On 3 October 2024, the third round of elections of the Latvian Judges Extramural Conference was held, in which Ilze Freimane, a judge of the Riga District Court, and Sanita Strakše, a judge of the Riga City Court, were elected as members of the Judicial Qualification Committee.
In total, 406 Latvian judges participated in the elections of members of the Judicial Qualification Committee.
It has already been reported that in the first round of elections of the Latvian Judges Extramural Conference which took place on 16 and 17 September 2024, Ilze Celmiņa, a judge of the Riga Regional Court, was re-elected as a member of the Judicial Council and Silva Reinholde, a judge of the Kurzeme Regional Court, the current chair of the Judicial Qualification Committee, was re-elected as a member of the Judicial Qualification Committee. Whereas, on 25 and 26 September 2024, in the second round of elections of the Latvian Judges Extramural Conference, Juris Siliņš, the president of the Zemgale Regional Court, was re-elected as a member of the Judicial Council, and Indra Meldere, a senator of the Supreme Court, was re-elected to the Judicial Qualification Committee.
Additional information:
At the Latvian Judges Extramural Conference, two members of the Judicial Council from among judges of regional courts had to be elected, as on 8 September 2024 the term of office expired for Juris Siliņš, a judge of the Zemgale Regional Court, and on 16 September 2024 the term of office expired for Ilze Celmiņa, a judge of the Riga Regional Court.
Two judges from district (city) courts and one judge from regional courts were to be elected to the Judicial Qualification Committee, as on 6 October 2024 the term of office will expire for Ināra Zariņa, a judge of the Riga District Court, and Silva Reinholde, the current chair of the Judicial Qualification Committee, a judge of the Kurzeme Regional Court. Whereas, Kristīne Zdanovska, a judge of the Riga District Court, was transferred to serve as a judge in the Riga Regional Court. Moreover, on 26 September 2024, a member of the Judicial Qualification Committee from among the senators of the Department of Administrative Cases of the Supreme Court was elected, as the previous member of the Judicial Qualification Committee, a senator the Department of Administrative Cases of the Supreme Court, Rudīte Vīduša, was elected to the Judicial Council on 9 September 2024, and according to law, the status of a member of the Judicial Qualification Committee is incompatible with performing the duties of a member of the Judicial Council.
The Latvian Judges Conference is a self-governing body of judges convened by the Judicial Council at least once a year. The Conference is attended by judges of district (city) courts, regional courts and the Supreme Court. The Rules of Procedure of the Conference approved by the Judicial Council provide that the Conference may also be held in absentia via technological solutions.
The Judicial Qualification Board is a self-governing body of judges, which assesses the professional performance of judges.