Supreme Court of the Republic of Latvia
19 August 2008
Facts
The applicant, Mr. Ļ., complained about the quality of injections given to him by the prison medical personnel. He lodged a complaint to the administrative court. His complaint was not accepted by the regional and subsequently district court concluding that his application should be examined by the courts of general jurisdiction.
Complaint
The applicant alleged that refusal to accept his complaint was unlawful and the complaint should be examined by the administrative courts.
Court's ruling
The Supreme Court stated that a prisoner is considered to be a specially subordinated person to the prison administration. In such cases a prisoner’s claim can be examined by the administrative court if the actions in question have substantially infringed a prisoner’s human rights. The Court emphasized that the state has an obligation to make sure that persons serving a prison sentence are isolated from the society and do not commit new crimes. However it does not mean that prisoners lose the protection of human rights in general. Prisoner’s like any other individual’s human rights must be guaranteed to the level that is appropriate.
In the case at hand the Court observed that the applicant complained about the quality of medical treatment which can be related to the prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment and right to life. Thus, the Court concluded that complaints about the quality of medical treatment if the actions in question substantively infringe upon prisoner’s human rights should be heard by administrative courts. Therefore the Supreme Court quashed the lower court’s decision not to accept the applicant’s claim.