Latvia
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The Constitution of Latvia (Latvian: Satversme) is the fundamental law of the Republic of Latvia. It was adopted by, as it states itself, the people of Latvia, in freely elected Constitutional Assembly, on 15 February 1922 and came into force on 7 November 1922.

Etymology

In Latvian, satversme is a synonym of Constitution (konstitūcija). The term was coined by Atis Kronvalds, one of the leaders of Latvian romantic nationalism in the 19th century. The movement was trying to promote Latvian culture after centuries of Baltic German influence and encourage use of Latvian. Kronvalds and like-minded individuals introduced several new terms intended to be used over loanwords in everyday use. He derived the term "satversme" from -tver- ("to hold"), combining it with the prefix "sa-", indicating something longlasting and strong, the -sm- suffix, and a feminine ending, -e, to illustrate how a constitution holds together all other laws.^[1][2]

History

The Constitution was drafted by the Constitutional Assembly of Latvia (Satversmes sapulce), which consisted of 150 members elected in general elections. The initial bill was elaborated by a Constitutional committee (Satversmes komisija) and consisted of two parts. It was influenced by ideas of Weimar Constitution and Swiss Federal Constitution.^[2] The first regulated the state's institutions; the second, citizens' rights and obligations. The committee presented its work on 20 September 1921. The first part of the bill was passed on 15 February 1922, while the second part was voted down on 5 April 1922. On 20 June 1922 a law was passed that set the new constitution to come into force at 12 a.m. on 7 November 1922.^[3][4] On 15 May 1934, a coup d'etat led by Kārlis Ulmanis took place; the subsequent cabinet of Ulmanis passed a declaration that gave the functions of parliament to the Cabinet of Ministers until a new constitution was drafted, which never happened.^[5] During World War II a Soviet government was established and a parliament called the "People's Saeima of Latvia" was elected. The legality of this parliament and its decisions is questioned–Soviets considered that the constitution was nullified by Ulmanis' coup d'etat, so the People's Saeima never formally annulled it.^[5] However, Latvian lawyers and historians observe that the constitution was still in effect, since Ulmanis' declaration only assigned the functions of the Saeima to the cabinet and did not cancel any part of the constitution, and that the People's Saeima was elected in accordance with the constitution of Russian SFSR, not in accordance with that of Latvia, and thus it had no legal rights to legislate, and by declaring accession to the Soviet Union, it broke the first article of the Satversme.^[4][5] After declaring accession to the USSR, the People's Saeima drafted a Constitution of LSSR on the basis of the Constitution of the Soviet Union. It was adopted a month after, on 25 August 1940. On 18 April 1978 the government of the LSSR adopted a new constitution.^[5] On 4 May 1990 the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia declared Latvia independent and adopted articles 1, 2, 3 and 6 of the constitution of 1922. The rest of the constitution remained in abeyance until it was reviewed to fit the modern situation^[7], thus the constitution was fully reinforced by 5th Saeima on 6 July 1993 ^[8] in accordance to 14 article of law "On organisation of job of Supreme Council of Republic of Latvia" ^[9][2]

Overview

The Constitution of Latvia is a codified constitution and currently consists of 116 articles arranged in eight chapters: ^[10]

• Chapter 1: General Provisions (articles 1-4)
• Chapter 2: Saeima (articles 5-34)
• Chapter 3: The President (articles 35-54)
• Chapter 4: The Cabinet (articles 55-63)
• Chapter 5: Legislation (articles 64-81)
• Chapter 6: Courts (articles 82-86)
• Chapter 7: The State Audit Office (articles 87-88)
• Chapter 8: Fundamental human rights (articles 89-116)

Key principles

Articles 1, 2, 3 and 6, which establish the legal basis of the state's political system, were the first to be adopted after the renewal of independence. These articles, along with articles 4 and 77, can only be amended if submitted to a national referendum:

1. Latvia is an independent democratic republic. 2. The sovereign power of the State of Latvia is vested in the people of Latvia. 3. The territory of the State of Latvia, within the borders established by international agreements, consists of Vidzeme, Latgale, Kurzeme and Zemgale. 4. The Latvian language is the official language in the Republic of Latvia. The national flag of Latvia shall be red with a band of white. 6. The Saeima shall be elected in general, equal and direct elections, and by secret ballot based on proportional representation. 77. If the Saeima has amended the first, second, third, fourth, sixth or seventy-seventh Article of the Constitution, such amendments, in order to come into force as law, shall be submitted to a national referendum.[11]

Constitutional government bodies

The constitution establishes five government bodies, these are:

1. Saeima
2. The President
3. The Cabinet
4. Courts
5. The State Audit Office

Legislation

By the constitution, the right to legislate has been granted to Saeima. Draft laws may be submitted to the Saeima by the President, the Cabinet or committees of the Saeima, by more than five MPs or by one-tenth of the electorate if provisions to do so, set in the constitution, are met. All laws are to be adopted by the Saeima and proclaimed by the President.

Fundamental human rights

Altough constitutional bill included a chapter that was to regulate citizens' rights and obligations this was not originaly adopted. The chapter on human rights was added as part of constitutional amendment in 1998.

Amendments

Provisions for amendments are stated in articles 76-79 of the constitution. Amendments to most articles can be made by the Saeima. Articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 77 and exceptions, as article 77 requires a referendum to amend these articles.^[10] During the interwar period amendments were rare–only one amendment was made and one major amendment was almost passed, but was never adopted due to the coup. Since the renewal of independence, however, eight amendments have been made. In 1994 the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18. In 1996, the Constitutional Court was established. In 1997, major changes to the articles regulating the process of elections and the functions of Saeima, the President and the Cabinet were made. In 1998, aside from adding chapter eight (fundamental human rights) to the constitution, official status was granted to the Latvian language, the requirement for a referendum to change articles 4 and 77 was made, and article 82 was fully changed;^[12] it now defines types of courts in Latvia. In 2002 requirement for members of Saeima to give a solemn promise to acquire their mandate. Official status for the Latvian language was further secured by making it the working language of state and municipal structures. In 2003 several amendments were made in order for Latvia to join the European Union. In 2004 amendments to certain rights of the president and citizens were made. In 2006 an amendment that defined that marriage as the union of one man and one woman was added. In 2007 article 40 was amended and article 81 was abolished.

References and notes

External links

• Latvian Law guide
• The Constitution of Latvia by Dr. Iur. Ringolds Balodis

Homepages of constitutional government bodies of Latvia

• Constitutional Court
• Chancery of the President
• The Cabinet of Ministers
• State Audit Office
• Saeima (the Latvian Parliament)

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