The salary of Supreme Court senator (AT) Intars Bisters will be reduced by 20% for one year due to failure to perform official duties related to excessive alcohol consumption. This decision was made by the Disciplinary Court.
As the LETA agency found out, a disciplinary case was initiated after the Chairman of the Supreme Court, Aigars Strupišs, received a report that in December of last year, Bisters had not appeared at work for several days, failed to perform his duties, and was unavailable.
Due to his absence, three cases were removed from consideration.
Bisters did not dispute that he had not fulfilled his duties due to alcohol consumption. At the same time, the senator requested the court to impose a milder punishment, stating that the consequences of the violation had been rectified in a relatively short time, and that the punishment imposed would disproportionately affect the amount of his future special pension.
Bisters also believed that the Disciplinary Collegium violated the principle of equality and imposed a harsher punishment compared to other disciplinary cases.
Moreover, the senator requested the court to refer to the Court of the European Union with a preliminary inquiry regarding whether the reduction of a judge's salary as a disciplinary punishment complies with EU law and the guarantees of judicial independence.
The disciplinary court rejected this request, concluding that the specific disciplinary punishment does not threaten the independence of the judge and that Bisters did not present specific arguments to the contrary.
The court emphasized that the senator's actions cannot be reduced merely to the non-signing of three decisions, as colleagues and court management had been unable to contact him for a long time, creating uncertainty regarding the further progress of cases.
The court also acknowledged that the senator's actions harmed the reputation of the Supreme Court and reduced public trust in the judiciary.
The decision is not subject to appeal.
Leave a comment