On 24 May, President of Latvia Egils Levits conducted an online swearing in of Economic Crimes Court judges Katarīna Sniedze and Oksana Pulle-Čižova during a ceremony hosted from the Riga Castle.
President Egils Levits’ opening remarks:
‘Dear colleagues,
My sincerest congratulations to you on your swearing in and first day on the new job!
Your decision to switch from private sector to court system career is probably the highest praise for judges. You have gone through stringent selection procedures. You have had to compete against many tens of other applicants – way more than available positions. A thorough regard has been given to your prior qualifications and you are considered a valuable addition to the Economic Crimes Court. With you now on board of the Economic Crimes Court it is finally fully staffed.
Your private sector experience will come in handy and help you on the new job. You know very well the strategies parties use to drag the proceedings or make them unnecessarily complicated. I believe that this knowledge will be crucial for you as justices, because you have to always remember that you are in charge of the proceedings and managing them. It is up to judge to make sure the case is thoroughly reviewed and closed without unreasonable delay, or else proceedings will be encumbered by unnecessary claims and irrelevant facts, quickly becoming a farce. You have the right tools and knowledge to prevent that, while being in charge of the proceedings you can move directly to the best possible outcome in terms of what is right, reasonable and fair.
Public communication has become an important part of judge’s work in recent years. In past, we used to say that court should speak through judgements. Today everyone expects more. People expect additional clarifications in a language they can perceive, in laymen’s terms that everyone can understand without legal training. It is important for courts to release additional press statements accompanying judgements in high-profile cases for people to be able to see the reasoning. And you are now expected to contribute to this public communication too.
One of the professional weaknesses of judges in Latvia is legal formalism. In other words, they focus on the letter of the law more than the spirit of the law. I believe, and this is something judges should always keep in mind, spirit of the law should always come before everything else. That, of course, is a matter of legal practice. I am convinced that you have mastered the necessary techniques while you studied and worked in the private sector. Judges should always put most of their efforts into mastering best legal practices because these methodologies enable them to reach the right verdict, be able to justify their findings and defend their position. Judges should never excuse themselves by saying that it is the law that has rendered their judgements unfair or inadequate. Judges must enforce the law as per merits of the case, as per the spirit of the law, and most of our laws give the right framework for that. There are few exceptions when that is beyond reach, but judges are always welcome to suggest improvements to existing laws to mend that.
A few weeks ago, I held a similar ceremony for your colleagues who first joined the Economic Crimes Court. Addressing you colleagues, I quoted Professor Kalvis Torgāns who was very fond of whishing these two things to new judges. First of all, judge’s heart and mind should always tell them what is right – right for Latvia and justice. Secondly, our government, people and every individual expect judges to have endless energy to keep fighting fraudsters and crooks, have courage to expose fraud and offences. Judges are exposed to a lot of unethical behaviour in their line of work, especially if they work for Economic Crimes Court, which deals with these kinds of crimes.
I wish you all the best in your new career. Latvia and our society are putting great trust in you and I am confident you will not let them down. Good luck! May you never run out of wisdom, kindness and integrity!’