On Thursday, 21 October, the Depurty Prime Minister, the Minister of Justice Jānis Bordāns organized an online meeting with the chairs of Latvian courts to discuss the work of the courts in the period from 21 October to 14 November.
During the meeting Jānis Bordāns emphasized: “Currently, we are in a similar situation as at the beginning of this year, when the courts were able to adapt to working during an emergency situation and ensured the continuity of the work of the courts and the individual's right to a fair trial. Right now we need to reduce face-to-face contact and ensure remote access to courts as much as possible. I would like to thank every court employee who has already been vaccinated against Covid-19 or has started the vaccination process and is contributing to ensuring the full capacity of the courts even in an emergency situation.”
During the meeting, the Minister of Justice and the chairs of the courts shared a common vision on the organization of the work of the courts during the strict restrictions in force from October 21 to November 14 of this year - the courts examine in the cases by written procedure or examine them remotely. In cases where the hearing of the case linked to a significant violation of personal rights and objective urgency, and it is not possible to ensure the hearing of the case either by written procedure or remotely by videoconference, the case shall be heard in person. On the other hand, if it is not possible to ensure the hearing of the case by written procedure or remotely and the issue is not related to a significant violation of personal rights and objective urgency, the hearing of the case shall be postponed.