Latvia
Parliament
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Political system
Political systems: Presidential, Parliamentary, Presidential-Parliamentary, Monarchy, Communist, Transitional.
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Parliamentary system
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Structure of parliament
Structure of parliament: Unicameral, bicameral
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Unicameral
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IPU membership
Current membership status
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Yes
Openness and transparency
Information about access to parliamentary documents, parliament’s reporting to the public, parliament’s relation to Freedom of Information laws, and lobbying.
Parliamentary documents
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The agendas of plenary meetings are published online in advance
The agendas of plenary meetings are published online in advance.
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All
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The agendas of committee meetings are published online in advance
The agendas of committee meetings are published online in advance.
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All
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Results of votes on draft legislation are published on the parliamentary web site
Results of votes on draft legislation are published on the parliamentary web site.
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All
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Draft legislation is published on the parliamentary website
Draft legislation is published on the parliamentary website.
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All
- Citizens can submit comments on draft legislation on the parliamentary web site
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No
Annual reporting by parliament
- Parliament publishes an annual report on its activities
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Yes
- The annual report is available on the parliamentary web site
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Yes
- Parliament publishes the parliamentary budget
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Yes
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Level of detail of the parliamentary budget made available to the public
Only the total amount; A summary of the main elements; The complete budget
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The complete budget
- The parliamentary budget is available on the parliamentary web site
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Yes
- Link to the parliamentary budget
Access to parliament
- Plenary meetings are open to the public
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Yes
Notes: Rules of the Procedure of the Saeima, Chapter V, art. 77 (1), 78
- Committee meetings are open to the public
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Yes
Notes: Rules of the Procedure of the Saeima, Chapter VI, art. 159
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There is a dedicated channel for broadcasting parliamentary meetings
A dedicated channel is one that is mainly about parliament, and is accessible free of charge to the general public. The channel might be owned by Parliament or a public or private company. Dedicated channels may be broadcast by parliament, government, or another broadcaster. They may be carried on television, radio or the Internet (webcasting).
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Yes
- Media used for the dedicated channel
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RadioWebcast
- Meetings broadcast on the dedicated channel
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Plenary sittings
Freedom of information
- There is a freedom of information law in the country
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Yes
- Parliament is subject to the freedom of information law
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Yes
- Parliament has an office/division dedicated to FOI requests
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No
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Categories of Information that are exempt from disclosure
Certain categories of information may be exempt from disclosure
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Latvia’s Freedom of Information Law (Informācijas atklātības likums) officially came into force on 15 May 2003. Article 5 defines what is classified as “restricted access information”. For e.g., the law does not apply to information that is categorized as an ‘official secret’. Information is also restricted when: 1) such status has been granted by law; 2) it has been designed for an institution’s internal use; 3) it contains a trade secret, 4) it pertains to an individual’s private life; 5) it consists of NATO or EU information marked as ’’NATO UNCLASSIFIED" or "LIMITE".
https://likumi.lv/ta/en/en/id/50601-freedom-of-information-law
Lobbying
- There are rules about the activities of lobbyists in parliament
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No
- There is a register of accredited lobbyists
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No