On 26 May 2021, the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter – the Court) will be hearing a complaint by four non-citizens (nepilsoņi) with permanent residence status in Latvia and one citizen of the Russian Federation (at the time the application was lodged, the applicant was a non-citizen of Latvia) concerning an alleged violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (the right to property) to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in conjunction with Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) of the Convention.
The applicants alleged that the State Social Insurance Agency (VSAA), by not taking into account their employment and equivalent periods they have accrued while working outside the territory of Latvia in the calculation of their State pensions and insurance periods, has permitted an unjustified difference in the treatment of the applicants experienced, compared to citizens of Latvia.
At the hearing, Latvia will be represented by the Representative of Latvia before International Human Rights Institutions, Kristīne Līce. The applicants will be represented by the sworn advocate, Inese Ņikuļceva, and a member of the Board of the Human Rights Council of Latvia, Aleksandrs Kuzmins. Because one of the applicants has been granted the citizenship of the Russian Federation after the lodging of the complaint, the Russian Federation is involved in the examination of the case and takes part the Court hearing as a third party pursuant to Article 36, Paragraph 1 of the Convention (for the protection of the interests of its national).
It will not be possible to watch the Court session online; however, a recording of the hearing will be available in the Hearings section of the Court’s website.