To analyze the practice of the application of punishment, the Supreme Court in cooperation with the scientists in criminal law has accomplished an extensive study on the application of punishment in cases related to drugs and sexual assault. On April 25, the Supreme Court organizes a conference where this study will be presented, it will discuss the problems of the application of punishment, the development of a uniform court practice and the adequacy of the sentence to its goal.

Judges from regional and district (town) courts will be invited to the conference, the senators of the Department of Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court Senate, the judges of the Chamber of Criminal Cases and the criminal law scientists will participate, as well. The prosecutors have a significant role in the determination of punishment therefore the Prosecutor General and the representatives of the Prosecutor General Office are also invited to take part in the conference.

In the first part of the conference a report on the problems of application of punishment will be delivered by the Professor of criminal law Valentina Liholaja. A survey of the study will be presented by the criminal law expert Andrejs Judins. A representative of the Prosecutor General Office is also invited to report at the conference.

The practice of application of punishment and various aspects of the determination of punishment will be discussed more widely in the second part of the conference in three sections led by the senators of the Department of Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court Pavels Gruzins, Peteris Dzalbe and Valda Eilande.

The study on the practice of application of punishment analyzes judgments of 2007 of the regional courts as the first instance courts and the Chamber of Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court as the appellate instance. Prior to the conference, the conclusions of the study will be discussed and analyzed in the general meeting of the Department of Criminal Cases of the Senate.

The goal of the study and the conference is to promote the development of a uniform court practice in application of punishment. This is the first case when such study is accomplished in Latvia devoted to this problem.

 

Information prepared by Division of Communications of the Supreme Court

Author: Rasma Zvejniece, Manager of the Division of Communications of the Supreme Court

E-mail: rasma.zvejniece@at.gov.lv, telephone: 7020396, 28652211