The judicial power is separated from other powers and from the spheres of influence thereof. Only courts administer justice which means that the final instance for resolving any disputes is a court.
Other bodies created for this purpose also fulfil the function of administering justice, such as the labour dispute committees formed for settling individual labour disputes or the Industrial Property Committee created for settling intellectual property-related disputes. Such bodies are administrative authorities fulfilling the functions of administering justice, but they are not included in the court system, pursuant to the Constitution. The courts of honour of professional associations are also not part of the national court system.
The Estonian court system consists of three levels:
- the courts of first instance – four District Courts and two Administrative Courts,
- the courts of second instance or courts of appeal – two Circuit Courts of Appeal and
- the higher courts, or the court of cassation and the constitutional review court – the Supreme Court.
District Courts as general courts hear civil, criminal, and misdemeanour matters. Administrative Courts as courts of first instance hear administrative matters falling within their scope of competence pursuant to the law. Circuit Courts of Appeal are courts of second instance which, on the basis of appeals, review decisions of District Courts and Administrative Courts. The Supreme Court is the highest court which reviews circuit court rulings on the basis of cassation. The Supreme Court is also the constitutional review court.
A detailed overview of the court system and the contact details of the courts can be found on the website of courts.
Management and administration of a court
A judicial body is managed by the chairman of the court and the director of the court in parallel. The former is responsible for the proper functioning of the administering of justice, while the director is the administrative head of the judicial body. Both the chairman and the director are appointed by the Minister of Justice, who is required to hear the opinion of the full court and obtain the approval of the Council for Administration of Courts to appoint the chairman. The director of the court reports to the chairman of the court and to the Minister of Justice and organises the operations and the use of the assets of the judicial body, prepares the application for the budget of the court, and is in charge of the budgetary funds as well as for organising other support services.
The courts of first and second instance are administered by the Minister of Justice in cooperation with the Council for Administration of Courts. The Council for Administration of Courts is an advisory body which has been formed for management of the court system and is led by the chairman of the Supreme Court. The council consists of eleven members: it includes the chairman of the Supreme Court, five judges who are elected by the full court for three years, two members of the parliament, the Attorney-General of Estonia, the chairman of the Bar Association, and the Chancellor of Justice or their representative. The Minister of Justice or their representative takes part in the work of the council with the right to speak. Further information about the field of competence and the activities of the Council for Administration of Courts can be found on the website of courts.
The Supreme Court administers itself independently and has a separate budget.
Taking court action
The procedure and the terms for taking court action depend on whether the procedure in question is a civil, criminal, misdemeanour, or administrative procedure. Further information about taking court action can be found on the website of courts.