Courts of law and justice councils require greater independence in budget and staff-related topics, said Minister of Justice Inese Lībiņa-Egnere in an interview to LTV programme Rīta panorāma on Wednesday, the 28th of December.
These topics cannot be left in the hands of the state. We cannot allow judges thinking politicians interfere with the court justice system, said Lībiņa-Egnere, who is a Doctor of Law. Before working in legislation she served as an attorney at law. The minister explained that her main priority is enhancing the independence of the court justice system – so that every person is confident the court justice system is accessible, trustworthy, and that verdicts will be fair and will be executed in full.
The minister listed several activities to help accomplish these goals. One measure is the creation of an Academy of Justice. The politician mentioned in her interview that for Latvia it is important to support Ukraine in this difficult time, as well as look for ways with allies to punish war criminals.
According to Lībiņa-Egnere, lately some progress has been achieved by Latvia in improving in court justice system.
Nevertheless, there is still a lot to do to improve things in pre-trial institutions and prosecution offices, she explained. When it comes to administrative and civil cases, Latvia is above average in Europe. There are problems with criminal cases – long investigation periods affect trials, she said in her interview.
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