Summary

Over the past few years in particular, both journalists and policy-makers have alleged several times that civil proceedings were too slow and thus inefficient in Estonia. This has led to the inclusion of the topic in the government programme (expressed in coalition agreement), among other things. In order to clarify the opinions of the parties to civil proceedings regarding whether the proceedings were too slow and if and what could be done to accelerate the proceedings, a survey was carried out among lawyers, judges and other legal professionals concerned with civil proceedings before the 32nd Estonian Lawyers’ Days. The questionnaire used aimed at identifying if the proceedings were unreasonably delayed in the opinion of the respondents, and if yes, what could be the main reasons for it and what could be done to accelerate the proceedings. The number of respondents completing the questionnaire was 175; of these, 37% were lawyers, 38% other legal professionals and 25% judges. Of the respondents, 66% were aged below 45 while 34% were aged 45 and above. Of the respondents, 88% attend civil proceedings daily or often, 7% have rare contacts (if any) with civil proceedings and 5% deal with civil action only or mostly within the framework of criminal proceedings. The questionnaire can be regarded as sufficiently representative of the opinions of Estonian lawyers on important procedural issues.

This article firstly discusses the opinions expressed in the questionnaire and secondly examines the possibilities for accelerating the resolution of matters as well as the risks involved.