In view of the increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in Latvia and in order to prevent risks to the health of court visitors and staff, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has approved guidelines for the organization of court work in these circumstances.

The Supreme Court shall communicate with persons using remote communication facilities (telephone, e-solutions, postal services, mailboxes in the lobby). In exceptional cases, if the service cannot be provided remotely, visitors shall be admitted in person, taking precautions; the time of the visit must be agreed in advance and the epidemiological safety requirements (temperature measurement, distance, use of mouth and nose covers, etc.) must be observed.

Court cases are mainly examined in writing or remotely. If this is not possible and an oral court hearing is organized, the epidemiological safety requirements specified in regulatory enactments must be observed (mouth and nose covers, distance between persons in the courtroom and outside the courtroom, the specified maximum number of persons in the room, a break every 2 hours and disinfecting of surfaces in the room must be observed).

What regards public events and meetings, the Supreme Court shall not organize public events and guided tours, unless the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, having assessed the proportionality of necessity and risk, has decided otherwise. The Supreme Court does not organize interinstitutional meetings in person and participates in such meetings remotely.

The website of the Supreme Court, its Twitter account and the Youtube channel are primary channels for informing the public. In exceptional cases, face-to-face communication with media representatives shall be organized by the Communication Division in compliance with the epidemiological safety requirements specified in regulatory enactments.

 

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