Riigikohus

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Seat of the Estonian State Court on Toompea in Tartu

The Estonian State Court ( Estonian Riigikohus ) is the highest court in the Republic of Estonia . It is both the Estonian constitutional court and the highest revision or cassation body of the ordinary and administrative jurisdiction .

Composition and tasks

The Estonian State Court has its seat in Tartu . It consists of 19 judges. The judges belong to one of the three revision or cassation senates (kolleegium) of the court: Administrative Senate (5 members), Criminal Senate (6 members) and Civil Senate (7 members) plus a chairman.

The judges are elected by the Estonian Parliament ( Riigikogu ) on the proposal of the President of the State Court . The chairman of the State Court of Justice is elected by Parliament on the proposal of the Estonian President . His term of office is nine years. The judges of the State Court of Justice are elected up to the age limit of 67 years. You are independent and subject only to the law.

In addition to the three cassation senates , the court includes the “Senate for the Review of Constitutionality” (põhiseaduslikkuse järelevalve kolleegium) , which is the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Estonia. At the request of other constitutional bodies and courts, it carries out abstract and concrete judicial review procedures . Local parliaments can submit a local constitutional complaint to the court . In certain cases, an individual constitutional complaint is possible. The constitutional senate has nine members of the court. The chairman of the Estonian State Court is ex officio President of the Constitutional Senate.

The highest organ of the Riigikohus is the Joint Senate (Riigikohtu üldkogu) . All judges of the State Court belong to it. It has a quorum if 11 members of the court are present. The Joint Senate decides with a majority of the judges present. It is responsible for appointing and dismissing judges of the first instance. He is responsible for the disciplinary system over all Estonian judges.

There is also the special senate (Riigikohtu erikogu) . It decides on interpretative disputes between the individual senates of the State Court.

History of the Estonian State Court

The Estonian Constituent Assembly ( Asutav Kogu ) passed the Law on the State Court of Justice (Riigikohtu seadus) on October 21, 1919 . Its first meeting took place on January 14, 1920 in Tartu. In 1935 the seat of the State Court was moved from Tartu to Tallinn . With the Soviet occupation of Estonia in the summer of 1940, the State Court was abolished. Its last meeting took place on December 31, 1940. Six of the 16 judges were arrested by the NKVD and died in the gulag , two more were arrested by the Soviets after the end of World War II .

After the restoration of Estonian independence, the Estonian constitution was adopted by referendum on June 28, 1992 . On May 27, 1993, the re-established Estonian State Court met for its first session after World War II.

Chairwoman of the Estonian State Court

literature

  • Carmen Schmidt: "New regulation of constitutional jurisdiction in Estonia" In: Osteuropa-Recht (Stuttgart), 49th year (2003), issue 1, pp. 43–66

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ literally: "State Court"
  2. ↑ literally: "General Assembly"
  3. ↑ literally "special assembly"

Coordinates: 58 ° 22 ′ 46 "  N , 26 ° 42 ′ 56.2"  E