Chancellor’s address

In the 2017–2018 overview of the activities of the Chancellor of Justice and her Office, we can take delight at having been able to resolve people’s concerns and thank all the motivated officials, ministers and members of the Riigikogu who swiftly and effectively resolved several problems at the request of the Chancellor and her advisers. We can also praise local governments that devote serious effort with a view to better organising the life of their communities.

The experience of the Chancellor’s Office affirms that improvement of the state bureaucracy must start precisely from communication between officials and the people – be it in granting or verifying authorisations, distributing social benefits or allocating pupils a place at school. Communication between an individual and an official requires no additional funds or constitutional amendments; restoring the sense of ownership of their country that some people may feel has slipped away is vital but not a particularly complicated task.

The Chancellor of Justice is not a politician. Unlike elected representatives, she has no mandate to draft legislation or deliberate it in the Riigikogu. However, the Chancellor must intervene when an intended legislative amendment may contravene the Constitution or the basic principles of society. This is exactly how the Chancellor best fulfils her oath of office – by preventing possible mistakes and the consequent damage and legal uncertainty, by attracting the attention of the parliament and, if necessary, of the public.

From 1 September 2017 to 31 August 2018, the Chancellor’s Office received a total 3525 enquiries, petitions and letters (3343 a year earlier). These three and a half thousand letters included 2364 petitions (2228 a year earlier), all of which also received a substantive answer. Of course, people’s concerns are different. While one petition may lead to a comprehensive legal analysis of the prescription drugs market worth annually hundreds of millions of euros, another petition may require a short answer to a single pensioner who did not receive their statutory hundred-euro state allowance due to bureaucratic mismanagement. Both are important.

Everyone can keep themselves informed of our daily work through the Chancellor of Justice website. I also post summaries on Facebook of debates I personally consider important and interesting to the public.

The Office of the Chancellor of Justice is located in Toompea in Tallinn, at 8 Kohtu Street. You may send your letter to the e-mail address [email protected] and postal address Kohtu 8, 15193 Tallinn, or you may call us at ( 372) 693 8404.

Ülle Madise 

Chancellor of Justice