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

Law on Legal Force of Documents

Section 1.

(1) A document is any written information created by any subject of public or private law by exercising powers of an institution or a position (for example, a State or local government institution, legal person governed by private law, association of natural or legal persons, notary, bailiff, advocate) (hereinafter - the organisation), or a natural person.

(2) The legal force of a document allows to use the respective document for exercising rights or defending lawful interests. A document that has no legal force is not binding on other organisations and natural persons, but it is binding on the author of the document.

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Section 2.

(1) This Law prescribes the requirements for the drawing up or preparation of originals, derivatives (transcripts, extracts or copies) and duplicates of documents, so that they acquire legal force.

(2) Originals and derivatives of electronic documents shall also be subject to the Electronic Documents Law.

(3) The provisions of this Law shall not apply to the drawing up and preparation of laws, diplomatic correspondence, and also to the implementation and execution of documents related to the military standards of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

Section 3.

(1) In order for a document or a derivative thereof to acquire legal force, a natural person shall comply with regulations on legal capacity and capacity to act when drawing up and preparing the document.

(2) In order for a document or a derivative thereof to acquire legal force, the organisation shall comply with the powers laid down in laws and regulations, its articles of association, by-laws or memorandum of association and other legal acts governing the activities of the organisation when drawing up and preparing the document.

Section 4.

(1) In order for a document to have legal force the following details shall be included therein:

1) the name of the authors of the document;

2) the date of the document;

3) the signature (except for the cases laid down in the Law).

(2) In the cases provided for in legal acts, in order for a document of the organisation to have legal force the following details shall be included therein in addition to the details referred to in Paragraph one of this Section:

1) the name of the place where the document was issued;

2) stamp;

3) a confirmation inscription of the document or a note on confirmation of the document;

4) registration number of the document.

(3) In order for a document in which its recipient should be indicated to have legal force, the addressee shall also be indicated.

(4) If, in accordance with the requirements of legal acts, a document should bear the signatures of several persons, the document shall acquire legal force after all the persons concerned have signed it.

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Section 5.

(1) A document shall be signed in one's own hand. A document of the organisation shall be signed by the person whose position is indicated in the document. A personal signature reproduced in a paper document using technical means shall not ensure legal force of the document.

(2) If a natural person is illiterate or is physically incapable of signing a document, and another person signs it on his or her behalf, this fact shall be attested by signatures of two witnesses. The signed document shall include details of the witnesses that allow identifying them clearly.

Section 6.

(1) A derivative of a document shall have legal force only if the original of the respective document has legal force.

(2) If legal acts do not provide for a mandatory requirement that the correctness of a duplicate document be certified by a notary, then in the cases determined in this Section it may be certified not only by a notary but also by the organisation or a natural person.

(3) A derivative of personal identification documents shall not certify the identity and legal status of a person and may not be used for the exercise of rights or for the protection of legitimate interests instead of an original of a personal identification document.

(4) A natural person may certify the correctness of the derivative of the following document:

1) the author of which is the natural person;

2) which have been received thereby from other natural persons and organisations, unless laws and regulations provide that the consent of the author of the document is required.

(5) The organisation may certify the correctness of the derivatives of the following documents:

1) the author of which is the organisation;

2) which have been received thereby from other organisations and natural persons, unless laws and regulations provide that the consent of the author of the document is required;

(3) [10 November 2016]

(5¹) A natural person and the organisation may certify a set of derivatives of documents by one certification.

(6) If it is necessary to ascertain the legal force of an original document or the correctness of a derivative document, the person who is the recipient of the derivative document may demand that the original document be presented.

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Section 7.

(1) A duplicate document shall be issued on the basis of the source documents according to which the original document was issued. A duplicate document shall have the same legal force as the original document.

(2) A duplicate document shall be issued by the organisation that issued the original document or by the successor of this organisation. Issuing of duplicate documents shall be governed by regulations in force on the day of issuing the duplicate in relation to documents corresponding to the original document.

Section 8.

(1) The Cabinet shall lay down the regulations that apply to drawing up and preparing originals, derivatives and duplicates of documents, as well as the documents that fall within the system of administrative documents, the groups of documents forming this system and the requirements to be conformed to when drawing up and preparing documents that fall within the system of administrative documents.

(2) In the cases provided for in the Official Language Law, the requirements of the referred-to Law shall be conformed to in drawing up and preparing documents.

Transitional Provisions

1. With the coming into force of this Law the Decision of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia of 28 May 1991, On Certification of the Correctness of Duplicates, Transcripts and Extracts of Documents (Latvijas Republikas Augstākās Padomes un Valdības Ziņotājs, 1991, No. 29/30), is repealed.

2. The Cabinet shall issue the regulations referred to in Section 8, Paragraph one of this Law by 1 July 2010.

This Law shall come into force on 1 July 2010.

The Saeima has adopted this Law on 6 May 2010.

Acting for the President, the Chairperson of the Saeima G. Daudze

Riga, 19 May 2010

¹ The Parliament of the Republic of Latvia

Translation © 2017 Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre)