NordenBladet —
The Bill on Amendments to the Courts Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (enhancing court administration) (632 SE), initiated by the Government, will reform the administrative organisation of the courts of first and second instance so that it would be clearer, more efficient, and autonomous.
At present, the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs, the Council for the Administration of Courts, chief judges, directors of court and, to a certain extent, the Supreme Court are engaged in court administration. Such dispersed responsibility fragments the system and makes it difficult to manage.
According to the Bill, most of the court administration tasks will be transferred from the ministry to the courts themselves. To organise the administration and development of courts, a Council for the Administration and Development of Courts will be set up, following the restructuring of the current Council for the Administration of Courts. While the current body is more advisory and coordinating, the Council for the Administration and Development of Courts will be the highest decision-making body in court administration. It will guide the development of courts and organize administrative decisions at a strategic level. Thus, judges’ decision-making power over both support services and the direction of development of the courts will increase significantly.
A Court Administration Service will also be established which will provide day-to-day support services to the courts, such as translation, archiving, and financial and asset management. The Court Administration Service will take over the current tasks performed in court administration in the ministry, and by directors of court. The service will be headed by a director appointed for a term of five years whose activities will be monitored by the Council for the Administration and Development of Courts.
During the debate, Varro Vooglaid took the floor on behalf of the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group. Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa Pakosta also took part in the debate.
The Bill on Amendments to the Preschool Education Act and the Act on Amendments to the Republic of Estonia Education Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (establishment of an obligation to study) (644 SE), initiated by the Rural Affairs Committee, will provide for the abandonment of the licence obligation for childcare facilities where catering is provided and for operators who provide the catering service for childcare facilities which was due to come into force on 1 September.
Since 2021, childcare service providers engaged in catering have not had the obligation to apply for an activity licence from the Agriculture and Food Board, but on 1 September, the Act on Amendments to the Preschool Education Act and Other Associated Acts is entering into force, according to which the obligation to apply for a licence for childcare facilities would be reintroduced.
The Rural Affairs Committee took the view that, since such childcare facilities and operators providing catering services to them already have the obligation to notify the Agriculture and Food Board of their economic activities, including the provision of catering for children, a separate licence application process would lead to an excessive administrative burden for both the facilities providing the childcare service, and the Agriculture and Food Board which processes the licences.
A draft Resolution was rejected
The Riigikogu rejected the Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Holding a referendum on the issue of generating power from oil shale” (581 OE), submitted by the Estonian Centre Party Group. It was intended to put the question “Should Estonia abandon the use of oil shale in energy by 2040?” to a referendum on 1 August 2025.
During the debate, Evelin Poolamets took the floor on behalf of the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and Lauri Laats on behalf of the Estonian Centre Party Group.
The lead committee moved to reject the draft Resolution. 41 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the motion and 20 voted against. Thus, the draft Resolution was dropped from the legislative proceedings.
Verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian)
Video recording of the sitting will be available to watch later on the Riigikogu YouTube channel.
Riigikogu Press Service
Merilin Kruuse
+372 631 6592; +372 510 6179
merilin.kruuse@riigikogu.ee
Questions: press@riigikogu.ee
Link uudisele: The Riigikogu concluded the first reading of two Bills
Source: Parliament of Estonia