CONFERENCEFaculty of Law
The Faculty of Law of the University of Latvia is the largest and the oldest institution for legal studies in Latvia, providing full-cycle legal education - bachelor, masters and doctoral programmes, with the highest standard of skills and knowledge in jurisprudence.
Our academic staff comprises of distinguished academics and leading professionals, including judges from the Constitutional and Supreme Courts, sworn advocates, and prominent legal experts. The Faculty actively contributes to legal scholarship, publishes in renowned academic journals, and provides study and mobility opportunities for both international students and academics.
The University of Latvia is the first higher education institution in Latvia that, since its foundation in 1919, has provided an opportunity to study law and acquire the knowledge necessary for the legal profession. From the University’s establishment (initially known as the Higher School of Latvia until 1923) until 1944, legal education was provided by the Department of Law, which was part of the Faculty of Economics and Law.
The core of the Faculty's teaching staff at that time consisted of the most prominent Latvian lawyers of the time, including Professor Jānis Čakste—who later became the first President of Latvia—Professor Kārlis Dišlers, Professor Vladimirs Bukovskis, Professor Augusts Lebers, and Professor Vasilijs Sinaiskis, among others. During Latvia’s first period of independence, the Faculty developed a modern and well-structured legal education system, conducted fundamental research in various branches of law, and established an extensive library with the most modern legal literature of Western European countries at that time. By 1944, a total of 1,721 students had graduated from the Department of Law.
When the second Soviet occupation began in 1944, the Faculty of Law was established as a separate institution, in 1955 it was merged with the Faculty of Economics and Law, in 1966 the merged faculty was reorganised to form the Faculty of Law and Philosophy, and since 1970 the Faculty of Law has operated as a separate institution of the University of Latvia.
After the restoration of Latvia’s independence, the Faculty of Law gradually established a system of studies in line with the traditions of Western European law. Since 2003 law studies for the qualification of a lawyer have been conducted in accordance with the so-called Bologna system, i.e. in a three-year Bachelor's degree programme and a two-year Professional Master's degree programme.
Since the restoration of independence, Faculty members have made significant contributions to the development of Latvian legal doctrine through scholarly monographs, research articles, and participation in major scientific projects. Their work has been instrumental in addressing key legal issues of Latvia’s society and ensuring the sustainability of the country’s legal system.
Moot courts are an essential part of the study process at the Faculty of Law. It is only by staging a trial that law students acquire the skills essential for the legal profession. Every year students of the Faculty participate in various international competitions. In order to adapt the study environment to this form of training, the Faculty has set up a courtroom auditorium. Currently, the courtroom is used for training seminars, coaching of students for international moot court competitions and for the defence of doctoral theses. The Council of the Faculty of Law also holds its meetings in this auditorium.
Available only in Latvian
Available only in Latvian
