Former ECHR judge to chair Latvian Constitutional Court

Inese Ziemele, a former judge at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), was elected the new chairperson of the Latvian Constitutional Court on Monday, local media reported.

After her election, Ziemele named boosting the court's capacity and introducing European ideas to the Constitutional Court as her main priorities.

Ziemele was elected by four votes to three.

She said in her address to the judges that there are a number of serious cases waiting to be heard in the Constitutional Court.

This fall, for instance, the court is due to hear a complaint over the so-called solidary tax that is charged on high salaries, and lawsuits have also been filed over the use of the state language and loyalty requirements for teachers.

Ziemele noted that apart from dealing with legal issues, the Constitutional Court must also work to strengthen the principles of democracy and the rule of law.

The seven judges of the Constitutional Court were also supposed to elect the court's deputy chair on Monday, but none of the two candidates received the necessary votes, which means that a repeated vote will be held next week. Endit