Restitution of Church Property in Latvia after the Restoration of Independence in 1990

Abstract

The adoption of the Declaration of 4 May 1990 “On the Restoration of the Independence of the Republic of Latvia” initiated not only the process of restoring Latvian statehood, but also the restitution of property rights, including those of religious organisations, carried out within the framework of the principle of continuity. This meant that the State’s task was to restore, as far as possible, the legal situation that existed before June/July 1940, i.e. before the occupation of the Republic of Latvia by the Soviet Union. The Republic of Latvia was proclaimed on 18 November 1918. One of the main tasks of the state in ensuring social peace was the implementation of land reform, under which the churches, and above all the Evangelical Lutheran Church, lost their share of rural property, which was legally equivalent to manor property. At the same time, the land reform did not affect the rights of the churches to religious buildings and other properties, including immovables, which were not nationalised within the reform. However, the occupation of the Republic of Latvia by the Soviet Union in June 1940 began a rapid process of nationalisation. Against this background, the first part of this article provides an overview of church property rights after the establishment of the Republic of Latvia in 1918; the second part examines the nationalisation of church property during the Soviet occupation; and the third part outlines the property restitution procedure after the restoration of the independence of the Republic of Latvia.