The Council for the Judiciary Appoints Two Court Presidents
On Monday, 10 June, the Council for the Judiciary appointed Māris Vīgants, a judge of the Civil Cases Division of the Riga Regional Court, President of the Riga Regional Court, and Pēteris Novičenoks, the incumbent President of the court, President of the Latgale District Court. The presidents of both courts have been appointed for five-year terms effective from 1 July 2024.
Māris Vīgants has been serving as a judge for 23 years. From 29 March 2001, he worked as a judge at the Centre District Court of the City of Riga, and from 17 May 2007 at the Administrative Regional Court. From 25 January 2010 to 24 January 2012, he performed the duties of a judge of the Civil Cases Chamber of the Supreme Court in the absence of a judge. From 2 September 2013 to 9 May 2022, Māris Vīgants was President of the Administrative Regional Court. From 13 October 2013 to 26 September 2022, he was elected to the Judicial Qualification Committee and headed its work from 17 May 2015 to 26 September 2022. Since 18 March 2022, he has served in the Civil Cases Division of the Riga Regional Court.
Pēteris Novičenoks has been serving as a judge since 19 January 2012, when the Saeima appointed him a judge of a district (city) court. He began his judicial career at the Rēzekne Court House of the Administrative District Court, and from 12 January 2017 continued to perform the duties of a judge at the Rēzekne Court. On 1 July 2019, he was appointed President of the Rēzekne Court. Following the reform of the courts of the Latgale region from 1 July 2023, as a result of which the Daugavpils Court was merged with the Rēzekne Court and the court was renamed the Latgale District Court, Pēteris Novičenoks continued to perform the duties of court president at the Latgale District Court.
The Council for the Judiciary also approved the guidelines developed by the Supreme Court’s Department of Case-law and Research for the writing of judgments in administrative-offence cases by courts of first instance and appellate courts. The purpose of the guidelines is to improve the quality of court judgments by providing recommendations for a uniform and structured approach to developing the form of a judgment, as well as for writing the content of a judgment in a clear and accessible manner. On 16 June 2023, the Council for the Judiciary also approved guidelines of this kind for writing judgments in administrative and civil cases by courts of first instance and appellate courts, and on 24 May 2024 for criminal cases.
The Council for the Judiciary also decided that this year’s remote conference of Latvian judges would take place on 16 and 17 September. The conference is expected to elect two members of the Council for the Judiciary from among the judges of regional courts and three members of the Judicial Qualification Committee—two from among the judges of district (city) courts and one from among the judges of regional courts.
The Council for the Judiciary also supported the Supreme Court’s proposed budget priorities for 2025–2027. The Supreme Court’s priorities for the next three years are to maintain a competitive remuneration system for Supreme Court employees, organise the General Assembly of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary, and ensure the introduction of artificial intelligence in the performance of the Supreme Court’s functions.
Additional information:
In accordance with the current procedure, after receiving the opinion of the committee for evaluating candidates for the positions of president, vice-president and court-house president of a district (city) court or regional court, the Council for the Judiciary decides on the appointment of a candidate. The committee for evaluating candidates for these positions issued an opinion on the suitability of both judges for the position of president.
The term of office of Daiga Vilsone, President of the Riga Regional Court, will end on 30 June 2024.
The guidelines for writing court judgments were developed to fulfil the task under Action Direction 3, “Effective and High-Quality Judiciary”, of the Council for the Judiciary’s 2021–2025 operational strategy: to identify the factors essential for ensuring and continuously improving the quality of judgments and to provide a vision for resolving problematic situations.
The Conference of Judges is a judicial self-governance body convened by the Council for the Judiciary at least once a year. Judges of district (city) courts, regional courts and the Supreme Court participate in the conference. The Rules of the Conference of Judges approved by the Council for the Judiciary provide that the Conference of Judges may also be held remotely using information technologies.
Pursuant to the law “On Judicial Power”, the Supreme Court submits a list of the Supreme Court’s budget priorities to the Council for the Judiciary for evaluation and the expression of an opinion.
Yours sincerely—Lana Mauliņa
Adviser to the Secretariat of the Council for the Judiciary
for communications matters
67020711, 27846380
