Digital Formalism and Effective Access to Justice: Institutional Responsibility for Electronic Service of Judicial Documents in Latvia

This working paper examines the relationship between digital court administration, electronic service of judicial documents, and the practical effectiveness of access to justice in Latvia. The study focuses on the distinction between formal legal compliance and effective accessibility of judicial documents, particularly where court decisions are delivered in electronically signed container formats such as .edoc. It considers whether technically lawful methods of electronic service may nevertheless create practical barriers to the timely exercise of procedural rights. The paper analyses institutional responsibility across courts, the Court Administration of Latvia, and the technical infrastructure supporting electronic judicial communication. Particular attention is given to the risk of fragmented responsibility where no single institution evaluates the cumulative effect of technical and administrative arrangements from the perspective of the litigant. The legal analysis is framed primarily by Article 92 of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia and Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights, including the principle that access to court must be practical and effective rather than merely theoretical. The publication includes an empirical case dossier and primary-source administrative correspondence in order to permit independent examination of the factual and institutional context.