Human Rights Guide

Case

Judgment No SKC-32/2013

Supreme Court of the Republic of Latvia
8 May 2013

Facts

A soldier died during a military training. The investigative committee found that the accident was caused mainly by the mistakes in the planning of the training. 

Complaint

The applicants – relatives of the soldier who died in the training - claimed a moral compensation from the State for his death. 

Court's ruling

The Court stated that the rights to adequate compensation for material or moral damages caused to an individual by the unlawful decisions or activities of the state institutions are stipulated by the Law on Compensation of Damages by the State Institutions (Valsts pārvaldes iestāžu nodarīto zaudējumu atlīdzināšanas likums). This law also sets the maximum limits of possible moral compensation in certain situations. To determine the amount of a moral compensation to be paid in a specific case all the circumstances of the case, including the gravity of the wrongful act and the consequences caused by it, must be taken into account.

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