Latvian Blog

The Rule of Law in Russia and Eastern Europe : Dietrich André Loeber : Andis Kaulins : Kiel : Institut für Ostrecht : Latvian Law Research

2011-12-31T14:10:00.001+01:00

In the year 1974, I left my position as an associate with Paul, Weiss in the United States to come to Europe, heeding the call to work together with the late Professor Dietrich André Loeber at the University of Kiel Law School in Germany, where Loeber, later Dean of the Law School, was the Director of what was then called the "Institut für Recht, Politik und Gesellschaft der sozialistischen Staaten" (Institute for the Study of Law, Politics and Society of the Socialist States) , in short, "Institut für Ostrecht" (literally, Institute for "East Law"), which is now the "Institut für Osteuropäisches Recht (Institute of East European Law).

The current Institute is surely a much different institution than it was in my years there (1974-1979), when members and staff included Prof. Dr. Youn-Soo Kim (see also Kim), Dr. Teresa Pusylewitsch, Liselotte Rawengel, and Heike Pagels, all deceased, as also Rainer Wiechert, Dagmar Hederich (geb. Heusinger von Waldegge), and Waltraud Knoche (later Waltraud Wagner), in addition to numerous visiting scholars from America, the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Professor Dr. Wolfgang Seiffert succeeded Loeber as Director of the Institute in 1989. Loeber passed away in June of 2004 - see the wonderful biography (in German) by Gert von Pistohlkors of Göttingen - and Seiffert passed away in January of 2009. Loeber and I stayed closely in touch over the years and I attended his 70th birthday celebration in Hamburg in 1994.

Very few persons who knew me in 1974 understood my move to Germany to work at Loeber's Institute, giving up a great potential career at a major law firm and turning down an offer to join a law faculty in the USA. Then, as now, the mainstream legal community in the United States and in Europe has little conception of the importance of the work that was done, two decades prior to - but in clear anticipation of - the coming of a man like Gorbachev. See, in this regard:

Law and the Gorbachev Era: Essays in Honor of Dietrich André Loeber, edited by Donald D. Barry, published by Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff. 1988. xix + 426 pp. inc. index, ISBN 9024736781 and 9789024736782, and reviewed by Bernard Rudden (1990) at the International & Comparative Law Quarterly, 39, p. 500, doi:10.1093/iclqaj/39.2.500.

Loeber's father, "Senators Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. August Loeber," had been a Justice of the Latvian Supreme Court (Latvian: then Senāts, today Augstākā Tiesa) between the two world wars. Indeed, as I discovered in the course of my research, Augusts Lebers (here with photograph), in terms of the number, extent and importance of judicial opinions issued by the Latvian Supreme Court in that period, was its most productive member.

[In terms of linguistics, by the way, the Latvian root "sen-" means "long ago, old" so that the Latvian Senāts as a court of course has the same Indo-European root word origin as the legislative United States Senate, as a congregation of wise men, i.e. "council of elders".]

In this connection, among many other things, during my sojourn in Kiel, Dietrich Andre Loeber and I selected and organized important decisions of the Latvian Supreme Court from an enormous corpus of case materials from which the most important decisions were translated into English. Loeber's 1995 publication Latvijas Senats, 1918-1940: Raditaji Latvijas Senata Spriedumu Krajumiem, ISBN 10: 9984908208 and ISBN 13: 9789984908205, was related to this work.

Loeber's father's wife was Emilie Mentzendorff, and Dietrich Andre Loeber was the philanthropist behind the recent restoration of the Mentzendorff House (Latvian: Mencendorfa Nams) in the center of Riga, Latvia, which today is a branch of the Riga Museum of History and Navigation. Below is an embedded panorama:

The Mentzendorff's House in Riga

I first met Loeber when he was a visiting Professor of Law at Stanford University Law School while I was still a law school student. We became friends and kept in close contact. Loeber himself was a consummate expert on Russia, and when he visited me in New York City in 1974 to invite me to work with him in Kiel, he predicted that the then Soviet Union (the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also called the USSR) would fall apart within the next 20 years. Had I not believed his prognostication, I would never have left the United States to come to Europe. As it turned out, less than 20 years later, in 1991, the Soviet Union in fact ceased to exist, and the Baltic States regained their independence, just as Loeber had predicted. He viewed this development as inevitable, and, it would appear now, in an era of the global sharing of knowledge and information, as irreversible. The old days could never return. Something new was coming, and had to come.

Loeber spoke fluent Russian, German, Latvian and English, and also had articles published in French and Italian. During the Cold War he visited the Soviet Union as often as he could, but never as much as he would have liked, following his various academic pursuits. As he himself stated about his trips to the USSR: "This is my field. I have to know what I am talking and writing about".

Loeber was a hands-on academic of the old school, the likes of which are probably seldom found at universities today. When Loeber was in Moscow in the Soviet era, he bought and wore Russian clothes, so that he would not stick out from the crowd. He was a good listener and a good observer, and returned from his Eastern sojourns with new academic insights. Whenever he heard thoughts and theories on Russia and Eastern Europe that he found to be removed from reality, Loeber would say something like, "Tjaa.... I was there. I am not sure." Loeber, ever the diplomat, seldom contradicted his colleagues in the field openly, even when he disagreed. This diplomacy and his ability to keep things to himself made him a welcome guest everywhere.

Loeber's main academic treasure was his immense private library on Russian, Soviet, East European and Baltic law. Whenever he found an academic book or other resource that he considered to be important to have, he would buy it or trade for it by offering Western books or other goods that were lacking in the East. Life in Russia and Eastern Europe in those days was very much a give-and-take proposition. As Donald D. Barry writes in the Foreword to Law and the Gorbachev Era: Essays in Honor of Dietrich André Loeber:

"On a visit to his home near Hamburg in 1962 I first got the chance to see and use his personal library -- without a doubt one of the handful of great repositories of materials on Russian and Soviet law outside of the USSR. Loeber always had not only an encyclopedic knowledge of legal sources, both common and scarce, but also the great ability to hunt down and acquire even the rarest of them."

Much of that library found its way to the East after the year 1991, thanks to Loeber's donation of his books and resources. At the same time, Loeber also produced some marvelous books of his own. As Barry writes:

"[H]is early training and interest in international law culminat[ed] in his magisterial East-West Trade".

See Dietrich Andre Loeber, East-West Trade: A Sourcebook on the International Economic Relations of Socialist Countries and Their Legal Aspects, (No. 60, 4 volumes, 2304 pages, Oceana Publications, Dobbs Ferry, 1976-1977. ISBN-13: 9780379004854 ISBN: 0379004852. This book was created and published in the period that I was at the Institute, and I had a great deal of pleasure in those years to help André put together the materials and to edit that book.

What would André (for so Dietrich Andre Loeber was called privately) say about the current Western view of Russia and Eastern Europe? Here is what he wrote in Regional and National Variations: The Baltic Factor (published in Toward the "Rule of Law" in Russia. Political and Legal Reform in the Transition Period, edited by Donald D. Barry, pp. 77-92, revised papers from a conference held at Lehigh University, May 30-June 1, 1991. Published by M.E. Sharpe, 1992. ISBN 1563240653, 9781563240652. 402 pages):

"The concept of pravovoe gosudarstvo [footnote 1: The terms pravovoe gosudarstvo, Rechtsstaat, law-based state, and the literal translation "legal state" are used in this paper synonymously."] is now hailed as progressive and "socialist" in the Soviet Union after having been denounced for almost seven decades as a device of the reactionary classes. A veritable avalanche of journal article and books has begun to be published on the subject. One aspect in the heated debate has been largely ignored--regional variations. I am not aware of any single Soviet piece of research addressing this issue explicitly. This is surprising since we are justified in expecting such variations. In the West, for instance, we do not have a uniform concept of Rechtsstaat, but witness several types at work, one of them being the rule-of-law concept in common law countries.

In order to detect different concepts of the pravovoe gosudarstvo within the Soviet Union, one would have to scan publications of all regions with potential variations ... at least fifteen legal subsystems could be identified tentatively....

Russia, the Ukraine (including the former area of the Don Cossacks and the North Bukovina, a former Romanian territory), Belorussia (both the Ukraine and Belorussia with former Polish territories);

Estonia and Latvia (which - similar to Finland - lived under a separate legal system until 1917), and Lithuania, now jointly known as Baltic states;

Moldova (including Bessarabia);

Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia in the Caucasus;

the five republics in Soviet Central Asia.

... [LawPundit: note that these are the regions between whom the most recent conflicts have arisen]

E. Ridamae, an author in Estonia [writes]:

As regards pravovoe gosudarstvo, we are probably still at the level of pronouncing declarations from high tribunes.... Let us remember how (socialist) legality was devalued: Despite its permanent strengthening and safeguarding, it became a mass (socialist) lawlessness, as it turns out now after the fact (zadnim chislom). We probably do not yet know what a pravovoe gosudarstvo actually means....First we have to find out...how to liquidate collisions between the right of self-determination and superpower interests." [footnote 89, "Glassnost', demokratiia, Sovetskaia vlast', pravovoe gosudarstvo," Sovetskoe pravo (Talinn) 1989 No. 4, 219-222, 222]

This point was missed by John Lloyd, writing in the Financial Times in 1990. For him the "process of the creation of a law-governed state in the Soviet Union is the success story of the five years of President Mikhail Gorbachev. Not just successful: breathtakingly successful." Ridamae, I submit, is closer to reality than John Lloyd.[footnote 90, "Law-Governed State", Financial Times, 12 March 1990, VIII.]

And so, by wisdom of hindsight, Loeber can be seen to have been right again. The rule of law will not come so quickly to the East in spite of democratic claims to the contrary, because it is a concept not seen equally by all nations or in all regions. Only when this is understood and sensibly applied in a nation-state context, can true progress toward the sustained rule of law in Russia and Eastern Europe be made in the long term. It will never be the same as in the West.

Crossposted from The Baltic Coachman.

Talinn Riga and Vilnius Lead Baltic Travel Revival in 2012

2011-12-31T14:07:00.001+01:00

Happy New Year!Where is 2012 to take us?
There is an unmistakable trend at Tripadvisor.com
in15 destinations on the rise
but we have no idea what is behind it:

You've been there, right?

It is VERY UNLIKELY that you have traveled to ALL the fifteen places that TripAdvisor.com currently lists as "Destinations on the Rise":

1. Tallinn, Estonia
2. Riga, Latvia
3. Moscow, Russia
4. Zurich, Switzerland
5. Fethiye, Turkey
6. Seminyak, Indonesia
7. Vilnius, Lithuania
8. Austin, TX
9. Chania Town, Greece
10. Chaweng, Thailand
11. Bordeaux, France
12. San Sebastian - Donostia, Spain
13. Lyon, France
14. Essaouira, Morocco
15. Mendoza, Argentina

The Jews in Latvia | Latvian History

2011-11-18T19:30:00.000+01:00

Interesting history of The Jews in Latvia.
The English is not perfect but readable and there is a lot of information -- via Maris Goldmanis.

Latvian Independence Day, November 18, Celebrated Today

2011-11-18T17:26:00.001+01:00

My father, Arvids Kaulins (born in Lejasciems, Latvia, October 1 (old style), 1914, deceased May 22, 1987 in Lincoln, Nebraska) was an intense but not politically active patriot who married my mother, Valda Antonija Kaulins (born Putelis in Karsava, Latvia, January 16, 1924) on November 18, Latvian Independence Day.

Hey, that's today.

It's the 93rd Day of Independence since 1918.

Congratulations, Latvia.

The Economist Comments on "Latvia's Indecisive Election"

2011-09-29T22:53:00.000+02:00

See the article at The Economist by E.L. at Latvia's indecisive election: Snap election falls flat.

A Latvian Is Unbeatable in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles

2011-08-03T14:33:00.002+02:00

At the Beverly Hills, CA Patch edited by Marie Cunningham, Steve Galluzzo writes that Fish Falls in Farmers Classic Final: The No. 1 seed from Beverly Hills loses in an upset to an unseeded opponent.

The tournament, held at Los Angeles Tennis Center at UCLA, Straus Stadium, was actually won by Jūrmala (Riga), Latvia native Ernests Gulbis, who won his second ATP Tour title against top-seeded Beverly Hills resident Mardy Fish.

In the days that I studied law at Stanford University Law School I spent some great time with friends in LA and in Beverly Hills and can confirm that "a Latvian is always unbeatable in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles".

Friendly greetings to all my friends in Beverly Hills and environs (you know who you are) and also to those in LA (including fraternity brother Gary L. Toebben, who I see from news reports recently became President & CEO of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce).

Ceļojums pa Dienvidkurzemes pilskalniem, Induļa un Ārijas vietas - 6.augustā

2011-08-03T13:52:00.000+02:00

Interesants Ceļojums: Pieteikuma anketa - Sokrata Tautskola

Latvian Real Estate Market as of July 2011

2011-07-20T20:50:00.000+02:00

At the Baltic Course, Dr. Valery V. Engel, board chairman of Century21Baltwest, analyzes the Latvian Real Estate Market as of July, 2011 in the article: Latvian real estate market divided into two sectors: for internal and external consumption

Silicon Valley to Latvia: Stanford Report on Bridging the Innovation Gap

2011-07-20T20:38:00.001+02:00

At Stanford University News, Stephanie Liou in her July 19, 2011 Stanford Report covers Bridging the innovation gap: From Latvia to Silicon Valley.

Best Latvian Country Music Band Sesta Judze "Sixth Mile"

2011-05-27T12:54:00.004+02:00

LISTEN HERE for a SAMPLE
from Sesta Judze "Sixth Mile"

YouTube - Sesta Judze album Kalendars TV Commercial writes:

"No doubt the best Latvian Country Music band 'Sesta Judze'" (Sesta Judze = "Sixth Mile")

I posted about this before here.

New Baltic Megalithic Material Up at Megaliths.net

2011-04-15T16:41:00.000+02:00

New Baltic megalithic materials have been posted at Megaliths.net

Estonia to Become 17th Member of the Euro Area on January 1, 2011

2010-12-30T00:59:00.002+01:00

Estonia to strengthen the euro area

Euro maverick Edin Mujagic writes inter alia:

"Estonia is also a living proof that economic disasters do not have to lead to enormous budget deficits. Disaster is the correct word, as the economy of this tiny Baltic nation has contracted by some 15 percent in 2009 with 2010 not being much better either. But still its government managed to keep the budget deficit at just a tad over 1 percent of its GDP. A remarkable achievement indeed if there ever was one."

NATO has secret plan to defend Baltics: WikiLeaks | Reuters

2010-12-28T21:21:00.000+01:00

NATO has secret plan to defend Baltics: WikiLeaks | Reuters

I think that any real dependence by the Baltic states on NATO assistance in the case of any serious future threat by Russia is foolish. That strategy has never worked in the past so why should it work now?

I remember having some arguments with my father about this topic many years ago in the United States, but I am and remain of the opinion that the Baltic states are sometimes their own worst enemy in not adopting newer, more viable strategies for survival, given their geographic position on the world scene.

In the first place, they are where they are, not elsewhere, and their history is marked by the influence of more populous powers at their perimeter: Russia, Germany, Poland, Sweden. Nothing has changed, even if the Baltic states are now within the ambit of the EU. A political union does not guarantee military security.

Secondly, the Baltic states do not have oil or any other natural resource to make them important to NATO and the West. They are only important militarily at the geographic bottleneck that runs from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, which is the main geographic power axis of Europe. It is a theoretical importance.

Thirdly, the Baltic states in their provinciality have not seen fit to unite into a larger unity, which would be helpful for all. I have often stated that a Baltic Union should be created in order to form a stronger, more independent political entity. Such a Baltic Union could remain in the EU, with each of the three Baltic countries, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia retaining their own official languages, and with English functioning as the language of government administration. But my words always fall on deaf ears. Everyone wants to be a king in his own territory, no matter how small that territory may be. The result is that the small, militarily weak Baltic states are always easy pickings for militant, aggressive neighbors.

Fourth, the Russian presence, simply by Russian population, is still enormous in the Baltic states, running to nearly 50% in Latvia (concentrated in Riga and Daugavpils). Given that circumstance, a policy of peaceful coexistence would seem to be the most sensible option, especially given the economic importance of Russia to the Latvian economy, if not by trade alone, then by the sheer presence of so many people of Russian origin in the population.

To put it bluntly, the greatest protection against Russian aggression in the Baltic states is the very presence of that large Russian population. Russia is not likely to attack their own people.

Moreover, the Baltic states are the "Baltic Riviera" to the Russian intelligentia and political oligarchy. When we were in Jurmala just this year, we met a middle-aged woman from Moscow who said she had been coming to Jurmala in the summer since she was a young girl. It was a part of her "culture". And that particular culture is no harm to Latvia, quite the contrary. "Tourists" bring in business and currency, also Russians.

I say that as someone of Latvian origin whose past was greatly and negatively influenced by the Russian occupation of Latvia.

The people of the Baltic states have to learn to put the past behind them and move forward. FORWARD.

Latvia: Independence Day, November 18, 2010

2010-11-20T00:52:00.000+01:00

Latvia celebrates Independence Day, November 18, 2010. - BalticTimes.com

BBC News - Latvian man shortage leaves women lost for love

2010-10-13T18:09:00.000+02:00

BBC News - Latvian man shortage leaves women lost for love: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Latvia: EPP hails victory of PM Dombrovskis; another centre-right victory for Europe

2010-10-03T19:44:00.000+02:00

Latvia: EPP hails victory of PM Dombrovskis; another centre-right victory for Europe

Foreign interest strong in Latvian property market

2010-10-02T00:07:00.000+02:00

Foreign interest strong in Latvian property market: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Foreign trade volume in Latvia increased of by 14.5% in January – June :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

2010-08-14T05:29:00.000+02:00

Foreign trade volume in Latvia increased of by 14.5% in January – June :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Latvia and Estonia are among EU leaders in industrial production growth in June :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

2010-08-14T05:28:00.000+02:00

Latvia and Estonia are among EU leaders in industrial production growth in June :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Latvia again registers steepest GDP reduction in EU in 5 months :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

2010-08-14T05:26:00.000+02:00

Latvia again registers steepest GDP reduction in EU in 5 months :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Additional opportunity for activating employment in the Baltics :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

2010-08-14T05:25:00.000+02:00

Additional opportunity for activating employment in the Baltics :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics: "Latvia

- Sent using Google Toolbar"

World Bank president visited Sigulda and saw the so-called 100 lat program in action :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

2010-08-14T05:23:00.000+02:00

World Bank president visited Sigulda and saw the so-called 100 lat program in action :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

Buying a Property in the Baltics

2010-08-03T23:14:00.000+02:00

BuyAssociation - the impartial buying guide: Buying a Property in the Baltics

Baltic Sea Pipeline Construction Uncovering many Archaeologically Interesting Artefacts

2010-07-16T23:52:00.000+02:00

Frank Thadeusz writes at Making Way for the Pipeline: A Treasure Trove in the Baltic Sea - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International:

"While environmentalists are sharply opposed to the construction of the new Baltic Sea pipeline, archaeologists are delighted. The massive Nord Stream project to bring natural gas from Russia to Germany has uncovered dozens of shipwrecks and other historic artifacts."

Latvia Price History-Strong recovery in Riga continues in Q1 2010 | Global Property Guide

2010-07-12T23:46:00.000+02:00

Latvia Price History-Strong recovery in Riga continues in Q1 2010 | Global Property Guide: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

International Real Estate - House Hunting in ... Latvia - NYTimes.com

2010-07-12T23:25:00.000+02:00

International Real Estate - House Hunting in ... Latvia - NYTimes.com: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Viesu nams Rakari ... : Zeme : Portfolio - Fotogrāfs Mārtiņš Plūme

2010-07-12T23:01:00.000+02:00

Viesu nams Rakari ... : Zeme : Portfolio - Fotogrāfs Mārtiņš Plūme: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

History of Latvia at the Latvian Institute

2010-07-11T16:36:00.000+02:00

History of Latvia at the Latvian Institute.

Kolkasrags | Slītere National Park

2010-07-11T16:34:00.000+02:00

Kolkasrags | Slītere National Park

Latvia: The Nature Conservation Agency: Dabas aizsardzības pārvalde

2010-07-11T16:32:00.000+02:00

Latvia: The Nature Conservation Agency: Dabas aizsardzības pārvalde

"The Nature Conservation Agency ensures implementation of unified nature protection policy in Latvia"

Vienotība: Next Saeima should amend law to allow dual citizenship | Latvians Online

2010-07-11T16:10:00.000+02:00

Vienotība: Next Saeima should amend law to allow dual citizenship | Latvians Online

That Latvia should permit dual citizenship is correct in our modern globalized world.

Sesta Judze ("The Sixth Mile", Sestā Jūdze) : A Popular Country Music Group from Latvia

2010-07-09T12:21:00.001+02:00

Agris Gedrovics, my second cousin, is the founder and lead singer of the very popular Latvian country group Sestā Jūdze, which has received many country music awards.

My current favorite is their album Emigrants - which you can hear at Platforma.lv (listen for free).

One can also hear some of the group's music for free at their MySpace pages here.

Sesta Judze means "The Sixth Mile" or simply "Sixth Mile". Sestā Jūdze is the correct orthographic spelling in Latvian - pronounced Sess-tah You-dzeh with the emphasis always on the first syllable of each word .

Their album Kalendārs (video ad here) is available for download at Micrec.lv (payment required).

Downloadable songs (payment required) are found at Doremi.lv.

Sestā Jūdze consists of the band members Agris Gedrovics (Gedrovičs), Gatis Leitis, Modris Mikelsons (Miķelsons), Aldis Strazdins (Strazdiņš), Janis Misins (Misiņš) -- the Latvian orthography is in parentheses.

See also a sample YouTube video at Sestā Jūdze Smiltenē (Sesta Judze in Smiltene).

Migration Flows and Economic Sustainability In The Baltics | afoe | A Fistful of Euros | European Opinion

2010-06-14T23:52:00.000+02:00

Migration Flows and Economic Sustainability In The Baltics | afoe | A Fistful of Euros | European Opinion

Lasītāju un lietotāju veidots saturs – raksti, foto, video, audio. Viedokļi, diskusijas : Diena.lv

2010-05-27T01:01:00.000+02:00

Lasītāju un lietotāju veidots saturs – raksti, foto, video, audio. Viedokļi, diskusijas : Diena.lv

Latvian hacker exposes fat cats: News24: Sci-Tech: News

2010-05-27T00:27:00.000+02:00

Latvian hacker exposes fat cats: News24: Sci-Tech: News

Google Translate Text-to-Speech Feature Now Supports 34 Languages, inlcuding Latvian

2010-05-26T23:43:00.000+02:00

Google Translate Text-to-Speech Feature Now Supports 34 Languages, including Latvian. The speaker unfortunately still sounds like a robot who is talking under water.

Google Translate Teksta-runas funkcija tagad atbalsta 34 valodas, tai skaitā latviešu valodā. Runātājs diemžēl joprojām izklausās kā robots, kurš runā zem ūdens.

At this page, click on the audio translation for a sample of the above translated text.

You still can not replace human translators but Google is getting better at this.

Latvian musicians take New York’s finest stages by storm - Learn Latvian Online

2010-05-26T23:26:00.000+02:00

Latvian musicians take New York’s finest stages by storm - Learn Latvian Online

Bring BEREC -- the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications -- to Riga, Latvia

2010-05-26T23:24:00.000+02:00

In
Welcome to Latvia - Its Time to Bring the EU to Riga
Ojārs Kalniņš, Director of the Latvian Institute,
makes a case to bring BEREC,
the „Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications”,
to Riga, Latvia.

Latvian design icons « Balticdesign’s blog

2010-05-26T23:18:00.000+02:00

Latvian design icons « Balticdesign’s blog

OK, in Latvia, do not speak Russian | Gadling.com

2010-05-26T23:17:00.000+02:00

OK, in Latvia, do not speak Russian | Gadling.com

balticbusinessnews.com - Riksbank: Baltics are regaining competitiveness

2010-05-26T23:14:00.000+02:00

balticbusinessnews.com - Riksbank: Baltics are regaining competitiveness

balticbusinessnews.com - Latvia’s 90-day overdue loans grew to 18.3%

2010-05-26T23:13:00.000+02:00

balticbusinessnews.com - Latvia’s 90-day overdue loans grew to 18.3%

Identity of Latvia's online `Robin Hood' revealed at last - KansasCity.com

2010-05-26T23:02:00.000+02:00

Identity of Latvia's online `Robin Hood' revealed at last - KansasCity.com

KMS >> Latvian economy recovering faster than anticipated

2010-05-26T22:59:00.000+02:00

KMS >> Latvian economy recovering faster than anticipated

FACTBOX-Key political risks to watch in the Baltic states | Reuters

2010-05-26T22:58:00.000+02:00

FACTBOX-Key political risks to watch in the Baltic states | Reuters

Vietas.lv (Vietas = Places viz. Locations) is an Essential Travel Guide Portal to Latvia

2010-05-26T22:52:00.000+02:00

Vietas -- which is a word in Latvian which means "Places viz. Locations" -- is in our opinion one the best travel guide portals to Latvia for its detail of local places. Unfortunately, the English-language registration does not work properly the last time we tried it (today, May 26, 2010) -- which is NOT really essential at all, just annoying. You can without registering still search for locations in Latvia and then switch to an English translation of the page you are looking at.

Vietas is also a bit tricky to use. If you enter just Lejasciems as your search word, for example, you get only 6 objects shown, but if you enter Lejasciema par. (= Parish of Lejasciems) then you get 31 objects, but only if you have the radio button "Objects"selected in the right upper hand corner. No outsider is going to find that second essential link so that Vietas.lv must improve its search algorithm so that the simple entry of Lejasciems also gives not only the town but the surrounding parish objects. Otherwise, visitors will not find some of the most interesting objects in any area.

See
Vietas.lv - Travel Guide of Latvia, Map of Latvia, - towns, districts, travel places, destinations, events, vacation, descriptions, pictures, discussions, articles, commercials and more (Vietas.lv - Latvijas ceļvedis, Latvijas karte, pilsētas, rajoni, tūrisma un citi interesanti objekti, pasākumi)

EU Commission Lifts Baltic Views, Sees Latvian Stabilization - WSJ.com

2010-05-06T14:04:00.000+02:00

EU Commission Lifts Baltic Views, Sees Latvian Stabilization - WSJ.com

The Legal 500 2010: Europe, Middle East & Africa > Latvia - The Clients Guide to the best Law firms, top Lawyers, Attorneys, Advocates, Solicitors and Barristers in Latvia

2010-04-27T23:56:00.000+02:00

The Legal 500 2010: Europe, Middle East & Africa > Latvia - The Clients Guide to the best Law firms, top Lawyers, Attorneys, Advocates, Solicitors and Barristers in Latvia

Riga Latvia EU Capital of Culture in Europe in 2014

2010-03-30T21:15:00.000+02:00

Valentina Pop writes at EUobserver:

EUobserver / Riga says it can handle expense of being EU Capital of Culture

"Despite slashed budgets and economic woes, Latvia's capital, Riga, is confident of being able to raise the necessary funding for a series of cultural events in 2014, when it is due to become the European capital of culture, its mayor told this website."

Centuries-Old Shipwrecks Found in Baltic Sea : Discovery News

2010-03-14T19:40:00.000+01:00

Centuries-Old Shipwrecks Found in Baltic Sea : Discovery News, March 9, 2010:

"A gas company building an underwater pipeline stumbled upon several wrecks, some dating back 800 years."

Cross-country study: Economic policy challenges in the Baltics - ECFIN - European Commission

2010-02-27T18:37:00.000+01:00

Cross-country study: Economic policy challenges in the Baltics - ECFIN - European Commission

(European Economy. Occasional Papers. 58. February 2010. Brussels. Internet only. 106pp. Tab. Graph. Ann. Bibliogr. Free.)
KC-AH-10-058-EN-C ISBN: 978-92-79-15024-1 ISSN: 1725-3187

Latvians Struggle with Debt in a Recession

2010-02-27T15:54:00.000+01:00

Latvians struggle with debt
Feb 04, 2009, by Kate McIntosh at The Baltic Times

"Rising corporate debt levels in Latvia have hit businesses and individuals hard as the economy continues its downward spiral and it becomes more and more difficult for many to pay back their loans.

The situation has caused a chain reaction for individuals who are in turn suffering as a result of lost work hours and unpaid wages.

Loans with overdue payments reached 15 percent of the Latvian bank loan portfolio at the end of last year, growing 8.2 percentage points from late 2007, reported the Finance and Capital Market Commission (FKTK) financial watchdog.

As a result of escalating debt levels, many businesses and banks are turning to debt collection agencies in a bid to recoup losses."

Obviously, debit collection is not the solution in an economy currently suffering about 16% unemployment.

Latvia - Signature of Supplemental Memorandum of Understanding - ECFIN - European Commission

2010-02-27T14:16:00.000+01:00

Latvia - Signature of Supplemental Memorandum of Understanding - ECFIN - European Commission

Baltic States Reconsider Plans to Adopt the Euro

2010-02-24T14:54:00.000+01:00

Baltic States Reconsider Plans to Adopt the Euro

"The tiny Baltic states have pursued closer integration with Europe with enormous zeal. But the price of monetary union may be giving them pause....

“Countries like Estonia and Latvia were once desperate to get in,” said Alf Vanags, director of the Baltic International Center for Economic Policy Studies in Riga. “The euro is not looking so attractive now.”"

BBC News - Latvia auctions off military ghost town for $3m

2010-02-06T00:11:00.000+01:00

BBC News - Latvia auctions off military ghost town for $3m:

"Latvia auctions off military ghost town for $3m

The new owner did not reveal what he intends to do with the property

Latvia has sold an entire town once used by the Soviet military as a base.

The deserted town formerly known as Skrunda-1 was auctioned off to a Russian firm for $3m (£1.9m) - about 10 times its list price, officials said."

EU Commission Economic Review of Deadlines for Malta, Lithuania, Hungary and Latvia to Bring Public Debt to 3% of GDP Results in 2 Extensions

2010-02-01T21:10:00.001+01:00

Four EU states given economic reviews - UPI.com

The UPI via EUObserver reported that the European Commission considered the economic status of Malta, Lithuania, Hungary and Latvia in their EU obligation "to bring public debt to under 3 percent of their gross domestic products."

Hungary and Latvia were seen as being on track to meet their current deadlines of 2011 and 2012 respectively, and were given no extensions of those deadlines.

Malta and Lithuania, on the other hand, due to economic difficulties, were extended to 2011 and 2012 respectively.

EU - European Union - European Commission - Information Society - Latvia : Laws relating to Electronic Documents

2010-01-25T22:01:00.012+01:00

European Union - EU - European Commission - Information Society: "Legal and Administrative Practices Regarding the Validity and Mutual Recognition of e-Documents - 17 December 2006

The study clarifies the present situation concerning the national legal and administrative practices in 32 countries (the 25 Member States, 3 EFTA countries parties to the EEA Agreement (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway), 2 Acceding Countries (Bulgaria and Romania) and 2 Candidate Countries (Croatia and Turkey); it assesses them comparatively and identifies the remaining legal barriers concerning the validity and mutual recognition of e-documents.

The ELDOC Study Team, consisting of K.U.Leuven-ICRI and the Belgian Law Firm Lawfort [since disbanded], have been contracted by the European Commission – DG Enterprise and Industry to perform the Legal Study N° ENTR/04/67, with a view to identifying the existing legal barriers for enterprises (“the ELDOC Study”). The first part, 32 National Reports, is an overview of the existing legal and administrative practices in the Member States, EEA countries and Candidate Countries, with regard to the treatment of electronic documents in e-Commerce transactions. The second part, a Summary final report, examines and assess these practices, identifying any remaining legal barriers to the use of such electronic documents in e-Commerce transactions, and potential solutions to any such barriers, particularly on a cross-border level."

Electronic Documents Law in Latvia

(The material below is taken directly from pp. 274- 288 of ELDOC | LEGAL STUDY ON LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICES REGARDING THE VALIDITY AND MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS | D3.4 – First Interim report (country reports) July 2006 | Interim Report October 2006 Version 1.0 | Prepared for the DG [Directorate General] - Enterprise & Industry Technology for innovation / ICT industries and E-business | European Commission | Prepared by: The ELDOC Study Team, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium | Lead contractor: K.U.Leuven Research & Development, Belgium | Project manager: prof. Jos Dumortier http://www.icri.be/ | Subcontractor: Lawfort [since disbanded] – ICT Law Department, Belgium, Head: prof. Jos Dumortier http://www.lawfort.be | For further information about DG Enterprise: European Commission - Enterprise and Industry DG, Information and Documentation Centre, BREY 5/150, B - 1049 Brussels, Fax: +32 (0)2 296 99 30, Website http://www.eu.int/comm/dgs/enterprise/index_en.htm).

Note by LawPundit: In this posting we convert part of the EU document referenced above to an online text format in order to make it more easily searchable than the original .pdf and this includes putting the relevant footnotes at the end.

***** the document excerpt (pp. 274-288) starts here *****

Latvia National Profile

A. General legal profile

Latvia (the Republic of Latvia) is a unitary parliamentary republic. According to the constitution⁸⁸¹ Latvia is composed of four regions – Kurzeme, Zemgale, Vidzeme and Latgale. There are two territorial levels of local administration – local government - in Latvia. There were a total of 563 local governments on January, 2005:

(1) 530 municipalities (7 republican cities and 53 towns, 444 parishes, 26 amalgamated local municipalities) perform in local or first territorial level;
(2) 33 municipalities (26 counties and 7 republican cities) perform in regional or second territorial level.

Commerce and contract law is a central matter, which is generally incorporated into the Civil Code⁸⁸² and the Code of Commerce⁸⁸³, both of which largely follow Roman Civil Code and German legal traditions.

eCommerce is also regulated at the central level, through a number of specific laws adopted by the Parliament⁸⁸⁴ and regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers⁸⁸⁵. On lower administrative level, the municipalities may adopt binding regulations⁸⁸⁶, but only within the competence specified by Municipality Law.⁸⁸⁷ Regulations on commercial transactions do not fall within this competence.

Disputes regarding commercial relations are typically dealt by the regular courts. For matters with a financial value of LVL 30 000 or less – by the district (city) courts⁸⁸⁸; or by regional courts⁸⁸⁹ for matters of higher value. Appeals against the decisions of the district (city) courts can be lodged with the regional court, and against the decisions of the regional courts with the Chamber of Civil Cases of the Supreme Court⁸⁹⁰. The Senate of the Supreme Court⁸⁹¹ is a revision instance, which only hears points of law. The Latvian system of jurisprudence does not have any binding power of precedent, although the decisions of the Senate of the Supreme Court are authoritative and should be taken into account by the courts of lower instances.

B. eCommerce regulations

Many questions regarding the validity and recognition of electronic documents must be answered based on doctrine, and the interpretation of legislation does not always provide a clear answer. Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, the court practice with respect to these issues is not well developed. In this section, the Latvian laws and doctrine regarding the legal value of electronic documents are briefly commented.

B.1 eCommerce contract law

B.1.1. General principles

Generally, the Latvian legal system envisages that in case of commercial contracts the formation and proof should be more flexible than for other civil contracts. However, both civil and commercial contracts are regulated by the Civil Code, as the Code of Commerce does not contain separate rules for the conclusion of commercial transactions. The assessment that the formation of the commercial contracts is more flexible can nevertheless be derived from certain rules of the Code of Commerce, which reflect the purpose of ensuring smooth functioning of commercial market.

For example, one of the basic issues for every contract is that it shall be concluded between parties or their duly authorized representatives. According to the Civil Code, if the representative of the party did not have the necessary authority, the contract is binding only to the representative, not to the party itself.⁸⁹² On the other hand, the Code of Commerce provides that all contracts concluded by a legal representative of the merchant who is registered as legal representative with the Commercial Register, shall be presumed binding to the merchant itself, as the limitations of the representation rights of the legal representatives are not valid with respect to the third parties.⁸⁹³ Also, even if the representative is not legally registered with the Commercial Register, but is otherwise authorized to pursue commercial activities on behalf of the merchant (e.g., sales representatives, commercial agents, shop assistants, etc.), it is presumed that the contracts concluded by them within the normal course of commercial activities are binding to the merchant.⁸⁹⁴

This flexibility is rooted in the basic principles of the contract law of Latvia, which is more based on the principle of autonomy of will, and not on formal requirements. The Civil Code provides that the form of a legal transaction depends on the discretion of parties, except the cases directly indicated in the law. The parties may conclude an agreement orally or in a written form, invite witnesses, as well as involve a notary.⁸⁹⁵ The main principle is the will of the parties to become bound by the contract. The will of the parties is crucial also in cases where the law requires a certain form. The Senate of the Supreme Court has recognized that even if there are formal defects, the court should always assess their significance and the real intention of the parties. If the intention of the party may be proved by other means, the defect of form cannot constitute the base for a total invalidity of the contract. Thus a non-observance of formal requirements doesn’t always result in the nullity of the transaction.⁸⁹⁶

A legal definition of an electronic document is provided in the Electronic Documents Law⁸⁹⁷. Article 1 of the Electronic Documents Law states: “an electronic document - any electronically created, stored, sent or received data, which ensures the possibility to use it for the performance of any action, for the use and protection of any rights.”

Generally, the validity of electronic documents in contract law is recognised by the law: the Electronic Documents Law envisages that an electronic document is legal evidence and there should be no restrictions for submitting an electronic document as evidence to the competent authority based on the fact that the document is electronic or that it lacks a secure electronic signature.⁸⁹⁸

The Electronic Documents Law distinguishes between an “electronic signature” and a “secure electronic signature”. An electronic signature is characterized as electronic data, attached to the electronic document or logically associated with this document, which ensure the authenticity of the document and confirm the identity of the signatory.⁸⁹⁹ A secure electronic signature is such electronic signature, which confirms to all of the following requirements:

(a) it is uniquely linked to the signatory;
(b) it is capable of identifying the signatory;
(c) it is created using means of creating a secure electronic signature that the signatory can maintain under his sole control;
(d) it is linked to the signed electronic document in such a manner that any subsequent change of the document is detectable;
(e) it is confirmed with a qualified certificate.⁹⁰⁰

It should be stressed that at the moment of drafting this report, the secure electronic signature has not been introduced in practice, as there are no providers of certification services, nor a system for issuing qualified certificates.

The Electronic Documents Law also says that if there is a requirement in law for a written form, then the electronic document fulfils this requirement only if it has the electronic signature and if the electronic document confirms to other requirements stipulated by law. The Electronic Documents Law does not specify what these “other requirements” might entail.

It may be assumed that these “other requirements” should be assessed on case-to-case basis, taking into account the specific legal relationship and the laws regulating it. For example, the Civil Procedure Law⁹⁰¹ stipulates that the arbitration clause shall be concluded in writing, and it specifies that it is deemed that the agreement is made in writing, if it is made by exchange of letters, fax messages, telegrams, or by using other telecommunication means, which ensure that the will of the parties to refer the dispute to arbitration is fixed.⁹⁰² An electronic document should fall within the ambit of other telecommunication means, thus this requirement for a written form is rather flexible.

Nevertheless, taking into account that the Electronic Documents Law uses the notion of the “document”, a reference may be made to the requirements stipulated by Regulations on Drafting and Processing Documents⁹⁰³, which apply to any documents issued, received or stored by any person. These regulations state that the document has a legal force if inter alia it has been signed.⁹⁰⁴ As the Electronic Documents Law does not regulate the requirements for the general legal force of the electronic documents, the necessity of the existence of signature is applicable also to electronic documents: an electronic document is deemed to be signed by the individual only if it has a secure electronic signature.⁹⁰⁵ An alternative: the parties have agreed that the document may be signed by an electronic signature (in such a case this agreement must be written on paper and signed or, if in electronic form, confirmed by a secure electronic signature).⁹⁰⁶ Consequently, a full legal validity may be achieved only by a secure electronic signature or by a relevant agreement of the parties to use and mutually recognize other mode of electronic authentication.

In addition, although generally the Latvian legal system provides contractual freedom by allowing the parties to conclude agreements on which form they wish, there are cases envisaged by the law where a specific form is required and its non-observance makes the transaction invalid. As stated in the legal doctrine, a certain form may be necessary either due to the contents of the act (corpus) or due to ensuring the evidence (onus probandi).⁹⁰⁷ For example, if the law requests that the agreement must be concluded at the public notary, then an agreement ignoring this requirement is void. ⁹⁰⁸

Notwithstanding the mandatory requirements, otherwise the Latvian laws allow the parties to agree upon the form of their contracts to be legally binding.⁹⁰⁹ This applies to all types of contracts. The parties are free to choose the form, unless it is already stipulated by mandatory requirements of the law. For electronic documents, the consensus of both parties is not a precondition if the document has a secure electronic signature: in such cases one party may not refuse to accept it. However, if the document does not have a secure electronic signature, its validity is subject to the agreement of the parties.⁹¹⁰ The special exceptions with respect to the transactions which may not be concluded in electronic form are included in the Electronic Documents Law (for a detailed description see section B.1.2. below). Latvian laws do not directly regulate the sending of electronic notifications instead of paper documents. However, it should be noted that the Civil Code does not require a paper form for the notifications. The form of the notification depends on the substantial transaction to which this notification is related. If the notification is related to an already concluded contract (e.g., a notification on termination of the contract), then it normally shall be made in the same form as the contract itself: according to the Senate of the Supreme Court, the rule “from the larger to the smaller” shall be applied, i.e., if the contract itself was concluded in a written form, also all notifications in relation to it shall have the same form.⁹¹¹ So, electronic notifications are allowed if the contract itself was concluded either in an electronic form or orally. Also, in case of written contract, an electronic notification having an electronic signature should be deemed as valid, unless the law or the contract requires the signing of such notification.

Electronic notifications without a secure electronic signatures are allowed if the parties agree to it or if the law or the transaction itself did not require a signed document (e.g., when agreeing on using arbitration, the Civil Procedure Law allows a notification by “other telecommunication means”, which should include an electronic notification⁹¹²). In case the parties are not in contractual relations yet, e.g., when accepting an offer, the form of such notification would depend on the form of the offer: if the offer does not require any specific form for its acceptance, it may also be given electronically. Additionally, special requirements for sending electronic notifications within the realm of information society services are stipulated by the Law on Information Society Services.⁹¹³

The Latvian legal system has not implemented a framework for sending electronic registered mail. The sending of electronic mail is regulated only with respect to the communication within state and municipal institutions and between such institutions and private parties.⁹¹⁴ The regulations provide that the electronic documents shall be circulated by use of electronic mail, special online forms, or 3,5” floppy disks. If the document has been sent by electronic mail or by special online forms, it is deemed that the addressee has received it within two business days after its sending. In case of dispute, the institution has the burden to prove that the document has been sent.

With respect to electronic archiving, the Electronic Documents Law provides that generally electronic documents shall be archived in the same cases and order as paper documents. These rules do not apply to the electronic archiving of paper documents, for which there is no special regulation. For the archiving of electronic documents, the following special requirements are applicable: the possibility to use the data shall be ensured; storage is done in the original form; and the stored data allows to determine the origin or destination of the document, the time of its sending or reception.⁹¹⁵ Also, there are special rules for transferring the electronic documents for archiving to the State archive.⁹¹⁶ The regulations apply to state and municipal institutions and to those private legal entities who have the duty to transfer their documents for storage to the State archive. The state and municipal institutions are also required to draft internal instructions on circulation of electronic documents, including their storage.⁹¹⁷

B.1.2. Transposition of the eCommerce directive

The eCommerce directive has been transposed in Latvian legislation through the Electronic Documents Law and by the Law on Information Society Services.

The transposition applies only to information society services. The law does not apply to areas governed by laws on personal data protection and on gambling services where a monetary award may be gained.⁹¹⁸

Article 9 of the Directive (formal requirements in an electronic context) is not transposed by the Law on Information Society Services. Instead, it is transposed by the Electronic Documents Law: Article 3, parts 4 and 6 reflect the provisions of the Directive, Article 9, parts 1 and 2 respectively. Thus the Electronic Documents Law provides that generally contracts may be concluded by electronic means and that such contracts may not be deprived of legal effectiveness and validity on account of their having been made by electronic means.

Also, Latvian legislators have used the discretion provided by Part 2 of Article 9 of the Directive to exclude the application of the general validity of electronic documents to specific categories of contracts. The following categories of contracts shall be concluded on a written (paper) form and may not be carried out by electronic documents: (1) agreements by which the rights to real estate are created or transferred (except lease rights); (2) agreements, which according to law are invalid if not approved as requested by law (usually by the public notary); (3) guarantee agreements and security of pledge, if such guarantees or securities are given by persons acting in the realm not connected with their profession, business, or trade; (4) transactions within the area of family and inheritance law – for example, marriage contracts, testaments, inheritance agreements, etc.).⁹¹⁹

The specific requirements for the use of electronic signatures are also provided by the Electronic Documents Law. The law distinguishes between regular electronic signatures and secure electronic signatures. An electronic signature is defined as electronic data attached to the electronic document or logically connected with this document and which ensures the authenticity of the electronic document and confirms the identity of the signing person. A secure electronic signature is such electronic signature, (i) which is linked only to the signing person, which ensures the identification of the signing person; (ii) which is created by a secure means of creating the electronic signature, (iii) which are under the sole control of the signing person, (iv) which is connected with the signed electronic document in such a way that later amendments to this document would be noticeable, and (v) which is approved by a qualified certificate. Full recognition is given only to electronic documents signed by a secure electronic signature: a document is deemed to be individually signed if it has a secure electronic signature. Alternatively, the parties may agree in writing (within the traditional (hand written) sense, or this writing is confirmed by the secure electronic signature) that they deem the electronic document to be individually signed even if it has a nonsecure electronic signature.

B.2 Administrative documents

The Electronic Documents Law applies also to the use of electronic documents in administrative procedures. This process is regulated in more detail by Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers No.473 of 28 June 2005 entitled “Order of drafting, forming, storing and circulation of electronic documents in state and municipal institutions and order how the circulation of electronic documents within state and municipal institutions or between these institutions and natural or legal persons takes place”.⁹²⁰

These rules aim towards providing a general legal framework for electronic communication with public administrations, as well as mandates the acceptance of electronic documents by public institutions as of 1 January 2004.⁹²¹

The scope of regulation is broad: it applies to all state and municipal institutions. It should be noted, however, that in practice the regulations are not functioning, since at the moment of drafting this report a secure electronic signature has not yet been introduced. The institutions interpret their obligation to accept electronic documents in such a way that they would have to accept only documents with a secure electronic signature. This is based on the presumed lack of legal force of documents without a secure electronic signature, as according to Regulations on Drafting and Processing of Documents the signature is a necessary component for the legal force of the document.

Another possibility is to agree on the acceptance of electronic documents. So far, the State Revenue Service has taken up an initiative to conclude such agreements with taxpayers, enabling them to file the tax reports as electronic documents.⁹²²

Certain other institutions have introduced electronic filing of documents, however, mostly subject to further confirmation in paper form.⁹²³

C. Specific business processes

In this section of the study, we will take a closer look at certain sections of the applicable Latvian legislation and legal and administrative practice. Specific examples of common document types will be examined to assess the validity and recognition of their electronic counterparts.

The section below is organised according to four stages in the electronic provision of goods on the European market. They comprise the credit arrangements, transportation and storage, cross border trade formalities and financial/fiscal management. As a preliminary note it should be pointed out that there is practically no local court practice with respect to the use of electronic documents in the areas described above. In addition, the use of electronic documents in these business processes is not very common, as it is hindered by the incapability to apply a secure electronic signature.

C.1 Credit arrangements: Bills of exchange and documentary credit

C.1.1. Bills of exchange

Bills of exchange are governed by two rather old laws, both adopted in 1938.⁹²⁴ The laws do not contain a definition of a cheque or a bill of exchange, however, they list the necessary components. One of the necessary components is the signature of the issuer. If there is no signature, the bill of exchange is not valid.

Taking into account that the respective laws were adopted in the first part of the last century, as well as the fact that their renewal in 1992 took place without any substantial amendments to the text, a literal and historical interpretation of their wording excludes the use of electronic documents. However, the laws should be interpreted in accordance with the system of laws currently in place, also taking into account the purposes of the regulation. Thus, if the necessary requirement of the bill of exchange is the signature of the issuer, the Electronic Documents Law may be applied, which states that the document is deemed to be individually signed, if it has a secure electronic signature. Consequently, the cheques and bills of exchange should be deemed valid if they have a secure electronic signature.

On the other hand, certain wordings of the law make its application difficult for electronic document, as they presume the use of the paper. E.g., it is stated that the endorsement shall be written on the bill of exchange or on the page attached to it.⁹²⁵ Also, some sections envisage the striking out of certain sections or writing across an already written text. Problems might occur also with respect to the originality of the bill. Normally, a paper bill of exchange is a single unique document (or several identical documents), signed by the issuer. Any copies must be clearly designed as such and duly numbered.⁹²⁶ In case of electronic documents, it remains to be solved how the authenticity of the original bill is ensured. Nevertheless, the use of paper is nowhere explicitly requested, thus a teleological interpretation of the law should allow the use of electronic documents, with a condition that a secure electronic signature is included.

It should be noted that there is no explicit regulation how electronic bills of exchange should be formed and used, nor are the criteria for their validity clear.

C.1.2. Documentary credit

There is no specific legal regulation for documentary credits in Latvia. Thus the documentary credit is largely subject to the general rules of the contract law. Consequently, there is also no specific legal framework for electronic documentary credit agreements.

In broad terms, the documentary credit would fall under the guarantee under the Civil Code. According to the Civil Code, a guarantee is a duty undertaken by an agreement to be liable to the creditor for the debt of the third party, however, not liberating the latter from its debt.⁹²⁷ With respect to the formal requirements, the guarantee needs to be in a written form.⁹²⁸ According to the Electronic Documents Law, the requirement to have a written form is fulfilled if the electronic document has an electronic signature (not necessarily a secure electronic signature). In addition, the practice of issuing documentary credits largely follows the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (UCC-500), created by International Chamber of Commerce. Banks usually give a reference to these customs in their rules on issuing documentary credits.⁹²⁹

As there is no detailed regulation, the parties have a significant freedom to agree on the practical organization of the documentary credit. They may agree to present certain document in an electronic form. In practice, however, the filing of applications for documentary credits and presentation of documents takes place on paper form. The banks request that the applications are signed by the authorized representatives of the person applying for documentary credit. As there is no secure electronic signature, the signature on a paper document presents the only possibility. Alternatively, several banks allow a possibility to fill in the applications for several types of credit electronically, if the person is already a bank client and has received the necessary password for the use of internet banking. Nevertheless, a secure electronic signature should present a workable solution.

C.2 Transportation of goods: Bills of Lading and Storage agreements

C.2.1. Bills of lading

A bill of lading is a document issued by the carrier of goods to the sender and confirming that the goods are received for transportation and the carrier’s commitment to transport them. It is issued by the carrier at the sender’s request. The holder of the bill of lading is entitled to receive the goods upon arrival at their final destination.

The use of bills of lading for maritime transport is governed by the Maritime Code.⁹³⁰ The Maritime Code provides the mandatory details to be included in the bill of lading. There are no special requirements as to the form of the bill, however, it is indicated that it shall be signed by the shipmaster or a person authorized by the carrier.

There are no explicit regulations with respect to the use of electronic documents. However, as there is a requirement for signing, it may be derived that electronic documents may be allowed only if signed by a secure electronic signature. When using electronic documents, it would be crucial to designate the original bill of lading, as only the presentation of the original entitles the holder to receive the goods.

C.2.1. Storage contracts

A storage contract is generally governed by the Civil Code. Within the understanding of the Civil Code, by the storage contract the custodian undertakes to store a movable property, which has been entrusted to him.⁹³¹ A storage contract is a real contract, which means that the contract comes into force only when the relevant property has been transferred to the custodian. The law does not contain any requirements in which the contract on storage terms should be concluded, so the terms may be agreed in any form, including electronically. In any case, the agreement will come into force only after the property to be stored will have been transferred physically to the storage by the custodian.

With respect to storage contracts evidenced by the use of International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) documents, such as FCR (Forwarders Certificate of Receipt) and FWR (FIATA Warehouse Receipt)⁹³², it should be noted that it is crucial to distinguish between the original document and its copies. Thus, in case of using electronic documents, the authenticity of the original shall be clearly designated (e.g., by a secure electronic signature).

C.3 Cross border trade formalities: customs declarations

According to recently adopted regulations, it is possible to file customs declarations in an electronic form.⁹³³ The regulation codifies two earlier instructions of the State Revenue Service of 28 October 2004 On Permissions to Declare Goods Electronically and instruction of 28 April 2004 On certification of declaring persons.⁹³⁴

The regulations state that the State Revenue Service shall ensure the possibility to file custom declarations in electronic form. The person wishing to do the electronic declaration shall receive a relevant permit from the State Revenue Service. Upon issuing the permit, the State Revenue Service also grants a user name and password, which shall further on be used for electronic declaring. The State Revenue Service decides on issuing the permit within 30 days after reception of the application and accompanying documents.

C.4 Financial/fiscal management: electronic invoicing and accounting

C.4.1. Electronic invoicing

The eInvoicing Directive⁹³⁵ has been transposed in Latvian laws by various amendments to VAT laws, as well as related regulations.⁹³⁶ However, none of the amendments address specifically the issuing of electronic invoicing. Consequently, there is no explicit authorization for the use of electronic invoices. There are also no provisions for the storage or archiving of electronic invoices.

The VAT law does not explicitly require that the invoice should be signed, thus formally complying with the provision of the eInvoicing directive that the member states shall not request the signature on the invoice. However, it should be noted that the VAT law states that the VAT invoice is a document.⁹³⁷ Consequently, the requirements of the Regulations on Drafting and Processing of Documents can be applied, inter alia, the stipulation that the legal force of the document is ensured only by its signing. Therefore an electronic invoice might be issued only with a secure electronic signature.

C.4.2. Electronic accounting

The accounting procedures are governed by the Law On Accounting.⁹³⁸ The law generally allows to carry out the accounting in electronic form, but with a rather broad condition that the requirements of this law may not be violated. Specifically, entries in the accounting registers shall be timely, complete, precise and systematically arranged. Entries, the content or quantifiers of which differ from corroborative documents, shall not be allowed. If entries in the accounting registers or documents are amended, their initial content shall be visible, and each correction shall be justified and confirmed with a signature. Corrections may not be made in such a manner that it is not comprehensible when and why such have been made. Furthermore, representation of the data in a form legible to third persons, and provision of their printout, if necessary, shall be ensured.

If corroborative documents are prepared with computers, the signatures of persons responsible for the performance of the economic transactions and correctness of information may be replaced by their electronic confirmation (authorisation). The procedures for electronic confirmation (authorisation) at an enterprise shall be determined by the manager of the enterprise. Electronic confirmation (authorisation) of external documents may be utilised only if the parties to the transaction have mutually agreed upon the procedures by which an electronic exchange of corroborative documents shall be performed and upon the procedures for electronic confirmation (authorisation).⁹³⁹

Thus, generally it is possible use fully electronic accounting, if the all of the above conditions are observed.

It should be noted that the Latvian laws require a deposit of the company’s annual account with the competent authority (the Company Register).⁹⁴⁰ The law does not contain an explicit provision that the annual account shall be drafted and submitted in a paper form, however, it provides that the annual account shall be duly signed by the legal representatives of the company.⁹⁴¹ The law provides that the documents may be submitted to the Company Register electronically, if they are accompanied by a written confirmation that the submitted documents are identical to the originals.⁹⁴² As soon as a secure electronic signature is introduced, there should be no legal obstacle to submit the annual account fully in an electronic form.

D. General assessment

D.1 Characteristics of Latvian eCommerce Law

Latvian eCommerce Law is based largely on the laws transposing the relevant EU directives: the eCommerce Directive and the eSignature Directive. In broad terms, Latvia has adopted the general legal framework for enabling the functioning of eCommerce. The main legal act ensuring this is the Electronic Documents Law, which introduces notions of electronic documents, electronic signature, secure electronic signature, certification services, and which also establishes the validity of electronic documents and their legal equivalence to traditional documents. However, the practical functioning of eCommerce is currently impeded due to the lack of infrastructure for activities of certification services providers and for creating secure electronic signatures.

The Electronic Documents Law is the lex specialis for eCommerce, while the Civil Code still has to be applied as the general law. The Civil Code is quite flexible with respect to the formal requirements of the documents, and its principal aim is to ensure the autonomy of will of the parties.
Following the Electronic Documents Law a range of secondary legal acts have also been adopted, governing specific issues in relation to circulation of electronic documents, the technical requirements, requirements for providers of certification services, etc. The following regulations are adopted on basis of the Electronic Documents Law: regulations on the use of electronic documents in state and municipal institutions⁹⁴³; regulations on storing and archiving⁹⁴⁴; regulations on information to be indicated in the description of systems of certification services⁹⁴⁵; regulations for order and terms of examination of systems of certification services⁹⁴⁶; regulations on minimum insurance of providers of certification services⁹⁴⁷; regulations on technical and organizational requirements for qualified certificate⁹⁴⁸.
The content issues of eCommerce are governed also by the Law on Information Society Services, which largely copies the provisions of the eCommerce Directive.

D.2 Main legal barriers to eBusiness

In fact, there are no substantial legal barriers to eBusiness, as the necessary legal acts have been adopted.
However, the most important barrier is that so far these legal acts have not been implemented in practice, as the possibility to create a secure electronic signature has not been ensured. There is no system for issuing qualified certificates and there are no certification service providers.

Consequently, electronic commerce and business cannot be carried out in practice, as according to Electronic Documents Law the document is deemed to be individually signed only if it has a secure electronic signature. As lots of documents involved in commercial transactions need to be individually signed (e.g., documents to be submitted to public institutions), the lack of secure electronic signature forces the use of the traditional paper form. Moreover, the general regulations for the legal validity of any documents require the signature as a necessary precondition for legal enforceability.

It is to be hoped that the problem of the lack of the necessary structure for a secure electronic signature will soon be solved. On 15 June 2005 the Republic of Latvia entered into an agreement with SIA Lattelekom (largest fixed telephony operator controlled by state with 51% shares) and VAS Latvijas Pasts (fully state owned postal services provider) by which it is agreed that Latvijas Pasts will become a reliable provider of certification services, and Lattelekom will be a technological partner, ensuring the necessary infrastructure and services.⁹⁴⁹ o On 7 November 2005 the Cabinet of Ministers approved a Concept on Choice of the Carrier of Secure Electronic Signatures and Introduction of Secure Electronic Signatures. By this concept it is envisaged that the device for carrying the secure electronic signature shall be a smart card.⁹⁵⁰ According to the Ministry for Special Assignments for Electronic Government Affairs, the secure electronic signature should be introduced by September 2006.⁹⁵¹

D.3 Main legal enablers to eBusiness

As described above, the flexibility with respect to the formal requirements of documents and the party autonomy principle are the key factors for enabling the functioning of eBusiness. Also, the Electronic Documents Law presents a workable framework for use of the electronic documents by establishing criteria according to which the traditional requirements may be fulfilled in electronic form, such as substitution criteria for individual signatures and for stamping requirements. Thus, as soon as there is be a practical possibility to use a secure electronic signature, there should be no significant legal obstacles to eBusiness.
On the other hand, it also cannot be excluded that a practical and more common use of electronic documents (including use of secure electronic signatures) may reveal additional impediments in the form of wording of certain legal acts (e.g., implication of the use of paper, requesting certain procedures presumed to be performed in paper form, etc.).
Nevertheless, such problems may be solved by systemic and teleological interpretation of such laws and by adopting a flexible approach to formal requirements. Within eCommerce as in the business in general the intention of the parties is the key factor, and this may be derived also from electronic documents, if their authenticity and originality is ensured.
eBusiness would be substantially encouraged if there would be a relevant court practice confirming the correctness of the above described understanding and interpretation of applicable laws, however, according to our best knowledge, currently there is little or no such practice.

___________________
⁸⁸¹ Satversme ⁸⁸² The Civil Code (Civillikums), adopted on 28.01.1937, legal force renewed on 01.09.1992 (introduction part, property law, and inheritance law), on 01.03.1993 (contract law), and on 01.09.1993 (family law). ⁸⁸³ The Code of Commerce (Komerclikums), adopted on 13.04.2000, in force from 01.01.2002. ⁸⁸⁴ Saeima ⁸⁸⁵ Ministru Kabineta noteikumi ⁸⁸⁶ Pašvaldību saistošie noteikumi ⁸⁸⁷ The Municipality Law (Par pašvaldībām), adopted on 19.05.1994, in force from 09.06.1994. ⁸⁸⁸ Rajona (pilsētas) tiesa ⁸⁸⁹ Apgabaltiesa ⁸⁹⁰ Augstākās tiesas Civillietu tiesu palāta ⁸⁹¹ Augstākās tiesas Senāts ⁸⁹² Article 1518 of the Civil Code. ⁸⁹³ Article 223, part 3 (regarding Management Board members in private limited liability companies); Article 303, part 3 (regarding Management Board members in public limited liability companies); Article 92, part 2 (regarding legal representatives of general and limited partnerships); Article 36, part 1 (regarding procuration holders). ⁸⁹⁴ Articles 40 to 42 of the Code of Commerce. ⁸⁹⁵ Articles 1473 and 1474 of the Civil Code.
⁸⁹⁶ Judgment of the Senate of the Supreme Court Department of Civil Cases in case No.SKC-304, 3 November 2004.
⁸⁹⁷ Electronic Documents Law (Elektronisko dokumentu likums), adopted on 20.11.2002, in force from 01.01.2003. This law implements the Directive 1999/93/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 1999 on a Community framework for electronic signatures (hereinafter: eSignature directive) and partly also the Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 July 2000 on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market (Directive on electronic commerce) (hereinafter: eCommerce directive). ⁸⁹⁸ Article 3, part 4 of the Electronic Documents Law. ⁸⁹⁹ Article 1, paragraph 4 of the Electronic Documents Law. The definition is substantially similar to definition included in eSignature Directive, Article 2, paragraph 1. ⁹⁰⁰ Article 1, paragraph 2 of the Electronic Documents Law. Sections (a) to (d) substantially quote the relevant provisions of the eSignature Directive, Article 2, paragraph 2. ⁹⁰¹ The Civil Procedure Law (Civilprocesa likums), adopted 14.10.1998, in force from 1.03.1999. ⁹⁰² The Civil Procedure Law, Article 492, part 2. ⁹⁰³ Regulations No.154 of the Cabinet of Ministers of 23.04.1996. “Regulations on Drafting and Processing of Documents” (Dokumentu izstrādāšanas un noformēšanas noteikumi). ⁹⁰⁴ Paragraph 18 of the Regulations on Drafting and Processing of Documents. ⁹⁰⁵ Article 3, part 2 of the Electronic Documents Law. ⁹⁰⁶ Ibid. ⁹⁰⁷ Sinaiskis V. “Latvijas Civiltiesību apskats. Lietu tiesības. Saistību tiesības” (Overview of Latvian Civil laws. Property law. Contract law), Rīga: 1996., p.125. ⁹⁰⁸ Article 1486 of the Civil Code. ⁹⁰⁹ Article 1473 of the Civil Code. ⁹¹⁰ Article 3, part 2 of the Electronic Documents Law. ⁹¹¹ Judgment of the Senate of the Supreme Court Department of Civil Cases in case No.SKC-223, 25 April 2001; also in case No.SKC-441, 22 September 2002.
⁹¹² See above, footnote 14 [.pdf document online]. ⁹¹³ Law on Information Society Services (Informācijas sabiedrības pakalpojumu likums), adopted on 4.11.2004, in force since 01.12.2004. ⁹¹⁴ Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers No.473 of 28 June 2005 “Order of drafting, forming, storing and circulation of electronic documents in state and municipal institutions and the order how the circulation of electronic documents within state and municipal institutions or between these institutions and natural or legal persons takes place” (Elektronisko dokumentu izstrādāšanas, noformēšanas, glabāšanas un aprites kārtība valsts un pašvaldību iestādēs un kārtība, kādā notiek elektronisko dokumentu aprite starp valsts un pašvaldību iestādēm vai starp šīm iestādēm un fiziskajām vai juridiskajām personām). ⁹¹⁵ Article 7 of Electronic Documents Law. ⁹¹⁶ Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers No.117 of 02.03.2004 “Regulations on way of assessment, order of storage and transfer for storage to state archive” (Noteikumi par elektronisko dokumentu izvērtēšanas veidu saglabāšanas kārtību un nodošanu valsts arhīvam glabāšanā). ⁹¹⁷ Article 6, part 4 of Electronic Documents Law. ⁹¹⁸ Article 2, part 2 of Law on Information Society Services. ⁹¹⁹ Article 3, part 6 of the Electronic Documents Law. ⁹²⁰ See footnote 26 above [.pdf document online]. ⁹²¹ Paragraph 1 of the Transition Terms of Electronic Documents Law. ⁹²² On 24.03.2006. came force a State Revenue Service instruction No.1 of 13.03.2006. "Agreement on the signing of electronic documents with the electronic signature by using the services of the electronic reporting system of State Revenue Service and the ensuring of these services”. According to this instruction the State Revenue Service is entitled to conclude agreements with tax payers on the signing of electronic documents with the electronic signatures. The tax payers who have concluded this agreement may file their tax reports in an electronic form and do not have to submit them on paper anymore. ⁹²³ Bureau of Tender supervision allows to apply for publishing of tender announcements electronically. However, the applications are reviewed only after a printed application form with regular signature is received. ⁹²⁴ The Law on Cheques (Čeku likums), adopted 27.09.1938; The Law on Bills of Exchange (Vekseļu likums), adopted 27.09.1938; the force of both laws renewed on 01.10.1992.
⁹²⁵ Article 13 of the Law on Bills of Exchange; Article 16 of the Law on Cheques. ⁹²⁶ Articles 64 to 67 of the Law on Bills of Exchange; Article 49 of the Law on Cheques.
⁹²⁷ Article 1692 of the Civil Code. ⁹²⁸ Article 1695 of the Civil Code. ⁹²⁹ E.g., General Terms and Conditions for Issuance of Letters of Credit of Nordea Bank Plc. Latvia branch (http://www.nordea.lv/sitemod/default/index.aspx?pid=69282). ⁹³⁰ The Law Shipping Code (Jūras kodekss), adopted on 29.05.2003, in force since 01.08.2003. ⁹³¹ Article 1968 of the Civil Code. ⁹³² More information available in www.fiata.com. FIATA documents are commonly used in freight forwarding, including the storage of goods. ⁹³³ Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers No.999 of 27.12.2005 “The Order how the permits for submitting custom declarations in electronic form shall be issued” (Kārtība, kādā izsniedzamas atļaujas muitas deklarāciju iesniegšanai elektroniskā veidā). ⁹³⁴ Instructions No.1808 of the State Revenue Service of 28 October 2004 On Permissions to Declare the Goods Electronically (Par atļaujām deklarēt preces elektroniski) and instruction No.664 of 28 April 2004 On certification of declaring persons (Par deklarētāju sertifikāciju). ⁹³⁵ Directive 2001/115/EC amending Directive 77/388/EEC with a view to simplifying, modernising and harmonising the conditions laid down for invoicing in respect of value added tax. ⁹³⁶ Law on Value Added Tax, adopted on 9.03.1995, in force from 01.05.1995; Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers No.339 of 25.06.2003. “Regulations on the strict recording waybills-invoices” (Noteikumi par stingrās uzskaites preču pavadzīmēm-rēķiniem). ⁹³⁷ Article 8, Section 5.1. ⁹³⁸ Law On Accounting (Par grāmatvedību), adopted 14.10.1992. ⁹³⁹ Article 7 of the Law on Accounting. ⁹⁴⁰ Law on the Annual Accounts, adopted 14.10.1992. ⁹⁴¹ Article 61 of the Law on the Annual Accounts. ⁹⁴² Article 66 of the Law on the Annual Accounts. ⁹⁴³ See footnote 26 above [.pdf document online]. ⁹⁴⁴ See footnote 28 above [.pdf document online]. ⁹⁴⁵ Regulations No.357 of the Cabinet of Ministers of 01.07.2003 “Regulations on the information to be indicated in the security description of information systems, equipment, and procedures of provision of certification services” (Noteikumi par sertifikācijas pakalpojumu sniegšanas informācijas sistēmu, iekārtu un procedūru drošības aprakstā norādāmo informāciju). ⁹⁴⁶ Regulations No.358 of the Cabinet of Ministers of 01.07.2003 “Regulations on the order and terms of the security examinations of information systems, equipment, and procedures of provision of certification services” (Sertifikācijas pakalpojumu sniegšanas informācijas sistēmu, iekārtu un procedūru drošības pārbaudes kārtība un termiņi).
⁹⁴⁷ Regulations No.267 of the Cabinet of Ministers of 19.04.2005 “Regulations on the minimum amount of civil insurance of a reliable provider of certification services” (Noteikumi par uzticama sertifikācijas pakalpojumu sniedzēja civiltiesiskās atbildības minimālo apdrošināšanas summu). ⁹⁴⁸ Regulations No.514 of the Cabinet of Ministers of 12.07.2005. “Regulations on technical and organisational requirements to which a qualified certificate and a reliable provider of certification services shall confirm, on secure tools for creating a secure electronic signature, as well as on order how a secure electronic signature shall be verified (Noteikumi par tehniskajām un organizatoriskajām prasībām, kādām atbilst kvalificēts sertifikāts, uzticams sertifikācijas pakalpojumu sniedzējs, droši elektroniskā paraksta radīšanas līdzekļi, kā arī kārtību, kādā veicama droša elektroniskā paraksta verificēšana).
⁹⁴⁹ Approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on 14 June 2005, protocol No.35 30.§. ⁹⁵⁰ Approved by the Direction of the Cabinet of Ministers No.714. ⁹⁵¹ Press release of 27.04.2006, available at www.eparvalde.lv.

Latvia's Martins Dukurs Wins Skeleton - Tobogganing - World Cup Title and is the European Champion

2010-01-24T20:12:00.000+01:00

Many years ago I visited a weekend in Igls with a good friend from Austria, so that I was quite pleased to see this news from the Canadian AP Press:

Latvia's Martins Dukurs picks up victory to win skeleton [tobogganing] World Cup title
by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (CP)

"IGLS, Austria — Martins Dukurs of Latvia has won the skeleton World Cup overall title and become European champion by capturing the last race of the season."

There must be a beneficent Latvian / Igls connection.

The Wikipedia describes the skeleton sport as follows:

"Skeleton or tobogganing is a fast winter sliding sport in which an individual person rides a small sled down a frozen track while lying face down, during which athletes experience forces up to 5Gs. It originated in St. Moritz, Switzerland as a spin-off from the popular British sport of Cresta Sledding. While skeleton "sliders" use similar equipment to that of cresta "riders", the two sports are different: while skeleton is run on the same track used by bobsleighs and luge, cresta is run on cresta-specific sledding tracks only. Also, the skeleton sled has no steering or braking mechanism, while cresta sledders use skates on their feet to help steer and brake the sled."

Latvian Parliament backs IMF Bailout Deal - EUObserver

2010-01-23T01:26:00.000+01:00

EUobserver / Latvian parliament backs IMF bailout deal
Andrew Willis on January 22, 2010, writes that:

"A crucial vote in the Latvian parliament on Thursday (21 January) gave a renewed mandate to the government to continue talks with the International Monetary Fund and the European Union regarding the country's €7.5 billion bailout package."

Read the full story.

Royalty and Continuity : Queen Elizabeth in Photographs with 11 USA Presidents : Is Monarchy a Model for Unity of the Baltic States : A Baltic Union

2010-01-18T16:15:00.000+01:00

We just posted this status report to law_pundit at Twitter:

Talk about #continuity ! #Queen #Elizabeth in #Photographs with 11 #Presidents of the #USA http://b2l.me/4j6b #UK #USA #royals #royalty

These photos show one advantage of monarchies over elected representation: continuity of leadership. The politicians come and go, but Kings and Queens endure!

Long live the Queen!

Not being a British subject, we nevertheless mean that sincerely.
Here is our take on royalty and monarchy as a model for the Baltic nations, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

When the Baltic nations obtained their independence from the USSR (Soviet Union) some 20 years ago, I suggested to some powerful people in Latvia then that they unite the Baltic States politically, since they compose a "regional unity" (see Antonius Piip wrote in The Baltic States as a Regional Unity, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 168, American Policy in the Pacific (Jul., 1933), pp. 171-177, published by Sage Publications, Inc. in association with the American Academy of Political and Social Science (the article is at JSTOR)).

My idea was to establish one political entity from the three Baltic States and call it the Baltic Union, a political commonwealth whose unity would make the Baltic nations much more powerful in defending their own vested interests in this competitively dangerous world.

At the same time, my solution would also have called for each nation to establish its own "elected" monarchy, whose business would not be to run the nation's political affairs, but rather to act as the symbolic standard bearer for their own particular nation, using the United Kingdom as an example. One Baltic Union. Three Baltic Kingdoms.

In this manner, each of the Baltic States, i.e. Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, would retain their individuality and sovereignty in their own elected monarch, but they would merge their political systems for their mutual economic (i.e. financial), social and military benefit.

Unfortunately, my sensible ideas fell on deaf ears. Most politicians in the Baltic States have, unfortunately, had no better idea about the future of their countries and peoples than but to follow the same exact mistakes that have been made in the Baltic region for centuries. Everyone wants to "run things", but few know how. Where in the entire Baltic region has anyone developed any NEW ideas about how to take a different path than the unsuccessful paths already taken in history? You have the same old demagogues now that you had before. Nothing has changed. Incompetent leadership prevails everywhere and it is no surprise to see the financial difficulty in which these nations currently find themselves.

I also suggested at the time of independence, for example, that the Baltic nations were - and still are - in the enviable position of ultimately banning private combustion vehicles from their cities and roads. Given the sparse population of the Baltic, there is no need for gasoline driven vehicles, except for trucks (lorries) and gasoline-driven equipment. Riga, for example, has become traffic congested beyond all description - for no sane reason. NO ONE needs all these cars in Riga. No one. Indeed, one reason that the Baltic nations have such economic problems is precisely because a gasoline-motor-centered economy was imposed upon them in circumstances where it was idiotic to do so. How much of the current Baltic deficit is accounted for by purchases of motor vehicles that no one really needs?

The Baltic States - as the Baltic Union - could adopt a time plan for supplanting motor vehicles by electrical vehicles in the private sector. There are very few main roads in these countries. Switching to electric vehicles would not be a burden. There are also only a handful of larger cities, all of which would be much better places without vehicles having gasoline engines.

Rather than following other blind leaders blindly, my dear friends in the Baltic, why, for a change, not think ahead and be the pioneers instead???? If you continue to act like once oppressed peoples, you are still oppressed. Move forward - the past can not be changed.

Riga, Latvia was the home of the first Christmas Tree

2010-01-17T13:03:00.000+01:00

Riga, Latvia was the home of the first Christmas Tree:

Hat tip to Inside Riga Latvia - What's Happening.

Journalist Ina Strazdina named "European Person of the Year in Latvia 2009" :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

2010-01-02T20:33:00.000+01:00

Journalist Ina Strazdina named "European Person of the Year in Latvia 2009" :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

"She is Latvia's only journalist who works and lives in Brussels and informs Latvian residents on current events in Europe, as the European Movement in Latvia, President Andris Gobins informed LETA."

Number of smokers in Latvia gradually reduces from 1998 :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

2010-01-02T20:32:00.000+01:00

Number of smokers in Latvia gradually reduces from 1998 :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

Andris Piebalgs: Latvia does not look bad in Europe :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

2010-01-02T20:31:00.000+01:00

Andris Piebalgs: Latvia does not look bad in Europe :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

This winter in Latvia to be a bit colder than previous winters :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

2010-01-02T20:29:00.001+01:00

This winter in Latvia to be a bit colder than previous winters :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

Repse: international financial publications mention Latvia as an example to other countries :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

2010-01-02T20:29:00.000+01:00

Repse: international financial publications mention Latvia as an example to other countries :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics:

"Not many nations have managed to cope with the economic crisis in a more successful way than Latvia; Latvia is now being mentioned in international financial publications 'not as a crisis-hit country, as was the case a few months ago, but as, possibly, an example to follow for other European Union (EU) members states, including Greece,' said Finance Minister Einars Repse (New Era)."

Latvia announces Olympic ice hockey roster :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

2010-01-02T20:28:00.000+01:00

Latvia announces Olympic ice hockey roster :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

Rimsevics: Failing to bail out Parex banka would result in closing down of four banks in Latvia :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

2010-01-02T20:27:00.000+01:00

Rimsevics: Failing to bail out Parex banka would result in closing down of four banks in Latvia :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics:

"Closing down of Parex banka (Parex) would trigger fast withdrawing of funds from other banks, the President of the Bank of Latvia Ilmars Rimsevics points out in an interview with the magazine Klubs. Closing of Parex would also obligate the state to immediately pay out around LVL 660 million to depositors from the state guarantees fund."

Value of Latvian furniture exports fell by 24.1%, value of imported furniture down 60.1% in 10 months :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

2010-01-02T20:26:00.000+01:00

Value of Latvian furniture exports fell by 24.1%, value of imported furniture down 60.1% in 10 months :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics:

"Furniture worth LVL 42.6 million was exported from Latvia in the first ten months of the year 2009, which is 24.1% less than in the same period of 2008, whereas furniture imports totaled LVL 19 million – a 60.1% fall year-on-year, as the Agriculture Ministry informed the business information portal Nozare.lv."

AFP: Latvian court overturns pension cuts, threat to bailout

2010-01-02T20:24:00.000+01:00

This posting is about a story that is now about two weeks late, but still of actual interest:

AFP: Latvian court overturns pension cuts, threat to bailout

Latvia in 2010 - Times Online

2010-01-02T20:20:00.000+01:00

Welcome to 2010: War, terrorism, football and an Oscar for aliens - Times Online
Times correspondents from around the globe pinpoint the trouble spots, the changing alliances and the highs and lows of the next 12 months

"Less stable will be nearby Latvia (an economic contraction of 4 per cent on top of the 10 per cent in 2009), where a shaky Government may be forced to call elections before the deadline of October 2010. For the weak man of Europe, even more fragile than Hungary, another year of economic shrinkage is translating into support for the far-Right (a probable factor in April’s parliamentary elections). Latvia’s decline is likely to affect Estonia and Lithuania, and weaken Scandinavian countries which are very exposed to problems in the Baltic. "

PRESS RELEASE: Fitch Affirms Ratings of Latvian Banks

2010-01-02T20:16:00.000+01:00

PRESS RELEASE: Fitch Affirms Ratings of Latvian Banks

OfficialWire: Latvia Insurance Report 2010 - New Report Published

2010-01-02T20:14:00.000+01:00

OfficialWire: Latvia Insurance Report 2010 - New Report Published:

"Latvia Insurance Report 2010 - New Report Published
New report provides detailed analysis of the Finance and Banking market
Published on December 17, 2009"

Latvian lawmakers approve 2010 austerity budget amid angry protests | San Francisco Examiner

2010-01-02T20:10:00.000+01:00

This is a month late in posting, but still of importance for Latvia in 2010:

Latvian lawmakers approve 2010 austerity budget amid angry protests | San Francisco Examiner

New Report Now Available: Latvia Autos Report 2010

2009-12-30T00:07:00.000+01:00

New Report Now Available: Latvia Autos Report 2010

"The effects of recession have significantly impacted the automotive industry in Latvia. Sales have fallen sharply - a stark contrast to the growth posted in the years before the global economic crisis. Latvia had been the EU's fastest growing market between 2005-2007 but has clearly been affected by the broader recessionary trend in the economy."

Latvia: Back in the News, With More to Come -- Seeking Alpha

2009-12-29T18:08:00.000+01:00

Latvia: Back in the News, With More to Come -- Seeking Alpha:

"The Latvian government is getting nervous about the level of lending coming from Swedish banks. According to the Financial Times, 'Latvia’s prime minister has warned Swedish banks they risk choking off recovery in the Baltic state’s crisis-hit economy unless they resume lending.' The Latvian authorities are complaining, it seems, that banks such as Swedbank (SWDBY.PK) and SEB, which dominate the Latvian market, have reined in credit as they struggle to contain rising bad loans amid the deepest recession in the European Union."

Latvian Saistījums viz. Saistam is the Older Form of the English Term System

2009-05-15T14:55:00.003+02:00

"System" and its plural "systems" are among the most frequent words used in the English language. Google gives us 1,410,000,000 hits for the word the singular "system" and 636,000,000 hits for the plural "systems".

Wikipedia writes: "System (from Latin systēma, in turn from Greek σύστημα systēma) is a set of interacting or interdependent entities, real or abstract, forming an integrated whole."

A connected Indo-European term is e.g. Latvian saist- "to tie together" whence Latvian saistījums "connection", showing that the ancient origin of the term system is in the idea of "connections". Mēs saistam in Latvian means "we connect".

DB.LV is an Excellent Business News Portal in Latvia in Latvian Language while BBN in Estonia provides Baltic Business News in English

2009-05-05T13:09:00.005+02:00

We ran across DB.LV today and it is an excellent business news portal in Latvia, providing news about Latvia and the world in Latvian language. They also do a very short daily English-language summary of the most important business news, otherwise linking to BBN in Estonia, the Baltic Business News (BBN) portal, which is in English.

Latvia, Sound it Out : Seen at the Baltic Online Media Store (BOMS) : Latvijas vizītkarte - Sounds Like LATVIA (2009) - Latvijas Institūts

2009-04-29T01:14:00.003+02:00

Seen originally at the Baltic Online Media Store (BOMS)

Latvijas vizītkarte - Sounds Like LATVIA (2009) - Latvijas Institūts

Latvian Blog Established

2006-03-15T01:11:00.000+01:00

Purpose of the Blog

The purpose of the Latvian Blog is to comment on all things Latvian and to provide information on Latvia.

Languages of the Blog

We will post to this blog in Latvian, English and German.
Viele Deutsche interessieren sich für Lettland und das Baltikum.

Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia

We will also refer to things of relevance to the Baltic in general.

People make up the World - The Net is the Medium

Es ceru ka mēs varēsim visi satikties tīklā. - Andis

Latvian Blog

The Rule of Law in Russia and Eastern Europe : Dietrich André Loeber : Andis Kaulins : Kiel : Institut für Ostrecht : Latvian Law Research

Talinn Riga and Vilnius Lead Baltic Travel Revival in 2012

The Jews in Latvia | Latvian History

Latvian Independence Day, November 18, Celebrated Today

The Economist Comments on "Latvia's Indecisive Election"

A Latvian Is Unbeatable in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles

Ceļojums pa Dienvidkurzemes pilskalniem, Induļa un Ārijas vietas - 6.augustā

Latvian Real Estate Market as of July 2011

Silicon Valley to Latvia: Stanford Report on Bridging the Innovation Gap

Best Latvian Country Music Band Sesta Judze "Sixth Mile"

New Baltic Megalithic Material Up at Megaliths.net

Estonia to Become 17th Member of the Euro Area on January 1, 2011

NATO has secret plan to defend Baltics: WikiLeaks | Reuters

Latvia: Independence Day, November 18, 2010

BBC News - Latvian man shortage leaves women lost for love

Latvia: EPP hails victory of PM Dombrovskis; another centre-right victory for Europe

Foreign interest strong in Latvian property market

Foreign trade volume in Latvia increased of by 14.5% in January – June :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

Latvia and Estonia are among EU leaders in industrial production growth in June :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

Latvia again registers steepest GDP reduction in EU in 5 months :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

Additional opportunity for activating employment in the Baltics :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

World Bank president visited Sigulda and saw the so-called 100 lat program in action :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

Buying a Property in the Baltics

Baltic Sea Pipeline Construction Uncovering many Archaeologically Interesting Artefacts

Latvia Price History-Strong recovery in Riga continues in Q1 2010 | Global Property Guide

International Real Estate - House Hunting in ... Latvia - NYTimes.com

Viesu nams Rakari ... : Zeme : Portfolio - Fotogrāfs Mārtiņš Plūme

History of Latvia at the Latvian Institute

Kolkasrags | Slītere National Park

Latvia: The Nature Conservation Agency: Dabas aizsardzības pārvalde

Vienotība: Next Saeima should amend law to allow dual citizenship | Latvians Online

Sesta Judze ("The Sixth Mile", Sestā Jūdze) : A Popular Country Music Group from Latvia

Migration Flows and Economic Sustainability In The Baltics | afoe | A Fistful of Euros | European Opinion

Lasītāju un lietotāju veidots saturs – raksti, foto, video, audio. Viedokļi, diskusijas : Diena.lv

Latvian hacker exposes fat cats: News24: Sci-Tech: News

Google Translate Text-to-Speech Feature Now Supports 34 Languages, inlcuding Latvian

Latvian musicians take New York’s finest stages by storm - Learn Latvian Online

Bring BEREC -- the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications -- to Riga, Latvia

Latvian design icons « Balticdesign’s blog

OK, in Latvia, do not speak Russian | Gadling.com

balticbusinessnews.com - Riksbank: Baltics are regaining competitiveness

balticbusinessnews.com - Latvia’s 90-day overdue loans grew to 18.3%

Identity of Latvia's online `Robin Hood' revealed at last - KansasCity.com

KMS >> Latvian economy recovering faster than anticipated

FACTBOX-Key political risks to watch in the Baltic states | Reuters

Vietas.lv (Vietas = Places viz. Locations) is an Essential Travel Guide Portal to Latvia

EU Commission Lifts Baltic Views, Sees Latvian Stabilization - WSJ.com

The Legal 500 2010: Europe, Middle East & Africa > Latvia - The Clients Guide to the best Law firms, top Lawyers, Attorneys, Advocates, Solicitors and Barristers in Latvia

Riga Latvia EU Capital of Culture in Europe in 2014

Centuries-Old Shipwrecks Found in Baltic Sea : Discovery News

Cross-country study: Economic policy challenges in the Baltics - ECFIN - European Commission

Latvians Struggle with Debt in a Recession

Latvia - Signature of Supplemental Memorandum of Understanding - ECFIN - European Commission

Baltic States Reconsider Plans to Adopt the Euro

BBC News - Latvia auctions off military ghost town for $3m

EU Commission Economic Review of Deadlines for Malta, Lithuania, Hungary and Latvia to Bring Public Debt to 3% of GDP Results in 2 Extensions

EU - European Union - European Commission - Information Society - Latvia : Laws relating to Electronic Documents

Latvia's Martins Dukurs Wins Skeleton - Tobogganing - World Cup Title and is the European Champion

Latvian Parliament backs IMF Bailout Deal - EUObserver

Royalty and Continuity : Queen Elizabeth in Photographs with 11 USA Presidents : Is Monarchy a Model for Unity of the Baltic States : A Baltic Union

Riga, Latvia was the home of the first Christmas Tree

Journalist Ina Strazdina named "European Person of the Year in Latvia 2009" :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

Number of smokers in Latvia gradually reduces from 1998 :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

Andris Piebalgs: Latvia does not look bad in Europe :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

This winter in Latvia to be a bit colder than previous winters :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

Repse: international financial publications mention Latvia as an example to other countries :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

Latvia announces Olympic ice hockey roster :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

Rimsevics: Failing to bail out Parex banka would result in closing down of four banks in Latvia :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

Value of Latvian furniture exports fell by 24.1%, value of imported furniture down 60.1% in 10 months :: The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics

AFP: Latvian court overturns pension cuts, threat to bailout

Top 10 stories of 2009 for Baltic states | balticreports.com

Latvia in 2010 - Times Online

PRESS RELEASE: Fitch Affirms Ratings of Latvian Banks

OfficialWire: Latvia Insurance Report 2010 - New Report Published

Latvian lawmakers approve 2010 austerity budget amid angry protests | San Francisco Examiner

New Report Now Available: Latvia Autos Report 2010

Latvia: Back in the News, With More to Come -- Seeking Alpha

Latvian Saistījums viz. Saistam is the Older Form of the English Term System

DB.LV is an Excellent Business News Portal in Latvia in Latvian Language while BBN in Estonia provides Baltic Business News in English