Text consolidated by Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre) with amending laws of:
24 March 1977;
24 November 1977;
25 February 1982;
29 March 1983;
27 September 1985;
19 July 1986;
21 December 1987;
23 February 1989;
23 October 1990
13 June 1991;
17 November 1992;
15 December 1994 [shall come into force from 30 December 1994];
15 January 1998 [shall come into force from 11 February 1998];
14 October 1998 [shall come into force from 1 April 1998];
11 November 1999 [shall come into force from 7 December 1999];
8 June 2000 [shall come into force from 11 July 2000];
19 October 2000 [shall come into force from 10 November 2000];
6 December 2001 [shall come into force from 4 January 2001];
31 October 2002 [shall come into force from 27 November 2002];
12 December 2002 [shall come into force from 3 January 2003];
10 April 2003 [shall come into force from 18 April 2003];
18 December 2003 [shall come into force from 21 January 2004];
12 February 2004 [shall come into force from 17 March 2004];
11 November 2004 [shall come into force from 9 December 2004];
28 April 2005 [shall come into force from 1 June 2005];
28 September 2005 [shall come into force from 1 October 2005];
7 September 2006 [shall come into force from 5 October 2006];
4 April 2007 [shall come into force from 1 May 2007];
13 December 2007 [shall come into force from 12 January 2008];
27 November 2008 [shall come into force from 23 February 2008];
30 April 2009 [shall come into force from 21 May 2009];
16 June 2009 [shall come into force from 1 July 2009];
10 December 2009 [shall come into force from 13 January 2010];
10 June 2010 [shall come into force from 6 July 2010];
16 June 2011 [shall come into force from 7 July 2011];
14 July 2011 [shall come into force from 11 August 2011];
21 July 2011 [shall come into force from 1 October 2011];
15 December 2011 [shall come into force from 30 December 2011];
15 December 2011 [shall come into force from 30 December 2011];
13 December 2012 [shall come into force from 11 January 2013];
20 December 2012 [shall come into force from 1 April 2013];
12 September 2013 [shall come into force from 1 January 2014].
If a whole or part of a section has been amended, the date of the amending law appears in square brackets at the end of the section. If a whole section, paragraph or clause has been deleted, the date of the deletion appears in square brackets beside the deleted section, paragraph or clause.
The Supreme Council of the
Republic of Latvia has adopted a Law
The Sentence Execution Code of Latvia
Division One
Execution of Sentences Legislation of the Republic of Latvia
Chapter One
Execution of Sentences Legislation
Section 1. Task of Criminal Punishment Execution
The task of criminal punishment execution is to execute criminal punishment in accordance with the fundamental principles of executing criminal punishments laid down in this Code, applying the resocialisation measures laid down in this Code to a convicted person, as well as to achieve that the convicted person and other persons abide laws and refrain from committing criminal offences.
This Code governs the provisions and procedures for execution of criminal punishments, the legal status of convicted persons and the competence of State and local government institutions in execution of punishments.
[14 July 2011]
Section 2. Application of Laws and Regulations Regarding Execution of Criminal Punishments
Convicted persons shall serve their sentence in accordance with the laws and other regulatory enactments which are in force at the time when the sentence is served, provided that it is not otherwise laid down in a law or regulatory enactment.
All persons who have been convicted in Latvia shall serve their sentence in the territory of Latvia, provided that it is not otherwise laid down in international agreements binding on the Republic of Latvia.
[14 October 1998]
Section 3. Application of Correctional Work Legislation [17 November 1992]
Section 4. Basis for and Fundamental Principles of Execution of Criminal Punishment
The basis for the execution of a criminal punishment shall be a court judgement that has entered into effect, or an injunction of the public prosecutor regarding punishment, as well as a court adjudication which has not yet entered into effect and the appeal submitted in respect of which in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Law does not suspend the execution thereof.
In executing any form of criminal punishment the following fundamental principles shall be observed:
1) guarantees laid down in the law against torture, and against inhumane or degrading application of punishment to a convicted person shall be fulfilled; the objective of punishment execution shall not be to cause physical suffering or to lower the self-esteem of a person, or to ostracise the person;
2) discrimination against a convicted person on the basis of race, nationality, language, gender, social and financial status, political beliefs, religious convictions or other criteria shall not be permitted;
3) all convicted persons are equal under the law.
[14 October 1998; 14 July 2011]
Section 4.1 Basis for Suspending and Reinstating the Execution of a Criminal Punishment
The execution of a criminal punishment related to deprivation of liberty shall be suspended concurrently with a convicted person being transferred to a foreign state for further serving of the sentence or from the moment when a notification is received from the Ministry of Justice that the judgment has been rendered for execution in the foreign state.
The execution of a criminal punishment not related to deprivation of liberty shall be suspended from the moment when a notification is received from the Ministry of Justice that the judgment has been rendered for execution in the foreign state, except the confiscation of property and limitation of rights. The execution of property confiscation and limitation of rights shall be continued regardless of whether an adjudication of a Latvian court has been transferred for execution to the foreign state.
The execution of a criminal punishment shall be reinstated if the authority executing the criminal punishment receives a notification from the Ministry of Justice that the person has escaped from the foreign deprivation of liberty institution or that the execution of the criminal punishment not related to deprivation of liberty has been returned to Latvia.
Within the meaning of this Code the matter of a convicted person shall be suspended and shall not be terminated until the moment when a notification regarding full execution of the punishment in a foreign state is received from the Ministry of Justice.
[15 December 2011]
Division Two
General Provisions to be Observed in Executing Sentence
[15 December 1994; 14 October 1998]
Chapter Two
General Provisions to be Observed in Executing Sentence
Section 5. Institutions for Execution of Criminal Punishments
Criminal punishments which have been adjudged as basic punishments shall be executed by:
1) deprivation of liberty institutions of the Latvian Prison Administration of the Ministry of Justice – deprivation of liberty;
2) [20 December 2012];
3) bailiffs – confiscation of property;
4) State Probation Service – community service.
Criminal punishments which have been adjudged as additional punishments shall be executed by bailiffs and institutions supervised by or subordinate to a ministry in accordance with their competence.
If a court has adjudged a conditional sentence or a conditional release before term from the serving of a deprivation of liberty sentence, then the execution of such adjudication shall be controlled and the behaviour of the convicted person shall be supervised by the State Probation Service.
[14 October 1998; 18 December 2003; 12 February 2004; 28 April 2005; 4 April 2007; 16 June 2009; 20 December 2012]
Section 5.1 Execution of an Injunction of a Public Prosecutor Regarding Punishments
An injunction of a public prosecutor regarding execution of punishments shall be executed in conformity with the provisions for execution of punishments provided for in this Code. A person for whom a public prosecutor by way of injunction has imposed a punishment has the same status as a convicted person.
[28 September 2005]
Section 6. Places for Serving Sentences [14 October 1998]
Section 7. Notification to the Court Regarding Execution of a Judgment [14 July 2011]
Section 8. Purpose of the Execution of Punishment
The purpose of the execution of punishment is to apply all the provisions of the execution of a punishment laid down in this Code to the convicted person, thereby ensuring the resocialisation of the person and his or her lawful behaviour after execution of the punishment.
[14 July 2011]
Section 9. Legal Status of Persons Serving Sentence
Persons serving a sentence have duties and rights as are stipulated in laws, subject to the restrictions for convicted persons provided for by laws and such restrictions as result from a court judgement or an injunction of a public prosecutor regarding punishment and the sentence serving procedures.
[17 November 1992; 15 December 1994; 14 October 1998; 14 July 2011]
Section 10. Participation of Society in Correction and Reforming of Convicted Persons
The society shall participate in resocialisation of convicted persons in accordance with the type and scope laid down in this Code and other laws and regulations.
[14 July 2011]
Section 11. Administration of the Deprivation of Liberty Sentence Execution System
Deprivation of liberty institutions in the Republic of Latvia shall be established and liquidated by the Ministry of Justice.
Employees authorised by the Ministry of Justice shall carry out examinations or audits of deprivation of liberty institutions on a regular basis.
The procedures for examinations, as well as the powers, rights and duties of the employees referred to in Paragraph three of this Section shall be determined by the Minister for Justice.
Internal procedural regulations of the deprivation of liberty institution shall be approved by the Cabinet.
[14 October 1998; 4 April 2007; 14 July 2011]
Section 12. Supervision of Sentence Execution by the Prosecutor’s Office [14 July 2011]
Division Three
Procedures and Provisions for Execution of Deprivation of Liberty Sentences
Chapter Three
Types of Deprivation of Liberty Institutions, Procedures for Conveying and Holding of Convicted Persons Therein
[15 December 1994]
Section 13. Types of Deprivation of Liberty Institutions
A deprivation of liberty sentence shall be executed in a closed prison, a partly-closed prison or an open prison, or in a juvenile correctional institution. Closed, partly-closed or open prison sections may be organised in a deprivation of liberty institution.
Convicted persons may also serve their deprivation of liberty sentence in the isolation sections or in the maintenance service of investigation prisons.
Persons of legal age who have been sentenced with deprivation of liberty shall serve their sentence in a closed prison, a partly-closed prison or an open prison, or in the isolation sections or the maintenance service of investigation prisons, but male minors so convicted shall serve their sentence in juvenile correctional institutions and female minors – in separate sections of women’s prisons which have been arranged as juvenile correctional institutions.
[15 December 1994]
Section 13.1 Criteria for the Allocation of Convicted Persons
The allocation of a convicted person in a specific deprivation of liberty institution shall be determined by the head of the Latvian Prison Administration taking into account medical, security and prevention of crime criteria.
[4 April 2007; 14 July 2011]
Section 14. Determination of the Type of Correctional Work Institution [15 December 1994]
Section 15. Conveying of Persons Sentenced with Deprivation of Liberty to Serve the Sentence
Persons sentenced with deprivation of liberty shall be conveyed to serve their sentence not later than within ten working days from the day the judgment has entered into lawful effect or from the day when the judgment has been assigned for execution.
The Latvian Prison Administration shall, within three working days from the day when a court order on execution of the judgment and a copy of the judgment was received, send a registered letter to the person sentenced with temporary deprivation of liberty, who at the time when the judgment has entered into effect or has been transferred for execution is not imprisoned, indicating in the letter the deprivation of liberty institution to which the person must arrive for serving of the deprivation of liberty sentence and the time, as well as informing the person of the liability laid down in the Criminal Law for evasion of serving the sentence. The time period between the day when the letter was sent and the day when serving of the sentence is commenced may not be less than ten working days.
If a person sentenced with temporary deprivation of liberty does not arrive at the deprivation of liberty institution to serve the sentence at the specified time, the head of the deprivation of liberty institution shall send a submission to the State Police in order to decide the matter on initiating criminal proceedings.
As soon as the convicted person commences serving of the sentence, the administration of the deprivation of liberty institution shall ensure him or her with the possibility of notifying relatives regarding the place where the sentence is being served.
A personal file shall be established in regard to each person sentenced with deprivation of liberty. Each person sentenced with deprivation of liberty shall be prepared photographs of the person and his or her unique features, as well as criminalistic characterisation of the person.
Convicted persons shall be admitted to a deprivation of liberty institution by the administration in accordance with the procedures laid down in the internal procedural regulations of the deprivation of liberty institution.
Information regarding persons sentenced with deprivation of liberty, the photographs of such persons and their unique features, as well as the criminalistic characterisation of such persons shall be registered in the Integrated Information System of the Interior. The photographs to be obtained and the mandatory technical requirements laid down for them, as well as the scope of information to be included in the Integrated Information System of the Interior, the procedures for inclusion and deletion, storage term thereof and the institutions which should be granted access to the information stored in the referred-to information system shall be laid down by the Cabinet.