GRAND CHAMBER CASE OF SAVICKIS AND OTHERS v. LATVIA (Application no. 49270/11) JUDGMENT Art 14 (+ Art 1 P1) • Discrimination • Very weighty reasons for exclusion of employment periods accrued in other former USSR states in state pension calculation for permanently resident non-citizens, in contrast to Latvian citizens • Impugned difference in treatment justified by the legitimate aims of protecting Latvia’s constitutional identity based on the State continuity doctrine and its economic system • Importance of specific context after decades of unlawful occupation and annexation as well as complex policy choices after restoration of independence • Wide margin of appreciation not overstepped • Weight given to applicants’ personal choice to remain “permanently resident non-citizens” while acceding to citizenship was open to them • Case distinguished from Andrejeva v. Latvia in so far as it concerns employment periods completed outside, and before establishing any link with, Latvia • No loss of basic benefits or those based on financial contributions STRASBOURG 9 June 2022 This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.