Article 94.
Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one may be deprived of or have their liberty restricted, otherwise than in accordance with law.
Article 95
The State shall protect human honour and dignity. Torture or other cruel or degrading treatment of human beings is prohibited. No one shall be subjected to inhuman or degrading punishment.
Article 97.
Everyone residing lawfully in the territory of Latvia has the right to freely move and to choose his or her place of residence.
Article 106.
Everyone has the right to freely choose their employment and workplace according to their abilities and qualifications. Forced labour is prohibited. Participation in the relief of disasters and their effects, and work pursuant to a court order shall not be deemed forced labour.
Article 107.
Every employed person has the right to receive, for work done, commensurate remuneration which shall not be less than the minimum wage established by the State, and has the right to weekly holidays and a paid annual vacation.108. Employed persons have the right to a collective labour agreement, and the right to strike. The State shall protect the freedom of trade unions.
CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF LATVIA 1922 (REINT. 1991, AMENDMENTS THROUGH 2014) (PDF)
Section 71.2. Crimes against Humanity
For a person who commits crime against humanity, that is, for an activity which is performed as a part of vast or systematic offensive to civilians and which has been expressed as homicide, extermination, enslavement, deportation or forced movement, unlawful deprivation or limitation of liberty, torture, rape, involvement of a person into sexual slavery, compelling the engaging in prostitution, forced fertilisation or sterilisation, or sexual violence of similar degree of severity, apartheid, persecution of any group of people or union on the basis of political, racial, national, ethnical, cultural, religious or gender affiliation or other reasons which have been recognised as inadmissible in the international law, in relation to any activity indicated in this Section or genocide, or war crime or other activity provided for in the international law binding upon the Republic of Latvia, which causes serious physical or mental suffering,
the applicable punishment is life imprisonment or deprivation of liberty for a term of not less than three and not exceeding twenty years.
Section 74. War Crimes
For a person who commits war crimes, that is, commits violation of provisions regarding conduct of war prohibited in international law binding upon the Republic of Latvia or of international humanitarian law, including murder, torture of a person protected by humanitarian law or inhuman treatment of such person, taking of hostages, illegal deportation, movement, limitation of liberty, unjustifiable destruction of cities and other entities, or other prohibited activity,
the applicable punishment is life imprisonment or deprivation of liberty for a term of not less than three and not exceeding twenty years.
Section 146. Violation of Labour Protection Provisions
(1) For a person who commits violation of the requirements of regulatory enactments regulating labour protection or technical safety, where commission thereof is by the manager of an undertaking (company), institution or organisation, or other person responsible for compliance therewith, and if such offence has caused bodily injury with health disorder or permanent loss of ability to work, the applicable punishment is deprivation of liberty for a term not exceeding one year or temporary deprivation of liberty, or community service, or a fine.
(2) For a person who commits the same offence, if such has caused the death of a human being or serious bodily injury to several human beings, the applicable punishment is deprivation of liberty for a term not exceeding five years or temporary deprivation of liberty, or community service, or a fine.
Article 152. Illegal deprivation of liberty.
(1) For a person who commits unlawful acts depriving a person of the possibility to freely determine where he or she may be (illegal deprivation of liberty), if the elements of a criminal offence by a State official are not present,
the applicable punishment is temporary deprivation of liberty or community service, or a fine.
(2) For a person who commits the same acts, if such are committed in a manner dangerous to the life or health of the victim, or if they are associated with the causing of physical suffering to him or her, or they have continued for more than a week, or they have been committed repeatedly, or they have been committed by a group of persons pursuant to prior agreement,
the applicable punishment is deprivation of liberty for a term not exceeding three years or temporary deprivation of liberty, or community service, or a fine, with or without probationary supervision for a term not exceeding three years.
(3) For a person who commits illegal deprivation of liberty, if serious consequences have been caused thereby or if it has been committed by an organised group,
the applicable punishment is deprivation of liberty for a term not exceeding seven years, with or without confiscation of property and with or without probationary supervision for a term not exceeding three years.
Article 153. Kidnapping.
(1) For a person who commits a seizure, using violence or threats, or abduction of a person by fraud or using the state of helplessness of a person (kidnapping),
the applicable punishment is deprivation of liberty for a term not exceeding five years or temporary deprivation of liberty, or community service, or a fine, with or without probationary supervision for a term not exceeding three years.
(2) For a person who commits the same acts, if commission thereof is repeated, as well as for a person who kidnaps an underaged person,
the applicable punishment is deprivation of liberty for a term of not exceeding seven years, with or without confiscation of property and with probationary supervision for a term not exceeding three years.
(3) For a person who commits kidnapping, if serious consequences have been caused thereby or it has been committed against a minor, or it has been committed by an organised group,
the applicable punishment is deprivation of liberty for a term of not less than three years and not exceeding twelve years, with or without confiscation of property.
Article 154. Seizure of hostages.
(1) For a person who commits seizure or detaining of a person as a hostage, if such is associated with threats of murder, infliction of bodily injury or further detainment of such person for the purposes of compelling a natural or legal person or a group of persons to do
some act or refrain from doing such, proposing this as a condition for the release of the hostage,
the applicable punishment is deprivation of liberty for a term of not less than two years and not exceeding ten years, with or without confiscation of property and with or without probationary supervision for a term not exceeding three years.
(2) For a person who commits the same acts, if they have been committed against a minor or they have been committed by a group of persons pursuant to prior agreement,
the applicable punishment is deprivation of liberty for a term of not less than three years and not exceeding twelve years, with or without confiscation of property and with probationary supervision for a term not exceeding three years.
(3) For a person who commits the acts provided for in Paragraph one of this Section, if serious consequences have been caused thereby or they have been committed against a minor, or they have been committed by an organised group,
the applicable punishment is deprivation of liberty for a term of not less than five years and not exceeding fifteen years, with or without confiscation of property and with probationary supervision for a term not exceeding three years.
Section 154.1. Human Trafficking
- For a person who commits human trafficking, the applicable punishment is deprivation of liberty for a term not exceeding eight years, with or without confiscation of property.
- For a person who commits human trafficking if it has been committed against a minor, or if it has been committed by a group of persons pursuant to prior agreement, the applicable punishment is deprivation of liberty for a term of not less than three years and not exceeding twelve years, with or without confiscation of property and with or without probationary supervision for a term not exceeding three years.
- For a person who commits human trafficking if it has endangered the life of a victim or serious consequences have been caused thereby, or it has been committed involving particular cruelty or against a minor, or it has been committed by an organised group, the applicable punishment is deprivation of liberty for a term of not less than five years and not exceeding fifteen years, with or without confiscation of property and with or without probationary supervision for a term not exceeding three years
[Amended 25 April 2002; 16 December 2004; 13 December 2007/2; 8 July 2011; 13 December 2012; 14 March 2013]
Section 154.2. Meaning of Human Trafficking
- Human trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, concealment, accommodation or reception of persons for the purpose of exploitation, committed by using violence or threats or by means of deceit, or by taking advantage of the dependence of the person on the offender or of his or her state of helplessness, or by the giving or obtaining of material benefits or benefits of another nature in order to procure the consent of such person, upon which the victim is dependent.
- The recruitment, transportation, transfer, concealment, accommodation or reception of a minor for the purpose of exploitation shall be recognised as human trafficking also in such cases, if it is not connected with the utilisation of any of the means referred to in the Paragraph one of this Section.
3. Within the meaning of this Section, exploitation is the involvement of a person in prostitution or in other kinds of sexual exploitation, the compulsion of a person to perform labour or to provide services, the holding of a person in slavery or other similar forms thereof (debt slavery, serfdom or compulsory transfer of a person into dependence upon another person), and the holding a person in servitude or also the illegal removal of a person's tissues or organs. [Amended 25 April 2002; 13 December 2012]
CRIMINAL CODE (PDF)
Section 6. Invalidity of Regulations that Erode the Legal Status of Employees
(1) Provisions of a collective agreement, working procedure regulations, as well as the provisions of an employment contract and orders of an employer which, contrary to regulatory enactments, erode the legal status of an employee, shall not be valid.
(2) Provisions of an employment contract which contrary to a collective agreement erodes the legal status of an employee shall not be valid.
Section 7. Principle of Equal Rights
(1) Everyone has an equal right to work, to fair, safe and healthy working conditions, as well as to fair work remuneration.
(2) The rights provided for in Paragraph one of this Section shall be ensured without any direct or indirect discrimination – irrespective of a person's race, skin colour, gender, age, disability, religious, political or other conviction, ethnic or social origin, property or marital status, sexual orientation or other circumstances.
(3) In order to promote the adoption of the principle of equal rights in relation to disabled persons, an employer has a duty to take measures that are necessary in conformity with the circumstances in order to adapt the work environment to facilitate the possibility of disabled persons to establish employment legal relations, fulfil work duties, be promoted to higher positions or be sent for occupational training or the raising of qualifications, insofar as such measures do not place an unreasonable burden on the employer.
Section 12. International Agreements
If an international agreement, which has been ratified by the Saeima, sets out provisions that differ from those contained in this Law, the provisions of the international agreement shall be applied.
Section 37. Prohibitions and Restrictions of Employment
(1) It is prohibited to employ children in permanent work. Within the meaning of this Law, a child shall mean a person who is under 15 years of age and who until reaching the age of 18 continues to acquire a basic education.
Section 61. Minimum Wage
(1) A minimum wage shall not be less than the minimum level determined by the State.
(2) The minimum monthly salary within the scope of normal working time, as well as minimum hourly wage rates, shall be determined by the Cabinet.
(3) The procedures for the specification and review of the minimum monthly wage shall be determined by the Cabinet.
LABOUR LAW (PDF)
