Council of Europe

• Council of Europe
• Human Rights and Rule of Law
• Group of States against corruption (GRECO)

GRECO calls on key Latvian institutions to step up their capacity to fight and prevent corruption within their ranks

Press Release

Strasbourg, 17 December 2012 – The Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) has published today its Fourth Round evaluation Report on Latvia. It focuses on the prevention of corruption of Members of Parliament, judges and prosecutors.
 
GRECO recognises that Latvia has implemented a clear and comprehensive framework for regulating conflicts of interest of public officials and that the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (Latvia’s anti-corruption agency) has used the law well in the fight against corruption.  However, GRECO encourages all three groups under review: parliamentarians, judges and prosecutors, to step up their own capacity to self-regulate, to address real and potential conflicts of interests and to sanction those who fall short of acceptable standards of ethical conduct.

GRECO also finds that the time is right to abolish the system of administrative immunities. This will help dispel any idea that parliamentarians, judges and prosecutors are above the law and help strengthen the confidence of Latvian citizens in their parliament and judiciary.

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GRECO was established in 1999 by the Council of Europe to monitor states’ compliance with the organisation’s anti-corruption standards. It currently comprises 48 European states and the United States of America.