On Thursday, 16 April, the Saeima adopted in the final reading amendments to the Criminal Procedure Law that establish protection to residents who have unknowingly purchased criminally acquired immovable property.

“The amendments do not aim to change the fundamental principle, namely, that criminally acquired property belongs to the original owner, but rather to provide the court, in non-typical exceptional cases, with the possibility to depart from mechanical application of the rule if such application would cause obvious unjust and disproportionate consequences for the bona fide purchaser. In each case, the court will assess the totality of the circumstances and will duly substantiate its decision,” previously emphasised Andrejs Judins, Chair of the Saeima Legal Affairs Committee which was responsible for the advancement of the draft law.

The amendments provide the possibility for the court to leave immovable property in the ownership of the bona fide purchaser if ownership rights are registered in a public register. This will only be possible if returning the property to the victim would not be a fair solution, and such a decision will have to be specifically substantiated by the court.

The amendments to the law strengthen the role of the court in protecting the property rights of the bona fide purchaser through promoting legal certainty for private individuals and trust in the property rights protection system. A more flexible and legal principles-based judicial discretion will enable fair regulation of criminal legal relations while preserving the general principle of returning criminally obtained property to the victim and strengthening the principles of the rule of law, justice, and independence of the judiciary enshrined in the Constitution.

The amendments will apply to cases where court decisions have been delivered starting from 1 January this year. Bona fide property purchasers have a deadline of 1 July to submit a request to the Supreme Court to examine the issue of ownership of criminally obtained property.

The amendments will enter into force on the day following their promulgation.

Saeima Press Service