Constitution of Latvia

In Latvian, satversme is officially used instead of 'constitution' (konstitūcija), while in everyday conversations "konstitūcija" is often used. The word was created by Atis Kronvalds, one of the leaders of the First Latvian National Awakening in the 19th century. The movement was trying to promote Latvian culture after centuries of Baltic German influence and encourage use of the Latvian language. Kronvalds and like-minded individuals created and introduced many new words and terms intended to be used over Germanic loanwords to modernize Latvian. He derived the term "satversme" from the root -tvert- ("to grip"), combining it with the prefix "sa-", which yields the word satvert (to grasp), adding the -sm- suffix and the feminine ending "-e", creating a word that in its meaning is similar to "holder", to illustrate how a constitution holds together all other laws. Other examples of the use of the word include the Satversme of the University of Latvia and the Constitution Protection Bureau. == History ==

The Constitution was drafted by the Constitutional Assembly of Latvia (Satversmes sapulce), which consisted of 150 members (later 152) elected in April 1920 in general elections. The initial text was elaborated by a Constitutional committee (Satversmes komisija) and consisted of two parts. It was influenced by ideas of the Weimar Constitution and the Swiss Federal Constitution. 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. On 15 May 1934 Latvian coup d'état 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 to be drafted, which never happened. In 1940 Latvian SSR was established by occupying Soviet Union forces 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'état, so the People's Saeima never formally annulled it. On 4 May 1990 the Supreme Soviet of LSSR declared restoration of Latvia's independence 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, thus the constitution was fully reinforced by 5th Saeima on 6 July 1993 in accordance to 14 article of law "On organisation of job of Supreme Council of Republic of Latvia" In 1992 neighboring Estonia voted on a new Constitution of Estonia as did Lithuania with Constitution of Lithuania, as their pre-war constitutions had been written and amended during their authoritarian regimes, while Ulmanis regime had not changed anything in the democratic Satversme of 1922. == Origins ==

Latvia was one of the early post World War I nations which adopted some ideas from the 1919 Weimar Constitution. Liberal lawyer Hugo Preuß (Preuss) is often attributed as the author of the draft version of the constitution that was passed by the Weimar National Assembly, which historian William L. Shirer in a book The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich regards as "the most liberal and democratic document of its kind the twentieth century had ever seen ... full of ingenious and admirable devices which seemed to guarantee the working of an almost flawless democracy.". In Latvia some early law experts such as Kārlis Dišlers, Fēlikss Cielēns and modern day jurists agree that Weimar Constitution was underlying the wording of the Constitution of Latvia (Satversme), and in some way is a synthesis between the Weimar Constitution and Westminster system used in the United Kingdom. Some similarities between Weimar Constitution and Latvian are: • The establishment of state institutions of the Weimar Republic and the Republic of Latvia, which began with the establishment of a pre-parliament, which in Germany was Council of the People's Deputies, in Latvia - People's Council of Latvia. • The adoption of the election law in Germany - ''The Law of the Council of People's Deputies of 29 November 1918 on the elections of the National Assembly, in Latvia - The Law of the People's Council of 19 August 1919 on Elections of the Constitutional Assembly'' • The creation of governmental institution which members are elected by the people whose aim is to draft a constitution. In Germany it was - The Weimar National Assembly convened on February 6, 1919. In Latvia - The Constitutional Assembly, convened on May 1, 1920. • Latvia, similarly to the Weimar Republic, adopted a temporary constitutional laws, in the Weimar Republic Law on Provisional State Power (Das Gesetz über die vorläufige Staatsgewalt), in Latvia, Declaration on the State of Latvia and Provisions of the Latvian State, in order to regulate relations in the state prior the constitution • Within the process of drafting the constitution, a special commission was established, in Germany - "Constitutional Commission of the National Assembly" (Verfassungskommission), in Latvia - "Constitutional Commission of the Constitutional Assembly" • The Social Democrats were widely represented in both the National Assembly in Weimar and the Constitutional Assembly in Latvia. The Latvian Social Democrats had close ties with Germany, which made it easier to access and exchange information of ideas with the new Weimar Republic. This is sometimes evidenced by the very similar arguments of the Social Democrats in the process of drafting the constitution: Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD) warned that the President should not be given unlimited powers, as the President was perceived as a kind of "substitute kaiser". In Latvia, the Latvian Social Democrats defended the principle that the president ideologically is the heir to the monarch). During the drafting of the Satversme, the Weimar Constitution was the most modern and progressive system of constitutional control at the time. The German republic system chosen as the Weimar Constitution corresponded to the ideas of national and statehood ideas of Latvia as well. The historical influence of Germany, including legal, in the Latvian territory, with its significant influence on the legal consciousness of the Latvian people, allowed to take over the norms of the Weimar Constitution not only formally, but also to envisage their settlement in the general population and society. German, being one of the working languages in the Constitutional Assembly in Latvia and as a widely known language at that place and time, contributed to the choice of the Weimar Constitution as a system for the Satversme. According to the transcripts of the meetings of the Constitutional Assembly, the deputies of the Constitutional Assembly sometimes referred to Satversme as a derivation of the Weimar Constitution, especially to the draft Part II of the Satversme. Comparing the Weimar Constitution and the Latvian Constitution adopted in 1922, it can be noticed that the Constitution does not contain fundamental human rights. At the same time, the failure to accept Part II of the Satversme is not a deliberate abandonment of the model of the Weimar Constitution, but the reason for not accepting it is a political dispute over the content of individual rights. == Overview ==

, Livonian and other languages The Constitution of Latvia is a codified constitution and currently consists of 116 articles arranged in eight chapters: • 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) Thus the constitution establishes five government bodies - the Saeima, the President, the Cabinet, the Courts and the State Audit Office. 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 restoration of independence. These articles, along with articles 4 and 77, can only be amended if submitted to a national referendum: Saeima The Saeima, the parliament of Latvia, consists of 100 members, designated by the constitution as representatives of the people. It is elected in general, equal and direct elections for a term of four years, by secret ballot based on proportional representation of voters in each electoral district. The Constitution describes in general how the Saeima should work, noting that the Saeima should also establish rules of order to regulate its internal operations and order. Fundamental human rights Although the constitutional bill included a chapter that was to regulate citizens' rights and obligations this was not originally 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 are exceptions, as article 77 requires a referendum to amend these articles. it now defines types of courts in Latvia. In 2002, requirement for members of Saeima to give a solemn promise to acquire their mandate was added. 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. In 2009, possibility for electorate to dissolve the Parliament was introduced. == Preamble ==

On 19 June 2014 Preamble of the Constitution of Latvia was adopted by Saeima. Preamble text initially presented by European Court of Justice judge Egils Levits on 2013 described all basic values of the Republic of Latvia and Latvians. For example, some organizations stated that text aims to anchor in the State Constitution an "Ethnic Latvian Nation" as the primary principle of sovereignty, in contrast to the current multi-ethnic country which is composed of the "people of Latvia". Others opposed mentioning of "Christian values" and "Latvian life-wisdom" as outdated and not fitting for the 21st century. Legal scholar Kristine Jarinovska states that idea Levits has proposed is to describe all basic values of the Republic of Latvia in order to put a stop to misuse of popular will. A referendum to approve or disapprove the initiative to add an inviolable preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia is not necessary, stated Justice Minister of Latvia Jānis Bordāns. == References==