Rudīte Vīduša, Senator of the Department of Administrative Cases of the Senate, gave a reading on the importance of the opinions of the Constitutional Rights Committee of the President of Latvia in the development of Latvian legal science and legal thought at the conference "10-year Anniversary of the Opinion on the Inviolable Core of the Satversme" and participated in discussions.

The conference organized by the State President Egils Levits aimed to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the opinion of the Constitutional Rights Commission on September 17, 2012 "On the Constitutional Foundations of the State of Latvia and the Inviolable Core of the Satversme". This opinion was formed in relation to the 2012 referendum on the second official language, and the proposals contained in the Opinion were useful in developing the extended introduction to the Constitution.

In her speech, Senator Rudīte Vīduša evaluated the contribution of this and other opinions prepared by the President's Constitutional Rights Committee to the development of national law. These are opinions on the early parliamentary election mechanism, on the requirement for approval by the Saeima to receive a large-scale loan, on the regulation of public electronic media, on the functions of the President in the framework of Latvia's parliamentary democracy system. All these opinions, as well as the fundamental opinion on the core of the state, have been a significant contribution to the understanding and development of national law.

The Senator admitted that in Latvia there is a lack of scientific studies and expert opinions in national law, and in Latvia's small legal family it will always be relevant to mobilize in order to provide a high-quality legal opinion at the right moment. The Constitutional Rights Committee has been established as an intellectual centre for topical legal issues, therefore, as Senator Rudīte Vīduša acknowledged, the establishment of the Committee and the opinions presented are a valuable and timely contribution to the development of national law. "Therefore, it has been an action of national responsibility", the senator welcomed the establishment of the Committee and its contribution.

Jautrīte Briede, Judge of the Constitutional Court, Professor of the Faculty of Law of the University of Latvia, also spoke at the conference. During the discussions, speakers were joined by Ilma Čepāne, Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee of the 11th Saeima, Professor Emeritus of the University of Latvia, Diāna Apse, Associate Professor of the Faculty of Law of the University of Latvia, and Anda Smiltēna, Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice on Legal Policy Issues. The discussion was moderated by Lauris Liepa, Sworn lawyer, Lecturer at the Law Faculty of the University of Latvia.

Video-record of the Conference: https://ieej.lv/2LGmR

 

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

Photos by the Chancery of the President of Latvia