The Constitutional Court of Latvia ruled against a challenge to a law that converted Russian-language schools to Latvian. It stated that the decision to make the school language Latvian was valid under the country’s legal framework and international commitments.

Latvia, a former member of the Soviet Union, gained its independence and officially became a country in 1991. While it has a sizable Russian-speaking population, the majority of the population speaks Latvian. Article 4 of the Constitution of Latvia also recognizes Latvian as the official language of the nation. Additionally, Article 114 gives the right to ethnic minorities to preserve their language.

The Education Law of 1998 and the General Education Law of 2000 required all public schools to use Latvian as the primary language of teaching, while some private institutions choose to teach in Russian. In 2018, the Amendment to General Education Law Act was passed, which made teaching in Latvian compulsory in all educational institutions, including private institutions.

This created controversy among the Russian speaking population, and opponents of the reform filed a petition in 2023 against the act, alleging it to be violation of the right to obtain general education in a minority language. The original court upheld the act and the Constitutional Court was hearing an appeal.

A 2020 report by the Venice Commission, an advisory body of the Council of Europe, examined these amendments. It concluded that while the laws were in compliance with international regulations, the government of Latvia should consider a framework more inclusive of minorities.

The ruling comes amid as Latvia has passed other laws that impact the Russian-speaking community, including regulations which require Russian residents to pass a language exam. Latvia also closed border crossing points with Russia in October 2023, for what it cited as security reasons.