Visiting judges from Estonia compare judicial systems

Jul. 22—PRINCETON — Six courtroom judges from Estonia have spent this week in Mercer County, seeing first-hand how the judicial system works here as well as meeting with county, city and state officials.

Estonia, a small country with a population of 1.3 million, is located in Eastern Europe north of Poland on the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland, bordered by Russia to the east and Latvia to the south.

The country has been in the news this year because it was one of the countries under the rule of the Soviet Union until gaining independence in 1989 with the collapse of the Soviet Union, a subject the group discussed this week. But the main focus was on the comparison of judicial systems and their experiences here.

The delegation is here through a Congressional Office for International Leadership (formerly known as the Open World Leadership Center) program to promote international relationships.

Members of the delegation are Mr. Erkki Hirsnik, Criminal Law, Appeals Court; Ms. Triin Harak, County Court; Mr. Janar Jaatma, Administrative Law, Circuit Court; Ms. Mari-Liis Avikson, County Court; Ms. Ragne Piir, Administrative Court; and Assistant Prosecutor Ms. Laura Jogisoo.

On Tuesday, the group discussed their experiences here while they were waiting to attend a court proceeding in Mercer County Circuit Court Judge William Sadler's courtoom.

Although the judicial systems are similar, there are few differences.

"The most significant difference in my eyes is the jury," Hirsnik said. "We don't have it. The final decision is always made by a professional judge — normally by him/her alone or sometimes with two lay judges."

Hirsnik said grand juries are not used either.

"It's up to the prosecutor to decide whether a case should be brought in front of the judge or not ," he said.

Another difference is how the judges interact with the parties involved in court.

"I think they are more open than in Estonia — they speak to parties more in the U.S. than they do in Estonia," said, adding the judges still remain "very professional."

Piir said she found watching the use of a jury interesting.

"I would say that broadly speaking and at a first glance, courtroom proceedings — at least as far as a bench trial is concerned — do not differ that much in the U.S. and Estonia," she said. "Jury trial is a whole different matter and was very interesting to observe here in the U.S. since we don't have that in Estonia. We also do not have magistrates or magistrate courts."

Hirsnik said one similarity that stood out is in questioning witnesses.

"I was impressed with the cross examination of witnesses," he said. "It is very much like at home."

Hirsnik said plea bargaining is much the same as well.

One other big difference in the system is Estonia does not have family courts.

However, Harak said she likes the idea of a family court because of the privacy issue but is not sure if that will ever be part of their judicial system.

Punishments are similar, Hirsnik said, but the country has only 2,500 people incarcerated.

Capital punishment is not an option since it is banned in all European Union (EU) countries, which Estonia is part of.

Jogisoo is a prosecutor and analyzed the court from that perspective.

"After seeing one jury hearing I would say that in our general proceedings the prosecutor has a very similar demeanor and technique," she said. "We also have to make opening statements, introduce evidence, cross-examine and give closing arguments. When we talk about pre-trial proceedings, then our prosecutors actually have the opportunity to take part of the investigation themselves, such as take statements, ask for additional information etc."

The types of crimes have some similarities, but very few murder cases are seen.

"Our murder rate if very, very low," Harak said.

Hirsnik said gun ownership is not widespread in Estonia, and most crimes are drunk driving, domestic violence, theft and the country does have issues with drugs, but not on a large scale.

Harak said that's because pharmacies are highly regulated, and doctors are required to use a strict process in prescribing addictive drugs, meeting several criteria to make sure it's necessary.

Judges have a lot responsibility in Estonia but Piir said they are prepared.

"All of our judges have to have a legal education of five years and prior legal work experience," she said, as well as meet other criteria.

Hirsnik said politics is not involved in becoming a judge, that it's like applying for a professional job with a series of requirements to qualify.

"In order to become a judge you have to take additional exams and an internship," he said. "There is a whole process to go through."

Judges are also trained to be able to handle cases in all other courts as well, not just their specialty.

Harak said a judge cannot belong to a political party and no judge is elected.

The system in Estonia is not complicated, she said, with the county courts (similar to general court here), administrative courts, circuit courts and one central supreme court for the country.

"Each county has its own courts with only one supreme court since we have no states," she said.

Most cases go through the system relatively quickly, Hirsnik said, but more complicated cases, just as in the U.S., can take years.

"Estonia is in the top 3 in Europe as far as the efficiency of the court proceedings is concerned," Piir said. "I just checked the 2022 European Union Justice Scoreboard and according to that, Estonia holds the 2nd place (after Denmark) regarding the speed of court proceedings. The estimated time to resolve a civil case in Estonia is 101 days, for an administrative case it stands at 127 days and for a criminal offense (not a misdemeanor) — 246 days."

Piir said it was interesting to see how court documents in West Virginia have been digitalized, a project Estonia started years ago.

"Estonia has also put a lot of effort into making justice systems digital over the past 15 years and as far as I know, we are one of the most advanced countries in the world for using ICT-solutions for the management of courts, as well as communication between courts and other parties.," she said. "We have an e-File system that allows all communication with and between the parties electronic. With an electronic signature, parties can file complaints online in the e-File system."

Of course, the delegation is visiting a place with a much different topography. Estonia is flat with the Baltic sea to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the north.

"For us Estonians, it is really nice to see beautiful mountains covered with greenery," Jogisoo said. "We don't have any mountains and the ones that I have seen in Europe are not so green, but more rocky. So it was a very beautiful sight to see when we were landing at the airport."

Jogisoo also said the lifestyles here seem to be about same and she has been impressed with residents.

"The people here who we have met are the warmest and most hospitable," she said.

That sentiment was echoed by Hirsnik, who said everyone has been "wonderful."

All of the judges speak fluent English and Piir, who is also fluent in French, German and some Russian, said the study of other languages starts early.

"It is true that languages are emphasized in early school years (since Estonian is one of the world's smallest official national languages — only about 1.1 million people speak Estonian as compared to 360 million English native speakers)," she said. "It is obligatory to learn two foreign languages at school but these are not prescribed by the state. English is commonly taught as the first foreign language, starting mostly at 8 or 9 years old (it varies a little in different schools). The second foreign language can usually be chosen between German, French and Russian, some schools also offer Spanish, Finnish or Swedish. It is not uncommon to learn a third foreign language at school, although not obligatory."

One topic all the judges adamantly agreed on was the independence of their country, expressing deep concern about what Russia will do after invading Ukraine.

"We are a member of NATO," Hirsnik said. "But there is fear of what Russia may do."

About 25 percent of the population of Estonia are Russian, he added, a result of the post-World War II occupation, but there is no organized pro-Russian group inside the country as is the case in Eastern Ukraine.

Harak said she thinks NATO has grown stronger because of Russian's actions on Ukraine and that does offer a level of security, especially since Sweden and Finland are set to join. Finland is a short distance to the north of Estonia.

"But everyone is afraid," she said.

Hirsnik had high praise for Ukraine and said, contrary to what media often say, it is not "Putin's war."

"It is the Russians' war," he said. "They support Putin."

The delegation is being hosted this week by the Princeton-based Center for International Understanding, Inc. and home stay hosts Linda and Larry Bray, John and Betse Feuchtenberger, and state Sen. Chandler Swope.

Swope said it has been a gratifying experience.

"The whole group are wonderful people and I've thoroughly enjoyed spending time with all of them," he said. "Their English is better than mine."

He said Estonia is nearly the same size of West Virginia with a similar population.

"I've been participating for many years with the program bringing people from many countries to get to know each other and learn from each other," Swope said. "There can be no better education than getting to know people from around the world. This group from Estonia are some of the nicest, friendliest and most intelligent I've met in the last thirty years. I'm very lucky for the privilege of getting to know them."

Besides spending time in the Mercer County courtrooms and meeting with various court offices, the group witnessed bench trials in the U.S. Federal Court in Bluefield and met with Mercer County Commissioners, Bluefield City Court and Police Department and the Bluefield City Manager's Office.

The delegation was also scheduled to spend a day in Charleston to meet with selected members of the WV Supreme Court of Appeals and the newly created Intermediate Court of Appeals as well as the Clerk of the House of Delegates, the West Virginia Bar Association and the ACLU.

The Estonians will conclude their visit in Tazewell where they will learn about the differences in the laws of Virginia and West Virginia from Judge Chip Hurley of Tazewell Circuit Court, 29th Judicial Circuit of Virginia, followed by dialogs with Tazewell County Administrator on the separation of powers.

— Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com

Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com