The court admitted that a specific point of the 22 December 2009 Cabinet of Ministers requirements, which details the amount of the state social security benefit for unemployed persons and seniors as inconsistent with the Constitution. The Constitutional Court also concluded this requirement as null and void as of 1 January 2021.

The ruling is final and is not subject to appeal. The challenged norm states the state social security benefit amount for persons disabled from childhood is EUR 122.69 per month, EUR 80 for other disabled persons, and EUR 64.03 for seniors. Ombudsman Juris Jansons had previous outlined in his speech to the court that the state social security benefit recipients are primarily invalids that require additional healthcare services.

Defendants stressed to the court that the appealed benefit functions as additional support, not main source of income. Additionally, it is stressed the state already provides a general social service. As previously reported, the case was commenced following a request from the ombudsman.

He believes the challenged norm’s detailed state social security benefit amount is insufficient for recipients to afford basic needs – healthy food, clothes, housing, healthcare and education. Although the state economy is developed, the state social security benefit amount has not been reviewed for a long time, stresses Jansons.

Additionally, he believes it is defined by political estimates, not economic indexes. This is why the ombudsman believes the state has not performed its duties before residents as required by the Constitution. The ombudsman says the appealed norm’s outlined state social security benefit amount causes social inequality and exclusion and does not provide them with equal opportunities when compared to economically active persons.

Read more @BNN