Case-law available online
The case-law database is an essential part of the National Courts Portal (Latvijas Tiesu portāls). It contains the judgments of the Supreme Court classified by area of case-law.
As of 1 January 2007, all the judgments of Latvian administrative courts are published online on the National Courts Portal.
A selection of judgments of all courts in civil and criminal cases is also published (particularly if they are of potential public interest). The site of publication is the National Courts Portal. Judgments of the Supreme Court are also available on the Supreme Court website.
Presentation of rulings/titles
Case-law database
| Case number (Lietas numurs) |
Case type (Lietas veids) |
Date (Datums) |
Access record (Atvērt kartīti) |
| CXXXXXXXX |
Civil cases (Civillietas) |
XXXX-XX-XX |
|
| 1. Title of abstract (Tēzes virsraksts): 2. (Main argument) (Galvenā tēze) 3. (Additional legal information) (Papildu tiesiskā informācija) |
Click on ‘Atvērt kartīti’ to access the court case record, which is made up of two parts: basic information and additional information. Among the pieces of additional information are:
- the title of the abstract of the judgment:
- the main argument of the judgment (usually 2-3 arguments);
- information on the legal acts, legal principles, case-law and legal doctrine used to formulate the judgment;
- a summary of the judgment.
Formats
The judgments in the case-law database of the National Courts Portal are available in HTML format.
The judgments published in the National Courts Portal are available in PDF or DOC format.
Relevant courts
Supreme Court
Judgments of the Supreme Court are available in the case-law database and on the Supreme Court website.
Ordinary courts
Judgments of ordinary courts are available on the National Courts Portal website.
Follow-up procedures
Information on follow-up procedures is available on the National Courts Portal by using the option ‘Progress of proceedings’ (Tiesvedības gaita) in the ‘E-services’ (E-pakalpojumi) section.
By entering the case number, information can be obtained on the relevant court, the judge assigned to the case, the calendar of hearings, any appeals received, the results of any appeals, and any annulment of any ruling.
Rules on publication
If a case is heard in open court, the court ruling or judgment (comprising an introductory part, descriptive part, grounds and operative part) becomes generally accessible information from the date on which it is delivered.
If no ruling or judgment is delivered in court (if a case is considered only by written procedure, for instance), the decision is considered generally accessible from the date on which it is received.
If a case is heard in closed session, and if the introductory and operative parts of the court ruling or judgment are read out in open session, those parts of the respective court ruling or judgment are considered generally accessible information and may be published.
Cabinet Regulation No 123 (adopted on 10 February 2009 and entered into force on 18 February 2009) states that before a court ruling or judgment is published, some data belonging to natural persons is to be erased and replaced by an appropriate indicator:
- a person’s name and surname are replaced by the person’s initials;
- a person’s personal identification number is replaced by the words ‘personal identification number’;
- a person’s home address is replaced by the words ‘place of residence’;
- the address of a person’s immovable property is replaced by the word ‘address’;
- the reference number of any immovable property in the property register is replaced by the words ‘register reference number’;
- and a vehicle registration number is replaced by the words ‘registration number’.
The details given in court rulings and judgments of judges, prosecutors, certified lawyers, certified notaries and certified bailiffs must be published.
The judgments and decisions that are to be published (in the relevant circumstances) are selected by the Case-law Department of the Supreme Court, which selects the most important and topical judgments.
