The Senate is a court of cassation. It comprises three departments – Department of Civil Cases, Department of Criminal Cases, Department of Administrative Cases.
- The court of cassation was called the Senate in the first period of the Free State of Latvia in 1918-1940 and since the restoration of the three-tier court system in 1992 until 31 December 2013. From 2014, the court of cassation was three departments of the Supreme Court. On 28 November 2018, the name of the Senate was returned to the court of cassation.
The number of Senate’s judges or senators in the departments is determined by the Judicial Council on the proposal of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
The Chairs of the Departments are elected by the Plenary Session of the Supreme Court for a term of five years.
General Meeting of Senators
The General Meeting of Senators is a collegial body, which has the functions of ensuring the uniformity of application of legal provisions as well as formation of the composition of senators in the departments as provided by the law “On Judicial Power”.
General Meeting of Senators:
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discusses topical issues of interpretation and application of legal provisions and formulates its opinion as a decision which is then published on the website.
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provides an opinion on the candidate for the position of a judge of the Supreme Court or a judge applying to replace a judge of the Supreme Court;
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makes a proposal to transfer a senator to another department
See information on the authority of Senate's Departments in court proceedings here