President Wallis spoke at the Opening of the VI International Scientific Conference of the University of Latvia Faculty of Law, titled ‘Constitutional Values in Contemporary Legal Space’ on 16 November, moderated by Prof. Janis Rozenfelds and hosted by the Dean of the Law Faculty, Assoc. Prof. Anita Rodina.

Esteemed panellists from 15 different countries took part in the discussions and included the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of Latvia and the Deputy State Secretary on Court Matters to discuss various topics such as the interaction between international law and constitutional values or the role of private law in reinforcing constitutional values. President Wallis noted the importance of an independent judiciary; referring to recent developments in the UK. She also underlined the role of an Institute, such as the ELI in the improvement of law-making in Europe. The programme of the event can be found here.

President Wallis was invited to take part in a mediation round table, hosted by the Court Administration, to review the implementation of the Mediation Directive and propose further steps in improving mediation in Latvia. The round table discussion included the Deputy State Secretary on Court Matters of the Ministry of Justice (Ms Irena Kucina), presidents of the Riga Regional Court, representatives from the Council for Mediation, the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Latvian Collegium of Notaries and the Director of Latvian Judicial Training Centre, Ms Solvita Kalnina-Caune. President Wallis presented the ELI-ENCJ project on ‘The Principled Relationship of Formal and Informal Justice through the Courts and Alternative Dispute Resolution’ and noted the importance of knowing when and when not to use mediation. More information on the ELI-ENCJ project can be found here.