Estonia already has professional secrecy. This means that certain professions have the right not to disclose statements and information. Justice Minister Liisa Pakosta says this is too narrowly defined in the laws. She wants to amend the law to make it clearer.
Justice Minister Pakosta says that official privilege is different from professional secrecy. Official privilege means that individuals in certain positions must not and cannot disclose information to investigative authorities. She wants to grant this privilege to lawyers, journalists, notaries, and other officials.
The head of the Bar Association, Imbi Jürgen, says that lawyers and their clients are often under surveillance. This is a major problem, and such cases have even reached the Supreme Court. Justice Minister Pakosta says that the state must search for evidence itself and cannot assume that journalists have all the information.
Chief Prosecutor Taavi Pern says that the Prosecutor’s Office supports the plan to amend the law. So far, the law has been unclear. He says this change will add work for the Prosecutor’s Office. The Prosecutor’s Office will now have to do more, such as searching for officially protected individuals and arguing in court.
Pern says that despite the additional work, the Prosecutor’s Office will not receive extra funding. This means they will have to reorganize their work. He says that since criminal cases are complex, it would be good to include discussions about how many resources the Prosecutor’s Office and the court need when debating amendments to the law.