The Constitutional Court of Latvia strengthens dialogue with the European Court of Human Rights
On 18 and 19 April 2024, Judges and staff members of the Constitutional Court of Latvia and the European Court of Human Rights met to discuss several aspects of the development of the dialogue between the two Courts, as well as understanding of the principles of sustainability and good legislation process on the national and international levels.
Opening the bilateral meeting of the two Courts, President of the European Court of Human Rights Síofra O’Leary congratulated Artūrs Kučs, Judge of the Constitutional Court of Latvia, on having been elected to the office of the Judge of the European Court of Human Rights, as well as recognised the high professionalism of Judge Jānis Neimanis in standing for this office. The President also highlighted the importance of the dialogue with the Latvian courts, as well as provided her assessment of the cases against Latvia, heard by the European Court of Human Rights, – in many of these, findings that are important for the whole European legal space have been expressed. Likewise, Síofra O’Leary provided insight into the progression of the cases initiated against Latvia and in the problem of backlog of cases, as well as into the way the work of the European Court of Human Rights is organised. She commended, as an especially successful format of the dialogue, participation in international conferences, organised by the Constitutional Court, which always bring to the foreground relevant current issues in the protection of fundamental rights.
President of the Constitutional Court of Latvia Aldis Laviņš, on his part, noted that this was the first time when Judges of the Constitutional Court of Latvia, in full composition, met with the Judges of the European Court of Human Rights, which was an important step towards strengthening the dialogue between the two courts, to ensure sharing of experience regarding relevant issues in protection of fundamental rights and challenges on the national, European and global levels. The President of the Constitutional Court of Latvia drew attention, inter alia, to the role of both Courts as the guardians of the rule of law, democracy, security and peace, as well as in relation to the issues of protecting the fundamental rights of future generations. Simultaneously, the President pointed to the absence of procedural measures that would allow the Constitutional Court of Latvia to develop fully the dialogue with the European Court of Human Rights, in case of necessity turning to it, in a complicated legal situation, to receive interpretation of the applicable provision of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. “Latvia still has not ratified Protocol 16 to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. I believe that reviewing and ratifying of this Protocol by the Saeima should become a national priority, which would promote even more the protection of fundamental rights of each inhabitant of Latvia,” Aldis Laviņš underscored.
Within the framework of their discussion, Judges of the Constitutional Court of Latvia and the European Court of Human Rights focused on aspects of the dialogue between the two Courts, as well as the understanding of the principles of sustainability and good legislation process on the national and international levels. Judge of the European Court of Human Rights Mattias Guyomar noted that, in the recent case reviewed by the European Court of Human Rights regarding the changes in using the languages of ethnic minorities in the state and municipal institutions of education, the European Court of Human Rights had used the assessment conducted by the Constitutional Court of Latvia regarding compliance with the principle of good legislation, ascertaining whether the legislator had ensured balance between promoting the use of the official language and the right of students, belonging to ethnic minorities, to safeguard and develop their language and culture. Judge of the Constitutional Court of Latvia Artūrs Kučs, in turn, in his report drew attention to the fact that not every violation of the principle of good legislation automatically led to a Court’s conclusion that the particular legal provision was incompatible with the Constitution. To recognise a legal act as void due to a procedural violation, there should be reasonable doubt that, if the procedure had been complied with, a different decision might have been made. “The principle of good legislation is not an end in itself – it allows ensuring that, as the result of the legislative process, a fair regulatory enactment is adopted. Moreover, over the last five years, the intensity of reviewing the quality of the legislative process, conducted by the Constitutional Court of Latvia, has increased significantly, promoting in-depth and more qualitative analysis and improvements in the legislative process,” Artūrs Kučs pointed out.
In continuing the discussion, the Judges discussed the cooperation between national courts and the European Court of Human Rights. Judge of the European Court of Human Rights Mārtiņš Mits noted the system, introduced by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, was based on the principle of subsidiarity, pursuant to which the national authorities and courts, first of all, ensured that the national legal acts were applied in compliance with this Convention, whereas the task of the European Court of Human Rights was to provide European-level supervision whether, indeed, the standards set by the Convention were complied with. He provided insight into several rulings, in which the European Court of Human Rights had analysed, in particular, findings made by the Constitutional Court of Latvia, in reviewing the constitutional complaints submitted by individuals. Vice-president of the Constitutional Court of Latvia Irēna Kucina, on her part, emphasised the significance of the dialogue between the Constitutional Court of Latvia and the European Court of Human Rights in terms of the development of constitutional law, differentiating between several types of formal and informal judicial dialogue. “Formal interaction between the Constitutional Court of Latvia and the European Court of Human Rights occurs on the basis of the rulings delivered by both Courts, whereas the informal dialogue is implemented in the framework of international cooperation, for example, by Judges of the European Court of Human Rights bringing their expertise to the international conferences, organised by the Constitutional Court of Latvia. Promoting the sharing of experience between the staff members of both Courts is equally important,” Irēna Kucina concluded.
On this visit, the Constitutional Court of Latvia was represented by President Aldis Laviņš, Vice-president Irēna Kucina, Judges Gunārs Kusiņš, Jānis Neimanis, Artūrs Kučs, Anita Rodiņa and Jautrīte Briede, as well as Head of the Administration of the Constitutional Court of Latvia Marika Laizāne-Jurkāne and Advisor to the President Andrejs Stupins-Jēgers.
