Existence of a National Youth Law

A Youth Law (LV: Jaunatnes likums)is an official document addressing the needs and/or rights of young people and regulating the ways in which youth issues are addressed. The Youth Law was adopted by the Parliament of the Republic of Latvia and came into force on the 1st January 2009. 

Scope and contents

The purpose of the Law is to improve the quality of life of young people - persons from 13 to 25 years of age - by promoting their initiatives, work ethic, patriotism, and participation in decision-making and social life, and also by supporting youth work. 

The Law determines the persons involved in the implementation of the youth policy and their competence in the area of this policy, youth participation in the development and implementation of the youth policy, and also the basic principles for the granting of financing to youth initiatives, for the participation in decision-making and social life, and for youth work.

The main objective of youth policy in Latvia is to improve the quality of life of young people (persons aged between 13 to 25 years old) by promoting  their initiatives, participation in decision-making and social life. Youth laws support youth work and provide children with easier transitions to adulthood.

Latvian youth policy development is framed by seven youth policy principles that can be clustered into three main dimensions. 

1) The vertical dimension of youth political citizenship contributes to discussions of democratic power sharing, the facilitation of constructive youth involvement in decision-making and the definition of society. Youth participation and information (including the consideration of youth interests) are relevant to this dimension, along which youth policy (in a narrow sense) usually formulates its core agenda. 

2) The horizontal dimension of youth socioeconomic citizenship promotes equality among young people living in different circumstances. Youth welfare, inclusion and non-discrimination are among the key principles characterizing this dimension, in which the success of youth policy depends principally on co-operation with associated specialized policies. 

3) The reflexive dimension of youth policy development emphasizes sensitivity to changes in youth preferences, as well as to changes in international best practice. This dimension, which is currently only outlined in Latvian youth policy development, requires further improvement and the consideration of additional aspects like youth research, the dissemination of results and understandings of good practice, and professionalization.

Youth policy principles include the following:

1. Partnership principle – to enhance the active participation of young people in the processes of the society.

2. Information availability principle – to promote  the idea of providing young people with information that is relevant to their needs and interests, especially information which is necessary for active participation in all the processes of society.

3. Equal opportunities principle – to provide all young people, without any discrimination, with the potential to take part in all the processes of society and to be equal members of society.

4. Observance of youth interests principle – to take into account the interests, rights, needs and potential of young people whilst solving youth-related issues.

5. Favourable social and economic premises principle – to enhance the development of the social and economic conditions needed to provide all young people with the opportunity to become accepted and integrated members of Latvian society.

6. Mobility and international co-operation availability principle – to provide opportunities for youth mobility, allowing young people to learn new skills and knowledge outside their place of abode, and to promote the implementation of recommendations from other countries and the exchange and adoption of good practice into Latvian youth policy.

7. Youth integration facilitation principle – to facilitate youth integration into society (including minority groups), and to ensure multi-cultural dialogue at all stages of youth policy planning and implementation.

Young people have the right to participate in the development and implementation of the youth policy:

1) by engaging in the acquisition and provision of non-formal education and carrying out voluntary work;

2) by performing activities in the local governments of educational institutions;

3) by developing and implementing projects, and also other initiatives;

4) by participating in the activities of youth organisations, and also other associations and foundations;

5) by engaging in the process of the taking of State and local government decisions affecting the youth policy;

6) by engaging in other activities which are oriented towards the promotion of the youth participation in the development and implementation of the youth policy.

Revisions/updates

On the 18th June 2015, the Parliament of the Republic of Latvia (the Saeima) adopted the Voluntary Work Law, which came into force on the 1st January 2016. On the basis of this Volunteering Law, sections 9 and 10 of the Youth Law were amended.

On the 16th December 2015, the Saeima approved amendments to the Youth Law during the third reading, stating that a) youth volunteering shall be organized under the Volunteering Law (see Chapter 2.) and that b) youth organizations are entitled to receive state budget funding from the annual national youth policy program in order to receive organizational activity support.

Until now, several rules and laws have regulated voluntary work. However, Latvia’s Parliament adopted the Volunteering Law on the 18th June 2015, which now establishes a common legal framework for voluntary work in our country. The Volunteering Law will come into force on the 1st January 2016.

In this Law, volunteering work is defined as organized physical or intellectual work carried out by a natural person in good faith for the good of society. The Volunteering law states that volunteering work can be undertaken by a person who has reached 13 years of age. Persons aged between 13 and 16 years of age may only perform volunteer work with their legal representatives’ written permission.

Similarly, the Saeima of Latvia supported amendments to the Youth Law that state that the youth organizations under the annual national youth policy program are entitled to receive state budget funding to support their activities and projects. Amendments were required for youth organizations to receive unlimited government funding, and to allow additional access to other financial instruments offered by the state.