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Bordans to initiate no-confidence vote in Prosecutor General Kalnmeiers

BC, Riga, 17.05.2019.Print version
The Justice Ministry has discovered indications in the work of Prosecutor General Eriks Kalnmeiers suggesting that Kalnmeiers does not meet the requirement for impeccable reputation, Justice Minister Janis Bordans (New Conservative Party) told the press today, referred LETA.

“The Justice Ministry has prepared a report to the government and a process on Kalnmeiers’ suitability for his position will be launched,” said Bordans.


According to Bordans, Kalnmeiers is not able to ensure efficient work of the prosecutor’s office, good-quality control and supervision on the work of prosecutors, he is not able to organize the work so that the prosecutor’s office introduces international good practice into its work as soon as possible.


The Justice Ministry has concluded that Kalnmeiers’ work might have considerably harmed interests of the state and society and it is not compatible with the high requirements for the post.


The ministry said that it has prepared an informative report to the government on the necessity to conduct an audit on factors that affect efficient investigation and trial of criminal processes on economic and financial crimes. A good-quality audit would require close cooperation with the Prosecutor General’s Office, but the ministry’s experience in relation to responsiveness of the prosecutor’s office suggests that such cooperation is threatened.


The State Audit Office’s report on the financial report of the Prosecutor General’s Office suggest of allegedly unreasonable spending and interpretation of legislative norms in a way that allows prosecutors to receive different kind of bonuses for the same work, and as a result prosecutor’s wages are higher than wages of Supreme Court judges.


Bordans told the press today that the prosecutor’s office has successfully freed itself from supervision of money laundering. Bordans has observed that the prosecutor’s office launches criminal cases or shows any activity only responding to external pressure.


Therefore, the Justice Ministry believes that an urgent and objective evaluation of Kalnmeiers’ suitability for the post should be carried out. Bordans said that the procedure will be long because he as the minister may not dismiss the prosecutor general, but he cannot wait any longer.


Kalnmeiers’ term in the office expires next spring.


According to the law, Saeima may dismiss the prosecutor general from office, if a justice of the Supreme Court specially authorized by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, in carrying out an investigation, has determined any of the bases for removal referred to in the law and an opinion regarding this has been provided by a Plenary Session of the Supreme Court.


Kalnmeiers has been appointed to the prosecutor general’s position in 2010, and repeatedly approved in 2015.






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