16 April, 2021
On April 16, in order to discuss topical issues in the work of courts, which are being worked on in the Judicial Council, the Chair of the Judicial Council Aigars Strupiss met with the chairs of regional courts and district (city) courts.
The main matter of discussion was the procedure for selecting candidates for the position of judge of a regional court, which is revised in accordance with the principle established by the Judicial Council, namely that all candidates – both judges and non-judges – shall participate in single competition. Certain aspects of this procedure have been discussed with the chairs of courts. There was an unequivocal opinion that the competition should apply to judges of first instance who wish to be transferred to a regional court, but not to judges of a regional court who wish to be transferred from one regional court to another. Because in essence, this constitutes a change of post and not an appointment as a judge of a regional court, however also in such cases the views of the chairs of the two regional courts concerned on the effects of such a transfer have to be heard.
With regard to the competition for judges of the first instance and non-judges, the views of the chairs of the courts on the organization of the selection procedure, the conduct of the qualifying examination, the area of responsibility of the Judicial Qualifications Board, the Judicial Selection Commission and the Judicial Council in this competition were heard.
The second issue that the Chair of the Judicial Council discussed with the chairs of the courts was the content of judicial training. In the opinion of the Chair of the Judicial Council, the content of the training should be based on the recommendations of the Judicial Council, the chairs of the courts and the self-government bodies of judges, and not so much on the wishes expressed by individual judges. The chairs of the courts are invited to consider and submit proposals to the Judicial Council.
The opinion of the chairs of courts on the participation of judges in various commissions, which are not related to the work of courts, but are formed for the performance of executive functions, has also been heard. The problems faced by the courts in complying with the requirements of the Law on the Official Electronic Address have also been discussed. Since that the system of official electronic address of other state institutions is integrated into their IT systems, it is not connected to the Courts Information System. Consequently, its use in court work is inefficient, creates additional workload and is time consuming. The courts are waiting for a solution from the Ministry of Justice and the Court Administration.
The Chair of the Judicial Council meets regularly with the chair of regional courts and district (city) courts before considering issues important to the judiciary in the Judicial Council.
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