In the litigation over ending long-term logging contracts, the “Latvijas valsts meži” requests for interim protection have been granted - Zeme un valsts

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In the litigation over ending long-term logging contracts, the “Latvijas valsts meži” requests for interim protection have been granted

Latvijas valsts meži | 10.05.2026

Acting on a letter received from the Competition Council on 9 January this year, AS “Latvijas valsts meži” (LVM) has taken all of its long-term logging contract (IML) partners to court, applying for the contracts to be declared invalid and for their operation to be suspended until a court ruling takes effect. At present, all of LVM's applications in the litigation over the termination of the IMLs have been granted – proceedings have been initiated and interim measures imposed, suspending performance of all obligations under the IMLs.

LVM points out that the company was required by law to take over performance of the IML obligations from the State Forest Service when LVM was founded in 2000. At that time, “Latvijas valsts meži” had to take over 361 contracts with terms ranging from a few years to as many as 96.

“Latvijas valsts meži” has repeatedly tried to resolve this unfavourable situation ever since it began operating. LVM refused to perform those contracts that contained terms which were impossible to fulfil, unlawful or disadvantageous to the state, and it entered into civil disputes with several IML partners by bringing claims in court. In the early 2000s, however, the court rulings went against “Latvijas valsts meži” – they ordered the company to perform the contracts in full for their entire period of validity.

At the same time, it is important to stress that the IML issue is a genuinely complex one – the Competition Council itself spent more than five years investigating a possible breach of the principle of competition neutrality under Section 14.1 of the Competition Law, which came into force in 2020. During that five-year investigation, the Competition Council informed “Latvijas valsts meži” of a possible or prima facie breach, but it was only on 9 January 2026 that LVM received an unequivocal opinion from the Competition Council that could serve as grounds for LVM to go to court.

LVM's further course of action regarding the termination of the long-term logging contracts will be determined by the courts' rulings.

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