22 October, 2020
On Thursday, October 22, the Commission for the Selection of Judicial Candidates for District (City) Courts and Regional Courts established by the Judicial Council has commenced its work. Senator of the Supreme Court Dzintra Balta has been elected the Chair of the Commission, and Ilze Freimane, Chair of the District Administrative Court, has been elected the Deputy Chair of the Commission. The Commission has agreed on the further agenda.
The next day, the Commission will focus on the first task, namely, the selection of judges for the Economic Court. The Court Administration has submitted 96 applications of candidates to the Commission, and the Commission will start the first round of selection i.e. evaluation of applications by checking the formal criteria – whether the applicant meets the requirements of the Law on Judicial Power and whether there are any statutory restrictions on holding an office of a judge.
The Chair and the Deputy Chair of the Commission also met with the Chair of the Judicial Council Aigars Strupiss and the Director of the Court Administration Andris Munds and experts to discuss organizational issues for the next four selection rounds. Solutions are being sought to organize the testing of candidates’ professional expertise and the skills in solving cases. The Commission should also develop the content of tests and cases to be resolved.
Dzintra Balta, Chair of the Commission for the Selection of Judicial Candidates, is gratified with the determination of the members of the Commission to work productively to select judges for this court in the short time period remaining until the Economic Court commences its work on January 1, 2021. Given that the procedure for selecting candidates for the position of a judge is new and has not been implemented in practice so far, this will be a big challenge for the Commission. "We will do the best we can, work in a balanced, high-quality way, without being subject to the time pressure," says Dzintra Balta
The Commission for the Selection of Judicial Candidates has been established for the period of three years. It has 9 members – three senators of the Supreme Court, three judges of regional courts and three judges of district (city) courts. The Chair of the Judicial Council or a person authorized by him may also take part in the work of the Commission in an advisory capacity.
Information prepared by
Rasma Zvejniece, the Head of the Division of Communication of the Supreme Court
E-mail: rasma.zvejniece@at.gov.lv, telephone: +371 67020396, +371 28652211