Article 29(1)(a) - Courts with jurisdiction
The courts that have jurisdiction to issue a European order for payment are the district or city courts (rajona (pilsētas) tiesas), which are the courts of first instance in civil matters. The particular district or city court is generally the court of the defendant’s declared place of residence (deklarētā dzīvesvieta), or, if the defendant has no declared place of residence, the defendant’s home address (dzīvesvietas adrese) or registered office (juridiskā adrese). A list of courts can be consulted here.
Article 29(1)(b) - Review procedure
Section 485.1(1)(1) of the Law on Civil Procedure states that an application seeking a review of a European order for payment issued by a district or city court must be submitted to the appropriate regional court (abgabaltiesa). There are five regional courts that hear civil cases. Each regional court has jurisdiction extending over the areas served by a number of district or city courts. A list of courts can be consulted here.
An application for review of an order must be submitted within 45 days of the date on which the person becomes aware of the circumstances that constitute grounds for review under the European Union legislation referred to in the first paragraph of the Section.
An application that does not indicate the grounds for review under the Regulation will not be admitted and will be returned to the applicant. The court will also decline to consider a repeat application, unless it appears that the grounds relied upon for reviewing the order have changed. The court’s decision in this respect can be challenged by lodging an ancillary complaint (blakus sūdzība).
An application for review of an order is dealt with in written proceedings. If, when it has considered the application, the regional court finds that the conditions for reviewing the order are met, it will annul the contested order in its entirety, and refer the case back for re‑examination by the court of first instance.
If the regional court finds that the pleas relied upon in the application do not warrant a review of the order, it will reject the application. The court’s decision can be challenged by lodging an ancillary complaint. The procedure for submitting and examining ancillary complaints of this kind are laid down in Chapter 55 of the Law on Civil Procedure. A translation of the Law into English is available here.
Article 29(1)(c) - Means of communication
Documents for the court are to be submitted in paper form, either by post or by hand. Documents for the court can also be submitted electronically, using the e-lietas portāls portal or by sending them to the court’s email address. Electronically submitted documents must be signed with a secure electronic signature acknowledged in Latvia (a qualified electronic signature within the meaning of Article 3(12) of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014).
Article 29(1)(d) - Accepted languages
A European order for payment must be drawn up in or translated into the national language, Latvian.