Summary

The legal bases for the enforcement of administrative legislation and application of administrative enforcement in Estonia need to be brought into line with the requirements for the rule of law. This article analyses the current legal theory pertaining to administrative enforcement, the provisions concerning administrative enforcement in the current law and mechanisms of its application. Further the article provides an overview of applicable administrative enforcement measures, subjects of administrative enforcement and their rights, the authorities applying administrative enforcement and their right of discretion, and the legal and substantive bases of administrative enforcement.
In the opinion of the authors of this article, issues concerning measures to be applied by administrative authorities in order to ensure the legal order and implementation of legislation of specific application must be regulated. Further, the bases and conditions for the application of such measures should be specified. Finally, the article points out several shortcomings in the regulation of administrative enforcement by the existing law.