On Monday, 24 February, the Chair of the Judicial Council Aigars Strupišs and the representative of the Judicial Qualification Committee, Senator Indra Meldere, met with the judges of the Economic Court. During the meeting, participants discussed topical issues related to the work of the Judicial Council and the courts.
Aigars Strupišs informed the judges of the Economic Court about the work carried out by the Judicial Council in the past year and the activities planned for this year. This year, the Judicial Council plans to implement the transition of the administrative support functions of the judicial system from the executive to the judiciary by strengthening this function in the law "On Judicial Power". It is also planned to attract new staff with legal qualifications to the judicial system, improving the standards and remuneration system for support staff, and strengthening the role of the Academy of Justice.
When discussing the work of the Economic Court, the judges pointed out that it is necessary to strengthen the capacity of the Court and to increase the number of judges in the Court. They also pointed out that the Court has good technical facilities, but that there is insufficient support staff and that it would be desirable to expand the facilities available to the Court, including increase in the number of courtrooms. The judges pointed out that a large part of the Court's caseload consists of criminal cases on money laundering and that the Court has established a uniform practice in these cases.
Furthermore, the Chair of the Judicial Council and the judges of the Economic Court discussed the time limits for handling cases. The judges pointed out that complex criminal cases with a large volume of evidence, numerous defendants, victims and witnesses come before the Court. Also, the workload of advocates and their involvement in other court proceedings have a significant impact on the handling of criminal cases. Therefore, there has been an increase in the backlog of cases in the Economic Court. The judges suggested that the criminal procedure at the pre-trial stage should be improved so that witnesses can only be questioned in the courtroom when there are substantial grounds for doing so.
The Chair of the Judicial Council agreed to continue the dialogue with the judges of the Economic Court on the future development of the Court and the solution of the problems, by also involving the Ministry of Justice.
Senator Indra Meldere, a member of the Judicial Qualification Committee, reported about the process of assessing a judge's professional performance and the content of information taken into account in the assessment of judges. The judges of the Economic Court pointed out that the opinion of the advisors invited to attend the process of the professional evaluation of a judge should also be heard by the judge to be evaluated, so that he/she could provide answers to the problems or recommendations indicated.