Text consolidated by Valsts valodas centrs (State
Language Centre) with amending laws of:
31 March 2022 [shall come
into force on 3 May 2022];
15 June 2023 [shall come into force on 29 June 2023].
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.
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The Saeima1 has adopted and
the President has proclaimed the following law:
Law on Administrative Penalties
for Offences in the Field of Administration, Public Order, and
Use of the Official Language
Chapter I
General Provisions
Section 1. Purpose of this Law
The purpose of the Law is to ensure administrative and public
order, the protection of legal interests of a person, and also
the use of the official language in accordance with the laws and
regulations in the field of the official language and to prevent
persons from committing offences in these fields.
[31 March 2022]
Section 2. Scope of Application of
this Law
(1) The Law prescribes administrative offences in the field of
administrative and public order and the use of the official
language, administrative offences against a person, and penalties
for such offences, and also the competence of the authorities
which conduct administrative offence proceedings.
(2) Within the meaning of this Law, a public place is any
place which, regardless of the actual form of its use or
ownership, serves for the provision of joint needs and interests
of the society and which is available, for a fee or free of
charge, to any natural person who is not the owner, possessor,
holder, paid employee of the relevant place, or to another person
whose presence in the relevant place is related to the
performance of work duties.
(3) Within the meaning of this Law, an authority of a public
person is:
1) an institution of a public person;
2) a capital company of a public person;
3) a capital company where the share of a public person in
equity capital individually or together exceeds 50 per cent or
where a public person has other decisive influence in accordance
with the Group of Companies Law;
4) a capital company where the share of one public person or
capital companies of several public persons in equity capital
individually or together exceeds 50 per cent or where one public
person or several public persons has other decisive influence in
accordance with the Group of Companies Law.
[31 March 2022]
Chapter II
Administrative Offences in the Field of Administration
Section 3. Failure to Provide
Information, Inadequate Provision of Information, or Provision of
False Information to an Institution
(1) For the failure to provide information, inadequate
provision of information, or provision of false information to an
institution, except for the offences provided for in Paragraphs
two, three, and four of this Section, a warning or a fine of up
to one hundred and forty units of fine shall be imposed on a
natural person, but on a legal person - from fourteen up to two
thousand and eight hundred units of fine.
(2) For the failure to provide information, inadequate
provision of information, or provision of false information to
the Enterprise Register or State Revenue Service, a warning or a
fine of up to one hundred and forty units of fine shall be
imposed on a natural person or a board member with or without
deprivation of the board member's right to hold specific offices
in commercial companies for a period up to three years.
(3) For the failure to provide information, inadequate
provision of information, or provision of false information to
valsts aģentūra "Civilās aviācijas aģentūra" [State agency
Civil Aviation Agency], a fine from sixty to one hundred and
forty units of fine shall be imposed on a natural person with or
without deprivation of the right to perform the duties of the
civil aviation personnel for a period up to five years.
(4) For the failure to provide information, inadequate
provision of information, or provision of false information to
the State Data Inspectorate or the Public Utilities Commission, a
warning or a fine from fourteen up to four hundred units of fine
shall be imposed on a natural person, but on a legal person -
from fifty-six up to four thousand units of fine.
Section 4. Failure to Comply with
the Lawful Requirements of an Official or Hindrance of the
Activity of an Official
For the failure to comply with the lawful requirements of an
official or for the hindrance of the activity of an official, a
warning or a fine of up to one hundred and forty units of fine
shall be imposed on a natural person, but on a legal person -
from fourteen up to two thousand and eight hundred units of
fine.
Section 5. Unauthorised Disclosure
of Information Obtained during a Closed Meeting of the
Saeima Committee
For unauthorised disclosure of such information which has been
obtained during a closed meeting of the Saeima
parliamentary investigatory committee or during a closed meeting
of another Saeima committee, a fine of up to seventy units
of fine shall be imposed.
Section 6. Concealing or Withholding
of the Identity of a Person
(1) For concealing the identity of a person by providing false
personal data to an institution or for withholding of the
identity of a person, a fine of up to seventy units of fine shall
be imposed.
(2) For using the identity of another person, a fine from
fifty-six up to one hundred and forty units of fine shall be
imposed.
Section 7. Unfounded Calling of
Special Services
(1) For unfounded calling of the fire and rescue service,
police, border guard or the Coast Guard Service of the Naval
Forces of the National Armed Forces, a fine from seven up to
twenty-eight units of fine shall be imposed on a natural person,
but on a legal person - from twenty-eight up to two hundred and
eighty units of fine.
(2) For the distribution of information on a false event or
simulation of a false event due to which the fire and rescue
service, police, border guard or the Coast Guard Service of the
Naval Forces of the National Armed Forces are involved in
response to such information or event according to the obligation
specified in laws and regulations, a fine from seven up to
forty-two units of fine shall be imposed on a natural person, but
on a legal person - from one hundred and forty up to one thousand
four hundred and twenty units of fine.
Section 8. Attack on a Service Dog
or Horse or Influencing the Actions Thereof
For an attack on a service dog or horse or for hindrance,
delay, or depriving thereof of the possibility to perform the
tasks assigned thereto, a warning or a fine of up to four hundred
units of fine shall be imposed.
Chapter III
Administrative Offences in the Field of Public Order
Section 9. Violation of the
Prohibition to Stay on Ice of a Water Body
For staying on ice of an inland public water body or a water
body of the coastal area, if that is prohibited in accordance
with the procedures laid down in laws and regulations, a warning
or a fine of up to twenty units of fine shall be imposed.
Section 10. Use of Alcoholic
Beverages or Other Intoxicating Substances in a Public Place or
Being in a State of Intoxication in a Public Place
For the use of alcoholic beverages or other intoxicating
substances in a public place, except for places where the retail
trade in alcoholic beverages for immediate consumption has been
permitted by a local government or the State Revenue Service, or
for being in such a state of intoxication in a public place that
disrupts public order or safety, a warning or a fine of up to
seventy units of fine shall be imposed.
Section 11. Disruption of Public
Order
(1) For the disruption of public order by violating generally
accepted standards of behaviour and disrupting the peace of a
person, the work of an institution, merchant, or another
authority or by threatening own safety or the safety of other
persons, a warning or a fine of up to one hundred units of fine
shall be imposed on a natural person, but on a legal person - a
fine of up to one thousand units of fine.
(2) For the disruption of public order on an aircraft by
violating generally accepted standards of behaviour or by
threatening own safety or the safety of other persons, or by not
complying with the instructions of the members of the aircrew, a
fine from thirty up to one hundred and forty units of fine shall
be imposed.
(3) For the act provided for in Paragraph one of this Section,
if it has been committed at the commemoration site of soldiers or
victims of communist terror or at the monument, a fine from
fifty-six to two hundred and eighty units of fine shall be
imposed on a natural person.
[31 March 2022; 15 June 2023]
Section 11.1 Aggressive
Behaviour against Other Persons
For aggressive behaviour against other persons which disrupts
their peace and manifests itself in the following ways:
1) a threat to cause harm to the health or sexual
inviolability of a person or his or her relatives if there have
been grounds for fearing that such threats may be carried
out;
2) a threat to property interests if there have been grounds
for fearing that such threats may be carried out;
3) an intrusive pursuit of a person manifesting in the form of
stalking or watching a person or undesirable, intrusive, and
disrupting communication with that person,
a fine from fourteen up to one hundred units of fine shall be
imposed.
[31 March 2022]
Section 12. Infliction of an
Insignificant Bodily Harm
(1) For the infliction of an insignificant bodily harm, i.e. a
bodily harm which has caused a short-term, insignificant effect,
but has not caused a health disorder or a general loss of ability
to work, a fine from forty-two up to one hundred units of fine
shall be imposed.
(2) For the offence referred to in Paragraph one of this
Section, if committed against a person with whom the offender is
related in the first or second degree of kinship, or against the
spouse or former spouse, or against a person with whom the
offender is or has been in a continuous intimate relationship, or
against a person with whom the offender shares a joint
(undivided) household, a fine from eighty-six up to one hundred
and forty units of fine shall be imposed.
Section 13. Use of the Symbols of
the Totalitarian Regimes in a Public Place
For the use of the flags, clothing (uniforms) identifying
affinity to the armed forces and the bodies (repressive
authorities) for the maintenance of law and order, and also the
elements of such clothing of the former U.S.S.R., former
republics of the U.S.S.R. and fascist Germany the aggregate of
which (pieces of clothing, accessories, reference marks,
cockades, epaulettes, gear) by their appearance explicitly allows
to identify the abovementioned armed forces or repressive
authorities, for the use of the coat of arms and national anthem,
fascist swastika, SS signs, and soviet symbols - a sickle and a
hammer along with a five-pointed star - in a public place, except
for cases where the purpose of the use thereof is not related to
glorification of totalitarian regimes or acquittal of committed
criminal offences, or they are used for educational, scientific,
or artistic purposes, a warning or a fine of up to seventy units
of fine shall be imposed on a natural person, but on a legal
person - up to five hundred and eighty units of fine.
Section 13.1 Use of
Symbols Glorifying Military Aggression and War Crimes in a Public
Place
For the use of symbols glorifying military aggression and war
crimes in a public place, except for cases when there is no
intention to justify or glorify such crimes, a warning or a fine
up to seventy units of fine shall be imposed on a natural person,
but on a legal person - up to five hundred and eighty units of
fine.
[31 March 2022]
Chapter IV
Administrative Offences in the Field of the Use of the Official
Language
Section 14. Failure to Produce the
Texts of Seals, Stamps, and Forms in the Official Language or
Rendition Thereof along with the Official Language also in a
Foreign Language
For the failure to produce the texts of seals, stamps, or
forms in the official language, if laws and regulations provide
for the producing of such texts in the official language, or
rendition thereof along with the official language also in a
foreign language, if laws and regulations provide for the
producing of such texts only in the official language, a warning
or a fine from seven to twenty-eight units of fine shall be
imposed on a natural person, but on a legal person - from
twenty-eight up to one hundred and forty units of fine.
Section 15. Failure to Conform to
the Norms of the Official Language in Public Information
For the use of the official language in public information
intended for informing of the society, without conforming to the
effective norms of the official language, if laws and regulations
provide for the conformity with such norms, a warning or a fine
from seven up to twenty-eight units of fine shall be imposed on a
natural person, but on a legal person - from twenty-eight up to
one hundred and forty units of fine.
Section 16. Derogations from the
Form and Content Requirements for Information Provided in the
Official Language
For the provision of information in the official language
which in terms of the form or content thereof is smaller or
narrower, if information is provided also in a foreign language
along with the official language, a warning or a fine from seven
up to twenty-eight units of fine shall be imposed on a natural
person, but on a legal person - from twenty-eight up to one
hundred and forty units of fine.
Section 17. Failure to Form and Use
Titles in the Official Language
For the failure to form and use the titles of institutions,
associations, foundations, merchants, and also the titles of
events in the official language, if laws and regulations provide
for such formation and use thereof in the official language, a
warning or a fine from seven up to twenty-eight units of fine
shall be imposed on a natural person, but on a legal person -
from twenty-eight up to one hundred and forty units of fine.
Section 18. Refusal to Accept
Documents Drawn up in the Official Language
For the refusal to accept documents drawn up in the official
language, if the documents conform to the competence of a
merchant, association, or foundation, a warning or a fine from
seven up to twenty-eight units of fine shall be imposed on a
natural person, but on a legal person - from twenty-eight up to
one hundred and forty units of fine.
Section 19. Failure to Use the
Official Language to the Extent Necessary for the Performance of
Professional and Work Duties
For the failure to use the official language to the extent
necessary for the performance of professional and work duties, if
laws and regulations provide for the use of the official
language, a warning or a fine from seven up to one hundred and
forty units of fine shall be imposed.
Section 20. Disrespect for the
Official Language
For gross disrespect for the official language, a fine from
seven up to one hundred and forty units of fine shall be
imposed.
Section 21. Failure to Conform to
the Rules for the Provision of Information
(1) For sending or issuing of prospectus, newsletters,
catalogues, or other materials to a natural or legal person
alongside the official language also in a foreign language
without the request of the person if this has been done by an
authority of a public person or a private individual while
fulfilling a delegated administration task, a warning or a fine
from seven up to twenty-eight units of fine shall be imposed on a
natural person, on an official - from fourteen up to sixty units
of fine, but on a legal person - from twenty-eight up to two
hundred units of fine.
(2) For the failure to provide inscriptions, signboards,
placards, posters, notices, job advertisements, or other notices
in the official language, if laws and regulations provide for the
provision thereof in the official language, a warning or a fine
from seven up to twenty-eight units of fine shall be imposed on a
natural person, but on a legal person - from twenty-eight up to
two hundred and eighty units of fine.
(3) For the provision of inscriptions, signboards, brochures,
and other statements intended for informing the society along
with the official language also in a foreign language, if laws
and regulations provide for the provision thereof only in the
official language, if this has been done by an authority of a
public person or a private individual while fulfilling a
delegated administration task, a warning or a fine from seven up
to twenty-eight units of fine shall be imposed on a natural
person, on an official - from fourteen up to sixty units of fine,
but on a legal person - from twenty-eight up to two hundred and
eighty units of fine.
Section 22. Failure to Use the
Official Language in Record-keeping
For the failure to use the official language in record-keeping
and documents, if laws and regulations provide for the use of the
official language, a warning or a fine from seven up to
twenty-eight units of fine shall be imposed on a natural person,
but on a legal person - from twenty-eight up to two hundred and
eighty units of fine.
Section 23. Failure to Conclude a
Contract for the Provision of Medical Treatment, Health Care,
Public Safety and Other Public Services in the Official Language
or Failure to Attach a Relevant Translation to a Contract
Concluded in a Foreign Language
For the failure to conclude a contract for the provision of
medical treatment, health care, public safety and other public
services for natural and legal persons in the official language
and the failure to attach a relevant translation to a contract
concluded in a foreign language, a warning or a fine from
fourteen up to forty-two units of fine shall be imposed on a
natural person, but on a legal person - from twenty-eight up to
two hundred and eighty units of fine.
Section 24. Conclusion of an
Employment Contract with an Employee Without Conforming to the
Level of Proficiency in the Official Language
For the conclusion of an employment contract with an employee
whose level of proficiency in the official language is
insufficient for the performance of the relevant professional and
work duties, if laws and regulations provide for the necessity of
proficiency in the official language for the performance thereof,
a warning or a fine from twenty-eight up to one hundred and forty
units of fine shall be imposed on a natural person, but on a
legal person - from one hundred and forty up to two hundred and
eighty units of fine.
Section 25. Failure to Provide a
Translation in Meetings and Other Working Meetings
For the failure to provide a translation in meetings or other
working meetings, if laws and regulations provide for the
provision of a translation in the official language, a warning or
a fine from twenty-eight up to one hundred and forty units of
fine shall be imposed on a natural person, but on a legal person
- from one hundred and forty up to two hundred and eighty units
of fine.
Section 26. Failure to Provide a
Translation in Events
For the failure to provide a translation in events, if laws
and regulations provide for the provision of a translation in the
official language, a warning or a fine from seven up to
twenty-eight units of fine shall be imposed on a natural person,
but on a legal person - from twenty-eight up to six hundred units
of fine.
Section 27. Failure to Provide a
Publicly Screened Film with a Translation in the Official
Language
For the failure to narrate or dub a publicly screened film or
fragments thereof in the official language or for the failure to
ensure the original sound recording with subtitles in the
official language in conformity with the effective norms of
literary language, if laws and regulations provide for such
translation, a warning or a fine from seven up to twenty-eight
units of fine shall be imposed on a natural person, but on a
legal person - from twenty-eight up to one thousand units of
fine.
Section 28. Failure to Provide
Information Related to the Circulation of Goods in the Official
Language
(1) For the failure to provide information in the official
language on the labels of goods produced in Latvia, commodity
marks, instructions for use, warranty documentation or technical
documentation, inscriptions on the products produced, packages or
container thereof or for the provision of information in the
official language, which in terms of the form or content thereof
is smaller and narrower, along with a foreign language, if such
products or goods are not intended for export, a warning or a
fine from seven up to twenty-eight units of fine shall be imposed
on a natural person, but on a legal person - from twenty-eight up
to six hundred units of fine.
(2) For the trade in goods without providing complete and
accurate translation of the information included in the marking,
instructions for use, warranty documentation or technical
documentation thereof in the official language, a warning or a
fine from seven up to seventy units of fine shall be imposed on a
natural person, but on a legal person - from twenty-eight up to
one thousand units of fine.
Chapter V
Competence in Administrative Offence Proceedings
Section 29. Competence in
Administrative Offence Proceedings for Offences in the Field of
Administration
(1) Administrative offence proceedings for the offence
referred to in Section 3, Paragraph one of this Law which affects
the principal functions of the relevant institution shall be
conducted by the Procurement Monitoring Bureau, the Lotteries and
Gambling Supervisory Inspection, the Corruption Prevention and
Combating Bureau, the National Electronic Mass Media Council, the
National Cultural Heritage Board, the Coast Guard Service of the
Naval Forces of the National Armed Forces, the Consumer Rights
Protection Centre, the Food and Veterinary Service, the Office of
Citizenship and Migration Affairs, the State Plant Protection
Service, the Nature Conservation Agency, the State Railway
Administration, the State Railway Technical Inspectorate, the
State Audit Office, the State Forestry Service, the State Police,
the State Border Guard, the State Fire and Rescue Service, the
State Language Centre, the State Environmental Service, the
Health Inspectorate, or the Ministry of Environmental Protection
and Regional Development.
(2) Administrative offence proceedings for the offence
referred to in Section 3, Paragraph one of this Law until
examination of the administrative offence case shall be conducted
also by municipal police or the State Police, whereas the
administrative offence case shall be examined by the
administrative commission or sub-commission of a local
government.
(3) Administrative offence proceedings for the offence
referred to in Section 3, Paragraph two of this Law shall be
conducted by the Enterprise Register or the State Revenue
Service.
(4) Administrative offence proceedings for the offence
referred to in Section 3, Paragraph three of this Law shall be
conducted by the State agency Civil Aviation Agency.
(5) Administrative offence proceedings for the offence
referred to in Section 3, Paragraph four of this Law which
affects the principal functions of the relevant institution shall
be conducted by the State Data Inspectorate or the Public
Utilities Commission.
(6) Administrative offence proceedings for the offence
referred to in Section 4 of this Law which affects the principal
functions of the relevant institution shall be conducted by the
State Construction Control Bureau, the Ministry of Economics, the
Procurement Monitoring Bureau, the Lotteries and Gambling
Supervisory Inspection, the Corruption Prevention and Combating
Bureau, the Military Police, the National Electronic Mass Media
Council, the Coast Guard Service of the Naval Forces of the
National Armed Forces, building authority of a local government,
municipal police, the Consumer Rights Protection Centre, the Food
and Veterinary Service, the Transport Accident and Incident
Investigation Bureau, the State agency Civil Aviation Agency, the
State Plant Protection Service, the State Labour Inspectorate,
the State Railway Administration, the State Railway Technical
Inspectorate, the State Revenue Service, the State Audit Office,
the State Police, the State Border Guard, the State Fire and
Rescue Service, the State Language Centre, the Health
Inspectorate, the State Environmental Service, the Nature
Conservation Agency, the State Forestry Service, or the Transport
Control Service of a local government.
(7) Administrative offence proceedings for the offence
referred to in Section 5 of this Law shall be conducted by the
State Police.
(8) Administrative offence proceedings for the offence
referred to in Section 6 of this Law shall be conducted by the
State Police or municipal police.
(9) Administrative offence proceedings for the offence
referred to in Section 7 of this Law shall be conducted by the
Coast Guard Service of the Naval Forces of the National Armed
Forces, municipal police, the State Police, the State Border
Guard, or the State Fire and Rescue Service.
(10) Administrative offence proceedings for the offence
referred to in Section 8 of this Law shall be conducted by the
Military Police, municipal police, the State Revenue Service, the
State Police, or the State Border Guard.
Section 30. Competence in
Administrative Offence Proceedings for Offences in the Field of
Public Order
(1) Administrative offence proceedings for the offences
referred to in Sections 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 13.1 of
this Law shall be conducted by the State Police or the municipal
police.
(2) Administrative offence proceedings for the offences
referred to in Section 11.1 of this Law shall be
conducted by the State Police.
[31 March 2022]
Section 31. Competence in
Administrative Offence Proceedings for Offences in the Field of
the Use of the Official Language
(1) Administrative offence proceedings for the offences
referred to in Sections 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23,
24, 25, 26, and 27 of this Law shall be conducted by the State
Language Centre.
(2) Administrative offence proceedings for the offence
referred to in Section 28 of this Law shall be conducted by the
State Language Centre, the State Police, or the municipal
police.
[31 March 2022]
Informative Reference to European
Union Directives
This Law contains legal norms arising from:
1) Directive 2009/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 23 April 2009 establishing the fundamental principles
governing the investigation of accidents in the maritime
transport sector and amending Council Directive 1999/35/EC and
Directive 2002/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council;
2) Directive 2012/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 21 November 2012 establishing a single European
railway area.
This Law shall come into force concurrently with the Law on
Administrative Liability.
This Law has been adopted by the Saeima on 7 May
2020.
President E. Levits
Rīga, 20 May 2020
1 The Parliament of the Republic of
Latvia
Translation © 2023 Valsts valodas centrs (State
Language Centre)
