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Today, on 2 June 2025, in Strasbourg, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Latvia to the Council of Europe, Agnese Vilde, signed, on behalf of the Republic of Latvia, Protocol No.16 (‘the Protocol’) to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (‘the Convention’).
The Protocol allows the highest courts and tribunals of the States Parties to the Convention and the Protocol, as designated by the State itself, to seek an advisory opinion from the European Court of Human Rights (‘the Court’) on the interpretation and application of the rights guaranteed by the Convention and its protocols, which could contribute to the resolution of a dispute in the main proceedings, thereby facilitating dialogue with the Court and enhancing the system of protection of human rights. The conclusions drawn in the Court's advisory opinion are not legally binding on the State, but they provide an insight into and guidance on the interpretation and application of the rights guaranteed by the Convention and its protocols in contentious and previously unresolved matters, and make it possible to anticipate the resolution of similar cases in the event of a dispute.
The Protocol opened for signature on 2 October 2013 and entered into force on 1 August 2018, when 10 of the States Parties to the Convention acceded to it. At present, 24 States Parties have ratified the Protocol: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Greece, Georgia, Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Moldova, Monaco, the Netherlands, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, Ukraine, North Macedonia, and Sweden. Five other Parties to the Convention have signed the Protocol: Italy, Norway, Spain, Türkiye, and today Latvia.
Upon signature, for the Protocol to enter into force in respect of Latvia in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 8, paragraph 2, of the Protocol, it has to be ratified. The decision to ratify the Protocol, as well as the choice of Latvia's highest national courts which will have the right to apply for an advisory opinion to the Court, lies within the competence of the Latvian Parliament (Saeima).