The translation of this document is outdated.
Translation validity: 04.06.2021.–26.03.2024.
Amendments not included:
29.02.2024.
Text consolidated by Valsts valodas centrs (State
Language Centre) with amending laws of:
29 May 2003 [shall come
into force on 20 June 2003];
11 November 2004 [shall come into force on 9 December
2004];
15 June 2006 [shall come into force on 1 October
2006];
17 December 2014 [shall come into force on 1 January
2015];
28 May 2015 [shall come into force on 1 November
2015];
28 May 2020 [shall come into force on 23 June
2020];
6 May 2021 [shall come into force on 4 June 2021].
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 Saeima 1 has adopted and
the President has proclaimed the following law:
Prison Administration Law
Chapter I
General Provisions
Section 1. Purpose of the Law
The purpose of the Law is to ensure the operation of the
Prison Administration in accordance with the principles of
legality and human rights.
Section 2. Prison Administration
(1) The Prison Administration (hereinafter - the
Administration) is a State administration institution subordinate
to the Ministry of Justice which implements the State policy in
the field of execution of the arrest as a security measure and
the deprivation of liberty as a criminal punishment.
(2) A director shall manage the Administration; the Cabinet
shall approve the candidate for the position of director but the
Minister for Justice shall appoint and remove the director from
office.
(3) The Administration shall consist of the Central Office,
the Training Centre as well as prisons and remand prisons
(hereinafter - the prisons).
(4) The Administration has the rights of a body performing
operational activities in order to prevent, deter, and detect
criminal offences, to determine the persons who have committed
the criminal offence and the sources of evidence.
(5) The Administration shall compile information on the
arrested and convicted persons who are located or have been
located in prisons.
(6) The Cabinet shall approve the by-laws of the
Administration.
[11 November 2004; 15 June 2006]
Section 3. Symbols of the
Administration
(1) The Administration has a seal with the supplemented lesser
State coat of arms and full name of the institution and also a
flag.
(2) The Training Centre and prisons have the right to use a
seal with the lesser State coat of arms and the full name of the
institution.
Section 4. Staff of the
Administration
(1) The Administration staff shall be comprised of officials
with special service ranks (hereinafter - the official), civil
servants of the general State civil service, and employees.
(2) The official is a person with an appropriate professional
education, qualification, and special service rank who has taken
the oath and serves in the Administration. The rights and duties
of the official shall be determined by this Law.
(3) The legal status, rights, duties, and social guarantees of
the civil servant of the general State civil service shall be
determined by the State Civil Service Law.
(4) The employment relationship of employees shall be governed
by the Labour Law.
[15 June 2006]
Section 5. Supervision of the
Operation of the Administration
[11 November 2004]
Chapter II
Operation of Prisons and the Training Centre
Section 6. Prisons
(1) Prisons shall carry out the execution of the arrest as a
security measure and the deprivation of liberty as a criminal
punishment, ensure resocialisation and mental care as well as
health care of the convicted persons.
(2) There are the following prisons:
1) remand prisons;
2) closed prisons;
3) semi-closed prisons;
4) open prisons;
5) juvenile correctional institutions.
(3) A prison is a structural unit of the Administration.
(4) A prison governor has:
1) the rights of a manager of an operational activities
institution specified in the Operational Activities Law;
2) [15 June 2006].
[15 June 2006; 17 December 2014]
Section 7. Security Regime
(1) Adult males to whom arrest is applied as a security
measure or who are serving their sentence in closed or
semi-closed prisons shall be guarded by the officials of prisons
armed with a service weapon.
(2) Other arrested or convicted persons shall be guarded in
prisons by the officials of prisons without weapons.
[15 June 2006]
Section 8. Visiting Prisons
(1) The following persons have the right to visit prisons
without a special permit:
1) the President;
2) the Chairperson of the Saeima;
3) the Prime Minister;
4) the Minister for Justice and the State Secretary of the
Ministry of Justice;
5) the Prosecutor General and the prosecutors subordinate to
him or her who perform supervision at prisons as well as the
chief prosecutors of the court districts in the territory of
which the relevant prisons are located;
6) [11 November 2004];
7) the Ombudsman;
8) officials of the Internal Security Bureau;
9) officials of State security institutions;
10) officials of the Corruption Prevention and Combating
Bureau.
(2) The Cabinet shall determine the procedures by which the
persons referred to in Paragraph one of this Section and also
other persons shall visit prisons.
[11 November 2004; 15 June 2006; 28 May 2015; 6 May
2021]
Section 9. Operation of the Training
Centre
The Training Centre shall be managed by a director. The
Training Centre shall ensure the professional training of such
employees of the Administration who do not have a special service
rank as well as the further education of officials.
[15 June 2006]
Chapter III
Course of Service of Officials
[15 June 2006]
Chapter IV
Rights and Duties of the Official
[15 June 2006]
Section 22. Rights and Duties of the
Official
(1) In performing service tasks, the official has the
following rights and duties:
1) in accordance with the procedures laid down in laws and
other regulations, to request that persons cease actions that
interfere with the performance of the duties of the official,
cease violations of the law, and also to use the provided for
compulsory measures against offenders;
2) in accordance with the procedures specified in laws and
regulations, to check personal identification documents as well
as other documents;
3) in accordance with the procedures stipulated by the
Cabinet, to survey persons in a prison in order to determine
whether such persons have used alcohol, narcotic or other
intoxicating substances;
4) in accordance with the procedures laid down in the law, to
perform an inspection of persons, an examination of premises,
belongings, and clothing, also using technical means, to remove
objects, articles, and substances that are prohibited from being
brought into, used, and kept in a prison;
5) to perform pre-trial investigation in conformity with the
competence specified in the Criminal Procedure Law;
6) in accordance with the competence thereof and the
procedures specified in the Operational Activities Law, to
perform operational activities in full extent in order to
disclose, interrupt, and prevent criminal offences in
prisons;
7) to carry, possess, use, and apply the weapon issued;
8) to ensure transportation of prisoners to a medical
treatment institution outside the prison for the receipt of
health care services and security guard of prisoners during
receipt of such services;
9) according to the competence, to process personal data in
the State information systems for execution of the arrest as a
security measure and the deprivation of liberty as a criminal
punishment;
10) to detain a person who commits or who is suspected of
having committed an administrative offence and to remove such
person from the territory of the prison;
11) to record a flight of an unmanned aircraft and other such
type of airship which is not classified as aircraft (hereinafter
- the unmanned aircraft) and to discontinue it if the flight has
been performed in violation of the requirements of laws and
regulations.
(2) [15 June 2006]
(3) [17 December 2014]
(4) The official is prohibited from organising strikes and
participating therein.
(5) Transportation of a prisoner to a medical treatment
institution shall be carried out by an emergency vehicle if it is
necessary for ensuring public safety or due to the health
condition of the prisoner.
(6) The management of the prevention of hostage taking,
rioting, arson, mass disorders, or mass resistance to officials
at a prison shall be ensured by an official specified by the
director of the Administration.
[11 November 2004; 15 June 2006; 17 December 2014; 28 May
2020; 6 May 2021]
Section 23. Right of the Official to
Use Physical Force, Special Fighting Techniques, Special Means,
Technical Devices and to Use Police Dogs
(1) In performing service tasks, the official has the right to
use physical force, special fighting techniques, and special
means in order to:
1) repel an attack on oneself or other persons;
2) repel an attack on buildings, premises, structures, and
vehicles or to free forcibly occupied facilities;
3) free hostages;
4) prevent mass disorders;
5) detain a person who does not submit to or resists the
official, may run away or inflict harm on himself or herself and
other persons (if there are grounds to believe so);
6) stop an escape attempt of arrested or convicted
persons;
7) discontinue a violation of the law, to detain a person who
commits or who is suspected of having committed an administrative
offence or to remove such person from the territory of the
prison.
(2) Before using physical force, special fighting techniques,
or special means, the person against whom such use is directed
shall be warned orally of the intention to use it if the
circumstances and situation allow it.
(3) The official is prohibited from using physical force,
special fighting techniques, and special means (except for
handcuffs) against women, minors, and persons with disabilities
with obvious signs of disability, except for the cases when such
persons participate in a group attack, show armed resistance, or
endanger the health or lives of the official or other
persons.
(4) If a person has been injured during the use of physical
force, special fighting techniques, special means, or technical
devices or the use of a police dog, the official has an
obligation, without delay, to provide first aid to such person
and to organise emergency medical assistance. The director of the
prison shall, not later than within 24 hours, notify the director
of the Administration of all cases of the use of physical force,
special fighting techniques, special means (except for
handcuffs), or technical devices, but if death of a person has
set in due to the use and application thereof (also the use of a
police dog) shall also notify the Office of the Prosecutor and
the State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice.
(5) The types of special means and the procedures by which
they are used by officials of prisons shall be determined by the
Cabinet.
(6) In performing service duties, the official has the right
to use technical devices to record a flight of the unmanned
aircraft and to discontinue it if the flight has been performed
in violation of the requirements of laws and regulations.
(7) In performing service duties, the official may use a
police dog at a prison in order to:
1) inspect a vehicle entering or leaving the territory of the
prison;
2) inspect the belongings and clothing of the prisoner,
visitor of the prison, or official;
3) inspect the premises or territory of the prison;
4) inspect the parcels and dispatches;
5) prevent hostage taking, rioting, arson, mass disorders, or
mass resistance to officials.
[11 November 2004; 15 June 2006; 17 December 2014; 28 May
2020; 6 May 2021]
Section 24. Right of the Official to
Apply a Weapon
(1) In performing service duties, the official is entitled to
apply a weapon as a means of last resort in order to:
1) defend against persons who pose immediate danger to his or
her life or health, or life or health of other persons;
2) prevent an attempt to forcibly obtain a weapon;
3) prevent an escape of the arrested or convicted person, to
detain the escaped arrested or convicted person;
4) detain a person who shows armed resistance or who refuses
to comply with the lawful request of the official to hand over a
weapon or explosives;
5) detain a person at the time of committing a serious or
especially serious crime, or immediately after committing such
crime;
6) stop an illegal and forcible entry of persons into a
prison;
7) discontinue a flight of the unmanned aircraft if it has
been performed in violation of the requirements of laws and
regulations.
(2) If mass disorders related to hostage taking, rioting, or
arson or mass resistance to officials is occurring at a prison
and if it is not possible to discontinue such activities with
other means, it shall be permitted to apply weapons upon an oral
order of the director of the Administration or his or her deputy
with the official taking an independent decision on the
application of the weapon.
(3) Before the application of the weapon, an oral warning of
such intention shall be given. A warning shot shall also be made
before the application of the firearm, if the circumstances allow
it.
(4) A weapon may be applied without warning if:
1) a sudden armed attack on a prison takes place;
2) a sudden armed attack on the official or another person
takes place, and also if a vehicle is used in the attack;
3) such use is necessary in order to free a hostage;
4) an escape from a prison takes place by applying a weapon or
using a vehicle or unmanned aircraft, and also if an escape takes
place at night or in the conditions of poor visibility, or an
escape takes place from a vehicle while such vehicle is in
motion, or an escape takes place in a group;
5) the arrested or convicted person who shows armed resistance
is being detained.
(5) The official is prohibited from applying a weapon against
women, minors, and persons with disability with obvious signs of
disability, except for the cases when they participate in an
armed attack, show armed resistance, or endanger the health or
lives of the official or other persons in a group.
(6) In a case of application of a weapon, the official shall
do all in his or her power to guarantee the safety of other
persons as well as to provide the necessary medical assistance to
victims. The director of the prison shall, not later than within
24 hours, notify the director of the Administration of all cases
of the application of a weapon, but if death of a person has set
in due to the application of a weapon shall also notify the
Office of the Prosecutor and the State Secretary of the Ministry
of Justice.
[6 May 2021]
Section 24.1 Rights of
Officials of the Institutions of the System of the Ministry of
the Interior at a Prison
(1) If hostage taking, rioting, arson, mass disorders, or mass
resistance to officials occurs at a prison, officials of the
institutions of the system of the Ministry of the Interior have
the following rights with an oral permission of the director of
the Administration or his or her deputy:
1) to enter the prison with weapons, special means, or
technical devices;
2) to apply weapons, to use special fighting techniques,
special means, or technical devices at the prison.
(2) After receipt of the permission referred to in Paragraph
one of this Section, the official of the institution of the
system of the Ministry of the Interior shall take an independent
decision on the application of weapons, the use of special
fighting techniques, special means, or technical devices.
[6 May 2021]
Chapter V
Legal Protection and Operational Guarantees for the Official
[15 June 2006]
Section 25. Legal Protection of the
Official
(1) The official is a representative of State authority, and
the lawful requirements put forth by him or her while performing
service duties shall be complied with by all persons.
(2) The official is under State protection - his or her life,
health, honour, and dignity shall be protected by the State.
(3) Defamation of the official, resistance to the official,
threats to his or her health or life, and also actions that
interfere with his or her performance of service duties shall be
punishable in accordance with the procedures laid down in laws
and regulations.
[15 June 2006]
Section 26. General Operational
Guarantees for Officials
(1) Orders and decisions of political organisations (parties)
and alliances or representatives thereof shall not be binding on
the official.
(2) The actions of the official in a justified professional
risk situation shall not be considered a violation of the law,
even if elements of an offence for which disciplinary,
administrative, civil or criminal liability has been specified
can be determined in such actions. A professional risk shall be
considered justified if the official has acted according to the
information at his or her disposal on the facts and circumstances
but the lawful objective was not attainable without actions
involving risk, and if such official, by allowing the risk, has
done everything possible to prevent potential harm.
(3) The official shall not be liable for the material and
physical damage that has been caused within the scope of
authority of service to an offender who does not submit to or
resists the official, and also for the material and physical
damage caused to a third person.
[15 June 2006]
Chapter VI
Social Guarantees for the Civil Servant
[15 June 2006]
Transitional Provisions
[17 December 2014]
1. A competition for the vacant civil servant positions
referred to in Section 11, Paragraph three, Clause 1 of this Law
shall not be announced until 2004.
[17 December 2014]
2. The Cabinet shall, by 1 June 2015, issue the Cabinet
regulations provided for in Section 23, Paragraph five of this
Law regarding the types of special means and the procedures by
which they shall be used by officials of prisons.
[17 December 2014]
3. Section 22, Paragraph one, Clause 10 and Section 23,
Paragraph one, Clause 7 of this Law shall come into force
concurrently with the Law on Administrative Liability.
[28 May 2020]
4. The Cabinet shall, by 1 August 2021, issue the regulations
provided for in Section 8, Paragraph two of this Law.
[6 May 2021]
5. Until the coming into force of new Cabinet regulations but
not later than until 31 December 2021, Cabinet Regulation No. 918
of 6 December 2005, Procedures for Surveying Arrested and
Convicted Persons at Prisons in Order to Detect whether They have
Used Alcohol, Narcotic or Psychotropic Substances, shall be
applicable insofar as it is not in contradiction to this Law.
[6 May 2021]
The Law shall come into force on 1 January 2003.
The Law has been adopted by the Saeima on 31 October
2002.
President V. Vīķe-Freiberga
Rīga, 19 November 2002
1 The Parliament of the Republic of Latvia
Translation © 2022 Valsts valodas centrs (State
Language Centre)