The collection of the museum of the Supreme Court is supplemented by valuable exhibit – the robe of a judge of the Constitutional Court, which was presented to the museum by Ilze Skultane, the former judge of the Constitutional Court, currently – the judge of the Supreme Court.

Ilze Skultane had been the judge within the first composition of the Constitutional Court since the establishment of the court in 1996.  She, at that time – the Chair of Bauska district court, and Andrejs Lepse, the judge of the Supreme Court, were nominated to offices of judges of the Constitutional Court by the Plenary Session of the Supreme Court. As Ivars Bickovics, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, remembers – at that time, everything related to the Constitutional Court, was new, and it was the first time, when the Plenary Session of the Supreme Court had to adopt such decision.

Memories of Ilze Skultane also concern creation of the Constitutional Court. There was no historical experience, because there was no Constitutional Court in pre-war Latvia. There were not many cases in the newly established court in the very beginning, and judges dedicated lot of time to elaboration of legal basis of the Constitutional Court, and wrote the Regulation of the newly established court.  

The robe of a judge of the Constitutional Court was also new. Interestingly, the set of clothing of a judge of the Constitutional Court included, and still includes not only the robe, but also a hat. Ilze Skultane tells that, when thinking about the robe, there were discussions about hat – whether it might cause some inconvenience in wearing thereof to ladies, and the answer was that there would be no ladies!  But they were there, and even in the first composition. However, as Ilze Skultane remembers, judges wore hats only once – when giving an oath to the President of the State for the first time. Later these hats were not worn anymore. But the set presented to the museum of the Supreme Court is full – including the hat.

However, the insignia of office or so called judge’s necklace has been used by Ilze Skultane still, because she has been a judge of the Supreme Court for more than 11 years. In 2004, when new structural unit, namely, the Department of Administrative Cases, was established in the Supreme Court, the judge again was in the heart of this historical event, as she became the senator in the first composition of this department.  

During her entire judicial career, Ilze Skultane became the pioneer for the third time – in 2008, she was elected to the first composition of the newly established Judicial Ethics’ Committee.

Time rich in challenges – that’s the work pace of Ilze Skultane that still continues. The robe given to the museum of the Supreme Court will provide an opportunity to visitors to familiarise themselves with diversity of judge’s work.

The museum of the Supreme Court preserves evidence about not only the Supreme Court or the Senate of Latvia, but entire judicial system of Latvia since 1918. Visitors of the Supreme Court may visit the museum of the Supreme Court, applying in advance to the Division of Communication.

 

Information prepared by

Rasma Zvejniece, the Head of the Division of Communication of the Supreme Court

E-mail: rasma.zvejniece@at.gov.lv, telephone: 67020396, 28652211