Study on the extent to which and how Member States used the ESF and the ERDF in the programming periods 2007-2013 and 2014-2020 to support their justice system : Member State chapter : Latvia

For the programming period 2007-2013, Latvia's needs relating to the national justice system were not mentioned in either the ex-ante evaluations or the NSRF. Two OPs (ESF 'Human Resources and Employment' and EDRF OP 'Infrastructure and Services') mentioned that justice system institutions (without giving an explicit list of the institutions) will be among the beneficiaries for the EU funds, enabling the use of EDRF and ESF funding to improve and develop ICT in the justice system (five projects) and strengthen the capacity of the Latvian Judicial Training Centre (one small-scale project). The majority of the projects implemented in the area of justice have been funded in order to upgrade ICT by purchasing both software and hardware, developing web portals and digitalising the archives and civil registry services for obtaining certificates and registering events such as births and deaths. According to the information provided by IBs/beneficiaries contacted by the Country Expert, the projects funded had not yet been evaluated to measure their results or impacts, or else the evaluation had been very general (at the level of priority or sub-priority axis level for LV1 and LV2 projects). In conclusion, for the first programming period the need for modernising the justice system through digitalisation and ICT was mainly identified. Although the programming documents referred to the need for developing ICT infrastructure and services in public administration more generally, two OPs mentioned the justice system as one of the sectors of administration to be modernised. Through these OPs, six projects supporting the justice system were funded. Thus, although support to justice was not programmed for in a very detailed manner in Latvia, the justice system has been supported through ERDF and ESF funding.