20 October, 2021
Taking into account that Clause 5.3 of the Cabinet of Ministers Order No 720 of 9 October “On Declaring a State of Emergency” could prohibit judges who have not been vaccinated from performing the duties of a constitutional official and could create preconditions for their removal from office, Chairman of the Judicial Council Aigars Strupišs sent a letter to the Speaker of the Saeima (parliament), drawing attention to a number of international instruments which prevent the executive from suspending the work of the judiciary and ensure the irremovability of judges.
In order to prevent possible constitutional problems, the purpose of the letter is to inform the Speaker of the Saeima about the status and guarantees of judges as officials of a constitutional body, which are similar in terms of irremovability to the unrestricted and performance of the duties of a deputy and irremovability thereof.