Summary

There is increasing support for the creation and implementation of institutions that resolve various extra-judicial (pre-judicial) civil disputes. In Estonia there are numerous institutions operating that resolve civil disputes, that are pre-emptive or to whom such a competency has at least been accorded through a legal act. In recent years, on both the level of the law as well as in practice, the establishment of various commissions etc has been particularly active. Arguments in their favour have been generally regarding the time and cost of resolving disputes in court. In practice, the institutions resolving disputes extra-judicially have demonstrated their viability – their number of resolved disputes has been noteworthy.

The article provides a brief overview of the better-known bodies that resolve disputes extra-judicially in Estonia, describing the bases for their operations, their area of operation and their general competence in resolving disputes. The overview is followed by an analysis on the place of these bodies in Estonia’s legal system. In doing so, their authority is compared to that of the courts, and there is also discussion regarding the possible dangers in such a system of justice. The author raises many issues related to the activities of such bodies and assesses the advantages and disadvantages of these bodies.