Latvia

• The Satversme (the Constitution) of 1922, the highest law
• The Civil Law of 1937 (restored in 1992), the Criminal Law and other codes and statutes
• European Union law, which takes priority in its area
• Decisions of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court

• The Supreme Court at the top of the ordinary courts
• The Constitutional Court, which reviews laws and hears individual complaints
• Regional courts and district (city) courts, with a separate administrative court system

A master's degree in law, a traineeship with a sworn advocate, and a qualification exam, followed by admission to the Latvian Bar.

• Latvia revived a civil code from 1937 after Soviet rule, instead of writing an entirely new one.
• The Constitution of 1922 was restored after independence in 1991.
• Individuals can bring a constitutional complaint to the Constitutional Court.

Lithuania, Estonia, Germany, Poland, Sweden

The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Latvia as: Civil law. It names the systems in order of importance.

The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.

Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria.

• Constitutional Court of Latvia

Sources last reviewed: October 2026.