In 2004, on April 1, the Court Administration began its work as a new direct-administration institution subordinate to the Ministry of Justice. It took over important organizational functions of the courts, including the functions and funding of the State Unified Computerized Land Register. The date is notable because it fell in the very spring of Latvia’s Euro-Atlantic integration — a few weeks after joining NATO and one month before entering the European Union.

The year 2004 was a period of intensive institutional change in Latvia’s justice system: shortly before this, the Administrative Procedure Law had entered into force and the administrative courts had begun work. The creation of the Court Administration helped separate practical court management from policymaking and modernize the infrastructure of the judiciary.