law firm __________

about the office__________

Law firm specializing in constitutional litigation, administrative law, and international human rights

The law firm Šķiņķis Pētersons was founded in 2018 to provide individually tailored hands-on exceptional legal advice focusing on those areas of expertise in which the firm’s lawyers are recognized for consistent excellence, remarkable track record and unmatched level of legal experience – constitutional and administrative litigation and international human rights counselling and litigation.

Because of the law firm’s practice areas, we take particular interest in handling rare and unconventional matters. We handle cases that not only require proper interpretation of the law but also cases where the law is the challenge. We have been involved in several landmark cases of public importance and industry relevance. We do not stick to the current status quo but strive to predict and shape the scenarios of tomorrow. That is how we leverage global multi-shaped forms, events, and views.

We maintain friendly and professional relationships with our clients, colleagues and legal professionals and keep track on the most recent legislative developments and ground-breaking high stakes matters both globally and locally. In order to deliver proactive, value-added legal advice, a legal practitioner must be well- versed in the professional area and maintain good relationships with the legal community.

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Constitutional Litigation

The Constitutional court deals with matters on constitutional compliance or reviews conformity of laws with superior legal norms. Litigation before the Constitutional court may be the best course of action in case the dispute is not caused by improper enforcement of the law but instead – by the law itself. The Constitutional court may also serve as the ultimate national authority for seeking justice in case all other domestic remedies have been already exhausted.

Our lawyers are among the country’s leading constitutional law experts and are top-rated by our clients and other legal practitioners.

We take the lead both in terms of quantity and relevance of cases handled before the Constitutional court. Our litigators consistently appear as counsels in leading landmark constitutional matters, like cases dealing with legal protection of same-sex partnerships, the amount of legal fees to be compensated in administrative proceedings, seizure regulation of proceeds from crime, cases dealing with pharmaceutical advertising restrictions and others. We render legal assistance and counselling in constitutional law matters not only to private individuals or corporations but also to public authorities, for example, we have successfully represented several local governments in matters concerning the recent administrative and

territorial reform and members of Parliament in a matter concerning the Istanbul Convention. We have served as counsels on the plaintiffs’ side and have also represented the state authorities enacting the challenged legislative norms. Thanks to our established track record and extraordinary legal skills, our lawyers are frequently approached for legal opinions on constitutional compliance of different legal norms already in effect or pending enforcement.

Administrative Law

Administrative proceedings concern the relation between governmental bodies and private legal subjects and cover a variety of subject areas, e.g., regulated industries, construction, competition law, public procurement, tax law, social benefits and social law, environmental law, energy, issuing and revocation of licences and permits etc. Although each of these subject areas has its own specifics, they all have the same underlying principles of administrative proceedings. Our lawyers are highly experienced in delivering sophisticated advice in all these areas.

We have acted on behalf of a number of leading industry players like Duck Republik, Eko Osta, Energoremonts Rīga, Euroaptieka, Hausers, Jeld Wen, Kandavas kartodroms, Latvijas Arhitektu savienība (Latvian Association of Architects), Latvijas Aptieka, Latvian Football Federation, Latvian Academy of Culture, the International School of Latvia, Lursoft, Mārtiņa Beķereja, Nomeda, NORMA-A, Omnium, Orlen, Rīgas Karte, Rimi, Tavex, Taxify (Bolt), UPB, VIA Media, WT Terminal and the largest energy companies. Our lawyers have a proven track record of success in representing state institutions on the defendants’ side, i.e., the

Parliament of Latvia (Saeima), Public Utilities Commission, National Electronic Mass Media Council, Ministry of Culture, municipal councils, and municipal enterprises to name a few.

Based on the vast experience and strong market feedback, leading international publications, and ranking services such as Chambers and Legal500 consistently list, the law firm and its lawyers are among the leading dispute resolution and real estate lawyers.

International Human Rights

Human rights define the main principles to be respected by states and public authorities vis a vis private legal subjects – individuals and companies. If it is impossible to achieve due respect of human rights by domestic judicial remedies, a complaint may be filed with international human rights institutions, e.g., the European Court of Human Rights, the UN Human Rights Committee, or the Court of Justice of the European Union.

The firm’s attorneys have vast experience in drafting complaints and representing clients before the European Court of

Human Rights concerning criminal, civil and administrative cases. Our lawyers have represented clients before the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights and the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

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