Latvian legislation pays particular attention to children in criminal proceedings, taking into account their age and maturity, providing them with additional procedural guarantees and limiting their responsibility. Furthermore, the law emphasises that in all child-related activities, irrespective of whether they are carried out by State institutions, private organisations or individuals, the rights and interests of children should be given priority. There is no special prosecutor's office or court establishment for children in Latvia. In general, the same professionals who deal with adults also deal with matters involving children. The State Inspectorate for the Protection of Children's Rights is the main institution responsible for the protection of children's rights. It supervises and controls compliance with the Law on the Protection of the Rights of the Child and other legislative acts that regulate the protection of the rights of the child. Various non-governmental institutions are also involved in promoting a child-friendly approach to criminal justice, for instance, by providing child-friendly premises and offering the assistance of trained psychologists during proceedings involving children. The law provides special provisions in relation to all children involved in criminal proceedings and according to their procedural status as a victim, witness and suspect/defendant. The following protective provisions apply to all children. Every child has the right to be heard and have a legal representative. Confidentiality of child-related information is guaranteed. Special attention is paid to the questioning of children. Premises must be adjusted to the needs of children and children under the age of 14 and those who have suffered from violence or sexual abuse must be questioned in the presence of a teacher/psychologist. Also, depending on the circumstances, children have the right to receive psychological and legal support free of charge. There are special guarantees provided to child according to its procedural status: victim, witness or suspect/defendant. Child victims have adapted treatment guaranteed in terms of their representation, exercise of rights, procedural protection, prohibition of coercive procedural measures and testimony in the court. As for witnesses, both adults and children, they have fewer possibilities to participate in the proceedings and also there is less support available. In general terms, however, the same rules that apply to child victims also apply to child witnesses (for instance, on special protection and protection of private and family life). In relation to the status of the suspect/defendant, the age of criminal responsibility starts at 14 years of age. Children aged from 11 to 14 can only be subject to compulsory correctional or educational measures. Everyone older than 14 years of age may be held fully criminally liable and, thus, be detained and imprisoned. Overall, however, the law takes a protective approach to suspects/defendants as they are first provided with opportunities for re-education. Deprivation of liberty of child offenders is used only as a measure of last resort. The strengths of the Latvian criminal justice system lie in the child-friendly approach guaranteed to child victims. They are provided with access to psychological, medical, legal, emotional and other types of practical support, taking into account the best interests of the child. Also, towards child suspects/defendants a protective approach is taken. However, children who are in conflict with the law are, first and foremost, regarded as offenders. It is widely recognised that the best interests of a child must be a primary consideration also with regards to child offenders both during the pre-trial investigation and during the examination of the case in court.
