How has membership in the European Union altered the role of a national judge, while simultaneously being a European judge whose responsibility is skilful application of European Union law and, therefore, the implementation of the very idea of a united Europe? This will be the point of discussion on Thursday, May 23, at an international conference organized by the Supreme Court, dedicated to 20th anniversary of Latvia’s accession to the European Union.

20 years ago, Latvia, along with nine more countries – Estonia, Lithuania, Czechia, Cyprus, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary – joined Europe’s family of democratic countries – the European Union. This also implied inclusion in the single European legal space and responsibility for its further maintenance and development.

In the process of development of European Union law, the dialogue of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the Supreme Courts of the Member States has been essential, as it has allowed Europe to be united in a single community of values, rights and economics. Moreover, during these years, the countries have shared various challenges, the successful overcoming of which required a broader perspective – European Union law.

The invited participants are senators of the Supreme Court of Latvia, presidents and vice-presidents of all Latvian courts, as well as Supreme Court judges of the countries that joined the European Union along with Latvia. As a symbolic support, representatives of the Supreme Courts of the candidate countries for joining the EU (Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia) are also invited to participate in the conference.

The conference will be video-addressed by Koen Lenaerts, President of the Court of Justice of the European Union; also Stanislav Kravchenko, President of the Supreme Court of Ukraine, will be present and will deliver an opening speech.

Speeches on the values of the European Union will be given by Ingrīda Labucka, the first Latvian judge at the General Court of the European Union, Ineta Ziemele, Judge of the Court of Justice of the European Union, Aigars Strupišs, President of the Supreme Court of Latvia, and Sanita Osipova, Senator of the Supreme Court of Latvia. Inese Lībiņa-Egnere, Minister of Justice of Latvia, has been invited to moderate this part of the conference.

Two discussion panels will follow. The first one will focus on the European Union and national identity and it will be moderated by Senator Jānis Pleps. Irmantas Jarukaitis, Judge of the Court of Justice of the European Union, Martin Holič, Judge of the Supreme Court of Slovakia, Sandra Kaija, Senator of the Supreme Court of Latvia, and Aaron Bugeja, Judge of the Superior Courts of Malta will participate.

The second panel will highlight European Union law in the daily work of a judge. It will be moderated by Kristīne Līce, Advisor to the President of Latvia, and will be joined by Michal Bobek, Judge of the Supreme Court of the Czech Repiblic, Andrej Kmecl, Judge of the Supreme Court of Slovenia, Anita Kovaļevska, Senator of the Supreme Court of Latvia, and Janar Jäätma, Advisor to the Supreme Court of Estonia.

 

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