On Thursday, 11 April 2024, Mr Gatis Litvins was confirmed by the Saeima (Latvian Parliament) as a Council Member of the State Audit Office of Latvia (for four years). The Legal Commission of the Saeima supported his candidacy on 9 April 2024.
According to the State Audit Office Law, Council Members of the State Audit Office are approved by the Saeima for four years on the recommendation of the Auditor General, with the possibility of being re-elected for a second term. A Council Member of the State Audit Office of Latvia also performs the duties of a Director of an Audit Department.
Mr Gatis Litvins won the competition of the State Audit Office of Latvia for the post of Council Member. The competition was organised because the term of office of one of the current Council Members will expire in May 2024. The selection was carried out by the selection committee of applicants for the position of Council Member of the State Audit Office, which consisted of the Council of State Audit Office of Latvia and independent observers. The selection of applicants took place in three rounds, evaluating the applicants’ compliance with the requirements, submitted and presented visions about the work priorities of the State Audit Office, motivation to work in the position and management competencies.
The newly approved Council Member of the State Audit Office, Mr Gatis Litvins stated, “The position of a Council Member of the State Audit Office of Latvia will allow me to combine and use my professional and academic knowledge and skills for the common good of society. I will do my best to ensure that the State Audit Office continues to improve the quality of life of citizens and increase public trust in the state administration by means of public sector auditing. It is also essential that the State Audit Office of Latvia uses the most modern IT tools and technologies to optimize data collection and analysis, improve information management and ensure data security, becoming a technologically advanced supreme audit institution in Europe.”
Mr Gatis Litvins has obtained a Doctor Degree in law from the University of Latvia. In 2011, he supplemented his knowledge at Aarhus University in Denmark. He has worked as an Assistant Judge in the Administrative District Court and the Administrative Regional Court, as a researcher in Think Tank PROVIDUS, as a Justice Editor in Magazine “Jurista Vārds” (Word of Lawyer), as an Associate Professor in Business University Turība and as a Managing Director in the Council of Sworn Notaries of Latvia. Mr Litvins is a lecturer and expert at the Latvian Judicial Training Centre, a Member of the Commission of the State Unified Legal Professional Qualification Examination of the Ministry of Justice and a Member of the State Chancellery’s State Administration Policy Development Council. Mr Gatis Litvins is the author and scientific reviewer of scientific commentaries on the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia, pages of the National Encyclopaedia, administrative law textbooks and scientific commentaries on the Administrative Procedure Law of Latvia and has also provided expert opinions to the Constitutional Court and the State Audit Office of Latvia. He has also carried out many other studies on issues related to good governance, administrative process and the judicial system, for example, he has analysed the evaluation of the impact of the implementation of the Latvian Administrative Procedure Law and the ethical, qualification and responsibility issues of judges. In 2023, he received the Honor Badge of Degree Two of the Judicial System for a particularly significant contribution to the development of the judicial system, strengthening democracy and the rule of law.
About the State Audit Office of Latvia
The State Audit Office of the Republic of Latvia is an independent, collegial supreme audit institution. The purpose of its activity is to find out whether the actions with the financial means and property of a public entity are legal, correct, useful and in line with public interests, as well as to provide recommendations for the elimination of discovered irregularities. The State Audit Office conducts audits in accordance with International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions INTOSAI (ISSAI), whose recognition in Latvia is determined by the Auditor General.
100 years of AUDIT STRENGTH
On 16 August 2023, the State Audit Law turned 100 years old. With the adoption of this Law, the State Audit Office from a formal de facto institution founded on 2 December 1918 became a de jure independent, collegial supreme audit institution of the Republic of Latvia. The State Audit Office is one of the independent state institutions enshrined in the Satversme (Constitution) of Latvia. The Constitution was signed by Roberts Ivanovs as the secretary of the Constitutional Assembly, who was then confirmed as the Auditor General. He worked as the first Auditor General for 12 years. His signature confirmed the text of our Constitution alongside that of Jānis Čakste.
Additional information
Ms Signe Znotiņa-Znota
Head of PR and Internal Communication Division
Ph. + 371 26440185 | E-mail: signe.znotina-znota@lrvk.gov.lv