The effects of the application of the new regime for the transfer of cases, intended to address the excessive workload, raise concerns in relation to the transfer of judges. On 7 July 2021, the Presidents of the Tallinn and Tartu Circuit Courts of Appeal made use of the amendments reported last year, which extended the possibility to transfer a case to another county or administrative court . This amendment was introduced to address the excessive workload in certain courts and is meant to be used as an extraordinary measure and not as standard practice . Upon a request of the President of Harju County Court, the presidents of the two circuit courts decided to transfer 543 cases to the County Courts of Viru and Pärnu. If not all cases can be handled in written proceedings, this could result in a significant number of cases for which judges may need to travel to hold hearings in the court where the cases were originally filed, possibly for a longer period. Concerns have been raised that such transfers of cases could result in temporarily transferring judges, for the duration of the hearings, without their consent, to another city.

The level of perceived judicial independence in Estonia has decreased, yet continues to be high among the general public and average among companies. Overall, 60% of the general population and 47% of companies perceive the level of independence of courts and judges to be ‘fairly or very good’ in 2022 . According to data in the 2022 EU Justice Scoreboard, the level has decreased for both the general public and for companies, both in comparison to 2021 (66% for the general public and 57% for companies), and in comparison to 2016 (62% for the general public and 72%).

The Estonian court system consists of three levels: four County Courts (hearing all civil, criminal and misdemeanour matters) and two Administrative Courts at first instance, two Circuit Courts at second instance (reviewing decisions of County and Administrative Courts), and the Supreme Court at the highest instance, which reviews court judgments by way of cassation proceedings and is also the court of constitutional review. The Supreme Court administers its own budget and operations, while the courts of first and second instance are administered in cooperation between the Council for Administration of Courts and the Ministry of Justice. The Council for Administration of Courts is a non-permanent body, which has powers, among others, related to the judicial map, the resources of the judiciary and participates in the discussion on administration of the courts. Judges of first and second instance courts are appointed by the President of the Republic on the proposal of the Supreme Court (en banc) . The Prosecutor’s Office is a government agency under the Ministry of Justice, which is independent in the performance of its duties. It is managed by the Prosecutor General, particularly as regards the appointment and career of prosecutors . The Estonian Bar Association is an independent, self-governing professional association . Disciplinary proceedings against lawyers can be initiated before the Court of Honour by any interested person or by the board of the Bar Association . Estonia participates in the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO).

A project creating a new digital platform to further improve the process of enactment of laws entered its first implementation phases. As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, new legislation provides a broader basis for measures to address health emergencies and exercise supervision. The Cohesive Estonia Development Plan 2021-2030 replaces or integrates all previous strategies and plans related to Civil Society Organisations, and extends the duration of the previous programme.

Estonia has amended the media law to strengthen the independence of the media regulator and enhance the transparency of media ownership, including beneficial owners. The right of access to information is protected by the Constitution, yet actual disclosure practices vary between public bodies. There is legislation in place that foresees detailed procedures for operating TV and radio licenses without media-specific quantitative rules for market entry or operation. Legislative safeguards for the independence of public service media are in place. Since the 2021 Rule of Law Report, the comprehensive framework for the protection of journalists has remained stable.

The anti-corruption network effectively supports the implementation of the 2021-2025 Anti-Corruption Action Plan. The criminal justice system for investigating and prosecuting corruption continues to function well. The Guidelines on Lobbying are being implemented and the first evaluation of their effectiveness is still ongoing. There are shortcomings in the implementation of the Guidelines on Conflicts of interest, including the lack of evaluation of their implementation, which does not allow to verify and monitor whether they have met their objectives. The first feedback on the implementation of the Anti-Corruption Act extending the obligation to declare interests to ministers’ political advisers and the deputy secretaries-general of ministries is positive. The draft law that would strengthen the powers of the Political Parties’ Financing Surveillance Committee is under preparation. The Government has proposed a comprehensive law to protect whistleblowers, which is currently being discussed in Parliament.

The digitalisation of the justice system in Estonia, which is already well advanced, continued to improve, including in the field of criminal proceedings. This high level of digitalisation has allowed the justice system to continue working efficiently, with some further improvements in criminal cases. Challenges have been identified as regards the workload of judges, as illustrated by a survey conducted among judges. To address these challenges and to even-out the workload between courts, a new regime was created for transfer of cases. Concerns have been raised about the effect of the application of this new regime because it may require judges to travel to hold hearings in cases they were assigned. Court fees have been significantly increased but citizens can rely on a number of safeguards, including exemption from court fees for cases with the highest social significance, such as child support disputes, labour and pension related disputes.

The improvements in the digitalisation of justice continue with the introduction of a speech recognition software. As noted in the 2020 and 2021 Rule of Law Reports, Estonia is among the best performing Member States when it comes to digitalisation of justice. This high level of digitalisation has contributed to the efficiency and quality of the justice system. Furthermore, a new electronic tool has been introduced. On 19 November 2021, the speech recognition software ‘SALME’ was introduced to the Council for the Administration of Courts. The main goal of this software is to save time on writing protocols, especially in hearings in criminal matters. In its current form, the software can process only in Estonian, but the goal is to expand it to other languages. Currently, the software is available for criminal proceedings, but the Ministry of Justice plans to expand the use to civil and administrative proceedings. Different types of trainings, general and in-house, support the improvements in the digitalisation of justice.

Challenges have been identified as regards workload of judges. In 2021, a survey conducted among judges disclosed the perceived potential detrimental effects of the excessive workload on the quality of justice. The survey shows the effects of the increasing workload in the Estonian justice system. The increase of workload per judge was also illustrated by the Yearbook of Estonian Courts, where a summary of the data shows that at first instance courts the workload of judges varies between 227 and 447 cases that a judge has per year. The main factors affecting the workload of judges, according to the same survey as well as other stakeholders, are legislative changes that increased the workload but not the available positions of judges, the increased complexity of cases, the excessive number of cases and the low quality of procedural documents submitted by the parties to the proceedings. Moreover, due to an upcoming retirement wave, the justice system could face challenges filling in the vacant positions. In June 2022, one of the main topics at the General Assembly of all judges in Estonia will be the increase in workload and how the situation can be improved.

Court fees have been significantly increased with a number of safeguards. As of 1 January 2022, the court fees in Estonia were increased by 40% on average. This is the first increase of the court fees since 2011. The 2022 EU Justice Scoreboard shows that the court fees in consumer and commercial cases are already among the higher ones in the EU. According to the Government, the economic growth of Estonia since the last revision of court fees, as reflected in the increase of GDP, has justified this measure. The increase was not accompanied by other reforms, such as a reform of the available legal aid scheme. According to stakeholders, the increase could also be seen as a way to decrease the workload of the courts by disincentivising cases from being brought before the courts, while making alternative dispute resolution more attractive. In certain cases, related to family matters, such as divorce or disputes over the custody of a child, a mandatory alternative dispute resolution was introduced. The State Fees Act also lists a number of exceptions from payment of the fees for each of the areas affected by the increase; some of the areas with the highest social significance, such as child support disputes, labour and pension related disputes, are exempted from court fees altogether. The Estonian justice system also allows a party to challenge court fee rates before the Constitutional Review Chamber of the Supreme Court on a case-by-case basis.

Efficiency

The justice system continues to work efficiently, with some further improvements in criminal cases. The length of proceedings and pending cases are among the shortest in the EU . In 2021, civil cases were resolved with a similar efficiency as in 2020 in county courts (in 101 days on average), criminal cases were resolved fairly faster than in 2020 (on average, in 192 days in general criminal proceedings, 24 days in simplified proceedings, and 44 days in misdemeanour cases) . In the first instance courts, administrative cases were resolved with a similar efficiency as in 2020 (on average 127 days) . The average processing time for appeals was 162 days in civil cases, 66 days in criminal cases and 40 days in administrative cases. The length of court proceedings in civil, commercial and administrative cases is shorter than average in the EU (measured in disposition time) and the number of pending cases are amongst the lowest in the EU. Compared to 2020, the clearance rate increased slightly above 100%, which means that courts were generally able to cope with incoming cases .

II.Anti-Corruption Framework

The anti-corruption institutional set-up has not changed compared to the 2021 Rule of Law Report. The Ministry of Justice is in charge of the preparation, oversight and coordination of the anti-corruption Action Plan 2021-2025. The Anti-Corruption Select Committee exercises parliamentary scrutiny over the implementation of anti-corruption measures. The Political Parties’ Financing Surveillance Committee oversees political parties’ funding. The Corruption Crimes’ Office of the National Criminal Police is a specialised unit responsible for carrying out investigations on corruption cases, and the Internal Security Service is responsible for investigating corruption offences committed by higher state officials and higher local government officials in six larger municipalities. The Prosecutor’s Office supervises and directs pre-trial criminal investigation proceedings on corruption offences and represents the public prosecution in courts.

The perception among experts and business executives is that the level of corruption in the public sector in Estonia remains relatively low. In the 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International, Estonia scores 74/100 and ranks 6th in the European Union and 13th globally . This perception has improved over the past five years . The 2022 Special Eurobarometer on Corruption shows that 43% of respondents consider corruption widespread in their country (EU average 68%) and 12% of respondents feel personally affected by corruption in their daily lives (EU average 24%). As regards businesses, 33% of companies consider that corruption is widespread (EU average 63%) and 9% consider that that corruption is a problem when doing business (EU average 34%). Furthermore, 38% of respondents find that there are enough successful prosecutions to deter people from corrupt practices (EU average 34%) , while 50% of companies believe that people and businesses caught for bribing a senior official are appropriately punished (EU average 29%) .

The extended anti-corruption network effectively supports the implementation of the 2021-2025 Anti-Corruption Action Plan. The network, which was originally composed of anti-corruption coordinators from each ministry, was in the last years expanded to additional stakeholders and it is now composed of 29 members. In 2021, the network met six times. The tasks of the network, mainly related to developing and sharing best practices, supporting cooperation and mutual learning and exchanging experience, inlcude now also monitoring the activities foreseen by the Action Plan . According to the authorities and civil society, the network is a key player in the implementation of the Action Plan. The cooperation between authorities and organisations participating in the network is considered good by both .

The criminal justice system for investigating and prosecuting corruption continues to function well. In 2021, the criminal justice system proved again to be effective in identifying corruption cases. During 2021, a final verdict was reached in relation to three corruption cases on political party financing and bribery, and four more were brought to court. As regards the case involving the Porto Franco development project in Tallinn that led to the resignation of the previous Government in January 2021, the proceedings are still ongoing. To further support investigation and prosecution of corruption cases, further specialised expertise, notably regarding procurement and audit has been created . Furthermore, specific anti-corruption trainings for prosecutors and judges take place once per quarter on average, focusing on a variety of topics . In addition, members of the Internal Security Service participate in the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) financial investigation and money laundering trainings.

Discussions on legislative transparency and integrity with regard to lobbying are ongoing. Between March and May 2022, the Anti-Corruption Select Committee of the Parliament organised a series of three roundtables with the participation of external stakeholders to discuss legislative transparency and integrity with regard to lobbying. As a second step, concrete recommendations are to be drafted based on the discussions that were carried out .

The Guidelines on Lobbying are being implemented and the first evaluation of their effectiveness has been carried out. The Ministry of Justice, together with Transparency International Estonia and the relevant network, have carried out an analysis of the implementation of these Guidelines on lobbying. The assessment concluded that certain measures are needed, such as ensuring accuracy and timeliness of information. The ranking of “best performers” will be published by the autumn of 2022; this is expected to encourage and support the further implementation of the Guidelines on lobbying. According to the authorities and stakeholders, the preliminary conclusion is that the ministries generally follow the Guidelines adequately, while there are some gaps in the way they are implemented by the government agencies and top officials . At the same time there is no enforcement mechanism in case the Guidelines on lobbying are not followed.

There are shortcomings in the implementation of the Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest. The Guidelines for ministers and their advisers to avoid conflicts of interest have been in force since March 2021. They require the minister or adviser to familiarise themselves with the Guidelines and encourage the completion of a dedicated online course. However, no evaluation of their efficacy is planned and no measures are foreseen in case the Guidelines are not followed. In view of ensuring proper implementation, in February 2022 the Minister of Justice reminded all ministers and their advisers that they must participate and pass the test in the e-training course. GRECO assessed that the rules on ‘revolving doors’, included in the guidelines, represent a concrete and positive step forward . However, overall, the Guidelines lack an effective verification and monitoring mechanism. The lack of evaluation of the implementation of the Guidelines does not allow to assess whether they have met their objectives. Also, the Guidelines lack an enforcement mechanism. The draft legislation on ‘revolving doors’ is currently under consideration by the Government. The draft foresees a cooling off period after the term of office of the Government members has expired .

The first feedback on the implementation of the Anti-Corruption Act is positive. Last year, the obligation to declare interests was extended to ministers’ political advisers and the deputy secretaries-general of ministries . According to GRECO, the amendments as presented to the Parliament were a positive development . Overall, the initial feedback on the implementation of the amendments to the Anti-Corruption Act that entered into force in April 2021 indicates their usefulness in terms of drawing attention to registering the declarations of interest and ensuring clarity of the role of political advisors.

The Minister of Justice will soon submit the draft law aimed at strengthening the powers of the Political Parties’ Financing Surveillance Committee. In October 2021, the Ministry of Justice published a ‘legislative intent’ to amend the Political Parties Act with a view to increase the powers of the Political Parties’ Financing Surveillance Committee. The draft law would extend the investigating powers of the Committee through a legal basis for requesting documents, information and explanations from third parties. Currently, the Committee can make such requests but the third parties are under no obligation to respond. Furthermore, the draft law would introduce a deadline for returning prohibited donations and would introduce compulsory enforcement of Committee’s request to transfer the value of these donations into state budget. Finally, political parties and members of political parties would be prohibited from using public funds for political activities of the party. Currently, this only applies during periods of election campaigns. Following the public consultation, the Ministry of Justice is preparing the draft law and envisages to send it to the Government by August 2022, before tabling it at Parliament.

On whistleblower protection, the legislative procedure for a new comprehensive regulation is ongoing. On 17 January 2022, the Legal Affairs Committee adopted the draft Act on the Protection of Whistleblowers which was a positive step according to both the Government and the stakeholders . The draft establishes the conditions and scope of protection for whistleblowers who have become aware of an infringement in the course of their employment. The draft stipulates the conditions and scope for obtaining protection, and the means and channels for notification. It contains provisions on safeguarding the confidentiality of whistleblowers also in corruption cases .

III.Media Pluralism and Media Freedom

In Estonia, the freedom of expression finds legal and formal protection in the Constitution. Secondary legislation expressly ensures the right of journalists to protect their sources, fosters media freedom in the radio and television sector and provides safeguards for the independence of the public service broadcaster. The right to information is explicitly recognised in the Constitution, in the Public Information Act and in the Personal Data Protection Act. Legislation has been adopted to transpose the revised Audio-Visual Media Services Directive (AVMSD).

Estonia has adopted legislation to strengthen the independence of the media regulator – the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority. Amendments to the Media Services Act and amendments to other associated acts, transposing the revised AVMSD, which were under preparation during the previous two Rule of Law Reports, were formally adopted on 16 February 2022 and are being implemented. The amended Media Services Act entails changes in functions and competences of the national media regulator, which has been operating as an administrative body of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. A specific provision validates the independent and impartial status of the media regulator in carrying out its tasks, aiming to fulfil the requirements on independence enshrined in the revised AVMSD. The media regulator reports that it is able to carry out its tasks efficiently and that it has undergone a structural change at the end of 2021 and now benefits from the support of a new information society division.

Amendments to media law enhance transparency of media ownership. The transposition of the relevant provisions of the revised AVMSD introduce for the first time a specific obligation for media companies to disclose their ownership structure, including beneficial ownership. General information related to entrepreneurship, including information on beneficial ownership of general and limited partnerships, private and public limited companies and commercial associations, is electronically made available to the public for free in the Business Register.