Summary

For some time now, we have had reason to celebrate the passing of one hundred years from the events that were important for Estonia. In December of this year, it will be one hundred years from the opening of the University of Tartu as the national university of Estonia. This milestone will also be celebrated at Estonia’s only academic legal research and study centre with a historic tradition − the School of Law at the University of Tartu. The title of this article is inspired by Leo Leesment’s attempt to summarize the status of studying the history of Estonian law “as it is in 1940” (L. Leesment. Eesti õigusloo kirjandus 1940. aasta vaates. – Õigus 1940/2). The current view is somewhat broader and goes beyond the bounds of a single discipline of law. At the same time, it remains significantly more superficial and does not delve into the specific contribution of individual authors or publications into shaping the current or past face of the Estonian law. Rather, it is more of a simple observation than a study, with the focus being on the formal side of Estonian legal science.