The Department of Administrative Cases, together with its main function – administration of justice and development of case-law, considers the promotion of legal culture to be its mission, therefore it was one of the highlights of the report of the Veronika Krumina, Chair of the Department, in the Plenary Session of the Supreme Court on January 22.

Last year, the Department not only regularly provided information about the most important cases and legal issues that were being considered in the Department, the senators also provided more extensive interviews and publications to the media.

Interviews to Latvijas Radio were given by two senators; Ieva Viskere spoke about detailed planning and construction cases; Anita Kovalevska gave an interview regarding the case of police arbitrariness when searching a car. Dace Mita spoke about issues related to the availability of information in an interview with the newspaper Neatkariga Rita Avize. Jautrite Briede, interviewed in the newspaper Siguldas Avize, talked about how public administration is improving, as well as about her work as a teacher and a judge.

The article "Interaction of Legal Proceedings in Disputes Regarding Protection of Children's Rights" written by Veronika Krumina, Chair of the Department of Administrative Cases, and Kristine Zemite, Legal research counsel to the Department, have been published in the magazine Jurista Vards and in the Supreme Court Bulletin.

In order to increase the understanding of the work of the Senate and to promote discussions on the issues of application of law, for the third year in a row the Department in cooperation with the editorial board of magazine Jurista Vards is creating a special issue dedicated to matters of administrative law. Publications prepared by senators and assistants facilitate both legal discussion and adds to legal knowledge. "Although this project requires a lot of work, the benefits are invaluable. In such a project, there is an opportunity to highlight the work of senators and their assistants, to inform about the development of case-law, and to encourage a discussion,” said the Chair of the Department.

Veronika Krumina assessed the creation of the Supreme Court's Twitter account as a benefit in the information space, which testifies to the openness and proactivity of the Court, as well as noted the senators and employees of her Department who are active in social networks. "They take the time to explain the work of the courts on social media, discuss legal issues, provide information and, yes, they sometimes reply to offensive questions. This is the contribution of these people to strengthening the authority of the court,” said the Chair of the Department, emphasizing that in social networks they can reach an audience that would not otherwise be reachable.

The Department of Administrative Cases intends to mark 2021 as the anniversary year of administrative justice. 100 years ago, on March 4, 1921, the Constitutional Assembly adopted the Law on Administrative Courts, which determines the basic principles of the operation of administrative justice. On October 25, 2001, the Administrative Procedure Law was adopted, which was the basis for the establishment of a modern administrative court.

 

 

Information prepared by

Rasma Zvejniece, the Head of the Division of Communication of the Supreme Court

E-mail: rasma.zvejniece@at.gov.lv, telephone: +371 67020396, +371 28652211