Creation and development of Prosecutor’s Office in the Republic of Estonia

Before the independence of Estonia in 1918, the Prosecutor’s Office structure was based, like the entire court system, on the Russian Court Code of 1864. 
Following the independence, Estonia started the rapid formation of the legal order and state apparatus. In accordance with the “Temporary Courts Installation Act” (State Gazette 1918 No. 1), on November 8, 1918 the Prosecutor’s Department was created under the Ministry of Courts bearing the name of the Republican Prosecutor’s Office. The Republican Prosecutor’s Office was subject directly to the Minister of Courts.
The first session of the Estonian Interim Government took place on November 11, 1918. As one of the points of the agenda, there occurred the nomination of the Prosecutor of the Republic of Estonia, who was the excised lawyer Jaan Teemant.

On April 1, 1919, the Interim Government issued the act “On Supreme Public Court” (State Gazette 1919 No. 22), which instituted the Supreme Public Court of the Republic of Estonia in the office of the Ministry of Courts. The activities of the Prosecutor’s Office were regulated by the § 4 of the Act, which stated that the duties of the Supreme Public Court Prosecutor shall be performed by the Prosecutor of the Estonian Interim Government and his aids, in the court-martial affairs these duties shall be performed by the Military Prosecutor or his aids. The latter Act soon became invalid, since already on October 21, 1919 the new Public Court Act was approved. However, the role of the Prosecutor’s Office stayed the same on the basis of this Act.

On April 10, 1920, the act “On Temporary Organization of Republican Prosecutor’s Office” (State Gazette 1920 No. 55/56) was approved, which created the own Prosecutor’s Office system in the Republic of Estonia. The Act disposed of the position of the Republican Prosecutor, and created the independent Prosecutor’s Offices under the Public Court and Court Chamber, which were subject to the Minister of Courts.
On June 15, 1920, the Constitutional Assembly approved the first Constitution of the Republic of Estonia. The organization of the Court was treated in the chapter VI of the Constitution “On the Court”. However, this chapter contained no single word on the Prosecutor’s Office.
The chapter “On Head of State and Government of the Republic” in the Constitution Amendment Act of the Republic of Estonia, enacted in 1933, which also established the Estonian court system, once again contained no provision pertaining to the Prosecutor’s Office.
In the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia, enacted in 1936, where the court system was treated in the chapter 16 „The Court“, there was also no provision on the Prosecutors and the Prosecutor’s Office. Therefore, the Prosecutor’s Office system in the Republic of Estonia was left for regulation by the legal acts standing below the Constitution.

Prosecutor’s Office on the basis of Courts Act of 1938
“Act on Temporary Organization of Republican Prosecutor’s Office” lost validity on April 6, 1938 in relation with the approval of the Courts Code (State Gazette 1938, 31, 328). The Prosecutor’s work was regulated by the chapter 6 of the Act.
§ 29 of the Code established the structure of the Prosecutor’s Office, providing that a prosecutor together with assistant prosecutors shall work under the Public Court, Court Chamber and each circuit court.
In accordance with the Code, the Prosecutor’s Office was headed by the Minister of Courts as the Prosecutor General, and two Prosecutor’s Offices were simultaneously subject to him: 1) Public Court Prosecutor’s Office; 2) Court Chamber Prosecutor’s Office.
Chapter 15 of the Courts Act contained the conditions for nomination. In accordance with this, the Prosecutor had to be a person at least 25 years age, who has graduated from the faculty of law. The Prosecutor could not hold another position in the State Service, be a member of Competitive Government, run a commercial enterprise, be a founder or member of the management board of public or private limited companies, and be the supervisor of the insolvent property. On the permit of the Minister of Courts, the Prosecutor could perform pedagogical work.

The prosecutors needed to possess the following employment record:
- the aid to the Circuit Court Prosecutor – four years of employment record;
- Circuit Court Prosecutor and aid to Court Chamber Prosecutor – six years;
- Court Chamber Prosecutor and aid to Public Court Prosecutor – eight years;
- Public Court Prosecutor – ten years.

Undoubtedly, the establishment of the employment record increased the Prosecutors’ qualification. In addition, it was a mean to provide the division of powers. The Prosecutors were nominated by the President of the Republic, but the Act allowed to nominate the Prosecutors exclusively from the ranks of the court employees proper.
Tasks of Prosecutor’s Office
The Prosecutor’s Office performed the functions of three types:

1. court functions – participation in court trials. The Prosecutor’s participation was envisioned in administrative, civil and criminal court affairs. Herein the principal participation included the affairs proceeded in the criminal court.
2. court administrative functions – § 253 of the Court Code obliged the Prosecutors to supervise the execution of the Act and inform about the forfeiture of each court institution or court official, depending on the severity of the default either to the chairman of the corresponding court, court or his superior, through whom the case could reach the Minister of Courts. The Circuit Court Prosecutor was obliged to inform the Court Chamber Prosecutor of the drawbacks of the Act discovered in practice, on whom depended the informing the Minister of Courts of the circumstances, so that he could initiate the act amendment draft. The same rights and obligations were shared by the Public Court Prosecutor’s Office.
3. administrative functions – the representatives of the Prosecutor’s Office were part of different commissions and participated in various works and conferences in the Ministry. In this way, for example, the representatives of the Prosecutor’s Office participated in the sessions of the Board of Guardians of the Harku colony, as the representative of the Ministry of Courts in the sessions of the Tax Government, in the Health Protection General Commission of the Defence Forces, in the preparation of the candidates to the Court Department, and the representatives of the Prosecutor’s Office acted in the Police School as the lecturers in criminal law and process.

Liquidation of Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Estonia in 1940
In 1940, upon the decision “On Formation of Estonian SSR Prosecutor’s Office” (ESSR Gazette 1940, 31, 351) of the Estonian SSR Peoples’ Commissaries Council the Prosecutor’s Offices working under the Public Court, Court Chamber and Circuit Courts, and the task was assigned to the Court Peoples’ Commissary to transfer the property and credits of these Prosecutor’s Offices to the Estonian SSR Prosecutor. In the same year, the court investigators and Court Expertise Institute were placed under the Estonian SSR Prosecutor’s Office. County and town Prosecutor’s Offices were formed. Because of the insufficient number of the Prosecutors the necessary staff for the Estonian SSR Prosecutor’s Office was prepared in the accelerated order with the help of 3-month legal courses, whereas upon the permit of the ESSR Court Peoples’ Commissary the future Prosecutors did not even have to hold the secondary education.