Civil procedure

Minister of Justice Edvards Smiltēns, at a meeting with the management of the Riga City Court, discussed reducing the courts' workload: standardised, technical and uncontested cases are planned to be examined in written or automated proceedings while retaining human oversight, letting judges focus on contested cases. The Riga City Court employs 100 judges and receives around 10,000 civil cases a year, more than 2,000 criminal cases, around 1,300 administrative offence cases and more than 125,000 uncontested civil and Land Register cases. The misuse of AI to draft needlessly complex procedural documents was also discussed.

An iTiesības article (author Anete Bože, law firm Ellex Kļaviņš) on how a company should act when a manifestly unfounded claim has been brought against it in court. It notes that even an unfounded claim must be examined on the merits (Supreme Court Senate decision SKC-881/2025), so the defendant must take an active part in the proceedings, as the claimant may request security for the claim under Section 138 of the Civil Procedure Law (attachment of property, restrictions on activities). The article is paywalled; the introduction is available.

On 2 September the Ministry of Justice held a discussion, "Investment Environment and Legal Protection in Latvia", on protracted civil and commercial cases that freeze company assets and hit small and medium-sized enterprises particularly hard in debt recovery. Proposed solutions: simplify civil procedure rules, strengthen judges' economic competence, improve the case preparation stage, limit repeated adjournments of hearings, improve enforcement of judgments and simplify recovery of uncontested claims, as well as widen the jurisdiction of the Economic Affairs Court and introduce commercial-case specialisation at the appellate level. Representatives of the courts, the prosecutor's office, business and the financial sector took part.

The courts portal explains that since 1 July 2026, in cases under the warning procedure for compulsory enforcement of obligations (SPIBK), court notices are generated and sent automatically, so they may arrive in the official e-address on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. If the debtor submits a reply via the e-case portal, the court ruling may be prepared and sent the same day; if no reply is received within 50 days, the system automatically generates a ruling, even if the deadline falls on a day off. The court urges people not to ignore notices received on days off and to check them on the Latvija.gov.lv portal.

Minister of Justice Edvards Smiltēns convened a discussion, "Investment Environment and Legal Protection in Latvia", at which businesses and financial institutions noted that lengthy civil and commercial litigation freezes assets, increases credit risk and extends debt recovery periods for SMEs. The Ministry plans to reform civil procedure rules for faster dispute resolution, curb procedural delays (repeated adjournments of hearings, late submission of evidence), improve enforcement of judgments and strengthen judges' specialisation in commercial cases, including through Judicial Academy training. Achievements already cited include the creation of the Economic Affairs Court, the arbitration reform, the revision of state fees in civil cases and improvements to the insolvency system.

On 2 September 2026 sworn attorneys Ramona Miglāne and Agris Bitāns and assistant attorney Zelma Rence took part in the Ministry of Justice's discussion "Investment Protection and Litigation: Challenges and Solutions in Civil Cases", presenting proposals to improve the regulatory framework. The Latvian Bar Council stresses that investment protection is determined not only by the quality of substantive law but also by the effectiveness of procedural tools, the length of proceedings, the proportionality of costs and the speed of enforcement of rulings; timely interim protection, effective case management and greater availability of case law would strengthen investor confidence.

On 1 September 2026 the Cabinet of Ministers approved amendments to the Administrative Procedure Law. Authorities will be able to choose how to notify an unfavourable administrative act (not only by registered letter), the courts will expand the use of video conferencing and reduce the amount of personal data included in documents; legal entities will be able to request full or partial exemption from the state fee (until now only natural persons could), and procedural sanctions may be imposed for abuse of procedural rights. The amendments still have to be adopted by the Saeima.

On 1 September 2026 the Cabinet of Ministers approved amendments to the Administrative Procedure Law prepared by the Ministry of Justice (25-TA-2124), which will now go to the Saeima. They would drop the mandatory registered letter for notifying unfavourable administrative acts, expand the use of video conferencing in administrative courts, limit the amount of personal data in documents and rulings, provide a state-paid interpreter only where the court so assesses, and extend the exemption from the state fee and security deposit on grounds of financial hardship to organisations and companies as well. Sanctions are to be introduced for "procedural hooliganism" – the abuse of procedural rights to delay proceedings.

From 1 September 2026 the Riga Regional Court operates three panels instead of the previous two: the 1st Civil Case Panel (17 judges, headed by Deputy Chair Ilze Celmiņa), the 2nd Civil Case Panel (16 judges, headed by Deputy Chair Agnese Veita, which also includes Court Chair Māris Vīgants) and the Criminal Case Panel. The changes are provided for in the court's development strategy for 2024–2029 to organise the appellate examination of civil cases more effectively and promote uniform case law.

On 1 September the Cabinet of Ministers approved amendments to the Administrative Procedure Law prepared by the Ministry of Justice, which will next be examined by the Saeima. They would drop the mandatory registered mail requirement for notifying administrative acts, expand the use of video conferencing in administrative courts, reduce the amount of personal data in documents and rulings, and provide a state-paid interpreter more selectively. The possibility of exemption from the state fee and security deposit on grounds of financial status is to be extended to legal entities as well, and procedural sanctions are to be introduced for deliberate delay of proceedings and contempt of court.

A lawyer explains that in civil and administrative cases, the court must be notified of counsel's involvement at the start of the hearing, before the case is examined on the merits, by submitting a power of attorney or order; similar rules apply in criminal cases before trial begins. No fixed advance notice deadline is set by law.

The consultation explains that a debtor in collection proceedings can dispute the creditor's claimed amount by submitting evidence such as payment proof. Courts weigh evidence at their own discretion, and only the amount set in the judgment can be collected; debtors may also request deferral or installment payment under Civil Procedure Law Article 206.

On August 21 the Saeima backed, in its second reading, amendments to the Civil Procedure Law that streamline judgment enforcement. Where a company's reorganisation is already registered in the Enterprise Register, bailiffs will no longer need extra steps to continue a case, and notices to parties whose address is unknown may be published in the official gazette "Latvijas Vēstnesis". The amendments also bring the Bank of Latvia into handling consumer collective complaints alongside the PTAC consumer rights body; the changes are due to take effect on 1 January 2027.

DVI explains how it handles a personal-data-breach notification: it assesses the circumstances of the violation and the security measures the organisation had in place, not just the fact that an incident occurred. The authority stresses that DVI itself does not award compensation to affected individuals — claims for damages must be pursued in civil court with evidence of the harm suffered.

The Senate's Civil Cases Department declined to open cassation proceedings in a case where an actor sought retraction of false statements broadcast on TV. A Riga Regional Court ruling requiring the broadcaster to retract the information stands, while the claim for moral damages was rejected. Case No. SKC-526/2026.