The State Chancellery is still assessing whether to appeal the court ruling that partially upheld the application of former Director of the State Chancellery Jānis Citskovskis in a dispute over his suspension, the imposition of a disciplinary penalty, and his dismissal from the civil service, the State Chancellery reported.
Citskovskis challenged the orders issued by Prime Minister Evika Siliņa (New Unity) related to his suspension and the disciplinary penalty, as well as the State Chancellery’s order on his dismissal from the civil service.
LETA was unable to obtain a comment from Siliņa’s office on the court ruling. The prime minister is currently on a visit to the United Arab Emirates, while her adviser Anna Ūdre promised to forward LETA’s questions to Siliņa’s office; however, a day later Ūdre suggested directing the questions to the State Chancellery.
As reported, the Administrative District Court partially upheld the applications submitted by former State Chancellery Director Jānis Citskovskis in this dispute. In assessing the applicant’s suspension from office, the court found that the suspension had been imposed as a preventive measure to ensure lawful and efficient handling of public financial resources.
However, the court acknowledged that already from January 2024 the risks that the applicant could engage in unlawful actions with funds related to the organisation of the Prime Minister’s official travel had been eliminated within the State Chancellery. Consequently,
the institution had not properly assessed the necessity and proportionality of the suspension.
The order and its amendments were declared unlawful, and the applicant was compensated for unpaid remuneration and social guarantees.
The court ordered the State Chancellery to compensate the official for unlawful suspension from the 10th of April to the 8th of May 2024 in the amount of 5,333 euros and to pay statutory late-payment interest of 6% per year on the unpaid salary.
In addition, the state must pay him 3,485 euros in legal costs. A state fee of 60 euros was also awarded in favour of Citskovskis.
The court found that the applicant had committed a disciplinary offence through his actions. This manifested itself in the failure to conduct procurement procedures in accordance with the requirements of the Public Procurement Law, as well as in failing, as required by the Civil Service Law, to inform the Prime Minister in writing that the ordering of charter flights constituted a violation of the Public Procurement Law.
The court concluded that
the chosen disciplinary penalty—demotion to a lower position for up to three years—was, in essence, justified.
At the same time, the institution had not sufficiently assessed or substantiated the specific position to which the applicant was to be transferred.
The institution’s decision to demote the applicant for violations in the field of public procurement to a position whose duties include conducting public procurements was deemed inexplicable. In essence, this contradicts the very reasons for which the applicant was held disciplinarily liable.
The court also found that the State Chancellery’s order to dismiss the applicant from office at his own request was lawful and justified. Any employed person has the right to terminate employment at their own free will by duly notifying the institution, and the institution was not entitled to disregard this intention or refuse to adopt a decision on the official’s dismissal. At the same time, the court found no grounds for the payment of a severance allowance equivalent to four months’ average earnings under the Labour Law.
As previously reported, Citskovskis served as Director of the State Chancellery from 2017 until July 2024. In connection with the scandal over former Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš’s flights, he was demoted in early July 2024. In protest against this decision, Citskovskis chose to leave his position at the State Chancellery.
The Prosecutor’s Office has referred to court the criminal case initiated in connection with Kariņš’s flights, in which Citskovskis is the sole defendant.
The Prosecutor’s Office informed LETA that the former Director of the State Chancellery has been charged with failure to perform the duties of a public official, resulting in serious consequences. His guilt will be assessed by the court.
Read also: “Unanswered questions and oddities”: Citskovskis on Kariņš’s special flights