Latvian Prosecutor General petitions Constitutional Court over timber contract dispute

Latvian Prosecutor General Armīns Meisters has filed an application with the Constitutional Court regarding the so-called ‘timber case’. The prosecution is seeking to invalidate two points from a Cabinet of Ministers protocol that instructed the Ministry of Agriculture to implement price corrections for long-term contracts held by Latvijas valsts meži (LVM) for the supply of softwood sawlogs.

The Prosecutor General argues that the Cabinet issued these instructions without the proper legal delegation required for the alienation of public property at prices lower than those specified in civil law contracts. The application claims these protocols violate the Constitution, national laws, and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

This legal action follows a formal prosecutor's protest sent to the Cabinet on June 16, which the government refused to honor. Meisters noted that this represents an unprecedented legal step intended to ensure that state institutions act in accordance with the law.