Rinkevics' Know-How: He Suggested to the Deputies... to Pass the Bill to the Next Saeima! 0 9

Such a thing has never happened in recent history: until today, the presidents of Latvia, when returning a bill to the parliament for reconsideration, clearly indicated why they did not sign a specific bill and suggested making certain changes to it. Today, however, Edgars Rinkevics somewhat violated the established procedure enshrined in the Constitution. Specifically, he did not propose to make any changes to the law passed by the Saeima, but called on the Speaker of the Saeima... not to consider this bill at all, passing the question of whether to exit or not exit the Istanbul Convention to the next parliamentary session.

Let us recall what is written in Article 71 of the Satversme: "Within ten days from the moment the law is adopted by the Saeima, the President of the State may, in a reasoned article, request the Speaker of the Saeima to reconsider the law. If the Saeima does not make changes to the law, then the President of the State cannot object a second time."

This results in a legal absurdity: the president, on one hand, referring to the article of the Constitution, asks for the bill to be reconsidered a second time, but at the same time suggests to the Speaker of the Saeima... not to consider the bill at all, leaving it as a legacy to the next Saeima, which will start its work only in November 2026!

It would be interesting to know the opinion of constitutional law experts on this matter, but even more interesting will be to see how the Saeima majority will act now - indeed, on Rinkevics' advice, will they forget about the bill or will they still vote for the bill again, and then Rinkevics will have to sign it.