After hearing all three candidates for the position of Prosecutor General, the Judicial Council has decided to announce a new competition for the role, Supreme Court Chief Justice and Council Chair Aigars Strupišs informed journalists.
He explained that the decision was made because none of the three candidates received the necessary number of votes. However, none of them are barred from participating again in the renewed competition.
It has already been reported that the term of office of the current Prosecutor General, Juris Stukāns, will end in exactly one month, on the 11th of July.
Stukāns, Chief Prosecutor Aivars Ostapko and Prosecutor Uvis Kozlovskis of the Prosecutorial Functions Coordination Division of the Operational Control and International Cooperation Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office applied for the position.
Prosecutor Uvis Kozlovskis told LETA that he will not run again. The opinions of the other two candidates are not yet known.
According to the Law on the Prosecutor’s Office, the Prosecutor General is appointed for five years by the Saeima upon nomination by the Judicial Council. The same person may serve no more than two consecutive terms.
Stukāns, a former Chair of the Criminal Cases Panel at the Riga Regional Court, was unanimously appointed as Prosecutor General by the Saeima on the 18th of June 2020.
This year, the Supreme Court received a submission alleging legal violations committed by Stukāns. Prosecutor Viorika Jirgena, acting as a whistleblower, submitted a report to Chief Justice Strupišs, citing a breach of the Prosecutor’s Office Law. She claimed Stukāns had given instructions that contradicted the judgment of a supervising prosecutor in the case of former Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš’s government flight expenses — namely, to bring charges against a person whom Jirgena believed should not be prosecuted.
However, after reviewing the report, the full chamber of the Supreme Court found no grounds to dismiss Stukāns. Still, the opinion recommended that Stukāns pay closer attention to his language and professional ethics.
Stukāns has denied making the offensive remarks quoted in Jirgena’s report or pressuring anyone to file charges in the government flights case.