If you believe that a state institution has issued an unlawful decision, you have a right to appeal it in the Administrative court. There may be certain requirements for your access to the court, but they cannot be so excessive that you are unable to fulfil them.
You have the right to bring a claim against a state institution and have it examined in the Administrative court. However, this right has certain conditions:
Type of claim
You have to choose the right court for your claim. Administrative courts only deal with disputes between private persons and state institutions (usually government agencies) where these institutions have exercised executive authority.
example If a municipality refused to allow you to organize a gathering in the town square, you can appeal this decision in the Administrative court.
Decisions taken by law enforcement agencies (the police or a prosecutor) about matters of a specific criminal case will not be examined by the Administrative court.
example If the prosecutor has taken a decision to declare you a suspect in a criminal case, you cannot appeal this decision in the Administrative court.
Appeal
In most cases, to access the Administrative court, you first have to appeal the decision from a state institution or agent you disagree with to that same institution or a higher institution.
example Before you can appeal decisions of the Police and Boarder Guard in the court, you have to appeal them before the Head of the Police and Boarder Guard.
Requirements
In bringing your claim to the Administrative court, you may also be asked to fulfil other requirements such as time limits or to pay fees. These requirements cannot be demanding to the degree that you are unable to fulfil them, preventing you from bringing your claim to court.
Fees
You will be required to pay a fixed state fee (riigilõiv) to file a claim in the Administrative court. If you are unable to pay this fee because of your financial situation, you can ask the court for procedural assistance to be relieved from paying it or to reduce it.
Time limits
The time limits differ according to the kind of claim you want the court to examine. For example, the time limit for appealing a state institution’s decision is typically 30 days. In the event of an administrative authority’s omission or delay, a mandatory action may be brought within one year after the time-limit for issuing an administrative act or taking an administrative measure has elapsed.
You must be careful in observing these time limits. However, if you have missed a deadline due to no fault of your own, you may ask the court to reinstate this time limit. You must ask for a renewal at the same court to which the limit was applied and send your request together with the documents necessary for filing your claim.