14 December, 2020
At the meeting on December 11, having heard the proposal of the Ministry of Justice to postpone the announcement of the competition for the position of a chair of a district (city) court and a regional court in exceptional cases, the Judicial Council did not support this proposal. The members of the Judicial Council pointed out that if it is necessary to extend the term of office of the existing chair in exceptional cases, such a possibility should be provided for in the Law “On Judicial Power”, and not in the procedure for nominating and appointing chairs of courts approved by the Judicial Council. At present, the Law does not provide for exceptions, therefore it is not possible to provide for such exceptions within the procedure approved by the Judicial Council.
The Law “On Judicial Power” stipulates that the same person may be a chair of a district (city) court or a chair of a regional court for no more than two consecutive terms.
Whereas, the procedure for nomination and appointment of a chair, a deputy chair of a district (city) court and a regional court and a chair of a courthouse approved by the Judicial Council stipulates that the Court Administration announces a vacancy not later than four months before the end of the term of office of a chair of a court or in case the position has become vacant sooner – within three working days after the vacancy has been created.
The Ministry's proposal was to provide that, in exceptional cases, the announcement of a competition could be postponed if the term of office of a chair of a court expires and no more than two and a half years remain till expiry of the term of office of a chair of a court, which is five years, or until the maximum retirement age or the maximum age for holding the position of a judge is reached after the end of the term of office.
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