The Saeima¹ has adopted
and the President has proclaimed the following Law:

Law On Administrative Territories and Populated Areas

Chapter I
General Provisions

Section 1. Administrative Territory

An administrative territory is a territorial divisional unit of Latvia, in which the local government performs administration within the competence thereof.

Section 2. Populated Area

A populated area is a territory inhabited by people, the material pre-conditions have been established for residence therein and to which the relevant status of populated area has been granted according to the procedures specified by regulatory enactments.

Section 3. Scope of Application of this Law

(1) The Law prescribes the conditions for the creation, registration, modification of boundaries and establishing of the administrative centre of administrative territories and the territorial divisional units of a municipality, and the definition of the status of a populated area, the procedures for registration thereof and the competence of institutions in these matters.

(2) The activities of State administrative institutions in administrative territories shall be regulated by other regulatory enactments.

Chapter II
Administrative Territories

Section 4. Administrative Territories

The Republic of Latvia shall be divided into the following administrative territories:

1) regions;

2) cities; and,

3) municipalities.

Section 5. Region

(1) The territorially amalgamated administrative territories of local governments shall be included in a region.

(2) The municipalities and cities to be included in a region, as well as the administrative centre of the region shall be determined by the Saeima.

(3) When creating or eliminating a region, establishing the administrative centre of a region, and modifying the boundaries of a region, the interests of the inhabitants of the State and local government, the Cabinet opinion and the decisions of interested local governments shall be evaluated.

Section 6. City

(1) Cities, on evaluation of the interests of the inhabitants of the State and local government, the Cabinet opinion and the decisions of interested local governments, shall be specified in Annex 1 to this Law.

(2) When evaluating or eliminating a city, and modifying the borders thereof, the following provisions shall be observed:

1) the city has developed commercial activities, transport and community facilities, as well as a social infrastructure;

2) the city has a significant complex of cultural institutions; and,

3) there are at least 25 000 permanent residents in the city.

(3) The Saeima [The Parliament of the Republic of Latvia] may determine a city as a city in which there are more than 25 000 permanent residents but which does not conform with the provisions in Paragraph two, Clause 1 or 2 of this Section.

(4) The borders of a city are depicted in Annex 3 to this Law. The description of the borders of a city shall be approved by the Cabinet.

Section 7. Municipality

(1) Municipalities, on evaluation of the interests of the inhabitants of the State and local governments, the Cabinet opinion and the decisions of interested local governments, shall be specified in Annex 2 to this Law.

(2) When creating or eliminating a municipality, and modifying the borders thereof, the following provisions shall be observed:

1) the territory of a municipality is geographically united and has rural territories and populated areas therein;

2) a municipality local government shall ensure the fulfilment of the functions prescribed by Law;

3) there shall be at least 4000 permanent residents in the territory of a municipality;

4) there shall be a village, or a town, in the territory of a municipality, in which there are more than 2000 permanent residents;

5) the distance from any populated area in a municipality to the administrative centre of the municipality shall not exceed 50 kilometres, and the road infrastructure shall be suitable for accessing the administrative centre of the municipality; and,

6) optimum establishment of the territory of the municipality has been ensured, taking into account the interests of the neighbouring local governments and historical links.

(3) The Saeima may also determine a territory as a municipality, which does not conform with the provisions in Paragraph two, Clause 3 or 4 of this Section, but does however conform with the other criteria referred to in Paragraph two of this Section.

(4) The borders of a municipality are depicted in Annex 3 to this Law. The description of the borders of a municipality shall be approved by the Cabinet.

(5) The administrative centre of a municipality shall be determined by the municipality council. A decision regarding the determination of an administrative centre shall be sent by the municipality local government to the State Land Service and the Central Statistics Bureau within a period of five working days after the signing thereof.

Section 8. Territorial Division of a Municipality

(1) The territory of a municipality shall be divided into the following units:

1) municipality towns; and,

2) municipality rural territories (or pagasti).

(2) A municipality is allowed not to have a municipality territorial division.

(3) If there has been more than one local government in the territory of a municipality before the establishment of the municipality during the period of reform of administrative territories, the amalgamated local governments in the municipality shall be regarded as territorial units of the municipality - municipality towns or rural territories (or pagasti).

(4) A municipality council may modify the borders of the relevant territorial divisional unit of a municipality, if the border of the municipality is not modified as a result. A decision regarding the modification of borders shall be sent by the municipality local government to the State Land Service and the Central Statistics Bureau within a period of five working days after the signing thereof.

Chapter III
Populated Areas

Section 9. Types of Populated Areas

The Republic of Latvia has the following populated areas:

1) cities;

2) villages; and,

3) farmsteads.

Section 10. Cities

(1) Riga is the capital city of the Republic of Latvia.

(2) The status of city may be granted to populated areas that are cultural and commercial activity centres with a developed engineer-infrastructure and road network and in which there are at least 2000 permanent residents.

(3) The status of city may be granted to populated areas in which there are less than 2000 permanent residents if they conform with the other criteria referred to in Paragraph two of this Section.

(4) The status of municipality town shall be granted and revoked by Law, on evaluating the Cabinet opinion and the decision of the relevant municipality council.

(5) If the territory of a town is the administrative territory of a city, the border of the town shall be determined and modified in accordance with Section 6 of this Law.

Section 11. Villages

(1) The status of village shall be granted and revoked by the municipality council, based on the local government territorial planning, in which the village border is defined and the need for developing a village is justified. A decision regarding the granting or revocation of the status of village shall be sent by the municipality local government to the State Land Service within a period of five working days after the signing thereof.

(2) The status of village may be granted to such section of a municipality territory in which concentrated building is present or is planned, people are living permanently and the appropriate infrastructure has been developed.

(3) In addition to the procedures referred to in Paragraph one and two of this Section, the procedures for determining the village borders in the protective coastal zone of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga shall be specified in the Protection Zone Law.

Section 12. Farmsteads

A farmstead is one separate residential building or several separate residential buildings, as well as the domestic buildings in the territory functionally linked to this building or buildings, where the land is primarily used for agricultural or forestry requirements. The status of farmstead shall be granted by the local government council, on approval of the name of the farmstead.

Chapter IV
Names of Administrative Territories and Populated Areas

Section 13. Names of Divisional Units of Administrative Territories and Municipality Territories

The name of a region, city, municipality, municipality town and municipality rural territory (or pagasts) shall be granted, and the divisional units of these administrative territories and municipality territories renamed by Law, by evaluating the Cabinet opinion and the decisions of interested local governments.

Section 14. Names of Villages and Farmsteads

(1) Village names shall be granted and villages renamed by the relevant municipality council.

(2) The names of farmsteads and units of land intended for building shall be approved, but numbers for buildings and groups of premises, street names, squares in towns and villages granted, and streets and squares renamed by the relevant local government council. The granting of numbers or names to buildings, units of land intended for building, and groups of premises may be handed over by the local government council to any of the local government institutions thereof.

(3) A decision regarding the granting of a name or number, the change or approval thereof shall be sent by the relevant local government to the State Land Service within a period of five working days after the signing thereof.

(4) The approved names of farmsteads and units of land intended for building, as well as streets, squares in one city or municipality territorial division - in a municipality town or municipality rural territory (or pagasts) - shall not be duplicated.

Section 15. Conditions for Granting a Name

(1) The names of administrative territories and the territorial divisional units thereof, as well as streets, squares, farmsteads and units of land intended for building, shall be granted, changed or approved, observing the regulations of the Official Language Law regarding the creation and use of a place name, the geographical, historical, municipal and other conditions.

(2) When renaming populated areas in which there is a postal institution, railway station, airport or harbour, the local government that has taken the decision regarding the renaming thereof, shall inform the Ministries in whose jurisdiction the respective sectors are within a period of five working days after the signing of the council decision.

Chapter V
Registration of Administrative Territories, the Territorial Divisional Units thereof and Populated Areas

Section 16. Basis of the Address System

Administrative territories, the territorial divisional units thereof and populated areas are the basis of the address system.

Section 17. Recording of Administrative Territories, the Territorial Divisional Units thereof and Populated Areas

(1) Regions, cities, municipalities, municipality towns, municipality rural territories (or pagasti), villages and the borders thereof shall be registered in the information system of the State Address Register of the State Land Service (hereinafter - address register) based on regulatory enactments or the decision of the relevant local government council.

(2) The State Land Service shall register the addresses of the streets, squares, buildings, farmsteads, units of land intended for building and groups of premises included in administrative territories, the territorial divisional units thereof and populated areas in the address register, based on the decision of the local government.

(3) The definition of the borders of administrative territories and the territorial divisional units thereof, as well as the procedures for the preparation and updating of the description, shall be specified by the Cabinet.

(4) The basic principles of the address system, the procedures for granting addresses and the maintenance of the address register, as well as the procedures for the registration and circulation of information shall be determined by the Cabinet.

(5) The Cabinet shall determine:

1) the persons who shall pay the State Land Service for the preparation and issuing of address register data in the amount specified by regulatory enactments;

2) the procedures for requesting and issuing data, as well as the amount and type of data to be issued free of charge and for a fee; and,

3) the procedures by which payment shall be made for the issuing of address register data.

Section 18. Procedures for the Submission of Documents

The Cabinet shall determine the procedures by which documents shall be prepared and submitted for deciding matters determining the status of administrative territorial divisions and populated areas.

Transitional Provisions

1. With the coming into force of this Law, the Law On the Creation of Administrative Territories and the Definition of the Status of Populated Areas of the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republikas Augstākās Padomes un Valdības Ziņotājs [Republic of Latvia Supreme Council and Government Bulletin], 1991, No.29/30; Latvijas Republikas Saeimas un Ministru Kabineta Ziņotājs 1993, No.30; 1994, No.23; 2001, No.16; 2006, No.21) is repealed.

2. With the coming into force of this Law, the Administrative Territorial Reform Law (Latvijas Republikas Saeimas un Ministru Kabineta Ziņotājs, 1998, No. 23; 2005, No. 20; 2007, No. 14) is repealed.

3. With the coming into force of this Law district town, municipality and rural territory (or pagasts) local governments shall continue to fulfil their functions and tasks according to the procedures specified in regulatory enactments up to the first meeting of the relevant local government council elected in the territorial local government elections of 2009. That which is specified in this Paragraph shall not be applicable to such local governments which, in accordance with Paragraph 10 of these transitional provisions, develop a municipality, or to those local governments of rural territories (or pagasti) or towns with rural territories which are transformed into a municipality according to the administrative territorial division specified in this Law. In such case, the relevant municipality local government shall publish information in the newspaper Latvijas Vēstnesis [the official Gazette of the Government of Latvia] regarding the commencement of activities of a municipality local government within a period of three working days after the first meeting of the municipality council.

4. The regulations of Section 6, Paragraph one and Section 7, Paragraph one of this Law regarding the evaluation of Cabinet opinions and the decisions of local governments shall be applicable from 1 July 2009. By 1 July 2009 the activities referred to in these norms shall be performed, ensuring the subsequent implementation of administrative territorial reforms and by consultation with local governments and the Ministry of Regional Development and Local Government.

5. By 1 July 2009 the Saeima may also determine a territory as a municipality which does not conform with the regulations in Section 7, Paragraph two, Clauses 3, 4 and 5 of this Law, as a whole or separately or in any combination thereof, but however conforms to the other criteria in the Paragraphs referred to in this section.

6. The local governments shall prepare an amalgamation project with funds from the State budget. The procedures by which financial resources shall be granted for the preparation of a local government amalgamation project and the procedures for preparing a local government amalgamation project shall be determined by the Cabinet.

7. If the preparation of an amalgamation project is not commenced according to the procedures specified by the Cabinet by 15 December 2008, then the amalgamation project shall be prepared by the current local government in the municipality administrative territory which, after consultation with the other current local governments in the municipality administrative territory, shall be determined by the Minister for Regional Development and Local Government. An earmarked subsidy shall be granted to this local government in the amount specified by Cabinet Regulations regarding the procedures for granting earmarked subsidies, by calculating it according to the number of local governments forming a municipality.

8. In accordance with the methods approved by the Ministry of Regional Development and Local Government, preparation of the local government amalgamation project shall include the following tasks:

1) to prepare a development strategy for a municipality;

2) to prepare a project of the administrative structure of the municipality local government to be established; and

3) to organise a public discussion of the local government amalgamation project.

9. Local government amalgamation projects shall be prepared by evaluating the results of public discussions.

10. A local government may take a decision regarding the creation of a municipality by 31 January 2009 in accordance with the administrative territorial divisions specified in this Law. In such case it shall send a decision regarding the creation of a municipality to the Ministry of Regional Development and Local Government, and the first meeting of the municipality council shall be convened by the Minister for Regional Development and Local Government in accordance with the Law On Local Governments within a period of 10 days after the Ministry of Regional Development and Local Government has received all the decisions of the respective local governments.

11. If the first meeting of the established municipality council takes place before the day of the local government elections of 2009, then the power of attorney of all the previous local government councils (advisory boards) shall terminate with the first meeting of the municipality council, and in such case:

1) until the election of the chair of the municipality council, the Minister for Regional Development and Local Government or his or her authorised official shall preside over the first council meeting and, in accordance with the Law On Local Governments, shall sign a decision regarding the election of the chair of the council; and

2) the chair of the municipality council shall be elected from amongst the deputies in the relevant administrative territory in accordance with the procedures specified in the Law On Local Governments.

12. After the amalgamation of two or more administrative territories, up to the current local government elections all the deputies elected in the relevant administrative territory shall be included in the composition of a municipality council.

13. With the first meeting of a newly elected municipality council, the power of attorney of all local government councils (advisory boards) existing in the territory of the municipality prior to such meeting shall terminate. A municipality local government shall be the successor to the institutions, finances, property, rights and obligations of the local governments included in the relevant municipality.

14. The continuity of operation of the local government institutions in accordance with the approved by-laws thereof in the territory of a municipality shall be ensured by the executive directors who performed the duties of executive director in the relevant territory on the day of the local government elections of 2009.

15. Financial resources in the form of payment in the amount of LVL 200 000 shall be granted from the State budget for the development of a municipality infrastructure as follows:

1) to each territorial unit included in the municipality (municipality towns and municipality rural territories (or pagasti)) to the municipality local government which is established as a result of local government amalgamation by 31 January 2009; and,

2) to each local government of those towns, rural territories (or pagasti) and municipalities that have taken a decision in 2007 regarding the establishment of a new municipality and the commencement of municipality activities after the local government elections of 2009. Financial resources shall be granted to municipality local governments for each territorial unit (municipality town and municipality rural territory (or pagasts)) included in the municipality.

16. If financing for the development of an infrastructure has already been granted within the framework of administrative territorial reform to a town or rural territory (or pagasts) local government or to a municipality local government for the relevant territorial units, then the amount of the financial resources to be granted and paid shall be reduced by the amount already paid. The procedures for granting and using financial resources shall be determined by the Cabinet.

17. Newly developed cities shall commence activities as city local governments on 1 July 2009.

18. Up to 1 July 2009 districts and district towns and rural territories (or pagasti) shall retain their administrative territory status, except in the case referred to in the second sentence of Paragraph 3 of these transitional provisions.

19. The Cabinet, having evaluated the decisions of the local government, shall, by 1 January 2010, prepare and submit to the Saeima a draft law regarding the division of towns with a rural territory into a municipality town and municipality rural territories (or pagasti) or the amalgamation of the rural territory of a town to an existing municipality rural territory (or pagasts). Until the day of the coming into force of the Law amendments the town territory of towns with a rural territory shall be comparable to a municipality town, but the rural territory of a town - to a municipality rural territory (or pagasts).

20. Until the approval of a description of the borders of a city the actual city borders of current cities - Rīga, Jelgava, Liepāja, Daugavpils, Ventspils, Rēzekne, Jūrmala, Valmiera and Jēkabpils shall be regarded as the borders of the relevant cities referred to in Annex 1 to this Law. Until the approval of the description of municipality borders the actual municipality borders referred to in Annex 2 to this Law shall be created by those border sections of towns and rural territories (or pagasti) included in a municipality which are in common with the adjacent municipality or city or are a section of the State border.

21. The Central Electoral Commission shall proclaim local government elections of 2009 in the administrative territories of cities and municipalities specified in the Law.

22. In order to ensure the local government elections of 2009, in the municipalities in which the establishment of a municipality has not been completed, the local governments by amalgamation in accordance with the administrative territorial division specified in this Law, shall, by 31 January 2009, convene a general meeting of all the deputies of the relevant local governments, which shall elect a municipality electoral commission. The proposal for convening a general meeting of deputies and the chairing thereof shall be performed by the chair of the local government council (advisory board) of the largest municipality according to the number of inhabitants (in accordance with the data of the Population Register). In such case:

1) the municipality electoral commission shall be established and operate in accordance with the Law that regulates the work of a local government election commission and polling station commission, insofar as it is not in conflict with this Law;

2) the Chair of the Central Electoral Commission or his or her authorised person shall convene the first meeting of the commission; and,

3) all councils (advisory boards) of the relevant local governments shall finance the operation of the municipality electoral commission from their budgets in proportion to the number of residents entitled to vote.

23. If the general meeting of deputies does not establish a municipality electoral commission by 31 January 2009 according to the procedures specified in Paragraph 22 of these transitional provisions, it shall be elected by the Central Electoral Commission in accordance with the Law On the Central Electoral Commission.

24. The Cabinet shall:

1) by 1 June 2009, prepare and submit to the Saeima a draft law on the establishment and operation of regions; and,

2) by 31 December 2012 approve the descriptions of administrative territorial borders of cities and municipalities prepared by the State Land Service, by consultation with the local governments.

25. Until the day of the coming into force or repealing of the relevant Cabinet regulations, but not later than 1 October 2009, the following Cabinet Regulations shall be applicable insofar as they are not in contradiction with this Law:

1) Regulation No.95 of 5 March 2002 "Procedures by Which Documents shall be Prepared and Submitted for Determining Matters of Administrative Territorial Divisions and the Determination of the Status of Populated Areas";.

2) Regulation No.384 of 27 August 2002 "Address Regulations";

3) Regulation No.326 of 25 April 2006 "Procedures by which Local Governments Prepare Local Government Amalgamation Projects"; and,

4) Regulation No.191 of 18 March 2008 "Procedures by which a One-time Grant is Granted and Used for the Development of Municipal Local Government Infrastructures".

This Law shall come into force on the day following the proclamation thereof.

This Law has been adopted by the Saeima on 18 December 2008.

President V. Zatlers

Riga, 30 December 2008

Law on Administrative Territories and Populated Areas
Annex 1

Cities

Law on Administrative Territories and Populated Areas
Annex 2

Municipalities and the Territorial Divisional Units Thereof

Law on Administrative Territories and Populated Areas
Annex 3

Administrative Division of Latvia

See also the new administrative divisional map of Latvia - a supplementary sheet with this issue of the Latvijas Vēstnesis - Editorial Board of the Latvijas Vēstnesis

¹ The Parliament of the Republic of Latvia

Translation © 2010 Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre)