Summary

Since 2004, Estonia has pursued adversarial procedure. The hearsay rule is considered to be one of the central elements of such a procedure. In the context of the Code of Criminal Procedure that was recently amended and complemented in Estonia, the author examines whether and how the hearsay rule functions in Estonian criminal procedure.

This article has several objectives. The author, at first, attempts to structure the rather complicated set of rules of evidence to facilitate navigation between different provisions. In order to create and understand such a system, the article studies the interrelationship between the applicable Estonian Code of Criminal Procedure and the hearsay rule originating from the Anglo-American adversarial procedure. The discussion starts with an historical overview that demonstrates that the hearsay rule appeared in Estonian law already before the entry into force of the Code of Criminal Procedure in 2004.