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The European Commission’s 2025 EU Justice Scoreboard finds that, thanks to ongoing reforms led by the Ministry of Justice and the introduction of digital solutions in the court system, Latvia ranks among the leaders in both the speed of case-handling and in court accessibility and digitalisation.

Minister for Justice Inese Lībiņa-Egnere explains: “The fact that Latvia continues to hold a leading position in the speed of case-handling is proof of the professionalism of our court system and the effectiveness of the reforms. For the public, this means one of the most essential values – justice without unnecessary delay. By continuing digitalisation and strengthening court capacity, we ensure that justice becomes increasingly accessible and understandable to everyone, thereby strengthening trust in the court system and in the state as a whole.”

Thanks to the modernisation measures implemented by the Ministry of Justice, Latvia maintains one of the shortest case-handling times in the European Union for civil, commercial, administrative, and other cases in first-instance courts. The report also highlights one of the lowest backlogs of pending administrative cases, as well as an especially short handling time for commercial cases heard within the institution.

Latvia continues to ensure child-friendly proceedings in both civil and criminal cases by providing specially adapted premises and appropriate procedures that protect children from re-traumatisation and ensure respect for their rights.

In the field of court digitalisation, Latvia maintains high performance indicators, offering individuals and businesses the ability to file cases electronically, follow the progress of proceedings, and access court judgments in machine-readable form. These solutions strengthen transparency and public trust in the court system, as well as promoting faster and more convenient proceedings.

Latvia also ranks second in the European Union for total expenditure on the court system as a percentage of GDP, demonstrating the country’s prioritisation of strengthening the rule of law and providing high-quality judicial services.

It is also significant that almost 70% of judges in Latvia’s Supreme Court are women – one of the highest proportions in the European Union – reflecting Latvia’s progress in gender equality.

The European Commission has been compiling the EU Justice Scoreboard since 2013 to monitor justice reforms in EU Member States and promote mutual dialogue on the implementation of best practices.

The 2025 European Commission report is available HERE.

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