To prevent threats to national security, strong focus needed on sentencing policy in cases of public importance - president

RIGA - The legal system must be able to provide the tools to protect national security, which is why a strong focus on penal policy in cases of particular importance is needed to prevent threats to national and public security, President Edgars Rinkevics said Wednesday. 

As the president's adviser Martins Dregeris told LETA, Rinkevics on Wednesday had a meeting with Aldis Lavins, Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court. Aigars Strupiss, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Prosecutor General Juris Stukans, Saeima Legal Affairs Committee Chairman Andrejs Judins (New Unity) and Justice Minister Inese Libina-Egnere (New Unity).

During the meeting, the president and the senior officials of the judicial system discussed topical issues in the judiciary in 2024, including penal policy, as well as cooperation between constitutional bodies in strengthening the rule of law and justice.

Rinkevics voiced the position that to ensure the sustainability and efficiency of the judiciary, it is necessary to avoid overregulation and excessive fragmentation of laws, which makes their application more difficult and also increases bureaucracy.

While discussing the efficiency and independence of the judiciary, the president voiced the opinion that the quality of judicial work should be further strengthened in order to increase public confidence that cases would be adjudicated fairly. At the same time, judicial independence must not be misunderstood, it does not mean immunity from constructive criticism.

The parties also discussed work on improving sentencing policy. Although since the summer of 2023, targeted efforts have been made to ensure that the Criminal Law and its application are in line with the current threats and prevent damage to national interests and society, an adequate application of the penal policy by the judiciary remains a topical issue.