Three lilacs will flourish in the name of the state governed by the rule of law at the building of administrative courts

On September 20, in order to mark the centenary of administrative justice and twenty years since the adoption of the Administrative Procedure Law, three lilacs were solemnly planted at the building of the Administrative Court on Baldones Street. They will henceforth flourish and symbolize the three court instances. Lilacs were jointly planted by the Chairperson of the Administrative District Court Ilze Freimane, the Chairperson of the Administrative Regional Court Māris Vīgants and the Chairperson of the Department of Administrative Cases of the Senate Veronika Krūmiņa.

The solemn event was opened with a speech by the Chairperson of the Administrative District Court Ilze Freimane on the role and prospects of improvement of the court of first instance, a speech by the Chairperson of the Administrative Regional Court Māris Vīgants on the competence and challenges of the court of appeal, and a speech by the Chairperson of the Department of Administrative Cases of the Senate Veronika Krūmiņa on the role of the administrative justice in the development of a democratic state governed by the rule of law.

Lauma Paegļkalna, the Head of the Latvian Association of Administrative Judges, told the audience about the symbolic meaning of a lilac tree. She said that lilacs are not just multi-coloured and varied trees, they also embody the joy of discovery in seeking and finding lucky blossoms or lilac luck. They are vital because they bloom alluringly and intoxicatingly in spring. Thus, the lilacs symbolically reflect the dynamic development of administrative courts and the diversity of the administrative procedure, as well as the efforts of judges and employees of administrative courts to continuously improve and strengthen Latvia – a state governed by the rule of law. Lilac will also serve as a message for future generations, so that in a hundred years' time the administrative courts will be associated with the rule of law and flowering lilac.

At the beginning of September, the Supreme Court also planted a lilac tree in memory of Senator Jānis Kalacs in Trikāta as a gift from the Supreme Court and administrative courts to Trikāta people in the centenary of administrative justice.

Information prepared by Baiba Kataja, the Press Secretary of the Supreme Court
Tel.: +371 67020396; e-mail: baiba.kataja@at.gov.lv