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)