Who can organise a meeting, procession or picket?
Not everyone can organise a meeting, procession or picket. The organiser, manager of the event, assistant event manager, and the person who maintains order at the event cannot be a person who:
- is less than 18 years old
- is not a citizen of Latvia or a person who has a right to receive a non-citizen’s passport issued by the Republic of Latvia, or a person to whom a permanent resident permit is issued
- seeks to use the meeting, procession, or picket for the purposes of an organisation the operation of which is prohibited in Latvia
- has been, within the past year, penalised in accordance with administrative procedure for infringing meeting, procession, and picket organisation or procedural requirements, or for petty hooliganism, or for malicious non-compliance with legitimate requirements of a police officer, or for infringement of rules of the commencement or termination of public organisation’s operations
- is deemed to be incapacitated
In addition, meetings, processions and pickets may be organised by legal persons, provided that they are registered in accordance with the law and on condition that these persons have not been penalised for infringement of requirements of organisation or rules of procedure of meetings, processions, or pickets within the past year. In such cases, the legal person organising the event must appoint one or several event organisers, who must also meet the abovementioned requirements for persons organising, managing, or maintaining order at the event.