On Tuesday, 9thof April, the Cabinet of Ministers, at recommendation of the Ministry of Justice, approved Egils Levits, Inga Reine and Mārtiņš Paparinskis as representatives of Latvia in the Court of Conciliation and Arbitration of the European Security and Cooperation Organisation (hereinafter – the OSCE).
Egils Levits, judge of the European Court of Justice, as the Latvian arbitrator of the OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration was nominated repeatedly on the basis of his long-standing European and national experience. Inga Reine, judge at the General Court of the European Union, was confirmed in the position of arbiter, taking into account her experience of judicial bodies. Mārtiņš Paparinskis, associate professor in international public law at the Faculty of Law of the University of London, was confirmed as a conciliator of Latvia on the basis of his academic experience. All three approved representatives of Latvia will perform their duties until 30 April 2025.
In order to appoint Latvian conciliators and arbitrator in the OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration, the Ministry of Justice organised an open competition. In total, three candidates applied for the competition. The competition took place in two rounds, during which the compliance of applicants with the established criteria was assessed. The competition commission included representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development.
Additional information:
The OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration was established by the decision of the OSCE Ministerial Council on the approval of the Convention on Conciliation and Arbitration within the OSCE (hereinafter - the Convention) on 15 December 1992.
The aim of the OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration is to resolve and regulate disputes through conciliation and arbitration. Arbitrators and conciliators in the OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration do not operate on a permanent basis. Proceedings shall be initiated at the request of the member state to establish a conciliation or arbitration court composition. The Convention is currently ratified by 34 member states.