Cobalt has filed an Amicus Curiae brief on behalf of the Association of LGBT and Their Friends Mozaika in the Constitutional Court of Latvia in a case regarding the state fee applicable to testator’s same-sex partner.
According to Cobalt, "the Constitutional Court ruled that Clause 13 of the Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No. 1250, insofar as it is applicable to a same-sex partner of the deceased, who compromised (sic) family, does not conform with Article 110 Paragraph 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia and is void as of 1 June 2022."
According to Cobalt, "the Constitutional Court found that in accordance with the applicable regulatory enactments the State legally 'does not see' existing same-sex families, because they have not been granted [the] opportunity to legally establish their family relationship. Therefore, the existing system of family protection and support in Latvia, which among other things includes the contested norm, does not protect the families of same-sex partners, legally, economically, or socially. Thus, the Constitutional Court concluded that the contested norm insofar as it is applicable to the same-sex partner of a deceased person, with whom family ties were established, does not conform with Article 110 Paragraph 1 of the Constitution."
Cobalt's team included Managing Partner Lauris Liepa and Associate Gabriela Santare.
