The first premises of the Senate was in the former Riga-Valmiera justices of the peace building, located on Brivibas Boulevard, where the Senate took up six offices and one court room. Initially, all departments and the head prosecutor shared a chancery with one assistant and one typist.
When the Bermont troops attacked Riga, the building housing the Senate, was hit by an artillery shell that damaged the outer wall of the room where the Civil Cassation Department held its meetings. The building was damaged so badly that bricks fell on a desk located in the middle of the room. On November 1, 1919, the Senate relocated to a building on Merkela street, where it stayed until January 1920, when it returned to its former building occupying fourteen offices. When the construction of the Palace of Justice was commenced in 1936, the former Senate building was demolished.
Initially, the Senate had almost no furniture. A special commission was created for the purchase of furniture but it was unable to obtain any due to the shortage of funding. Therefore, the justices loaned their own personal furniture to the Senate. For example, Augusts Lebers’ linens wardrobe held the court files.
The first expense recorded by the Senate is dated July 24, 1919, for the purchase of a transparency in the amount of one ruble. The first inventory of the Senate was created on August 5, 1919 and consisted of two typewriters. The September 30, 1919, purchases consisted of three ashtrays, one bucket, one dustpan, one broom with a handle and one dust broom.
