On May 20–22, the annual meeting of the Supreme Courts of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania took place in Tallinn, during which judges discussed current issues faced by the judicial systems and shared their professional experiences. The central theme of this year’s meeting was “Latest Developments and Challenges in the Judiciary.”

At the meeting the Supreme Court of Latvia was represented by its President Aigars Strupišs, Chair of the Department of Civil Cases Normunds Salenieks, Senator of the Department of Criminal Cases Jānis Rozenbergs, and Senator of the Department of Administrative Cases Dzintra Amerika.

The meeting’s agenda included three working sessions. In the first session, the presidents of the Supreme Courts provided an overview of the current situation and the most significant challenges faced by the judicial systems and the Supreme Courts of the respective countries. The second working session was devoted to current issues in civil law practice. During this session, Normunds Salenieks presented the experience of the Supreme Court of Latvia and the latest trends. The Chair of the Department of Civil Cases spoke about amendments to the Civil Procedure Law concerning the effective enforcement of obligations through a warning procedure and how these amendments have impacted the work of the courts. In the third session, Jānis Rozenbergs provided an overview of significant issues in criminal law practice.

During the visit, the representatives of the Supreme Courts were also received by Kristen Michal, Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia, who provided an overview of the cooperation among the Baltic States in various fields, as well as Estonia’s plans regarding the implementation of artificial intelligence tools.

The trilateral meeting of the Supreme Courts of the Baltic States was first held in Vilnius in 1993, when the Presidents of the Supreme Courts signed an agreement to convene the meeting annually. Its purpose is to promote the regular exchange of experience and information, foster the development of new ideas and solutions in judicial practice, encourage a consistent interpretation of the law, and strengthen judicial cooperation among the Baltic States.

 

Information prepared by Iveta Jaudzema, Communication specialist of the Supreme Court of Latvia

Email: iveta.jaudzema@at.gov.lv; phone: +371 67020362