Text consolidated by Valsts valodas centrs (State
Language Centre) with amending laws of:
17 June 2004 [shall come
into force on 1 January 2005];
15 February 2007 [shall come into force on 15 March
2007];
2 February 2010 (Constitutional Court Judgment) [shall
come into force on 4 February 2010];
13 May 2010 [shall come into force on 1 July 2010];
19 September 2013 [shall come into force on 1 January
2014];
16 June 2016 [shall come into force on 1 January
2017];
24 November 2020 [shall come into force on 1 January
2021].
If a whole or part of a section has been amended, the
date of the amending law appears in square brackets at
the end of the section. If a whole section, paragraph or
clause has been deleted, the date of the deletion appears
in square brackets beside the deleted section, paragraph
or clause.
|
The Saeima1 has adopted and
the President has proclaimed the following law:
On Social Protection of the
Participants in the Liquidation of the Consequences of the
Accident at the Chernobyl Atomic Power Plant and Persons who
Suffered due to the Accident at the Chernobyl Atomic Power
Plant
Chapter I
General Provisions
Section 1. The following terms are used in this
Law:
1) causal relationship with the performance of works for
the liquidation of the consequences of the accident at the
Chernobyl Atomic Power Plant (APP) - opinion of the authority
specified in this Law on the relation between the cause of
illness, disability and death, and the liquidation of the
consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl APP;
2) Chernobyl APP exclusion zone - the territory
contaminated radioactively as a result of the accident at the
Chernobyl APP and from which inhabitants were evacuated by force
in 1986 in accordance with the USSR radiation safety norms (zone
of 30 km specified by the legal acts of the USSR of
1986-1987);
3) mandatory evacuation zone of the Chernobyl APP - the
territory contaminated radioactively as a result of the accident
at the Chernobyl APP and from which inhabitants were evacuated by
force in 1986-1987 under decisions by the government of the
Ukrainian SSR, and which is located outside the Chernobyl APP
exclusion zone;
4) reimbursement for damage - the amount of money to be
granted to a participant in the liquidation of the consequences
of the accident at the Chernobyl APP or, in the case of his or
her death, to family members incapacitated for work who were
dependant on him or her which compensates for the loss of income
of the participant in the liquidation of the consequences of the
accident at the Chernobyl APP due to loss of capacity for work,
but for dependants - the loss of subsistence source.
Section 2. The purpose of this Law is to prescribe:
1) the status of the participant in the liquidation of the
consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl APP and of a person
who suffered due to the accident at the Chernobyl APP;
2) social guarantees for participants in the liquidation of
the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl APP, for their
dependants and persons who suffered due to the accident at the
Chernobyl APP.
Section 3. The citizens of the Republic of Latvia,
non-citizens, third country nationals and stateless persons
having a permanent residence permit have the right to receive the
social guarantees specified in this Law.
Chapter II
Determination and Registration of the Status of Participants in
the Liquidation of the Consequences of the Accident at the
Chernobyl APP and Persons who Suffered due to the Accident at the
Chernobyl APP
Section 4. A person who participated in the operation
of the Chernobyl APP, in the works for the liquidation of the
consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl APP and other works
resulting from the accident at the Chernobyl APP in the Chernobyl
APP exclusion zone within the period from 26 April 1986 until 31
December 1990 shall be deemed to be a participant in the
liquidation of the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl
APP, provided that:
1) an employer sent the relevant person for the performance of
work in the Chernobyl APP exclusion zone;
2) the relevant person served in the Chernobyl APP exclusion
zone in the composition of the commanding personnel or rank and
file personnel of the interior institutions;
3) the relevant person as a person bound to military service
included in the composition of the commanding personnel or rank
and file personnel of the armed forces bodies or relegated to the
reserve were enlisted for special training and involved in the
work for the liquidation of the consequences of the accident at
the Chernobyl APP (regardless of the place of dislocation and the
work performed).
Section 5. The following persons shall be recognised as
persons who suffered due to the accident at the Chernobyl
APP:
1) a person who was evacuated from the Chernobyl APP exclusion
zone or the mandatory evacuation zone of the Chernobyl APP, also
a child who at the time of evacuation was in the intrauterine
stage of development;
2) a person who was sent by the employer of the Latvian SSR
for work to the territory contaminated radioactively as a result
of the accident at the Chernobyl APP outside the Chernobyl APP
exclusion zone;
3) a child who was indirectly affected by the emission of
radiation received by any of its parents by participating in the
liquidation of the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl
APP.
Section 6. The Cabinet shall determine the procedures
by which valsts sabiedrība ar ierobežotu atbildību "Paula
Stradiņa klīniskā universitātes slimnīca" [State limited
liability company Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital]
(hereinafter - the hospital) shall:
1) record participants in the liquidation of the consequences
of the accident at the Chernobyl APP and the persons who suffered
due to the accident at the Chernobyl APP by creating a unified
database for the registration of the aforementioned persons for
this purpose, the amount of information to be included wherein
shall be determined also by the Cabinet;
2) observe the state of health of the participants in the
liquidation of the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl
APP and the persons who suffered due to the accident at the
Chernobyl APP on a regular basis and determine the causal
relationship between the person's illnesses, disability and death
and the accident at the Chernobyl APP.
[15 February 2007; 13 May 2010]
Section 6.1 If morphological changes in the
organism and functional disorders caused by the disease after
three years of observation, counting from 26 April 1986, are
considered irreversible, the disability or the degree of loss of
capacity for work in the amount of 10-25 per cent shall be
determined for a participant in the liquidation of the
consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl APP without
indication of the term for repeated examination, unless such
repeated examination is requested by the participant in the
liquidation of the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl
APP.
[16 June 2016]
Section 7. The hospital shall issue to a participant in
the liquidation of the consequences of the accident at the
Chernobyl APP and a person who suffered due to the accident at
the Chernobyl APP a sample certificate specified by the Cabinet
on the status of the abovementioned person. The certificate shall
be issued on the basis of one of the following documents:
1) a certificate of military service, a certificate issued by
the military registration and enlistment office, a statement
issued by the armed forces bodies or archives containing a note
that the relevant person participated in the work for the
liquidation of the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl
APP;
2) a statement issued by the employer attesting that the
relevant person has been sent to work in the liquidation of the
consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl APP or for work to
the territory contaminated as a result of the accident at the
Chernobyl APP outside the Chernobyl APP exclusion zone, and
containing a note that the person has participated in the
aforementioned work;
3) a statement issued by the national deputy council of the
previous place of residence, attesting that the person has been
evacuated to the Latvian SSR from the territory contaminated as a
result of the accident at the Chernobyl APP in accordance with
the decision of the government of the USSR or the Ukrainian
SSR.
[15 February 2007 / See Transitional Provisions]
Chapter III
Reimbursement for Damage and State Social Benefit
Section 8. (1) The following persons have the right to
reimbursement for damage:
1) a participant in the liquidation of the consequences of the
accident at the Chernobyl APP for whom a causal relationship
between the disability and the performance of the work for the
liquidation of the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl
APP has been determined;
2) a participant in the liquidation of the consequences of the
accident at the Chernobyl APP for whom the degree of loss of the
capacity for work in the amount of 10-25 per cent and a causal
relationship between such loss and performance of the work for
the liquidation of the consequences of the accident at the
Chernobyl APP has been determined;
3) the family members of the deceased person referred to in
Paragraph one, Clauses 1 and 2 of this Section who are incapable
to work and who have been maintained by him or her, and to whom
the survivor's pension has been granted in accordance with the
law On State Pensions.
(2) A person who receives pension of another country, except
when it has been granted in accordance with Regulation (EC) No
883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29
April 2004 on the coordination of social security systems or in
accordance with the international agreements binding on the
Republic of Latvia, shall not be eligible to the reimbursement
for damage.
[16 June 2016]
Section 9. (1) Reimbursement for damage for the persons
referred to in Section 8, Paragraph one, Clauses 1 and 2 of this
Law shall be calculated according to the following formula:
KA = 50 % VS x DZ, where
KA - the amount of the reimbursement for damage,
VS - the average insurance contribution wage in the previous
calendar year in the State,
DZ - degree of loss of the capacity for work (in per
cent).
(2) Reimbursement for damage for the persons referred to in
Section 8, Paragraph one, Clause 3 of this Law shall be
calculated according to the following formula:
KA = 50 % VS x KĢL, where
KA - the amount of the reimbursement for damage,
VS - the average insurance contribution wage in the previous
calendar year in the State,
KĢL - the coefficient of the reimbursement for damage in
conformity with the number of family members to whom a survivor's
pension has been granted:
0.8 - if there is one dependant,
0.9 - if there are two dependants,
1.0 - if there are three and more dependants.
(3) If the State Medical Commission for the Assessment of
Health Condition and Working Ability determines other percentage
for the loss of the capacity for work or the number of dependants
changes, the reimbursement for damage shall be recalculated in
accordance with the procedures laid down in Paragraphs one and
two of this Section from the day of determining the new
percentage for the loss of the capacity for work or change in the
number of dependants.
(4) The amount of reimbursement for damage laid down in
Paragraphs one and two of this Section shall be reviewed once a
year on 1 May by taking into account the average insurance
contribution wage in the previous calendar year in the State. If
the average insurance contribution wage in the previous calendar
year is lower than the wage from which the reimbursement for
damage has already been calculated, the amount of reimbursement
for damage shall not be reviewed.
[16 June 2016]
Section 10. (1) The persons referred to in Section 8,
Paragraph one of this Law may concurrently receive the
reimbursement for damage and State pension which has been
calculated and granted in accordance with the law On State
Pensions, or reimbursement for damage and State social security
benefit which has been granted in accordance with the Law on
State Social Allowances, or reimbursement for damage and service
pensions which has been granted in accordance with the laws on
special service pensions.
(2) The reimbursement for damage for the persons referred to
in Section 8, Paragraph one, Clause 1 of this Law shall be
disbursed from the special budget for disability, maternity and
sickness, but for the persons referred to in Section 8, Paragraph
one, Clause 3 - from the special budget for State pensions.
(3) The reimbursement shall be disbursed from the State basic
budget for the persons referred to in Section 8, Paragraph one,
Clause 2 of this Law, as well as in case of the death of these
persons - for the family members incapacitated for work which
were dependent on them.
[16 June 2016]
Section 11. (1) The State social allowance for a
participant in the liquidation of the consequences of the
accident at the Chernobyl APP and for the family of a deceased
participant in the liquidation of the consequences of the
accident at the Chernobyl APP (hereinafter - the allowance) shall
be granted in the following cases:
1) for a participant in the liquidation of the consequences of
the accident at the Chernobyl APP - if a causal relationship
between the disability and the performance of work for the
liquidation of the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl
APP has been determined for him or her;
2) for the family of a deceased participant in the liquidation
of the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl APP - if the
cause of death of the respective participant is a disease for
which a causal relationship with the performance of work fr the
liquidation of the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl
APP has been determined. Within the meaning of this Law, the
children who are not more than 18 years of age (also children who
are full-time students at secondary or higher education
institution and who are not older than 24 years of age), as well
as a surviving spouse who has not entered into another marriage
and parents and grandchildren, if this spouse, parents and
grandchildren have been dependants of the deceased, shall be
considered as the family members of the deceased participant in
the liquidation of the consequences of the accident at the
Chernobyl APP.
(2) The Cabinet shall determine the procedures for granting
and disbursing the allowance.
(3) The allowance shall be disbursed from the State basic
budget.
(4) The amount of the allowance shall be in the amount of the
State social security benefit which is determined for the persons
referred to in Section 13, Paragraph one, Clause 1 of the Law on
State Social Allowances and it shall be reviewed in conformity
with the procedures for reviewing the minimal income thresholds
laid down in the law On Social Security.
[17 June 2004; 24 November 2020 / See Paragraph 11 of
Transitional Provisions]
Section 11.1 The spouse and all first-level
and second-level kin have the right to receive the amounts of the
reimbursement for damage calculated for the disbursement which
have not been disbursed until the death of the person, but
another person - on the basis of an inheritance certificate or a
court ruling.
[16 June 2016]
Chapter IV
Medical Assistance
Section 12. A participant in the liquidation of the
consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl APP and a person
who suffered due to the accident at the Chernobyl APP have the
right to the compensation of expenses for the purchase of
medicinal products intended for outpatient medical treatment of
diseases obtained as a result of the accident at the Chernobyl
APP in accordance with the procedures specified by the
Cabinet.
Section 13. A participant in the liquidation of the
consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl APP and a person
who suffered due to the accident at the Chernobyl APP are
exempted from patient's fee at medical treatment institutions
(also at the medical rehabilitation institutions of the second
stage) and at the social rehabilitation institutions within the
framework of a minimum of health care services and the State
programme.
Section 14. The following persons have the right to
free of charge services or fee relief for dental care and dental
prosthetics in accordance with the procedures specified by
Cabinet:
1) a participant in the liquidation of the consequences of the
accident at the Chernobyl APP;
2) a person who was sent by the employer of the Latvian SSR
for work to the territory contaminated as a result of the
accident at the Chernobyl APP outside the Chernobyl APP exclusion
zone if a causal relationship between the disability of this
person and the performance of the abovementioned work has been
determined.
Section 15. The following persons have the right to
receive, once every year, free of charge rehabilitation services
and medical rehabilitation services upon the order of a
physician:
1) a participant in the liquidation of the consequences of the
accident at the Chernobyl APP;
2) a child up to 18 years of age who was evacuated from the
Chernobyl APP exclusion zone or the mandatory evacuation zone of
the Chernobyl APP, even if this child at the time of evacuation
was in the intrauterine stage of development;
3) a child up to 18 years of age who was indirectly affected
by the emission of radiation received by any of its parents by
participating in the liquidation of the consequences of the
accident at the Chernobyl APP.
Section 16. Thee social rehabilitation services
referred to in Section 15 of this Law and the measures of medical
assistance specified in Chapter IV shall be financed from the
State budget.
[15 February 2007]
Transitional Provisions
1. [16 June 2016]
2. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall, in negotiations with
the Russian Federation, the Republic of Ukraine and the Republic
of Belarus, deal with the issue regarding inter-country agreement
on the compensations and social guarantees for the participants
in the liquidation of the consequences of the accident at the
Chernobyl APP and for inhabitants of Latvia who suffered due to
the accident at the Chernobyl APP.
3. With the coming into force of this Law the following are
repealed:
1) the Decision of the Supreme Council of 15 May 1991, On
Measures to be Performed in Order to Improve the Social State of
the Inhabitants of the Republic of Latvia who Suffered due to the
Accident at the Chernobyl APP (Latvijas Republikas Augstākās
Padomes un Valdības Ziņotājs, 1991, No. 27/28);
the Decision of the Supreme Council of 13 June 1991, On
Implementation of the Decision of the Supreme Council of the
Republic of Latvia "On Measures to be Performed in Order to
Improve the Social State of the Inhabitants of the Republic of
Latvia who Suffered due to the Accident at the Chernobyl APP"
(Latvijas Republikas Augstākās Padomes un Valdības
Ziņotājs, 1991, No. 29/30).
4. Amendments to this Law regarding the new wording of Section
6 and Section 7 shall come into force on 1 January 2008.
[15 February 2007]
5. From 1 January 2017, the disability pensions, old-age
pensions, survivor's pensions which have been granted until the
day of coming into force of this Law and have been calculated in
the amount of the reimbursement for damage shall be calculated by
complying with the following provisions:
1) for the persons to whom the disability pension has been
granted until 31 December 1999 and to whom the disability pension
has been granted in the amount of the reimbursement for damage,
the disability pension which should have been as of 1 January
2017 if it would be determined from the day of granting the
disability pension in accordance with the norms of the law On
State Pensions by taking into account the dates for granting and
recalculating the pension from the day of granting the disability
pension until 31 December 2016, the procedures previously applied
for the calculation of the pension, minimum amounts of the
pension, and also the provisions of Section 26 of the law On
State Pensions and Paragraphs 15 and 15.1 of these
Transitional Provisions, shall be calculated instead of such
pension;
2) for the persons to whom the disability pension has been
granted until 31 December 1999 and to whom the old-age pension
has been retained in the amount of the disability pension
(reimbursement for damage):
a) the disability pension which should have been as of the day
of granting an old-age pension if it would be determined from the
day of granting the disability pension in accordance with the
norms of the law On State Pensions by taking into account the
dates for granting and recalculating the pension from the day of
granting the disability pension until granting the old-age
pension, the procedures previously applied for the calculation of
the pension, minimum amounts of the pension, and also the
provisions of Section 26 of the law On State Pensions and
Paragraphs 15 and 15.1 of these Transitional
Provisions shall be calculated;
b) during disability the old-age pension shall be retained in
the amount of the calculated disability pension if in accordance
with the law On State Pensions the amount of the calculated
disability pension is greater than the old-age pension calculated
for the person;
3) for the persons to whom the survivor's pension has been
granted until 31 December 1999 in the amount of the reimbursement
for damage, the survivor's pension which should have been as of 1
January 2017 if it would be determined from the day of granting
the survivor's pension in accordance with the norms of the law On
State Pensions by taking into account the dates for granting and
recalculating the pension from the day of granting the survivor's
pension until 31 December 2016, the procedures previously applied
for the calculation of the pension, minimum amounts of the
pension, and also the provisions of Section 26 of the law On
State Pensions and Paragraphs 15 and 15.1 of these
Transitional Provisions, shall be calculated instead of such
pension;
4) for the persons referred to in Sub-paragraphs 1 and 2 of
this Paragraph the reimbursement for damage shall be calculated
in accordance with Section 9, Paragraph one of this Law, but for
the persons referred to in Sub-paragraph 3 of this Paragraph the
reimbursement for damage shall be calculated in accordance with
Section 9, Paragraph two of this Law.
[16 June 2016]
6. If in Paragraph 5, Sub-paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of these
Transitional Provisions the total amount of the disability,
old-age or survivor's pension calculated in accordance with the
law On State Pensions and the reimbursement for damage calculated
in accordance with Paragraph 5, Sub-paragraph 4 of these
Transitional Provisions is greater than the previously received
pension in the amount of reimbursement for damage, then from 1
January 2017 the disability, old-age or survivor's pension shall
be recalculated and reimbursement for damage shall be granted,
but if the total amount of the calculated pension and
reimbursement for damage is lower, then the disability pension in
the amount of the reimbursement for damage, the old-age pension
which is retained in the amount of disability pension
(reimbursement for damage), or survivor's pension in the amount
of the reimbursement for damage shall be continued to be
disbursed.
[16 June 2016]
7. The amount of the reimbursement for damage shall be
recalculated in accordance with Section 9 of this Law for the
persons to whom the reimbursement for damage has been already
granted until 31 December 2016. If the amount of recalculated
reimbursement for damage is greater than the amount of the
reimbursement for damage received previously, then from 1 January
2017 the reimbursement for damage shall be calculated in
conformity with Section 9 of this Law, but, if it is lower, then
the previous amount of the reimbursement shall be disbursed. Upon
change of the percentage of the loss of the capacity for work,
the amount of the reimbursement for damage shall be recalculated
from the day of repeated determination of the percentage of the
loss of capacity for work in conformity with Section 9 of this
Law. If the percentage of the loss of the capacity for work is
changed from lower to higher or the previously determined higher
percentage of the loss of the capacity for work is reinstated,
then the recalculated amount of the reimbursement for damage may
not be lower than the amount of the previously received
reimbursement for damage.
[16 June 2016]
8. Upon change of the disability group, percentage of the loss
of the capacity for work or number of dependants, the amount of
the pension shall be reviewed and reimbursement for damage shall
be granted for the persons to whom the disbursement of the
pension is continued in the retained amount of reimbursement for
damage from the day of change of the disability group, percentage
of the loss of the capacity for work or number of dependants in
conformity with the procedures laid down in Paragraph 5 of these
Transitional Provisions. If the disability group is changed from
lighter to a more severe group or if the percentage of the loss
of capacity for work is changed from lower to higher, or the
previously determined more severe disability group is reinstated,
or the previously determined higher percentage of the loss of
capacity for work is reinstated, then the recalculated total
amount of the pension and reimbursement for damage may not be
lower than the pension received previously in the amount of
reimbursement for damage.
[16 June 2016]
9. From 1 January 2017, the pension shall be recalculated in
conformity with Paragraph 5, Sub-paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of these
Transitional Provisions and reimbursement for damage shall be
recalculated in conformity with Section 9 of this Law for the
persons to whom the disability pension or survivor's pension in
the amount of the reimbursement for damage, or old-age pension
which is retained in the amount of the disability pension
(reimbursement for damage) has been granted, and also the
reimbursement for damage has been granted until 31 December 2016.
If in Paragraph 5, Sub-paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of these
Transitional Provisions the total amount of the disability,
old-age or survivor's pension calculated in accordance with the
law On State Pensions and the reimbursement for damage calculated
in accordance with Section 9 of this Law is greater than sum of
previously received pension in the amount of reimbursement for
damage and reimbursement for damage, then the disability, old-age
or survivor's pension and reimbursement for damage shall be
recalculated from 1 January 2017, but if the total amount of the
calculated pension and reimbursement for damage is lower, then
the disability pension in the amount of the reimbursement for
damage, the old-age pension which is retained in the amount of
disability pension (reimbursement for damage), or survivor's
pension in the amount of the reimbursement for damage and
previously granted reimbursement for damage shall be continued to
be disbursed.
Upon change of the disability group, percentage of the loss of
the capacity for work or number of dependants, the amount of the
pension shall be reviewed in conformity with Paragraph 5,
Sub-paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of these Transitional Provisions and
reimbursement for damage shall be recalculated in conformity with
Section 9 of this Law from the day when the disability group,
percentage of the loss of the capacity for work or number of
dependants changes. If the disability group is changed from
lighter to a more severe group or if the percentage of the loss
of capacity for work is changed from lower to higher or more
severe disability group determined previously is reinstated, or
higher percentage of the loss of ability to work determined
previously is reinstated, then the recalculated total amount of
the pension and reimbursement for damage may not be lower than
the pension received previously in the amount of reimbursement
for damage and the reimbursement for damage.
[16 June 2016]
10. Pensions and reimbursements for damage shall be
recalculated in conformity with the procedures laid down in
Section 9 of this Law and Paragraphs 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 of these
Transitional Provisions from 1 January 2017, and the recalculated
amount for the period from 1 January shall be disbursed not later
than in September 2017.
[16 June 2016]
11. The State Social Insurance Agency shall do the following
with the allowance referred to in Section 11, Paragraph one of
this Law:
1) for the period between 1 January 2021 and 30 April 2021,
grant and disburse in such amount that was laid down by
regulatory framework until 31 December 2020;
2) for the period between 1 January 2021 and 30 April 2021,
recalculate it in conformity with the amount laid down in Section
13, Paragraph 1.1 of the Law on State Social
Allowances and ensure the disbursement of the difference of the
allowance not later than by 1 June 2021.
[24 November 2020]
This law shall come into force on 1 January 2000.
This Law has been adopted by the Saeima on 9 September
1999.
President V. Vīķe-Freiberga
Rīga, 29 September 1999
1 The Parliament of the Republic of
Latvia
Translation © 2022 Valsts valodas centrs (State
Language Centre)