The Senate has summarized the case law on the application of coercive measures of a medical nature. The summary has been prepared with the participation of the Ombudsman's Office and within the drafting of analysis of Latvian case law and a more extensive study on the application of coercive measures of a medical nature.

This summary mainly focuses on the decisions of the Department of Criminal Cases of the Senate in cases reviewed between 2017 and 2020. The summary analyses issues such as the application, amendment and revocation of coercive measures of a medical nature, deciding on a person's participation in a court hearing and ensuring other procedural rights, as well as case law in determining compensation for damage is analysed separately.

The summary includes not only the findings of the Senate, but also a brief insight into the factual descriptions of specific cases, which allows to understand the circumstances important for deciding the issues. It should be noted that cases concerning the application of coercive measures of a medical nature are examined in closed court proceedings, thus court rulings are not publicly available.

The regulation on the application of coercive measures of a medical nature has been substantially amended by the Law of June 11, 2020 “Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Law”, which entered into force on July 6, 2020. In the further application of the findings published in this summary, special attention should be paid to changes in the regulatory framework, which may affect the topicality of the findings.

 

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 286522