Constitutional court accepted the application

november 10, 2022

On November 9th, 2022, following the application of the client of WIDEN Latvia, the Constitutional Court of Latvia initiated the case “On Compliance of the Article 124(6), 125(3) and 126(3 prim) of the Criminal Procedure Law with the first and second sentences of Article 92 of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia”.

The Constitutional Court will examine compliance with the Constitution, i.e. a person’s right to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence vs. the reduced standard of proof and the legal presumption of fact regarding proceeds of crime. The legal presumption of fact does not in itself exclude the presumption of innocence, however, in order for these principles to be in mutual balance, the legal presumption of fact must be reasonable, proportionate and easily rebuttable. Likewise, the presumption must have reasonable limits, taking into account the importance at stake and preserving the right of defense. It should be noted that if the Constitutional Court recognizes that the norms are inconsistent with the Constitution, then the legal proceedings may be renewed.