Legislation

Regulations No. 294 (Issued in accordance with Paragraph 5 of Article 18)

Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia

22 August, 2000 Riga

I. General Provisions

1. These regulations provide for:

1.1. The order of creating, spelling and usage of place names of the Republic of Latvia;

1.2. The order of creating, spelling and usage of the names of institutions, non-governmental organizations and companies (enterprises) to be established on the territory of Latvia;

1.3. The order of creating and using the titles of events provided for by Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 11 of the State Language Law.

II. Creating, spelling and usage of place names

2. Place names in the Republic of Latvia shall be created and used in Latvian language, but on the territory of the Liv coast they can be created and used also in Liv language.

3. Each administrative territory, populated place, street and real estate can have only one official name.

4. In official documents written in Latvian, place names are spelled in accordance with the existing spelling rules, taking into consideration also the traditions of spelling and usage of place names. In other type of texts and maps the peculiarities and spelling traditions of the respective region could be taken into account.

5. Legally identical is:

5.1. A place name spelled in the same way;

5.2. A place name spelled only with:

5.2.1. Differences which follow from differences in the spelling rules and spelling traditions of different time periods;

5.2.2. Differences which appeared due to specifying the spelling of the place name;

5.3. Legally identical are also different place names that replaced each other as names of one and the same geographical object due to official renaming.

6. Specifying of the spelling of a place name does not have to be followed by changing the spelling of the place name in ownership and personal identity documents if the owner of the document or the holder of the personal identity document does not require that; the specified form shall be used in all official documents composed after the specification.

7. Place names of other states in Latvian should be spelled as close to the pronunciation in the original language as possible, except for cases, when in Latvian traditionally a form different from the original language is used. These place names, except for the indeclinable words, shall be included in the grammar system of the Latvian language (with masculine or feminine endings in singular or plural), taking into account the rules of spelling proper names in the respective language and the existing norms of the Latvian language.

8. Expert advice upon the request of natural or legal persons is available:

8.1. On identity of place names - the State Land Service of the Republic of Latvia;

8.2. On correct spelling of place names - State Language Center

III. Creating, spelling and usage of the names of institutions, non-governmental organizations and companies (enterprises)

9. Names of state and municipal institutions, courts and agencies belonging to judicial system, state and municipal companies, as well as enterprises in which the state or a municipality holds the largest share of the capital established on the territory of Latvia shall be created and used in Latvian, except for cases provided for in other laws; on the territory of the Liv coast these names can be created and used in the Liv language as well.

10. The exact names of institutions mentioned in Paragraph 9 of these regulations, (symbols of institutions that shall be used as identification in the status of a legal person) in the state language are created and spelled in accordance with the Latvian language spelling norms. In the symbolic names neologisms can be used if they are adaptable to the system of sounds and forms of the Latvian language, as well as the words and expressions of the classical languages which are traditionally used in cultures of many peoples.

11. In the spelling of names of social organizations, private organizations and enterprises (companies) within the framework of administrative supervision shall be used only the letters of the Latvian or Latin alphabet. In the names of social organizations, private organizations and enterprises (companies) shall not be used words or expressions offending public morals.

12. Names of other institutions or personal names (name together with the surname) in company (enterprise) names can be used only with the written permission of these institutions or persons; if several persons have the same personal name, it is enough to have a permission of one such person to use the name.

13. Advice on compliance of the names of institutions, non-governmental organizations and companies (enterprises) to the Latvian language spelling norms and other requirements of these Regulations connected with the language, is provided by the State Language Center.

IV. Titles of Events

14. Titles of events held by state and municipal institutions, courts and agencies belonging to judicial system, state and municipal companies, as well as enterprises in which the state or a municipality holds the largest share of the capital shall be created and used in the state language.

15. If one or several foreign languages are used as working languages in events held by state and municipal institutions, courts and agencies belonging to judicial system, state and municipal companies, as well as enterprises in which the state or a municipality holds the largest share of the capital, the title of the event can be created in all working languages but the title in the state language shall be in the foreground.

V. Concluding Provisions

16. Regulations become effective September1, 2000.

17. Names of private companies (enterprises) mentioned in Paragraph 11 of these regulations shall be spelled and used with Latin alphabet letters starting January 1, 2001.

Prime Minister A. Berzins

Minister of Justice I. Labucka

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