Disclaimer: The English language text below is provided by the Translation and Terminology Centre for information only; it confers no rights and imposes no obligations separate from those conferred or imposed by the legislation formally adopted and published. Only the latter is authentic. The original Latvian text uses masculine pronouns in the singular. The Translation and Terminology Centre uses the principle of gender-neutral language in its English translations. In addition, gender-specific Latvian nouns have been translated as gender-neutral terms, e.g. chairperson.

The Saeima ¹ has adopted
and the President has proclaimed the following Law:

Maintenance Guarantee Fund Law

Section 1.
The following terms are used in this Law:

1) child – a minor who has a personal identity number assigned in the Republic of Latvia;

2) submitter – a natural person who takes care of a child and who has submitted a submission regarding the disbursement of child support to the Administration of the Maintenance Guarantee Fund;

3) debtor – a parent who has been obligated to pay child support to his or her child by a court adjudication and who does not fulfil the court adjudication, or is fulfilling it, but does not provide the minimum amount of child support which the Cabinet has determined on the basis of Section 179, Paragraph five of the Civil Law; and

4) child support – the expenses of supporting a child, which each parent has the responsibility to provide to his or her child irrespective of his or her financial condition, and the minimum amount of which the Cabinet has determined in accordance with Section 179, Paragraph five of the Civil Law.

Section 2.
The purpose of this Law is to ensure the implementation of the right of a child to social security by establishing the Maintenance Guarantee Fund for the disbursement of minimum child support.

Section 3.
(1) The Maintenance Guarantee Fund (hereinafter – the Fund) is the amount of resources provided for in the State budget for ensuring a child with child support, if the execution of a court adjudication regarding the recovery of child support in accordance with the procedures prescribed in the Civil Procedure Law is recognised as impossible, or a debtor fulfils a court adjudication regarding the recovery of child support, but does not ensure such minimum amount of child support, which has been determined by the Cabinet on the basis of Section 179, Paragraph five of the Civil Law.

(2) The holder of the resources of the Fund shall be the Administration of the Maintenance Guarantee Fund (hereinafter – the Fund Administration).

(3) The Fund Administration is a direct administrative authority which is subject to the control of the Ministry for Children and Family Affairs (hereinafter – the Ministry).

Section 4.
The Fund Administration shall perform the following tasks:
1) attract, accumulate and disburse the resources of the Fund in accordance with the purpose indicated in Section 3, Paragraph one of this Law;
2) appropriately and efficiently manage the resources of the Fund, as well as ensure the control of the utilisation thereof; and
3) register persons to whom child support has been disbursed from the Fund, and debtors in accordance with the procedures specified by the Cabinet.

Section 5.
(1) The Fund Administration has the right:
1) to receive financing from the State budget;
2) to receive donations and gifts; and
3) to request and obtain information free of charge which is necessary for the implementation of the purpose of the Fund from State and local government institutions and authorities, as well as from private persons.

(2) The Fund Administration has a duty:
1) to assume the place of an enforcer of a debt without a special court decision in a child support case in the part regarding the recovery of disbursed child support from a debtor in accordance with the procedures specified in Section 8 of this Law;  2) to recover, on an uncontested basis, child support disbursed by the Fund and the interest set by Law for unduly paid amounts of child support, from a submitter who has provided false information (in order to receive child support); and
3) to receive, without a particular adjudication, the interest set by Law for amounts of child support disbursed from the Fund and not recovered from a debtor.

Section 6.
(1) The financial means for the attainment of the purpose referred to in Section 3, Paragraph one of this Law and the Fund Administration shall be provided for in the Law on the State Budget for the current year as separate programmes (sub-programmes).

(2) Resources of the Fund shall be comprised of:
1) a State budget grant from general revenue;
2) the resources recovered from a debtor, but in the case provided for in Section 5, Paragraph two, Clause 2 of this Law – from a submitter; and

3) gifts, donations and foreign financial aid.

(3) At the end of the year, the surplus of the resources referred to in Paragraph two, Clauses 2 and 3 of this Section shall remain in the Fund and shall be used in the following year, if the surplus does not exceed the amount of resources actually received during the year.

(4) Resources of the Fund Administration shall be comprised of:
1) a State budget grant from general revenue; and
2) gifts, donations and foreign financial aid.

(5) Resources of the Fund and the Fund Administration shall be stored in the Treasury.

Section 7.
(1) A director, who is appointed to and removed from office by the Minister for Children and Family Affairs, shall manage the Fund Administration.

(2) The director of the Fund Administration shall:
1) manage and organise the operations of the Fund Administration and ensure the continuity of the operations of the Fund Administration, determine the competence and responsibility of the employees of the Fund;
2) establish structural units of the Fund Administration;
3) determine the staff list of employees of the Fund Administration;
4) be responsible for the establishment and operation of the management decision examination system;
5) take decisions regarding the disbursement of child support and the suspension and termination of disbursement, as well as take a decision and issue an execution order regarding the recovery of support, which the Fund has unduly paid, from a submitter in the case provided for in Section 5, Paragraph two, Clause 2 of this Law;
6) take a decision to reimburse resources wrongly transferred to the Fund;
7) represent the Fund Administration without special authorisation;
8) be responsible for the fulfilment of the tasks of the Fund Administration;
9) be responsible for rational utilisation of the resources of the Fund;
10) be responsible for the lawfulness of the activities of the Fund Administration; and
11) ensure that an annual public report regarding the activities of the Fund Administration and a report regarding the implementation of the purpose of the Fund are drafted and published.

(3) The director of the Fund Administration may have a deputy.

Section 8.
(1) Child support from the resources of the Fund shall be disbursed after an examination of a submission of a submitter, if he or she provides care for a child who has been assigned child support in accordance with a court judgement or, in the case specified in Section 179, Paragraph one of the Civil Law, with a court decision, and one of the conditions referred to in Section 3, Paragraph one of this Law has set in.

(2) If the execution of a court adjudication regarding the recovery of child support has been recognised as impossible in accordance with the procedures specified in the Civil Procedure Law , or if a debtor fulfils a court adjudication regarding the recovery of child support in an amount that is less than the amount specified in Section 179, Paragraph five of the Civil Law, the Fund Administration shall, on the basis of a written submission of a submitter and the documents attached thereto, disburse child support to the submitter from the resources of the Fund for each child in an amount determined by the Cabinet on the basis of Section 179, Paragraph five of the Civil Law, but not more than the amount specified in the court adjudication.

(3) The Fund Administration shall announce to a debtor a decision regarding the disbursement of child support within seven days after the decision has been taken. The debtor has a duty to inform the bailiff, under the management of whom the relevant execution matter regarding the recovery of child support belongs, regarding the child support payments made to the Fund, beginning with the day when a decision regarding the disbursement of child support has been taken.

(4) If the place of residence of a debtor is unknown, an announcement regarding the initiation of the disbursement of child support shall be published in the newspaper “Latvijas Vēstnesis” [the official Gazette of the Government of Latvia].

(5) A bailiff has a duty to inform the Fund Administration regarding recovered child support, if it ensures the minimum amount of child support determined by the Cabinet on the basis of Section 179, Paragraph five of the Civil Law.

(6) The Cabinet shall determine a sample submission and the documents to be attached to a submission.

(7) The amount of child support to be disbursed to a submitter shall be calculated counting from the day when a submission was submitted to the Fund Administration. The Cabinet shall prescribe the procedures according to which the Fund Administration shall examine a submission and the documents attached thereto as well as according to which the Fund Administration shall disburse child support.

Section 9.
(1) The Fund Administration shall suspend the disbursement of child support, if at least one of the following conditions has set in:
1) a submitter has refused to receive child support from the Fund by submitting a written submission to the Fund Administration;
2) a submitter has been deprived of the right to provide support or care; or          3) a submitter has died.

(2) In the case referred to in Paragraph one, Clause 2 of this Section, the relevant Orphan’s court (parish court) shall send a certified copy of an adjudication in a registered letter to the Fund Administration within three working days after the taking of a decision or the receiving of the court adjudication .

(3) The Fund Administration shall resume the disbursement of child support, if a submitter , whose right to provide child care or child support have been renewed, submits to the Fund Administration the documents referred to in Section 8, Paragraph two of this Law. In this case, the amount of child support to be disbursed shall be calculated as of the day the submission was submitted.

Section 10.
(1) The Fund Administration shall terminate the disbursement of child support, if at least one of the following conditions has set in:
1) a child for whom child support is disbursed from the Fund, has reached legal age;
2) the legal grounds for the disbursement of child support have ceased;
3) a child for whom child support is disbursed from the Fund, has died; or
4) a debtor has died.

(2) In the cases referred to in Paragraph one of this Section, a submitter shall lose the right to receive child support.

Section 11.
(1) A decision of the Fund Administration regarding the disbursement of child support or the suspension or termination of the disbursement of child support, shall be announced to the bailiff under the management of whom the relevant execution matter regarding a recovery of child support belongs.

(2) From the day of the receipt of a decision, the Fund Administration shall become an enforcer of a debt in a case of a recovery of child support in the amount and interest set by law (Section 5, Paragraph two, Clause 3) of the sum disbursed to the enforcer of the debt (the submitter).

(3) A claim of the Fund Administration regarding a recovery of disbursed child support from a debtor shall not have a limitation period.

Section 12.
(1) Decisions taken by the director of the Fund Administration in accordance with this Law may be appealed by submitting a submission to the State Secretary of the Ministry in accordance with the procedures prescribed in the Administrative Procedure Law. A decision of the State Secretary of the Ministry may be appealed to a court in accordance with the procedures prescribed specified in the Administrative Procedure Law.

(2) The submission of a submission to the State Secretary of the Ministry or the submission of an application to a court shall not suspend the execution of a decision taken by the director of the Fund Administration, except in the case, where it is suspended with a written decision of the person examining the submission or application.

2. The Ministry shall administer the resources of the 2004 Budget sub-programme 01.04.00 “Establishment of the Maintenance Fund” until the establishment of the Fund Administration, ensuring the disbursement of child support in accordance with the procedures specified in this Law and ensuring the establishment of the Fund Administration.

3. Disbursement of child support shall be initiated on 1 August 2004.

This Law shall come into force on 1 July 2004.
This Law has been adopted by the Saeima on 17 June 2004.

Acting for the President,
The Chairperson of the Saeima  I. Ūdre

Rīga, 29 June 2004