Last week, in the world news, one of the “hottest” news was the announcement of Donald Trump, who has become the first former and newly elected U.S. president to be found guilty of criminal charges.
Authors:
- Sorainen Law Firm, Corporate Crime Investigations and Compliance attorneys: Dr. iur. Violeta Zeppa-Priedīte, Jānis Dobelnieks, Darius Raulušaitis, Ugnė Nasvytė
As explained, Donald Trump sentencing in his New York criminal case means he’ll be the first U.S. president to take office with a felony criminal conviction.
Judge Juan Merchan‘s sentencing of Trump to an “unconditional discharge” places a judgment of guilt on his record just days before he officially reclaims the White House on Jan. 20.
In the context of this news, assessments are made from a US legal perspective on various issues relevant to the assessment of this important post and its holder See, for example.
Below, Sorainen Corporate Crime Investigations and Compliance attorneys provide a brief assessment from a Baltic law perspective.
In short, it is likely that the legal capacity of the newly elected president in Latvia and Lithuania would be different from that in the U.S.
Could Mr.Trump be president while convicted?
Latvia
The short answer from the point of view of Latvian law is that it is most likely not.
A candidate for the highest public offices in Latvia requires a good reputation (see Section 2 of the Law on the Election of the President of Latvia. Law on the Election of the President of Latvia: Law of the Republic of Latvia. 03.05.2007. Latvijas Vēstnesis, 17.05.2007. No.79.). However, the fact that criminal proceedings have been initiated against a potential candidate for the office of President of Latvia does not mean that he or she should be denied the opportunity to be elected, taking into account the principle of the presumption of innocence in criminal law.
On the other hand, if a person has been punished for an intentional criminal offence, this automatically deprives him of the opportunity to run for various public offices. Article 3 of the Law on the Election of the President of Latvia also stipulates that a person who has been punished for an intentional criminal offence may not be elected President, except for a person who has been rehabilitated or whose criminal record has been extinguished or removed, or if the person has been punished with a prohibition to stand as a candidate in elections to the Saeima, the European Parliament, the city council, the municipality council and the parish council, except for a person who has been rehabilitated or whose criminal record has been extinguished or removed.
If criminal prosecution has been initiated or continues against an already elected President, a relevant question arises whether the president’s office does not end in the case provided for in Article 54 of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia, i.e., when the President, with the consent of the Saeima, is held criminally liable.
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