ANDREJEVA v. LATVIA JUDGMENT 17 41. The relevant provisions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office Act (Prokuratūras likums) of 19 May 1994 are worded as follows: Section 1(1) “The public prosecutor’s office is an institution belonging to the legal service which shall independently supervise compliance with the law, within the limits of the powers defined in this Act.” Section 2 “The public prosecutor’s office ... (6) shall protect the legitimate rights and interests of individuals and the State in accordance with procedures established by law; (7) shall bring applications or actions before the courts in accordance with procedures established by law; (8) shall take part in the examination of cases by a court, in the circumstances provided for by law.” III. INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS ON SOCIAL SECURITY 42. Mutual recognition of periods of employment to be taken into account in calculating State pensions is provided for in the cooperation agreements on social security which Latvia has concluded with Lithuania (in force since 31 January 1996), Estonia (in force since 29 January 1997), Ukraine (in force since 11 June 1999), Finland (in force since 1 June 2000) and Canada (in force since 1 November 2006). A similar agreement with the Netherlands (in force since 1 June 2005) prohibits any discrimination on the ground of place of residence. Lastly, on 12 June 2008 the Latvian Parliament approved the first reading of a bill concerning a similar agreement with Belarus. 43. The agreement with Ukraine provides in principle for mutual recognition of aggregate periods of employment in accordance with the relevant legislation of both parties (Article 16 § 1 of the agreement). With regard to the period before 1 January 1991, years of service in the territory of one or both parties are taken into account in the calculation of pensions by either party, and it is immaterial whether or not contributions have been paid in the territory in question (see Article 16 § 3). 44. The cooperation agreement on social security between Latvia and the Russian Federation was signed on 18 December 2007. The Latvian Parliament approved it in a Law of 2 October 2008. On the following day,