Saeima passes extensive amendments to Criminal Execution Law

Latvia's parliament, the Saeima, adopted amendments to the Criminal Execution Law in the final reading on Thursday. The law governs how court-imposed sentences are carried out in the country. The changes affect both prison sentences and sentences served in the community, and they clarify the rights and obligations of convicted persons. The law will take effect on 1 March 2027.

The stated aim of the amendments is to introduce a sentence enforcement system in line with a modern understanding of punishment and with international human rights requirements.

Resocialisation and sentence enforcement

The range of resocialisation measures will include elements of patriotic education, such as lectures on Latvian history, the Constitution (Satversme) and national symbols, as well as cultural and art activities on state-related themes. Educational opportunities in prison will also expand, career counselling will be introduced together with the State Employment Agency, and the arrangements for employing convicts will be improved.

The principle of progressive sentence enforcement will now apply not only to imprisonment but also to certain sentences served in the community. Enforcement will be more closely tied to the convict's behaviour and resocialisation results.

Cooperation, appeals and placement

The rules on interagency cooperation meetings are broadened. These will be coordinated by the Prison Administration, the State Probation Service and the State Police. In certain cases the meetings will be mandatory, for example in cases involving violence or sexual offences, and where signs of radicalisation are detected.

A three-tier approach is set for contesting and appealing decisions made during sentence enforcement. Significant decisions affecting human rights, including placement in a punishment cell, will be appealable through several court instances.

The law provides for more flexible placement of convicts in prisons and wider criteria for separate accommodation. Convicts must be transferred from a remand prison to serve their sentence no later than ten working days after receiving the court ruling.

Visits and communication

Meetings between convicts and relatives will mostly take place without a prison representative present, with only visual supervision. Meetings with defence lawyers, notaries, consular missions and providers of state-funded legal aid will not be monitored. Video calls will be used more widely, additional visits will be allowed on special life occasions, and juvenile convicts will get free phone calls.

Stricter rules are also set for convicts' behaviour outside prison, and restrictions on access to information are clarified to prevent security risks.

The effective date was set at the request of the Ministry of Justice, taking into account changes in the prison system, including the closure of certain prisons.