Under the current regulations, it is in fact impossible to adjudicate any large-scale criminal case within a reasonable time frame, Prosecutor General candidate and Chief Prosecutor of the Riga Judicial Region, Armīns Meisters, told the LETA news agency.
Asked about his vision for speeding up and making more efficient the handling of high-profile criminal cases currently in the Prosecutor’s Office and the courts, Meisters replied that in relation to pre-trial proceedings there is still room for improvement both in cooperation between the Prosecutor’s Office and investigative bodies and in the internal organisation of prosecutorial work.
“My plan is to strengthen the role of prosecutors at the investigation stage in those criminal proceedings that are of national significance and in which several prosecutors are involved as case leaders,” Meisters stressed.
Meisters also believes that, taking into account the experience of other countries, the normative framework for pre-trial criminal proceedings should be simplified as much as possible by abandoning unnecessary stages and officials.
“The same applies to trials.
Under the current regulations, it is practically impossible to adjudicate any case within a reasonable time,
because the examination of evidence and the court investigation are overloaded with various organisational issues, decisions on applications, formal questions to witnesses, and adjournments for various reasons. The volume of judgments is also an issue. For example, in the Zolitūde tragedy case, the first-instance judgment exceeded one thousand pages,” Meisters pointed out.
He recalled that the Supreme Court has already concluded that maximum emphasis must be placed on efficiency and abandoning procedures that prevent cases from being resolved on the merits.
“So there is a range of organisational and regulatory issues where work can be done, of course while respecting the possibilities and needs of investigative institutions and the situation in the courts,” Meisters emphasized.
To speed up case progress, the Prosecutor’s Office will first look at its own options, but
it will definitely not be possible to avoid amendments to the Criminal Procedure Law,
he suggested.
Asked how it would be possible to prevent the defence from deliberately dragging out proceedings, Meisters replied that, first of all, prosecutors must take a firmer stance in court, participate in deciding all motions and applications, and express a clear position. It is not the case that delays occur solely because of defence lawyers, he argued. “If the procedural framework allows for clever and strategic use of certain options, then it is understandable that the defence will use them,” the candidate for Prosecutor General added.
As reported, on Thursday, the 20th of November, the Saeima will decide on Meister’s appointment as Prosecutor General.
By law, the Prosecutor General is appointed by the Saeima for a five-year term on the proposal of the Judicial Council. The same person may serve as Prosecutor General for no more than two consecutive terms.
Since May 2018, Meisters has been Chief Prosecutor of the Riga Judicial Region. In 2023 he was appointed to this post for a second term. Since 2000 he has worked in various structural units of the Prosecutor’s Office, including as Chief Prosecutor of the Riga City Centre District Prosecutor’s Office and Chief Prosecutor of the Financial and Economic Crime Investigation Prosecutor’s Office.
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