The resumption of the Lembergs criminal case at appeal instance has been postponed
On Monday, the appeal proceedings in the Lembergs case were due to start at the Riga Regional Court.
However, the scheduled hearing "has been withdrawn due to the incapacity of a judge who is part of the court", Raimonds Ločmelis, Public Relations Assistant to the Chairperson of the Riga Regional Court, informed Neatkarīgā.
The composition of the court was changed
It is planned that the Lembergs case will be heard by judges Sandra Amola, Signe Kalniņa and Valdis Vazdiķis, with Lauma Šteinerte participating as a reserve judge.
The composition of the court has already been changed before the start of the appeal proceedings. On July 27 last year, the criminal case in question was assigned to Judge S. Amola for appellate hearing, according to an entry on the official portal tiesas.lv.
Two months later, on September 29, "on the basis of Section 12(1) of the Law on the Management of the Spread of COVID-19 Infection", Judge S. Amola decided to hear the criminal case "in a written procedure under appeal, without the participation of the persons involved in the proceedings, in the following composition: Judge Sandra Amola, Judges Signe Kalniņa and Lauma Šteinerte."
The Criminal Cases Chamber, already composed of three judges, considered the defense objections to the case being heard in written proceedings and on October 20 adopted "a decision to accept the case for spoken trial."
But then, at the end of October, TV3's "Nekā personīga" reported that the Chairperson of the Riga Regional Court, Daiga Vilsone, had changed the composition of the court, appointing a fourth - reserve - judge. In addition, one of the judges of the above-mentioned court, Lauma Šteinerte, was transferred to being this reserve judge. The Chairperson of the Regional Court has instated Judge Valdis Vazdiķis to the Criminal Cases Chamber of the Lembergs case.
What is the point of the "Plan for the Distribution of Cases"?
Although Judge V. Vazdiķis is assigned to the Lembergs criminal case, the Chairperson of the Riga Regional Court has included him in the 2022 "Plan for the Distribution of Cases" among the judges who "hear civil cases at first instance and appeal instance."
Moreover, Judge V. Vazdiķis has also been given a narrower specialization. In particular, he is one of the six judges to whom, according to D. Vilsone's order, "civil cases concerning the protection of patent rights, topographies of semiconductor products, designs, trademarks and geographical origin indications may be assigned." There is no doubt that these matters do require very specific knowledge and insight, so the range of specialists who can competently handle cases in this category cannot be wide.
CONFIRMATION
The Chairperson of the Riga Regional Court
D.Vilsone
Riga, December 16, 2021
PLAN FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF CASES
on the assignment of a judge to hear a case
Riga Regional Court Civil Cases Chamber
2022
(in force from January 3, 2022)
Issued in accordance with the Law
On Judicial Power, Section 28.1 (1)
I. General provisions
1. Civil cases and materials submitted to the Riga Regional Court Civil Cases Chamber shall be registered in the order of filing in the Court Information System and distributed by computer using the Computerized Case Distribution Program of the Court Information System, except for the cases provided for in Paragraphs 13, 14 and 15.
2. Cases at first instance and cases at appeal shall be divided separately.
3. Cases shall be assigned once each working day, during the last 30 minutes before the end of the working day.
4. Judges Madara Ābele, Marika Bebriša, Svetlana Beļajeva, Līga Blūmiņa, Olita Blūmfelde, Skaidrīte Buivide, Ilze Celmiņa, Uldis Danga, Arnis Dundurs, Gunta Freimane, Ligita Gavare, Lelde Grauda, Inese Grauda, Dace Jansone, Dace Kantsone, Sandra Krūmiņa, Ilze Ošiņa, Ineta Ozola, Lidija Pliča, Ilze Ramane, Normunds Riņķis, Mārtiņš Sviķis, Iveta Stuberovska, Inese Strelča, Mairita Šķendere, Gvido Ungurs, Sarmīte Vamža, Valdis Vazdiķis, Agnese Veita, Daiga Vilsone, Lauma Volberga, Dzintra Zvaigznekalna-Žagare and Žanete Žimante hear civil cases at first instance and appeal instance.
5. Civil cases concerning the protection of patent rights, topographies of semiconductor products, designs, trademarks and geographical origin indications may be assigned to judges specialised in this category of cases - Iveta Stuberovska, Ilze Ošiņa, Marika Bebriša, Skaidrīte Buivide, Dace Kantsone and Valdis Vazdiķis.
V. Vazdiķis has not been included at all among the judges who are to hear criminal cases in the "Plan for the Distribution of Cases" of the Chairperson of the Riga Regional Court.
However, the drafting of plans for the distribution of cases is laid down in the Law on Judicial Power. The law also stipulates in which cases the plan for the distribution of cases can be changed:
LAW OF THE REPUBLIC OF LATVIA
On Judicial Power
Section 28.1 Distribution of Cases
(1) Before the beginning of each calendar year, the Court President shall approve a plan for the distribution of cases.
(2) The Court President may amend the plan for the distribution of cases during the calendar year:
1) due to the overload of work of judges;
2) due to an insufficient workload of judges;
3) in relation to a change of judges;
4) in relation to judges being unable to fulfil their duties.
The Riga Regional Court's 2022 "Plan for the Distribution of Cases" is published on the official portal tiesas.lv. The drafting and publication of such plans is provided for by law with the aim to ensure impartiality and respect for the principle of randomness in the distribution of cases, which is proclaimed as one of the essential elements of a fair trial.
It is common practice
In order to find out why the composition of the court in the Lembergs case was changed in this way, Neatkarīgā asked the Chairperson of the Riga Regional Court, Daiga Vilsone, the following questions:
- Is the appointment of the court composition by the decision of the referring judge and the change of the court composition by the decision of the court chairperson a common practice at the Riga Regional Court? Perhaps this procedure of appointing the composition of the court was only used in criminal proceedings No 1281200408, 2812001608 [these are the official numbers of the Lembergs case - U.D.]?
- What is the point of the "Plan for the Distribution of Cases", published in accordance with the Law on Judicial Power, if this plan is not followed even in the matter of the specific specialization of judges?
- How will Judge Valdis Vazdiķis be able to take part in a civil trial if he is to try a criminal case, in which the proceedings are likely to be organized with great intensity and require very serious attention?
Daiga Vilsone, Chairperson of the Riga Regional Court, replied:
"The composition of the Court of Appeal has been determined taking into account the capacity of the Riga Regional Court and the number of judges who are not allowed to sit on the Criminal Cases Chamber of the Court of Appeal in this case. It should also be noted that this is nothing exceptional, as this practice exists in all regional courts."
A competent judge
Public information on Judge V. Vazdiķis confirms his competence in civil cases. He took the oath of office in June 2008 as a judge of the Administrative District Court. His qualifications include the prestigious position of Adviser to the Constitutional Court.
V.Vazdiķis has given lectures and conducted various training courses, for example, last October, when he was appointed judge in the Lembergs criminal case, he conducted a training course for municipal employees on "Current case law on tenancy law."
Before becoming a judge, V. Vazdiķis worked for the State Revenue Service, moving from Customs Expert to Head of an SRS department. His last months at the SRS were marked by a very unpleasant incident. In May 2007, he was accidentally injured in the same explosion in which an attempt was made to kill Vladimirs Vaškēvičs, then Director of the Customs Criminal Directorate. As is well known, no one was killed in that explosion, but V. Vaškēvičs was very seriously injured.
In the criminal case in which the alleged perpetrators of the murder attempt of V. Vaškēvičs were tried V. Vazdiķis apparently did not want to become a victim, as he had been given the status of a witness. Information on this status can be found on the Internet that Judge Juris Stukāns (the current Prosecutor General, who once convicted in the first instance the alleged V. Vaškēvičs' bombers) wanted to force V. Vazdiķis to be brought to court to testify, but one of the participants in the proceedings objected to such an action by J. Stukāns, as the witness had already gone from an employee of the State Revenue Service to a judge.
In contrast, Judge V. Vazdiķis informed Neatkarīgā that this information, published in 2010 and still available on the internet, is false.
"I am still a victim in this criminal case, not a witness," said V. Vazdiķis.