Latvia's Civil Law Amends Animal Status and Adoption Rules
From 11 November, amendments to Latvia's Civil Law take effect, declaring that animals are not things and replacing an absolute adoption ban for people convicted of violence with a time-limited one.
Amendments to Latvia's Civil Law, the main statute governing private-law relations such as property, inheritance and obligations, take effect on 11 November. They state in law that animals are not things but sentient beings, and they change who may adopt a child. The changes affect both animal owners and people who wish to become adoptive parents.
Adoption restriction becomes time-limited
Article 163 of the Civil Law previously barred anyone convicted of criminal offences involving violence or threats of violence from adopting, even after the conviction had been expunged or removed. In case No. 2025-01-01, the Constitutional Court found that such an absolute ban violated the principle of proportionality as applied to spouses jointly applying to adopt a child who lives in their household in out-of-family care and with whom both have formed actual family ties. Legislators were ordered to find a less restrictive solution.
Under the new rules, the ban applies until the conviction is expunged or removed. This does not guarantee approval: an orphan's court (bāriņtiesa, the local child protection body) carries out a family assessment lasting up to six months, and even after a conviction is cleared it will individually assess whether a threat to the child's safety still exists.
Status of animals
The amendments provide that rules on property apply to animals only to the extent compatible with their nature as living, sentient beings and with animal protection laws. According to the bill's explanatory note, the change should strengthen public understanding of animals as beings deserving protection, while preserving the stability of the civil law system and the foundations of property rights. The issue had been raised by citizen initiatives on the ManaBalss.lv platform, and the change follows trends in other European countries.
The amendments also widen the rules on compensation where an animal causes harm or harm is done to an animal. Previously the law covered only financial losses; now both losses suffered by the owner and non-material harm, meaning emotional suffering, may be compensated. This reflects the possible emotional bond between an animal and its owner, for instance where an animal has been arbitrarily killed or maimed.
