Courts, Constitutional Court and Prosecutor’s Office
Court system and independence
Judicial power is exercised by district and city courts, regional courts and the Supreme Court. Judges are independent and subject only to the law. The Supreme Court is the highest court of general jurisdiction and ensures uniform application of law. Courts decide civil, criminal and administrative cases; administrative courts review state administration. A court cannot simply refuse to apply a law because it dislikes it, but constitutional review of legal norms belongs to the Constitutional Court.
Constitutional Court and Prosecutor’s Office
The Constitutional Court has seven judges appointed for ten years. It reviews whether laws, Cabinet regulations and other norms conform to the Constitution and to binding international agreements, and it can declare a norm invalid. The Prosecutor’s Office supervises the legality of investigations and prosecutes offences; it is separate from the courts. The Prosecutor General is appointed through the constitutional procedure, not elected by the public.
Worked example
A defendant argues that a statute used against him violates Article 92. The trial court should not simply declare the statute unconstitutional. It applies the law and, if the constitutional issue is serious and relevant, the matter can reach the Constitutional Court through the established procedure. The Constitutional Court decides the norm’s validity; the ordinary court decides the defendant’s case. This division prevents every court from becoming a constitutional legislature.
Traps
Do not say the Constitutional Court hears appeals from ordinary court judgments. It reviews norms, not facts or the correctness of a conviction. Do not say prosecutors decide guilt; courts do. Do not describe judges as politically accountable to the Saeima for their rulings. Do not confuse the Supreme Court with the Constitutional Court.