Constitutional Court: lifetime ban on violence offenders working as psychologists is unlawful

Latvia's Constitutional Court ruled on Monday, September 28, that a legal provision permanently barring individuals convicted of violence or threats of violence from working as psychologists is unconstitutional. The case arose from a complaint filed by the Administrative District Court in a matter where a person was denied registration in the Psychologists' Register due to a prior conviction for a violence-related offense.

The court's reasoning

The court acknowledged that the ban's underlying goal — protecting clients and public trust in the psychology profession — is legitimate, since the profession relies on a special bond of trust between psychologist and client. However, lawmakers, in setting the ban as permanent, failed to account for differences between types of offenses, the person's age at the time of the offense, the time elapsed since then, and the possibility that a person's behavior and values can change over time.

The court suggested that an individual assessment would be a more appropriate approach, taking into account the severity of the offense, its context, the person's motivation and conduct afterward, their attitude toward what they did, their age at the time, and how much time has passed since. Such an assessment would allow a reasoned judgment on whether the person can act in accordance with professional principles even in unpredictable situations typical of psychological work. The court stressed there is no basis to assume that everyone who committed a violence-related offense as a teenager or young adult will remain prone to violence for life.

Consequences

The court concluded that the lifetime ban disproportionately restricts the right to freely choose and pursue an occupation, guaranteed under Article 106 of the Constitution. To give lawmakers time to draft new regulation, the contested provision will remain in effect until June 1, 2027. For the complainant in the underlying case and other individuals who have already begun defending their rights, the provision is deemed invalid from the moment their rights were infringed. The ruling is final and not subject to appeal, and takes effect on the day it is published in the official gazette "Latvijas Vēstnesis."