On November 7, the Supreme Court was visited by future judges and prosecutors from various European countries participating in the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN) international exchange programme AIAKOS. At the Supreme Court, the guests were welcomed by Anita Zikmane, Head of the Division of Case-law and Research.

Anita Zikmane introduced the visitors with the structure of the Supreme Court and the principles of the Senate's work when examining cases. The prospective judges and prosecutors were introduced to selected rulings of the Department of Criminal Cases and the Department of Civil Cases, which allowed them to learn about the practice of drafting rulings and the sources used in the reasoning thereof. Foreign colleagues were interested in the instruments used to ensure the uniformity of judicial practice and the role of Senate’s rulings in the formation of case law, as well as EU judicial cooperation instruments such as the practice of referring preliminary questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

After the meeting, the guests toured the Palace of Justice, viewing the historic Senate Courtroom, the sculpture "Justice" and gaining an insight into the court’s history at the Supreme Court Museum.

The week-long visit to Latvia by participants in the AIAKOS exchange programme was organized by the Latvian Judicial Academy. The AIAKOS programme offers prospective and new judges and prosecutors a unique platform for exchanging experiences, which aims to broaden knowledge about different national judicial systems, foster mutual trust, and raise their awareness of the European dimension of their (future) work.

 

Information prepared by Iveta Jaudzema, Communication specialist of the Supreme Court of Latvia

E-mail: iveta.jaudzema@at.gov.lv; tel.: +371 67020362