The Framework of Criminal Law

Legislation on Bias-motivated Violence

Bias-motivated Violent Crimes as Specific Offenses	Bias as an Express General Aggravating Factor	Bias as an Aggravating Factor in Specific Common Crimes
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Bias Types Covered by Provisions on Aggravating Circumstances

Race/National Origin/Ethnicity	Religion	Sexual Orientation	Gender	Disability	Other
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Bias as an Express General Aggravating Factor

The Criminal Code of Latvia contains specific provisions that expressly enable the racist motives of the offender to be taken into account by the courts as an aggravating circumstance when sentencing.

On October 12, 2006, the Latvian Parliament amended section 48 of the criminal code dealing with aggravating circumstances in the commission of a crime. According to the newly amended part 14 of that section, a “racist motivation” now constitutes an aggravating circumstance. As of 2009, these provisions have not been applied in any criminal case.[1]

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[1] FRA, “European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, Annual Report,” Austria: 2009, ISSN 1831-0362, http://fra.europa.eu/fraWebsite/attachments/FRA-AnnualReport09_en.pdf.