The Supreme Court is composed of two separate judicial bodies: the Senate and the Supreme Court Chambers.
The Senate has the authority to accept cassation appeals in all types of cases, and is the final and supreme judicial body in Latvia. There are three departments in the Senate: the Department of Civil Cases, the Department of Criminal Cases and the Department of Administrative Cases. The Chamber of Criminal Cases and the Chamber of Civil Cases are the appeals bodies which review cases that have been decided by the regional courts, as the court of first instance.
The total number of the Supreme Court justices as well as the number of justices serving in the Senate and the Supreme Court Chambers is determined by the Saeima (Parliament), upon the recommendation by the Chief Justice.
The Chief Justice has the responsibility for oversight over the work of the Supreme Court. Upon recommendation by a Plenary Session of the Supreme Court, a Chief Justice is selected from among the justices for confirmation by the Saeima (Parliament) for a seven-year term. Mr. Ivars Bickovics has been the Chief Justice since 2008.
Currently, Mr. Pavels Gruzins, the chairman of the Senate’s Department of Criminal Cases, and Mr. Gunars Aigars, the chairman of the Supreme Court’s Chamber of Civil Cases, have been elected as the deputy Chief Justices.
