THE RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL IN THE SHADOW OF PANDEMIC RESTRICTIONS

Abstract

The spread of Covid-19 virus infection, in 2020 Latvian legislator adopted several legal norms expanding the possibilities of courts to hear the case in written proceedings or videoconferencing at the expense of restrictions to the oral hearing in presence of the parties. The authors argue why the application of these restrictions, set out in the Covid-19 Infection Control Act (in Latvian – “Covid-19 infekcijas izplatības pārvaldības likums”) may result in human rights violations, and make suggestions for better regulation so that the fight to protect public health is not conducted at the expense of unreasonable restrictions on the right to a fair trial and privacy.