A. Do I have the right to appeal the court's decision?
You have the right to appeal the judgment of the court of first instance by submitting an appeal within ten days of the judgment being handed down. The court may extend this period to 20 days.
The appeal must be addressed to the court one level higher (the criminal matters panel of the regional court), and submitted to the court that issued the judgment.
Decisions made during court proceedings cannot be appealed separately. They can only be appealed together with the judgment.
You can submit an appeal if you believe that the court has made an incorrect decision, for example, if it has imposed a disproportionately severe punishment, legally misinterpreted your actions (applied an inappropriate section or subsection of the Criminal Law), etc.
The submission of an appeal suspends the entry into force of the judgment with respect to all defendants in the specific case.
The submission of an appeal against an acquittal does not suspend the entry into force of the judgment regarding the accused's release from detention, house arrest or a social correctional educational institution.
If you are in prison during the appeal period, the 10 or 20-day period for filing an appeal is considered to begin on the day you receive the court judgment in a language you understand.
If you develop health problems or family circumstances arise that would warrant your release from detention, you may request that the court review the grounds for your detention. The court may refuse this request.
The court will inform you about the commencement of the appeal hearing. Appeals do not have to be considered within a specific time frame; however, courts have a duty to observe reasonable time frames.
You have the right to present new evidence in your appeal, explaining why it should be evaluated and why this evidence was not presented to the court of first instance. If you believe that the evidence constitutes a significant basis for your appeal, you have the right to request that it be examined by the court of appellate instance.
B. What are my other appeal options?
If the court rejects your complaint, you have the right to contest the judgment of the court of appellate instance through cassation proceedings at the Department of Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court. The cassation complaint must be submitted within ten days of the appellate court's judgment becoming available. The court may extend this period to 20 days.
If you are acquitted or the criminal proceedings are terminated for legal reasons, you have the right to compensation.
Very strict requirements apply to the submission of a cassation complaint — the complainant must prove that a substantial violation of the Criminal Law or the Criminal Procedure Law has occurred.
In some cases, you have the right to request that the court reopen criminal proceedings if new circumstances have been discovered after the court judgment entered into force. A court judgment does not have to be reviewed within a specific time frame.
In some cases (if substantial violations of the Criminal Law or Criminal Procedure Law have occurred), a court judgment/decision that has entered into force may be reviewed upon application by your lawyer, even if it has not been considered through cassation proceedings. This application does not have to be submitted within a specific time frame.
A judgment of the court of first instance enters into legal force if it has not been appealed. A judgment of the appellate court enters into legal force if it has not been appealed through cassation proceedings. A decision of the court of the cassation instance enters into force on the day of its adoption.
C. What are the consequences if I am sentenced?
i. Criminal record
Information about your criminal record in Latvia is entered without your consent in the current database of the penal register by the Information Centre of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Latvia and stored until the criminal record is expunged or removed, but in cases where a compulsory measure of a medical or correctional nature has been applied — until the compulsory measure of a medical nature has been cancelled or the compulsory measure of a correctional nature has been executed. If an administrative penalty has been imposed on you, the relevant information in this database is stored until one year has passed from the date on which the penalty was executed in respect of the administrative offence, or from the date on which the limitation period for its execution expired. Thereafter, this information is transferred to an archive database, where it is stored for the period of time specified by law. This procedure cannot be contested.
ii. Execution of sentences, transfer of prisoners, probation, and alternative sanctions
Within three working days of receiving the court information on the commencement of the execution of the judgment, the Prison Administration sends a registered letter to the person sentenced to short-term imprisonment, indicating the detention facility and the time when the person must report to serve the sentence.
If the convicted person is in hiding and their whereabouts are unknown, or if the convicted person does not report to serve their short-term prison sentence, or if a person for whom a compulsory measure of a medical nature has been determined fails to report to the relevant medical institution, the judge of the court responsible for monitoring the execution of the judgment, or the court deciding on the replacement of the penalty with imprisonment, takes a decision to look for the convicted person. This decision is made in writing and is not subject to appeal.
Section 312 of the Criminal Law "Evading the execution of a court ruling" provides for criminal liability for evading the serving of a sentence of imprisonment or restriction of rights.
If a person conditionally sentenced fails, without good reason, to fulfil the duties provided for in the law governing the execution of criminal penalties or as specified by the penal institution, the court may decide to enforce the penalty specified in the judgment or extend the probationary period for up to one year. However, if a new criminal offence is committed during the probationary period, the execution of the imposed penalty is mandatory.
If a person sentenced to probationary supervision fails, without good reason, to fulfil the duties provided for in the law governing the execution of criminal penalties or as specified by the penal institution, the court replaces the unserved term of the penalty with a sentence of imprisonment.
If a convicted person fails to perform community service without good reason, the court replace the unserved portion of the penalty with short-term imprisonment.
A payment of a fine may be divided into instalments or postponed for a period of time. However, if the fine is not paid within the specified time limit, the court replaces the unpaid penalty with imprisonment. If the fine or a part thereof is paid while the convicted person is serving a sentence of imprisonment instead of paying the fine, they shall be released or the duration of imprisonment shall be reduced in proportion to the portion of the amount of the fine paid.