19 January, 2024
On Friday, January 19, the Judicial Council decided on this year's work priorities, such as to approve the conception for the transfer of the judicial system's administrative support function from the executive power to the judicial power, to evaluate the results of the reforms of the judicial system, as well as to review the potentialities for improving the standards of positions and the remuneration system of the judicial system's support personnel.
The Judicial Council also decided on the composition of the Judicial Council's Working Group for Court Efficiency, thus determining the members of the Judicial Council who will continue to work in the Working Group – Līga Ašitoka, the Chair of the Vidzeme District Court, Juris Siliņš, the Chair of the Zemgale Regional Court, Juris Stukāns, the Prosecutor General, Jānis Rozenbergs, the Chair of the Latvian Council of Sworn Advocates, Aigars Kaupe, the Chair of the Latvian Council of Sworn Notaries, Iveta Kruka, the Chair of the Latvian Council of Sworn Bailiffs, and Inita Ilgaža, the Deputy State Secretary on Court Issues of the Ministry of Justice. The Judicial Council instructed the Working Group to submit to the Council by February 7, 2024 a plan for the execution of the tasks to be performed, as well as to prepare evaluations of the reforms implemented in the judicial system.
Moreover, the Judicial Council decided to form two new working groups – the Working Group on Specialization of Judges and the Working Group for Management of Time Limits for the Examination of Cases.
The Working Group on Specialization of Judges was established to aim for evaluating the basic principles of judges' specialization, including the implementation of land registry case management functions, as well as strengthening the judges' specialization. The Working Group shall include Ilze Celmiņa, a member of the Judicial Council, a judge of the Riga Regional Court, Baiba Ozoliņa, a member of the Judicial Council, a judge of the Riga City Court, as well as Inita Ilgaža, the Deputy State Secretary on Court Issues of the Ministry of Justice.
Whereas, the Working Group Group for Management of Time Limits for the Examination of Cases was established with the aim of constantly monitoring and evaluating the length of court proceedings and the sufficiency of the judicial system's resources for ensuring reasonable time-frames of court proceedings. The Working Group shall include Madars Plepis, a member of the Judicial Council, the Chair of the Kurzeme District Court, Agris Kaupe, a member of the Judicial Council, the Chair of the Latvian Council of Sworn Notaries, Jānis Rozenbergs a member of the Judicial Council, the Chair of the Latvian Council of Sworn Advocates, and Juris Stukāns, a member of the Judicial Council, the Prosecutor General, as well as Andris Munda, the Director of Court Administration.
The Working Group on Specialization of Judges and the Working Group for Management of Time Limits for the Examination of Cases are requested to submit a plan for the execution of the assigned tasks to the Judicial Council by February 7, 2024.
Furthermore, the Judicial Council decided to make amendments to the procedure for nominating and appointing chairs, deputy chairs of district (city) courts and regional courts and for nominating and appointing chairs of courthouses, thus establishing that in the future, when a person applies for the position of a chair of a court, a deputy chair of a court and a chair of a courthouse, psychological assessments of a candidate will be carried out. During psychological assessments, the suitability of the candidate's personality shall be evaluated in accordance with the criteria specified by the Commission for the Selection of Court Presidents. The psychological assessment of the candidate would be carried out by an invited expert.
Additional information:
The priorities of the work of the Judicial Council for 2024 and the tasks of the working groups are focused on the achievement of objectives of the Judicial Council operational strategy for 2021-2025.