The Saeima1 has adopted and
the President has proclaimed the following Law:
Law on Consular Assistance and
Consular Services
Chapter I
General Provisions
Section 1.
The purpose of the Law is to provide the persons who are
outside Latvia with consular assistance, and ensure the
availability of the services provided by Latvian institutions and
resulting from international commitments of Latvia and laws and
regulations of Latvia in diplomatic and consular representations
of Latvia abroad (hereinafter - the representation).
Section 2.
(1) This Law shall apply to the following:
1) the citizens and non-citizens of Latvia;
2) the persons who have been recognised as stateless persons
in Latvia (hereinafter - the stateless persons);
3) the persons to whom the status of a refugee or alternative
status in Latvia has been granted (hereinafter - the
third-country nationals);
4) the citizens of another European Union Member State if the
country of which they are citizens does not have a diplomatic or
consular representation or honorary consulate providing consular
assistance in the relevant country outside the European Union
(hereinafter - the citizens of a Member State);
5) the family members of citizens and non-citizens of Latvia,
stateless persons, third-country nationals and citizens of
Members States who travel together with the relevant persons
(hereinafter - the family members).
(2) The term "nationals" used in this Law shall be understood
to include all legal subjects referred to in Paragraph one of
this Section.
(3) Foreigners not referred to in Paragraph one of this
Section are entitled to the consular assistance and consular
services the provision of which is an obligation of Latvia in
accordance with its laws and regulations and international
commitments.
Section 3.
(1) Consular assistance and consular services shall constitute
consular functions, and they shall be performed in accordance
with the Vienna Convention of 24 April 1963 on Consular
Relations.
(2) Consular functions shall be performed by civil servants
and employees of the diplomatic and consular service authorised
thereto (hereinafter - the consular officer), as well as honorary
consuls of Latvia authorised thereto (hereinafter - the honorary
consul).
(3) The Minister for Foreign Affairs shall authorise the
persons referred to in Paragraph two of this Section to perform
consular functions, determine the scope of the functions to be
performed, as well as a consular district, and withdraw
authorisation to perform consular functions.
Section 4.
(1) State fee shall be collected for the performance of
consular functions in the cases laid down in laws and
regulations. Consular remuneration may be collected for the
performance of the consular functions which are not subject to
the State fee.
(2) The consular remuneration shall be credited into the basic
budget of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a remuneration for
paid services and used for development of the diplomatic and
consular service of Latvia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs may
leave the consular remuneration or part thereof collected by an
honorary consul at his or her disposal as remuneration for
operating expenditure of the honorary consul.
(3) The Cabinet shall determine the objects and amount of the
consular remuneration, as well as the procedures for paying the
State fee and consular remuneration, reliefs and exemptions,
payment currency, collection terms and procedures for converting
amount of the payment into a foreign currency.
Section 5.
(1) A consular district of the representation shall be
determined under an agreement with the relevant foreign country
in accordance with the Vienna Convention of 24 April 1963 on
Consular Relations.
(2) A consular district of the consular officer shall be
determined according to his or her consular functions to be
performed. A consular district of the consular officer abroad and
of the honorary consul shall be determined according to the
consular district of the representation.
Chapter II
Consular Assistance
Section 6.
Consular assistance shall be provided to a national who has
found himself or herself in an emergency situation abroad, if he
or she has an urgent need for support and has no possibility to
receive other assistance. The following cases abroad shall be
considered emergency situations, in particular:
1) a person has been detained or arrested;
2) a person has been a victim of a criminal offence;
3) a person is seriously ill or has suffered an accident;
4) a person has died (support is provided to his or her
relatives);
5) a person requires relief and repatriation, in particular in
the case of an armed conflict, a disaster or a threat of
disaster, if the life, health or safety of the person is
endangered;
6) out-of-family care or adoption is established or intended
to be established for a minor;
7) it is necessary for a person to receive an emergency travel
document.
Section 7.
If the consular assistance is required for citizens or
non-citizens of Latvia, stateless persons, third-country
nationals or family members thereof who are in the territory
which does not belong to a consular district of any
representation, the consular assistance shall be provided by the
consular officers of the Consular Department of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs in cooperation with the representations of
European Union Member States in location of the relevant
person.
Section 8.
(1) The consular officer and the honorary consul shall begin
to provide consular assistance upon the receipt of a request from
a national or information that the national has found himself or
herself in a situation where consular assistance is required.
(2) For the purpose of verifying the identity and status of a
national, he or she shall present a valid personal identification
or travel document, or the consular officer or the honorary
consul shall identify and verify the status the national by using
the available information systems or contacting public
institutions of the country of which the person is national.
(3) Provision of consular assistance shall be suspended if a
national clearly refuses it or is no longer in a situation where
consular assistance is required.
Section 9.
(1) Consular assistance shall be direct and individual.
(2) The consular officer and the honorary consul shall provide
consular assistance and take decisions on the form of protection
of legitimate interests of a recipient of the consular assistance
within the limits of powers and obligations stipulated in laws
and regulations.
(3) Consular assistance shall not include provision of legal
assistance. At the request of a recipient of consular assistance
the consular officer abroad shall provide information about the
providers of legal assistance in the consular district.
(4) Within the framework of consular assistance, the consular
officer and the honorary consul shall ensure the protection of
legitimate interests and non-discrimination of a recipient of
consular assistance in accordance with the procedures laid down
in laws and regulations of both Latvia and the country of his or
her location, and in accordance with international commitments of
Latvia.
(5) The consular officer abroad has the right to participate
in proceedings of the relevant foreign country as an observer in
exceptional cases with the consent of the relevant foreign court,
provided the following:
1) discrimination or possibility thereof is suspected against
a citizen or non-citizen of Latvia;
2) it is necessary for the protection of rights of a minor
citizen or non-citizen of Latvia and the relevant request from a
competent institution of Latvia has been received.
(6) If a minor national abroad has lost his or her guardian or
a national under trusteeship abroad has remained without his or
her trustee, the consular officer shall immediately inform
competent institutions of the need to appoint a guardian or a
trustee, as well as follow the activities of foreign institutions
for the safeguarding of interests of the minor or person under
trusteeship until appointment of the guardian or trustee.
(7) A consular officer shall, in accordance with the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, invite foreign competent
institutions to ensure a family environment corresponding to
cultural identity of a minor national if out-of-family care or
adoption is established or intended to be established for him or
her abroad.
Section 10.
(1) Within the framework of consular assistance the consular
officer is entitled to receive personal data necessary for the
provision of consular assistance from any controller thereof or
process them also without consent of a data subject if it is
impossible to obtain such consent.
(2) If a data controller receives a justified request from the
consular officer to provide personal data necessary for the
provision of consular assistance, he or she shall ensure the
transfer of the abovementioned data to the consular officer as
soon as possible.
Section 11.
(1) Within the framework of consular assistance the consular
officer and the honorary consul shall cooperate with Latvian and
foreign institutions, diplomatic and consular representations of
the European Union Member States, European Union delegations
abroad, and the European External Action Service.
(2) When cooperating with diplomatic and consular
representations of the European Union Member States within the
framework of consular assistance, the consular officer and the
honorary consul have the right to provide all information related
to the provision of consular assistance to the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs or a diplomatic or consular representation of a
Member State which provides consular assistance to the citizens
or non-citizens of Latvia, stateless persons, third-country
nationals or family members thereof. In providing consular
assistance to a citizen of a Member State or a family member
thereof, the consular officer shall request that the country of
which the recipient of consular assistance is a citizen provides
all information necessary for the provision of consular
assistance, and shall process it.
(3) Within the framework of consular assistance the consular
officer and the honorary consul shall closely cooperate with the
European Union Member States in the issues as to which Member
State provides consular assistance to a national, what kind of
consular assistance (including material assistance) is provided,
and what the possible costs of consular assistance are.
(4) The procedures by which the consular officer and the
honorary consul cooperate with the European Union Member States,
European Union delegations abroad and the European External
Action Service within the framework of consular assistance shall
be laid down by the Cabinet.
Section 12.
(1) In providing consular assistance to a national, he or she
may be given material assistance. Monetary funds allocated within
the framework of material assistance shall be repaid in
accordance with the procedures laid down by the Cabinet.
(2) If a European Union Member State has provided material
assistance to a citizen or non-citizen of Latvia, stateless
person, third-country national or family member thereof in
cooperation with the consular officer or the honorary consul,
Latvia shall ensure that the monetary funds allocated within the
framework of material assistance are repaid within 12 months from
the moment of the receipt of request from the relevant Member
State. A person shall have an obligation to repay the allocated
monetary funds into the State budget in the amount and under the
procedures laid down by the Cabinet after Latvia has repaid them
to the European Union Member State.
(3) The Cabinet shall determine the following:
1) the terms, amount of and procedures for the granting of
material assistance;
2) the procedures for repaying the monetary funds allocated
within the framework of material assistance into the State
budget, as well as the persons who have an obligation to repay
the relevant monetary funds;
3) the procedures for submitting requests to other European
Union Member States for the monetary funds allocated to citizens
of such states and their family members within the framework of
material assistance, as well as the procedures for receiving
repayment;
4) the procedures by which Latvia ensures repayment of the
monetary funds allocated within the framework of material
assistance to a European Union Member State, including the
procedures by which a citizen or non-citizen of Latvia, stateless
person, third-country national or family member thereof is
informed of the obligation to repay the monetary funds allocated
within the framework of material assistance, as well as of the
procedures for and amount of the repayment thereof.
Section 13.
(1) If the consular assistance provided by a diplomatic or
consular representation of a European Union Member State to a
citizen or non-citizen of Latvia, stateless person, or
third-country national in the case of detention or arrest has
entailed unusually high but necessary and justified transport,
accommodation or translation costs to this Member State, Latvia
shall ensure repayment of such costs within 12 months from the
moment of the receipt of a request from the relevant Member
State.
(2) If the consular assistance provided in the case of
detention or arrest of a citizen of a Member State has entailed
unusually high but necessary and justified transport,
accommodation or translation costs to the diplomatic and consular
service of Latvia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs may approach
the country of which the relevant person is national requesting
repayment of such costs.
(3) The Cabinet shall determine the following:
1) the procedures for repaying expenditure to a European Union
Member State related to the provision of consular assistance in
the case of detention or arrest of a citizen or non-citizen of
Latvia, stateless person, or third country national;
2) the procedures for taking a decision to request that a
European Union Member State repays the expenditure related to the
provision of consular assistance in the case of detention or
arrest of a citizen of a Member State, as well as the procedures
for submitting request and receiving repayment.
Section 14.
For the purpose of provision of consular assistance the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall maintain a consular register
where citizens and non-citizens of Latvia, stateless persons and
third-country nationals include information about their planned
short-term stay abroad on a voluntary basis. Amount of
information to be included in the consular register and the
procedures for including such information, as well as the
procedures by which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs uses
information contained in the consular register to provide
consular assistance shall be laid down by the Cabinet.
Chapter III
Consular Services
Section 15.
(1) Consular services shall constitute services which are
provided to ensure that the services rendered by Latvian
institutions are available in representations to persons
abroad.
(2) Consular services and procedures for providing thereof in
accordance with this Law shall be determined in the laws and
regulations governing the relevant services. For the purpose of
ensuring a common approach to the provision of consular services
in representations, institutions of Latvia shall cooperate with
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Section 16.
Consular services shall be provided to long-term residents of
consular districts of representations, unless the laws and
regulations governing the relevant services stipulate otherwise.
Persons whose permanent residence abroad does not belong to any
consular district of representation may receive consular services
in any representation, provided that this representation ensures
provision of the relevant service.
Section 17.
(1) The consular officers abroad and honorary consuls shall
perform individual notarial functions in accordance with the
Notariate Law.
(2) The Cabinet shall determine the notarial functions which
are performed by consular officers abroad and honorary consuls,
the procedures for performing such functions and amount of State
fee.
(3) Notarial deeds drawn up by consular officers and honorary
consuls shall constitute the same public credibility and have the
same legal consequences as they would if such deeds were drawn up
by a sworn notary in Latvia.
Transitional Provisions
1. With the coming into force of this Law, the Consular Rules
of Procedure (Latvijas Republikas Saeimas un Ministru Kabineta
Ziņotājs, 1994, No. 13, 1996, No. 23; 1999, No. 23; 2006, No.
24; 2008, No. 3; Latvijas Vēstnesis, 2013, No. 193) is
repealed.
2. The Cabinet shall issue the Cabinet regulations referred to
in Section 4, Paragraph three, Section 11, Paragraph four,
Section 12, Paragraph three, Section 13, Paragraph three, Section
14, and Section 17, Paragraph two of this Law by 1 December 2018.
Until the coming into force of the relevant Cabinet regulations,
but not longer than until 30 November 2018 the following Cabinet
regulations shall be applicable insofar as they are not in
contradiction with this Law:
1) Cabinet Regulation No. 283 of 21 April 2008, Regulations
Regarding the Performance of Notarial Functions in Diplomatic and
Consular Representations of the Republic of Latvia;
2) Cabinet Regulation No. 322 of 8 May 2012, Procedures for
Provision of Material Assistance to Persons who have Found
Themselves in an Emergency Situation;
3) Cabinet Regulation No. 1032 of 1 October 2013, Price List
of the Paid Consular Services Provided by the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs;
4) Cabinet Regulation No. 211 of 5 May 2015, Regulations
Regarding the Procedures for Including and Using Information in
the Consular Register on Planned Short-term Stay Abroad;
5) Cabinet Regulation No. 521 of 9 August 2016, Regulations
Regarding Consular Service State Fee for the Carrying out of
Notarial Actions Performed by the Consular Officers Abroad.
Informative Reference to European
Union Directive
This Law contains legal norms arising from the Council
Directive (EU) 2015/637 of 20 April 2015 on the coordination and
cooperation measures to facilitate consular protection for
unrepresented citizens of the Union in third countries and
repealing Decision 95/553/EC.
The Law shall come into force on the next day following its
proclamation.
This Law has been adopted by the Saeima on 3 May
2018.
President R. Vējonis
15 May 2018
1 The Parliament of the Republic of
Latvia
Translation © 2018 Valsts valodas centrs (State
Language Centre)
