The President of the Constitutional Court Ineta Ziemele speaks about the role of judges and constitutional courts in the development of society at an international conference in Finland
Today, on 5 February, the President of the Constitutional Court participated in the international conference organised by the University of Tampere on the protection of the rule of law in Europe (“How can we protect the Rule of Law in Europe”), held in Tampere, Finland. The conference was organised in connection with Finland’s Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. At the conference, Ineta Ziemele gave a presentation, focusing on the issues related to the role of judges and constitutional courts in the 21st century.
In her presentation, Ineta Ziemele explained to the participants of the conference the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court and its view on ensuring the rule of law within the framework of the principle of separation of powers. She underscored that, in Latvia, all decisions that had an impact upon the development of society and the state could be subjected to the constitutional review. Ineta Ziemele highlighted that the Constitutional Court’s task was to examine and to ensure that the legal norms that were in force in Latvia were harmonised and functioned in a concerted way within the legal system, as well as to guarantee that the branches of state power, by their decisions, did not disrupt the balance in the system of checks-and-balances of the powers.
President of the Constitutional Court gives a presentation at the international conference organised by the University of Tampere Foto: Elina Pekkarinen.
In her presentation, Ineta Ziemele also turned to the public awareness of the judge’s role and authority. She emphasised that the law had granted to judges the necessary authorisation to become involved in formulating the values of society. Ineta Ziemele emphasised that the values expressed in rulings should be in direct harmony with the values and fundamental principles that were generally accepted in the particular society and culture. Therefore, to ensure the independence of judges and their authority in society, the criteria for selecting judges, the issues of judges’ remuneration, as well as the procedural safeguards granted to judges are currently more important than ever before.
In conclusion, Ineta Ziemele said that the constitutional courts should develop an active dialogue with society, highlighting two main directions. Firstly, by continuing to improve the quality and comprehensibility of the reasoning of the rulings. Secondly, the Constitutional Courts should be engaged in a dialogue with diverse social groups, to educate about and to raise the awareness of constitutional issues. She admitted that equal and strong development of these two directions could facilitate the development of a democratic society governed by the rule of law.
Ineta Ziemele’s speech is available here: https://www.satv.tiesa.gov.lv/articles/satversmes-tiesas-priekssedetajas-inetas-ziemeles-priekslasijums-starptautiskaja-konference-how-can-we-protect-rule-of-law-in-europe-par-tiesnesu-lomu-21-gs-priekslasijums-ir-pieejams-anglu-valod/
About the conference
The conference is held in honour of Finland’s Presidency of the Committee of Ministers or the Council of Europe. The conference is organised by the University of Tampere, its aim is to identify the best European practice in reinforcing and ensuring the rule of law.
More detailed information about the conference is available here:
https://events.uta.fi/ruleoflaw2019/
The recording of the conference is available here: