Post-Employment Non-Competition: The Content of Agreements and the Interpretation of Fairness in the Practice of Latvian Courts
By: Janis Karklins and Annija Karklina
References
- Apollo. (2025, 10 September). Tiesa bijušo LU rektoru Muižnieku atzīst par vainīgu un piespriež naudas sodu. https://www.apollo.lv/8321519/tiesa-bijuso-lu-rektoru-muiznieku-atzist-par-vainigu-unpiespriez-naudas-sodu
- Bevitt, A., & James, L. T. N. (2007, November). U. S. and E. U. non-competition agreements compared and contrasted. http://documents.jdsupra.com/d5bb690a-135c-4a53-b61e-0740d11d8002.pdf
- Bundesamt für Justiz. (n.d.). Gesetze im Internet. Retrieved 5 June 2026, from https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de
- Decision of the Senate of the Republic of Latvia of 26 January 2023 on case no. SKA-479/2023. https://manas.tiesas.lv/eTiesasMvc/nolemumi/pdf/497029.pdf
- Folketing of Denmark. (2015). Act no. 1565 of 15 December 2015 on Restrictive Employment Clauses. https://www.bm.dk/media/7029/lov-om-ansttelsesklausuler-eng-4.pdf
- Gailums, I. (2002). Darba likums. Komentāri. Tiesu prakse. 2. grāmata. 2. Ingus Gailuma juridiskā biznesa biroja izdevniecība.
- Germany (1897, 10 May). Commercial Code (Handelsgesetzbuch, HGB). https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/hgb/__74.html
- Judgment of the Civil Division of the Riga Regional Court of 15 April 2019, case no. CA-0717–0719/1 (C32179317). https://manas.tiesas.lv/eTiesasMvc/nolemumi/pdf/420721.pdf
- Judgment of the Senate of the Republic of Latvia, Department of Civil Cases of 29 August 2007, case no. SKC-560/2007 (not published).
- Judgment of the Senate of the Republic of Latvia, Department of Civil Cases of 9 January 2008, case no. SKC-6/2008.
- Judgment of the Senate of the Republic of Latvia, Department of Civil Cases of 4 June 2008, case no. SKC-377/2008.
- Judgment of the Senate of the Republic of Latvia, Department of Civil Cases of 26 November 2008, case no. SKC-424/2008. In Latvijas Republikas Augstākās tiesas Senāta Civillietu departamenta spriedumi un lēmumi 2008 (pp. 465–474). Riga: Latvijas Tiesnešu mācību centrs, 2009.
- Judgment of the Senate of the Republic of Latvia, Department of Civil Cases of 11 March 2009, case no. SKC-99/2009.
- Judgment of the Senate of the Republic of Latvia, Department of Civil Cases of 30 March 2023, case no. SKC-3/2023 (C24160116). https://www.at.gov.lv/downloadlawfile/9015
- Judgment of the Senate of the Republic of Latvia, Department of Civil Cases of 29 January 2026, case no. SKC-2/2026.
- Judgments and Decisions of the Department of Civil Cases of the Senate of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Latvia 2008. In Latvian Judicial Training Centre (pp. 465–474).
- Kārkliņa, A. (2021). Restriction of competition after termination of employment relationships. Journal of the University of Latvia: Law, 14, 158–182.
- Kingdom of Belgium (1978, 3 July). Law on Employment Contracts. https://emploi.belgique.be/fr/themes/contrats-de-travail/fin-du-contrat-de-travail/clause-de-non-concurrence
- Kingdom of Spain. (2015, 23 October). Royal Legislative Decree 2/2015 of approving the revised text of the Workers’ Statute (Estatuto de los Trabajadores). https://www.boe.es/eli/es/rdlg/2015/10/23/2/con
- Korycińska-Rządca, P. (2024). Trade secrets in the digital age: How do the measures provided for in EU law face the challenges of protecting an employer’s trade secrets against unauthorised acquisition, use and disclosure by its employees? Bialystok Legal Studies, 29(2), 163–176.
- Mammone, G. (2006). Non-competition clauses in labour contracts. Italy. XIVth Meeting of European Labour Court Judges. https://www.ilo.org/sites/default/files/wcmsp5/groups/public/%40ed_dialogue/%40dialogue/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_159966.pdf
- McMahon, C., & Eustace, A. (2022). Nothing to lose but their restraints of trade: Lessons for employment non-compete clauses from EU competition law. Industrial Law Journal, 52(2), 409–450 Miller, R. L., & Jentz, G. A. (2009). Fundamentals of business law: Excerpted cases (2nd ed.) South-Western Cengage Learning.
- Pivateau, G. T. (2008). Putting the blue pencil down: An argument for specificity in noncompete agreements. Nebraska Law Review, 84(3), 672–707. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1007599
- Republic of Estonia. (2008, 17 December). Employment Contracts Act. https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/520062016003/consolide
- Republic of Finland. (2001, 26 January). Employment Contracts Act. 55/2001. https://www.finlex.fi/en/legislation/translations/2001/eng/55
- Republic of Latvia. (1922, 15 February). The Constitution of the Republic of Latvia. https://likumi.lv/ta/en/en/id/57980-the-constitution-of-the-republic-of-latvia
- Republic of Latvia. (1937, 28 January). Civil Law. https://likumi.lv/ta/en/en/id/225418-the-civil-law
- Republic of Latvia. (1995, 19 July). Law on Prevention of Squandering of Financial Resources and Property of Public Entities. https://likumi.lv/ta/en/en/id/36190-law-on-prevention-of-squanderingof-financial-resources-and-property-of-public-entities
- Republic of Latvia. (1998, 17 June). Criminal Law. https://likumi.lv/ta/en/en/id/88966-criminal-law
- Republic of Latvia. (2001, 20 June). Labour Code (consolidated text of 2024, as amended). https://likumi.lv/ta/en/en/id/26019-labour-law
- Republic of Latvia. (2001, 4 October). Competition Law. https://likumi.lv/ta/en/en/id/54890-competition-law
- Republic of Latvia. (2017, 27 July). Amendments to the Labour Law. https://likumi.lv/ta/id/292584-grozijumi-darba-likuma
- Republic of Lithuania. (2016, 14 September). Labour Code of the Republic of Lithuania, XII– 2603 (amended on 6 April 2023 – No XIV–1875). https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/6eea48d294ea11eea70ce7cabd08f150?jfwid=-k3id7tf7e
- Republic of Poland. (1974, as amended 2025). Labour Code (Kodeks pracy). https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU19740240141/U/D19740141Lj.pdf
- Selwyn, N. M. (2006). Selwyn’s law of employment (14th ed). Oxford University Press.
- State Audit Office. (2021, 4 March). Vai profesionālās darbības ierobežojums publiskajā sektorā tiek noteikts tiesiski? https://lrvk.gov.lv/lv/getrevisionfile/29526-een0SJ3PxjLG8_8LfYf9BOUKRytxbysJ.pdf
- Supreme Court of the Republic of Latvia. (2012). Tiesu prakse lietās par individuālajiem darba strīdiem. http://at.gov.lv/files/uploads/files/docs/petijumi/darba%20stridi.pdf
- Whiting, M. N. (2025). The Federal Trade Commission, Germany, and non-compete agreements: An analysis of the Federal Trade Commission’s proposed ban on non-compete agreements and a comparison to German Non-Compete Law. The South Carolina Journal of International Law and Business, 21(2), 289–311.
- Zvērinātu advokātu birojs ‘BDO Zelmenis&Liberte’. (2020). Darba likums ar komentāriem. Latvijas Brīvā arodbiedru savienība.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15290/bsp.2026.31.03.10 | Journal eISSN: 2719-9452 | Journal ISSN: 1689-7404
Language: English, Polish
Page range: 183 - 197
Submitted on: Sep 30, 2025
Accepted on: Apr 24, 2026
Published on: Sep 16, 2026
Published by: University of Białystok
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 4 issues per year
Keywords:
Related subjects:
© 2026 Janis Karklins, Annija Karklina, published by University of Białystok
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.