The Court's Decision to Dismiss a Disloyal Serviceman Has Come into Effect

The Supreme Court (SC) refused to initiate judicial proceedings on the cassation complaint of a former serviceman who challenged an unfavorable decision of the district administrative court regarding the disciplinary action imposed – early dismissal from active service, as a result of which the decision came into legal force.

As reported by the LETA agency, the panel, during its meeting to decide on the initiation of cassation proceedings, found no grounds for such initiation. It was established that the district court properly assessed the evidence and explanations provided by the serviceman in the case.

The court directly evaluated whether the serviceman had committed a disciplinary violation, referencing evidence that included information from the Military Intelligence and Security Service regarding the results of an investigation, as well as explanations from the serviceman's former colleagues, and a report from his immediate superior stating that he had confirmed that the applicant resides in the information space of Russia and holds a different opinion on the war between Russia and Ukraine.

The AT panel reminds that loyalty to the state is expected from public servants, especially from servicemen. By taking a military oath, servicemen commit to the requirement of being faithful to Latvia and to defend the Latvian state and its independence. Therefore, when assessing possible violations of loyalty, this obligation cannot be considered in isolation from the current geopolitical situation in the world.

The plaintiff was a professional serviceman who, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, repeatedly expressed support for this invasion in conversations with other servicemen and showed them various videos to convince them that the events in Ukraine were misrepresented in Latvian media.

For these actions, which harmed the military interests of the state and the prestige of the armed forces, the serviceman was subjected to disciplinary action – dismissal from service, which was justified by a violation of the duty of loyalty established by the Military Service Law.

Disagreeing with the final decision of the Ministry of Defense's Appeals Commission, the serviceman appealed to the administrative court to have it annulled.

Both the administrative district court and the administrative regional court dismissed his complaint and recognized the contested decision as lawful.