Constitutional Court initiates a case about the rights of students to receive scholarships for social support
On Monday, 27 January, the Constitutional Court initiated the case on conformity of the first sentence of Section 52, Paragraph 3.1 of the Law on Higher Education Institutions with the first sentence of Article 91 and Article 109 of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia, as well as Article 21(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
The contested norm stipulates that a student under the age of 25 years who studies in Latvia in full-time studies in a short-cycle higher vocational education programme and a first-cycle higher education programme, and also a second-cycle higher education programme to be implemented after the acquisition of secondary education has the right to receive a scholarship for social support if the student conforms to the requirements stipulated by the Cabinet.
The case was initiated on the basis of an application submitted by the Ombudsman. The applicant addresses the Constitutional Court to assess the constitutionality of the contested norm, insofar as it does not provide for the right of a student who studies outside Latvia to receive a scholarship for social support.
In the findings of the inspection case of 12 December 2023, the applicant requested the Saeima to make amendments to the contested norm by 1 June 2024 and to determine that the right to receive the social scholarship ‘Studētgods’ (Study Honour) also applies to a student from a large family who studies in a higher education institution outside Latvia. The applicant notes that the scholarship ‘Studētgods’ is a new element in the social security system in the form of financial support intended for students from certain groups eligible for social support. According to the applicant, the fact that a student from a large family has chosen to study outside Latvia does not eliminate his or her own and his or her family’s need to receive State support. Consequently, students from large families who study in Latvia and students from large families who have chosen to study outside Latvia are both in equal and comparable circumstances. The contested norm provides for differential treatment of persons who according to definite criteria are in comparable circumstances.
The Constitutional Court requested the Saeima to submit by 27 March 2025 a letter of response detailing the factual circumstances of the case along with the legal justification thereof.
The deadline for the preparation of the case is 27 June 2025. The Court shall decide on the procedure and date for hearing the case once the case is prepared.
Linked case: 2025-06-0106