Speaker of the Saeima Ināra Mūrniece visits the Constitutional Court

22.05.2019.

On Tuesday, 21 May, the Speaker of the Saeima Ināra Mūrniece paid an official visit to the Constitutional Court. Ināra Mūrniece and the delegation led by her were received by the President of the Constitutional Court Ineta Ziemele and the Constitutional Court Justices Sanita Osipova, Gunārs Kusiņš, Daiga Rezevska, and Artūrs Kučs. During the meeting, the parties discussed topical issues in relation to the judiciary and to the strengthening of the independence of the Constitutional Court as a constitutional body defined in the Satversme.

The Speaker of the Saeima expressed appreciation of the Constitutional Court’s work and noted that the Court was becoming increasingly more visible – and, furthermore, an influencer – in the public arena. She also paid attention to the activities implemented by the Constitutional Court, which not only encourage the discourse of values, but also contribute to the consolidation of the rule of law in society.

In the context of the strengthening of the Constitutional Court’s independence, the President of the Constitutional Court informed the Speaker of the Saeima about the Court’s meaningful cooperation with the Legal Affairs Committee and the Judicial Policy Subcommittee of the Saeima.

The President of the Constitutional Court stressed that it was high time the Constitutional Court got reinforced for working in the coming decades, therefore, at present it might be preferable to focus on the aspects that would ensure maximum independence of the Court – not only in the financial and administrative sense, but also in settling the matters pertaining to the status of a Constitutional Court judge. The parties agreed that work to consider these issues should continue.

In conclusion of the meeting, the Speaker of the Saeima emphasised that the Saeima and its members look at the Constitutional Court with great respect, trust and confidence. The President of the Constitutional Court welcomed these words and noted that a respected judiciary is one of the cornerstones of the development of legal culture and Latvia as a democratic rule-of-law state.

Photos are available here.