Prosecutor general proposes curbs on property confiscation appeals

Latvia’s Prosecutor General Armīns Meisters has submitted amendments to the Criminal Procedure Law to prevent courts and prosecutors from being overwhelmed by cases involving the confiscation of criminally acquired property, LSM reported.

“The proposed amendments will prevent an uncontrolled influx of applications related to newly discovered circumstances and ensure the effective use of resources,” Meisters said, according to the Prosecutor General’s Office.

The office said the rules governing applications to reopen cases on the basis of newly discovered circumstances need to be clarified. A version of the law approved by the Saeima, Latvia’s parliament, at second reading currently provides broad opportunities to review property confiscation decisions based on various “other circumstances”.

To prevent the rules from being applied without control and retroactively to decisions that have long been in force, the Prosecutor General’s Office has proposed three additions.

The first would clearly establish the possibility of reopening criminal proceedings when an acquittal has entered into force in a criminal case from which materials concerning criminally acquired property had previously been separated. The provision would retain retroactive effect for substantiating such important circumstances.

The second proposal would introduce a transitional rule allowing a lawyer to apply to reopen proceedings on the basis of general “other circumstances” only in cases where the court decision entered into force after the relevant provision took effect.

Under the third proposal, Meisters would remove a restriction that assigns the review of cases involving newly discovered circumstances exclusively to the chief prosecutor of the Criminal Law Department. Chief prosecutors of other departments and divisions of the Prosecutor General’s Office would also be able to take part in the process.

The justification for the proposals says that without clear transitional rules, courts and prosecutors’ offices could be overwhelmed by a large number of applications concerning proceedings completed long ago. Processing them would require significant additional staff and material resources.

The Prosecutor General’s Office said the influx of applications could substantially hinder the work of the courts and extend the time needed to hear cases. Meisters has therefore urged members of the Saeima Legal Affairs Committee to support the proposals and advance them for consideration by parliament at third reading.