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Institutions will henceforth have a deadline of ten working days to reply on the merits of submissions. This is provided for in the amendments to the Law on Submissions, adopted by the Saeima in the final reading on Thursday, 5 February. The changes will come into force on 1 March this year. The amendments were proposed to reduce red tape and ensure quicker and more effective communication between the people and state institutions. 

Institutions are currently required to reply to submissions no later than one month from the date of receipt.

“Public administration must work for the benefit of the people, and this entails quick, clear, and effective communication. By reducing the reply deadline to ten working days, we clearly signal that we value our people’s time. Still, we allow flexibility in more complex cases where more time is needed to assess the information,” underlined Oļegs Burovs, Chair of the Saeima Public Administration and Local Government Committee responsible for the draft law.

If preparation of a reply requires additional information, communication with other institutions, or an analysis and processing of extensive data, the deadline shall be extended to one month.

The amendments also stipulate that a submission that does not fall within the receiving institution’s competence may be forwarded to another institution within five working days by informing the submitter. The current deadline is seven working days. Additionally, institutions may indicate the competent institution to the submitter instead of forwarding the submission in cases where such an approach is deemed more efficient.

This will reduce the bureaucratic burden of examining submissions, and the process will become faster and simpler, thereby improving communication between the people and state institutions, noted the Members of the Saeima—authors of the amendments.

Saeima Press Service