Arbitration & mediation

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.

In an opinion piece, the chair of Riga Stradiņš University's academic arbitration court explains how universities' internal arbitration bodies protect student rights by reviewing procedural fairness and equal treatment, without substituting for faculty's academic judgment. Such bodies can overturn expulsions or require fair re-assessment, but have no jurisdiction over employment disputes or private financial claims.

The LTRK Arbitration Court has opened applications for a member of its arbitration council, with the call also published in the Jurista Vārds journal. Interested candidates can contact LTRK to learn the requirements and application procedure. The announcement points to a renewal of the governing body of the LTRK arbitration court.