Forum, Interview, Law and Regulations, Legislation

Photo: president.lv

Vejonis said that, when taking office as the Latvian president, he had named security – not just military security but security of all people in Latvia – one of the priorities in his new post. "To my mind, the judiciary have an important role to play for people in Latvia to feel safe in their country," he said.

The legislative provisions are usually abstract and impersonal, often ambiguous, therefore it is the task of a judge to make them specific and show people that there is one law, one justice for all in our country but, at the same time, a judge can also undermine people's trust in the rule-of-law, the Latvian president said.

It is good that the Judicial Council has recognized the importance of a dialogue with the society, Vejonis said, welcoming the Judicial Council's initiative regarding the communication guidelines for the judiciary. Judges have to be able to explain their verdicts to make the general public to understand them, he said.

The judicial system has started changing, and those changes are needed, the Latvian president. To have a strong judiciary branch is everyone's responsibility so that there would be justice for everyone, he said.

The Latvian president delivered these remarks at the annual conference of judges in Riga on Friday. The conference was attended by 348 out of a total of 576 Latvian judges.