Latvia 2011

Latvia ensures fair protection for civil and political rights of citizens and guarantees the basics of a democratic political process. International organisations have acknowledged all elections since 1991 as free and fair. Most interest groups have at least some representation in the organized part of the civil society. Hence the country’s political and societal foundations are rather strong.

On the downside, a financial crisis undermined the socio-economic foundations in 2009-2010 when many institutions forming the National Integrity System (hereinafter – NIS) were subject to drastic budget cuts. A part of the Latvian population continues to suffer from monetary poverty and therefore social inequality remains high. As for the socio-cultural foundations, a low level of interpersonal trust and unwillingness to engage in civil society activities characterize strongly. Latvian public has an ambiguous, in some cases tolerant, attitude towards corruption and lack of integrity.

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The NIS assessment offers an evaluation of the legal basis and actual performance of 13 national governance institutions (pillars) which are responsible for counteracting corruption. The study is based on Transparency International global NIS methodology and reviews the period from January 2008 to August 2011.

A common trait in most of the pillars is the strength of the legal system and weakness in implementing the legislation in practice. This gap between legislation and implementation significantly impacts on the overall integrity of the system.

Additional materials from this assessment