Ineta Ziemele

President of the Constitutional Court

Ineta Ziemele was born on 12 February 1970.

In 1993 she graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Latvia, and in 1994 was awarded a master’s degree in law by the University of Lund, the Raoul Wallenberg Institute. She continued her post-graduate studies in Law and Political Science at Aarhus University, Denmark. In 1999 she was awarded PhD by the Cambridge University for her doctoral thesis “State Continuity and Citizenship in the Baltic States: Aspects of International and Constitutional Law”.

Ineta Ziemele started her working career in 1990 as an assistant to a member of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia, later she was an advisor to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Saeima, as well as an advisor to the Prime Minister. In 1995, alongside other jobs and studies, she started to work as a lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the University of Latvia and established the Human Rights Institute of the Faculty of Law. From 1999 to 2001 she worked at the Directorate General of Human Rights, the Council of Europe. In 2001 Ineta Ziemele was elected Soderberg Professor at the University of Lund, the Raoul Wallenberg Institute and the Riga Graduate School of Law. Ineta Ziemele has been an arbitration expert in several international arbitration proceedings in compliance with the rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law and the International Chamber of Commerce.

Ineta Ziemele has been a member of the Commission of Strategic Analysis under the President of Latvia and of the Committee of Experts on Constitutional Law established by the President. She has served as an expert in numerous international projects, inter alia, she has been a member of the European Commission E-health expert group and a member of a group of experts on the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. In 2001 Ineta Ziemele established an international legal journal – Baltic Yearbook of International Law – and continues to be its Editor-in-chief. Since 2010 Ineta Ziemele has been included in the list of experts of the Latvian Council of Science, and from 2012 to 2017 she was an expert of the Research Council of the European University Institute. Ineta Ziemele has been a member of the Board of the European Society of International Law between 2004 and 2012 and 2014 and 2016. Since 2017 – corresponding member of the Latvian Academy of Sciences.

In 2005 Ineta Ziemele entered into office as a Judge of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). In 2012 she was elected the President of a Chamber of the ECHR and chaired the Committee on the Status of Judges. On 21 March 2017, confirmed as the representative of the Republic of Latvia at the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

On 11 September 2014, the Parliament of Latvia approved Ineta Ziemele as the Judge of the Constitutional Court of Latvia, and she entered into office on 8 January 2015. On 8 May 2017, Ineta Ziemele was elected as the President of the Constitutional Court.

Ineta Ziemele has published four books on international law and human rights in Latvia and abroad, has been an editor and co-author of nine books, and has written over a hundred articles. The research conducted by Ineta Ziemele covers an extensive range of international and constitutional law, and human rights.

On 14 April 2014, Ineta Ziemele was decorated with the Order of Three Stars (Class IV).

On 19 October 2016, Ineta Ziemele was honoured with the Award of the Cabinet of Ministers for significant contribution to the development of the Latvian legal system, reinforcing democracy and the rule of law, as well as achievements in legal science.

On 3 May 2018, Ineta Ziemele was awarded the 1st Degree Badge of Honour of the Justice System for the contribution to the development of the justice system, strengthening democracy and the rule of law, particularly for significant scientific achievements in the field of law and for increasing the recognisability of Latvia’s image in Europe and beyond, consolidation of the principle of legal certainty and legal expectations, as well as increasing justice.

On 16 November 2018, Ineta Ziemele became the recipient of the highest award of the Jelgava Region – the Honorary Diploma – for professional growth and contribution to the development of public administration, thus, indirectly fostering the local patriotism of the residents of the Jelgava Region.

By the decision of the Council of the European Union of 2 September 2020, Ineta Ziemele was appointed as the Judge of the Court of Justice of the European Union from 6 October 2020 to 6 October 2024.

In 2021 she received an honorary diploma from the Constitutional Court of Latvia for her contribution to strengthening Latvia as a democratic, legal, socially responsible and sustainable country.