Dialogue between the judicial authorities of Ukraine and Latvia: Supreme Court representatives visit Latvia to strengthen the rule of law in times of challenge

Recently, Nataliia Antoniuk, Vice President of the Criminal Cassation Court within the Supreme Court, and Mykhailo Vainahii, Head of the Section for Organisational and Protocol Support of Court Events of the Division Providing Operations Support to the President and Vice President of the Criminal Cassation Court of the Supreme Court, visited Riga, Republic of Latvia, as part of a delegation of Ukrainian judicial authorities.

Vice President Nataliia Antoniuk delivered a presentation at the Supreme Court of Latvia titled “The Development of Criminal Law in Ukraine under Conditions of War – Lessons for Latvia”. She highlighted the challenges faced by the criminal justice system following the full-scale war against Ukraine, including the handling of crimes against national security, war crimes, and military offences. Together with Latvian judges, Nataliia Antoniuk also addressed other aspects of criminal proceedings, such as the possibility of conducting hearings via videoconference from remote locations, examining participants located abroad, forms of case consideration at all judicial instances, the work of the ethics commission, and the procedure for filing complaints against judges under Latvian law.

The visit, organized by the High Council of Justice of Ukraine in cooperation with the Judicial Council of the Republic of Latvia, aimed to facilitate the exchange of experience between Latvian and Ukrainian judicial authorities and to explore joint approaches to ensuring the rule of law under current conditions. During the event, participants discussed Ukrainian and Latvian practices and shared ideas regarding judge selection, career advancement, engagement and motivation of court staff, development of judicial infrastructure, digitalization of courts, equitable distribution of judges’ workload, professional evaluation of judges, judicial ethics, disciplinary responsibility, court administration, and criminal justice issues arising under martial law.

The Ukrainian delegation also had the opportunity to learn about the interaction of Latvian courts with the Court of Justice of the European Union and visited the Supreme Court of Latvia, Riga Regional Court, Kurzeme District Court (Kuldīga), and Zemgale District Court (Tukums).