Among other things, they provide for the legal requirement that members of the Saeima use the official state language (Latvian) both among themselves and in communication with the Latvian public anywhere within the premises of the Saeima – not just in the debating chamber, as was already the case.
As the revised rules stipulate that Latvian must be used between deputies and Latvian citizens, it would still be permissable for Saeima members to speak to foreign diplomats or visiting digitaries in another language. A similar rule would apply to foreign media – provided the representative of that foreign media asking a question in a foreign language is not a Latvian citizen.
At the same time, the amendments strengthen the rules regarding the participation of Saeima commission members in meetings remotely, using a videoconferencing tool. It is envisaged that a commission member will be able to do this if he/she cannot come to the meeting venue due to an emergency situation or if there are other special circumstances that make his/her participation in the commission meeting in person impossible.
Remote participation in the meeting will be possible if this has been previously agreed with the chairperson of the commission meeting, while the chairperson himself/herself will only be able to participate in the meeting in person.
The amendments also clarify the procedure for initiating criminal prosecution against a member of the Saeima, including by establishing in the law that the consent of the Saeima is even required for the continuation of criminal proceedings which began before the relevant member of the Saeima was elected.
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