Estonia terminates agreement on legal assistance with Russia

Estonia has terminated the agreement with Russia on legal assistance and legal relations in civil, family, and criminal matters.

Postimees reports this with reference to the press service of Estonian President Alar Karis.

Karis's office recalled that on 20 March, the country's parliament, the Riigikogu, adopted a government-initiated draft law aimed at denouncing the legal assistance agreement between Estonia and Russia signed in 1993 in Moscow.

The reason for this decision was the full-scale war against Ukraine unleashed by Russia, which is still ongoing.

The Treaty on Legal Assistance between Estonia and Russia was in force since 19 March 1995. To denounce the treaty, the other party must be notified at least six months before the end of the five-year period.

With the denunciation of the mutual legal assistance treaty, Russia will become the third country with which Estonia will not have a special regime for the settlement of legal issues, and the rules of international private law will be applied in civil cases.

The termination of the legal assistance treaty does not prevent further cooperation between Estonia and Russia in criminal matters, as it will continue to be possible to rely on various international conventions if both countries are parties to them.

Author - Olena Madiak, 01/04/2024