Challenging the ‘Post-Soviet’ Label and Colonial Mindsets
The international discourse long depended on the term ‘post-Soviet’ to refer to the 15 sovereign states that emerged and re-emerged from the Soviet Union following its dissolution in 1991. The list includes European and Asian countries with contrasting backgrounds. Rooted in the context of the Cold War, the term fails to capture the crucial ongoing metamorphosis and challenges of these states for the past thirty years. For Lithuania and the Baltic region at least, the NATO Summit in Vilnius in July 2023 is a chance to emphasize the strong European identity and to challenge the deep colonial mindsets, which overlooks Eastern European perspectives in favor of those built in Moscow since the beginning of the 20th century.
Continue reading >>
Seven Months in the Freezing Forest
On 10 November 2022, Latvia extended the emergency situation at its border with Belarus for a further three months – now until February 2023. Introduced in August 2021 in response to the perceived ‘hybrid attack’ organised by Minsk, the state of emergency has since been renewed five times, effectively becoming a permanent condition. In practical terms that means that Latvia will continue carrying out systematic pushbacks – despite the very low number of border crossing attempts and allegations of gross violations of human rights.
Continue reading >>Citizenship Imposition is the New Non-Discrimination Standard
Never before has the failure to naturalize been used by the Court against discriminated permanent residents, just as it would be unthinkable to greenlight the humiliation of Muslims by an Islamophobic government for failure to convert. The meaning of ‘discrimination’ in ECHR law has become less clear as a result of Savickis.
Continue reading >>
Trapped in a Lawless Zone
The treatment of asylum-seekers – predominantly from the Middle East – crossing the Latvian border from Belarus is in sharp contrast with the recent decision of the Latvian government to support at least 23,000 people who have arrived in the country from war-torn Ukraine. Those who have paid the highest price for this policy are people who have been forced to remain in the forest for months under inhuman conditions just to be ultimately returned to their country of origin, an experience that has left most of them severely traumatised.
Continue reading >>
Defining the Modern Family
In November 2020, the Constitutional Court of Latvia recognised that the Constitution of Latvia (Satversme) obliges the state to protect all families, including those established by same-sex couples. The judgement was met with considerable political backlash and at the beginning of January prompted the right‑wing party Nacionālā Apvienība to submit an initiative to amend the Satversme with a new, excluding definition of family. Perhaps more worrisome is how the amendment and the associated campaign openly attack the authority of the Constitutional Court.
Continue reading >>Riga and Venice on a Collision Course
After the judgment on minority languages in public schools more than a year ago, the Latvian Constitutional Court has passed several other judgments regarding the restrictions on using such languages in education. A recent opinion of the Venice Commission raises questions about the quality of analysis from the point of view of international law.
Continue reading >>
COVID-19 in Latvia: Precaution Above All
The Government of Latvia adopted the decision on emergency situation due to COVID-19 on 12 March to apply until 14 April. For the time being, this period has been extended once to 12 May. This post considers the applicable legal framework, concrete limitations adopted by the Saeima (Parliament) and the Government are described, followed by an assessment from the point of view of European Union values.
Continue reading >>
A Judicial Path to Nowhere?
On 25 September 2019, the Constitutional Court of Latvia opened a case on the constitutionality of several provisions regarding pre-school education for minorities. The complainants are not likely to succeed with their appeal, though, as the Constitutional Court has so far used the country’s Soviet history as well as Latvia’s cultural identity as arguments to uphold the restriction of minority rights.
Continue reading >>
Autonomy in Decline? A Commentary on Rimšēvičs and ECB v Latvia
In the world of European central banking, the corruption case against Ilmars Rimšēvičs, Governor of the Central Bank of Latvia, is a major issue. Ordinary European lawyers like the present author could be excused for having missed the Rimšēvičs case pending before the EU Court of Justice (Cases C-202/18 and C-238/18). In its judgment of 26 February 2019, the Court of Justice for the first time had the opportunity to define the scope of the review conducted in an infringement proceeding pursuant to Article 14.2 of the Statute of the ESCB and of the ECB (‘the Statute’) and to determine the legal effect of a judgment rendered in this context. The latter gives the case a constitutional significance far beyond the field of central banking.
Continue reading >>Eurofederalists under Threat: The Latvian Supreme Court’s Ruling on Independence
On 10 April 2019, Latvia's highest criminal court confirmed a judgment of the Riga Regional Court which convicted the accused for publicly inviting to take action against the national independence of the Republic of Latvia. This decision of the Senate not only contradicts European and international human rights law but is also inconsistent with the case law of Latvia’s Constitutional Court.
Continue reading >>A Dangerous Precedent for Minority Rights: the Latvian Constitutional Court’s Ruling on Minority Schools
On 23 April 2019, the Constitutional Court of Latvia delivered its judgment in the case on minority schools. This judgment might become a dangerous precedent for the rights of persons belonging to minorities under the Union values enshrined in Article 2 TEU.
Continue reading >>Crossing the Baltic Rubicon
Last week, a constitutional moment took place in the European Union. In a rather technical area of law, the Statute of the European System of Central Banks, the Court of Justice ruled for the first time in a case that ensued in the annulment of a decision of a Member State. The Court did not declare that a Member State had failed to fulfill its obligations under EU Law. What the Court did was much more ambitious.
Continue reading >>
Self-Protecting Democracy and Electoral Rights
On October 6 the Republic of Latvia will hold its general election. The air is already sparkling with emotions: populism, fake news and other nowadays much discussed components of election campaigns are all part of it. Even the Constitutional Court of Latvia had its say in the upcoming events by delivering a judgment on a law denying access to stand as a candidate in the election.
Continue reading >>Unionsbürger und Art. 16 II GG: Unangenehme Neuigkeiten für Karlsruhe
Schützt das verfassungsrechtliche Verbot, eigene Staatsbürger an ausländische Staaten auszuliefern, auch Unionsbürger? Nein, sagt das Bundesverfassungsgericht und hielt es bisher nicht für nötig, diese Frage dem EuGH vorzulegen. Jetzt hat dieser ein Urteil gefällt, das Karlsruhe diametral widerspricht.
Continue reading >>
