The need to strengthen an inclusive society emphasised during the formal sitting on the occasion of the opening of the Constitutional Court year
A formal sitting of the Constitutional Court was held remotely on Thursday, 4 February, as a symbolic opening of the new working year of the court. The President of the Constitutional Court Sanita Osipova reported on the Court’s achievements in strengthening the rule of law in Latvia in 2020. A presentation was given also by the guest of honour at the formal sitting Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, President of Latvia (1999–2007). The sitting was joined remotely by the heads of the state constitutional bodies, as well as former Presidents of Latvia and former Presidents of the Constitutional Court.
“In a democratic rule-of-law state, the constitutional bodies must work transparently and give a regular account of their work to the people, because we are working on behalf of the people. We are working for the people,” said the Constitutional Court President Sanita Osipova in opening the formal sitting.
She described the year 2020 as a time replete with intensive work and new challenges. The amount of work at the Constitutional Court doubled compared to 2019. Last year, the Court initiated twice as many cases as in 2019 and heard 50 per cent more cases than in 2019. Especially active in protecting their fundamental rights were Latvian residents: one third of the cases were initiated on the basis of their constitutional complaints.
In 2020, most of the cases were initiated to evaluate the compliance of legal provisions with Article 1 (Latvia is an independent democratic republic), Article 105 (the right to own property), and Article 101 (the right to participate in the work of the state and of local governments) of the Satversme of the Republic of Latvia (the Constitution). The Court recognised 19 legal provisions as being compatible, and 20 legal provisions – as being incompatible with the Constitution.
The President of the Court, providing an insight into the 2020 case law of the Constitutional Court, placed a special emphasis on several judgments passed by the Court which should serve to reduce social exclusion in various aspects (No 2019-20-03, No 2019-33-01, No 2020-13-01, No 2019-27-03, No 2019-24-03, No 2019-25-03, No 2019-32-01). She called for building an inclusive society and for a joint effort to reduce social exclusion, so that every Latvian resident would feel at ease.
“The reduction of social exclusion contributes to the well-being not just of a single individual, but of the whole society, as it facilitates every person’s contribution to the life of society. Only when it is ensured that each and every human’s dignity is of equal value with the dignity of any other human, can a united and consolidated society be built,” stressed Sanita Osipova.
In her report, she also highlighted other judgments which contained an in-depth explication of the Constitution’s fundamental values (No 2019-08-01, No 2019-24-03, No 2019-25-03, No 2019-27-03, No 2019-36-01, No 2019-10-0103, No 2019-37-0103, No 2019-05-01, No 2019-12-01, No 2019-20-03, No 2019-22-01, No 2019-29-01, No 2019-33-01).
The Court’s work was not delayed by the Covid-19 situation. Sanita Osipova emphasised that the Constitutional Court of Latvia had been the only constitutional court in the European Union not to extend the procedural deadlines for hearing the cases and to make it possible to hear all cases remotely, including those heard in public proceedings. This is something the whole society has benefited from, as the open sessions and press conferences were broadcast live, and the recordings are available to anyone interested on the Court’s YouTube channel. For public information, 12 video commentaries by judges regarding the rulings passed were produced in cooperation with LV portāls.
“It is important to us that the public should see, listen to the judiciary, and understand it better – not only with the help of our judgments, but also through a high-quality exchange of thoughts on essential state issues that concern every one of us, on the values and principles of a democratic rule-of-law state,” the President of the Court emphasised.
In conclusion, Sanita Osipova stressed that a democratic rule-of-law state was a process in which everyone should take part. It is only by joint effort – all the branches of state power cooperating with civil society – that a higher standard of the rule of law will be reached.
“Every person is a value, and this is why the state as a structure was created – with the aim to ensure that human rights and freedoms would be protected. Not everyone for oneself, but the state for each and every one,” stressed Sanita Osipova.
The guest of honour at the formal sitting Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga emphasised in her address that one of the most important pillars of democracy was the rule of law and the judicial system implementing it.
“The judiciary should look to it that all the rights guaranteed to every citizen by both the Constitution of the state and the civil and criminal codes adopted over years by the legislator are actually respected. Every citizen should be able to rely on equal treatment before the court,” the former President of Latvia stressed.
Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga pointed out that lawfulness and justice in every state rested on the democracy and human rights principles that had been gradually accepted in the course of history and were enshrined in the basic law of a particular state. One of the most important principles – one law for all. It must be observed without exception in favour or in disfavour of any part of the people, regardless of the way that part is identified.
The former President of the State accentuated the significance of equality and inclusive society in a modern, democratic state governed by the rule of law. She noted that the interpretation of human rights currently prevailing in today’s Europe did not allow for any kind of exclusion of any subgroup of citizens from the rights established for all citizens.
“It really does not befit us as a nation which over the course of history has suffered, for a long time and heavily, from its human dignity and value being denied by other nations, us as Latvians, to adopt attitudes that cannot accept the principles of equality and apply them to all people without exception,” Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga noted.
In concluding her address, Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga wished the Constitutional Court a successful working year, wished everybody good health and continual strengthening of the rule of law and justice in Latvia.
“May your work set the example for the whole of our judicial system, and may it win recognition and respect from all the people!” said Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga.
Screenshot: formal sitting of the Constitutional Court.
About the press conference
The formal sitting was followed by a press conference, during which the President of the Constitutional Court Sanita Osipova and the Vice President of the Constitutional Court Aldis Laviņš gave more extensive information on the work done by the Court in 2020 and presented the published annual report.
Sanita Osipova highlighted the information on the indicators of the Court’s activity, accentuated the main Constitutional Court case-law findings and the Court’s role in the development of Latvia as a democratic rule-of-law state. The President of the Constitutional Court also particularly noted the results of the last year’s survey about the public’s confidence in the Constitutional Court.
The Vice President of the Court Aldis Laviņš underscored the Court’s open communication with the public, which was aimed at explaining the Court’s work in a clear and accessible way. He noted that in 2020, too, despite the situation caused by the pandemic, the Court had been carrying on a dialogue with the state constitutional bodies; also, the Court kept communicating remotely with the judges of foreign constitutional courts about relevant legal issues. The Vice President emphasised that the Constitutional Court saw its role as being wider than to administer justice and was therefore also actively involved in a dialogue with the school youth.
The report presented by Sanita Osipova, President of the Constitutional Court, at the formal sitting is available here.
The address delivered by Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, President of Latvia 1999–2007, at the formal sitting is available here.
The video recording of the Constitutional Court’s formal sitting is available here:
The video recording of the press conference is available here:
The report on the work of the Constitutional Court in 2020, in PDF, is available here.