10 July, 2024
On June 11, the European Commission published the 2024 report on the rule of law in the European Union (EU Justice Scoreboard). Latvia shows very good results according to several indicators of the efficiency and quality of the judicial system.
The latest report of the European Commission demonstrates that in Latvia, the average period of time for the examination of disputed civil and commercial cases in courts of first instance is 200 days, which is a good indicator, as it ranks Latvia in 11th place among the 22 countries of the European Union. What regards the examination of administrative cases in courts of first instance, Latvia ranks as high as 8th; in 17 countries of the European Union, the examination of administrative cases in courts of first instance takes a longer time – more than 200 days. Whereas, in the examination of disputed civil and commercial cases in all court instances, Latvia holds the high 8th place, and in the examination of administrative cases – the 5th place. Moreover, compared to the 2023 EC Rule of Law Report, length of court proceedings in Latvia has decreased.
Within the framework of the report, the speed of work of courts and other accountable institutions in examining certain categories of cases was also evaluated. In Latvia, the length of court proceedings in cases of money laundering prevention in courts of first instance has decreased. In 2021 it was around 220 days and in 2022 it was 180 days. Cases of these categories are examined faster only in courts of first instance of 8 countries – Belgium, Estonia, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Cyprus, and Bulgaria.
At the same time, an averagely low litigation activity can be observed in Latvia, which is determined by taking into account the number of incoming disputed civil and commercial cases in courts of first instance compared to the number of inhabitants. In 2022, in Latvia, on average, less than two cases per 100 inhabitants reached courts of first instance. Whereas, in terms of the number of administrative cases, Latvia has the fifth lowest number of incoming cases among the 24 evaluated EU countries.
Having analysed total expenditures in a budget of country's judicial system, Latvia ranks 6th among the 25 European Union countries, as in the context of the gross domestic product, only in Bulgaria, Poland, Slovenia, Malta and Croatia the budget of the judicial systems is higher than in Latvia.
The report compares the remuneration of judges and prosecutors with the average remuneration in the country. The remuneration level of the relevant position (a rate above the average level of 2 monthly salaries) is average in Latvia. At the same time, in approximately two-thirds of the member states the remuneration rate of Supreme Court judges is higher than in Latvia.
Latvia still has a high number of judges, thus ranking 6th among the 26 countries of the European Union. Croatia, Slovenia, Greece, Luxembourg and Bulgaria have a higher number of judges.
Having analysed latest results of the Eurobarometer research on public perception of judicial independence, slow but positive trends can be observed. In 2023, 41% of Latvian citizens evaluated the judicial independence as good or almost good; in 2024, 43% of respondents gave a positive assessment.
The 2024 EU Justice Scoreboard shows that member states continue to improve the digitalization of their judicial systems, and Latvia is one of the leaders in Europe in terms of mentioned indicators.
This year, the European Commission's report includes several new indicators on access to justice, such as supporting persons with disabilities to work as professionals in the justice system, as well as for the first time there are new elements included that characterize judicial independence, such as the appointment of court presidents. The 2024 European Commission’s Rule of Law Report is available here.