constitutional Court initiated a case “On Compliance of Section 38, Paragraph Two of the Law “On the Time Period of Coming into Force and the Procedures for the Application of the Introduction, Parts on Inheritance Rights and Property Rights of the Renewed Civil Law of 1937 of the Republic of Latvia” with the first and third sentence of Article 105 of the Satversme of the Republic of Latvia”.
The contested norms
Section 38, Paragraph Two of the Law “On the Time Period of Coming into Force and the Procedures for the Application of the Introduction, Parts on Inheritance Rights and Property Rights of the Renewed Civil Law of 1937 of the Republic of Latvia” (hereinafter referred to as – the contested norm) provides for as follows: “The owner of a structure has an obligation by law to pay a fee for use to the land owner for the land use rights. The amount of the fee for lawful use shall be four per cent of the annual cadastral value of the land in use, but not less than EUR 50 per year. The owner of the structure and the land owner may agree in writing on a different amount of the fee for use. Such agreement shall not be binding upon the acquirer of the immovable property in the event of a change of the owner of the structure or the land.”
Norms with a higher legal force
First and third sentences of Article 105 of the Satversme: “Everyone has the right to own property.”, “Property rights may be restricted only in accordance with law.”
The facts of the case
The case has been initiated on the basis of application of the Limited Liability Company “LansiMed” (hereinafter referred to as – the Applicant). The Applicant owns immovable property – a plot of land. There are four apartment buildings situated on the plot.
The Applicant is of the opinion that the contested norm, by providing only for the amount of four per cent of the land use fee from the cadastral value of the land in use per year, causes infringement of the fundamental rights of the Applicant included in the first and third sentences of Article 105 of the Satversme. Namely, this contested norm restricts the right of the Applicant to dispose of its property, as well as to gain material benefit from it.
Judicial proceedings
The Constitutional Court has requested the authority that has issued the contested act, the Saeima, to submit a written reply to the Constitutional Court by 15 August 2022 in the event that the Saeima has any additional considerations to those already provided by the Saeima in its written replies in the cases already initiated in respect of the contested norm, setting out the facts of the cases and legal basis.
- The deadline for preparation of the case is 15 November 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: 2022-23-01