With the participation of a delegation from the Saeima, on Tuesday, 16 April, in Strasbourg, France the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) elected Artūrs Kučs as a judge of the European Court of Human Rights.

“The current geopolitical situation once again demonstrates the fragility of human rights. Today, upholding compliance with human rights standards and protecting them is crucial for humanity and the future development of the legal sector. I am happy to see a strong and competent professional join the European Court of Human Rights,” said Zanda Kalniņa Lukaševica, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima and Head of the Latvian Delegation to PACE.

Kučs is the fourth judge to be elected to the European Court of Human Rights from Latvia. He is currently a judge at the Constitutional Court of Latvia. There are 46 justices in the European Court of Human Rights – one from each member state of the Council of Europe. Judges are elected for a term of nine years. In February of this year the Saeima appointed Mārtiņš Mits, who was Latvia’s previous representative on the European Court of Human Rights, as a judge of the Constitutional Court.

Deputy Speaker Kalniņa-Lukaševica participates in the spring session of the Assembly this week until 18 April. She is accompanied by the Deputy Head of the Latvian Delegation Edmunds Cepurītis and Substitute Permanent Representatives Ināra Mūrniece, Ričards Šlesers and Aiva Vīksna.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is one of the largest and most visible institutions of the Council of Europe. It consists of 306 permanent representatives and 306 alternate representatives from 46 member states of the Council of Europe. Member states are represented in PACE by members of national parliaments.

Saeima Press Service