Civil procedure

Draft amendments to the Administrative Procedure Law would raise court fees in competition, procurement, tax and financial-supervision cases to up to 750 euros depending on the dispute amount, and increase the cassation-appeal security deposit from 70 to 120 euros.

The article explains a new EU anti-suit injunction mechanism, introduced by Regulation 2026/506, letting EU member state courts order a claimant to stop or not start proceedings in Russian courts against sanctioned persons. A later Regulation 2026/1848 extended the tool, adding the option to seek non-recognition of Russian court judgments elsewhere. It targets Russian Arbitrazh Procedure Code rules that let sanctioned parties sue in Russian courts even where a foreign court or arbitration clause applies.

Also reported by: ifinanses.lv

In its weekly issue, "Jurista Vārds" publishes an article examining how Civil Procedure Law Article 430(4) is applied and the criteria case law has developed for admitting new evidence at the appellate stage.

From 1 April 2027, the Economic Affairs Court will hear a wider range of civil cases at first instance, including claims over acquiring capital shares, losses caused by board and council members, shareholders' information rights, and consumer collective actions. From 1 September 2029 its jurisdiction expands further to winding-up of companies, insurance indemnity claims and financial-instrument disputes. The change responds to requests from business groups, including the Foreign Investors' Council, to strengthen the court's role in commercial litigation.

Amendments to the Civil Procedure Law, adopted 17 September and published 1 October, add a new Article 552.2 setting out how a creditor's or debtor's procedural standing transfers in enforcement proceedings when a commercial company merges or reorganises - a bailiff may transfer rights to the legal successor without new litigation. The amendments also extend references to the central bank in Articles 214, 216 and 250.93, and add a new Article 555.1 on notice by official publication when a document cannot be served. They take effect 1 January 2027.

A FORT Legal piece lists practical considerations before filing a lawsuit: whether settlement remains possible, what evidence is available, how long proceedings might take, publicity risks, and the likely response of the opposing party. It stresses confirming in advance whether a judgment would actually be enforceable.

The second part of a series on the Notification Law explains how the moment a document is deemed delivered is determined when a private person has an authorised representative, including when notifying the representative counts as notifying the principal too. The exact delivery moment is decisive for calculating deadlines to challenge or appeal an administrative act.

The paywalled article explains that an authority's communication with a private person is not a mere technicality but a procedural act with legal consequences — an administrative act takes effect on notification and its appeal period starts running, so it matters precisely when a document counts as served.

The article explains that buying a plane ticket online does not by itself mean a lost-baggage claim can be brought in the court of the passenger's home jurisdiction — what matters is where the carrier is established and the contract concluded. It discusses a case where a passenger bought a Madrid–Barcelona ticket from Vueling Airlines.

The Court Administration and partners from Germany, Austria, Spain, the Netherlands and Greece have launched the "D-Rex 1" project to develop secure, interoperable digital solutions for cross-border judicial cooperation. Latvia, Germany, Spain and Greece shared experience implementing e-CODEX solutions for transmitting electronic evidence and court documents, while Austria and the Netherlands presented their own digital infrastructure approaches. The project covers technical implementation, user training and cross-border system testing; no specific duration or budget was disclosed publicly.

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.

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.

Also reported by: lvportals.lv

Businesses and the financial sector say that while a civil case is pending, a company's money or assets can stay frozen or restricted for years, blocking investment or new financing; if a creditor cannot be sure of quickly enforcing collateral and recovering a debt, credit becomes pricier. Justice Minister Edvards Smiltēns acknowledges the length of court proceedings is no longer just an internal problem for the judiciary.

The consultation explains that by logging into the elieta.lv e-services system, a person can check all active and historical cases in which they are registered as a party under "My e-cases". This lets someone confirm whether a specific case has been referred to court.

The answer explains that both civil and administrative proceedings provide a legal basis to ask the court to order forensic medical or other expert evaluation to establish causation, even where a criminal case was earlier refused for lack of evidence. It points to the relevant Civil and Administrative Procedure Law provisions.

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.

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.

Also reported by: ifinanses.lv

The subscriber-only article examines whether the current hourly tariff rate adequately compensates companies' legal costs in disputes with state authorities under the State Institutions' Damage Compensation Law.