Latvia’s experience in personal data protection

From 20 to 23 April 2026, a study visit by judges and representatives of the National School of Judges of Ukraine to the Republic of Latvia took place, supported by the Council of Europe project ‘Supporting Ukraine in the implementation of Council of Europe standards on the judiciary’ and the OSCE project ‘Ensuring respect for human rights in the administration of justice, Phase II”.

The aim of the visit was to familiarise participants with Latvia’s experience in the field of personal data protection, the functioning of relevant state institutions and the practice of applying European standards in the work of the judiciary.

The programme of the study visit included a series of working meetings with representatives of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Latvia, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Latvia, the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Latvia and the State Data Inspection.

On the first day, participants visited the Constitutional Court of Latvia, where they learnt about the role of the constitutional court in the protection of personal data, as well as current case law in this area. Particular attention was paid to the analysis of practical case studies and the balance between the right to privacy and the public interest.

The following day, the programme continued at the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court of Latvia. Representatives of Latvian institutions shared their experience of shaping state policy in the field of data protection, the digitalisation of the judicial system, the training of judges, as well as the practice of the Senate of the Supreme Court regarding disputes related to personal data.

The third and fourth days were devoted to work at the Latvian Data Protection Authority. Participants were introduced to the principles of personal data processing, the rights of data subjects, the legal grounds for processing, the obligations of the controller, international data transfers, the activities of the supervisory authority, liability for breaches of the law, and the role of the data protection officer. The final stage consisted of practical work on a training case study.

The experience gained is of great importance for the further improvement of the training programmes at the National School of Judges of Ukraine, the training of judges and court staff, and the implementation in Ukraine of best European practices in personal data protection in the context of the digitalisation of the justice system.

International cooperation at this level helps to strengthen the institutional capacity of Ukraine’s judicial system and bring national approaches closer to the standards of the Council of Europe and European Union law.

The presentations can be accessed here: Presentation 1, Presentation 2, Presentation 3.