Chapter 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS
§ 1. Entry into force of the Code of Civil Procedure and the Code of Enforcement Procedure
(1) The Code of Civil Procedure and the Code of Enforcement Procedure enter into force on 1 January 2006.
(2) The possibility, provided for in the Code of Civil Procedure, to post a guarantee by depositing securities in the deposit account of the court applies from 1 January 2007.
[RT I 2006, 7, 42 – entry into force 04.02.2006]
§ 2. Application of the Code of Civil Procedure and the Code of Enforcement Procedure
(1) A time limit which began to run in judicial proceedings before the entry into force of this Act ends in accordance with the Code of Civil Procedure or the Code of Enforcement Procedure hitherto in force.
(2) The entry into force of this Act does not change the jurisdiction and competence of the courts in cases accepted under the Code of Civil Procedure hitherto in force.
(3) Administrative court proceedings commenced before 1 January 2009 may be completed regardless of the fact that, after 1 January 2009, the case should be dealt with by a district court. The same applies, in cases which were commenced before 1 January 2009, to such cases being dealt with under the action-by-claim or the action-by-petition procedure, if the applicable type of procedure has been changed under the law currently in force.
[RT I 2008, 59, 330 – entry into force 01.01.2009]
(4) Where, by statute, the competence of the court or the type of procedure applicable to the case is changed, proceedings in a case that was commenced before the statute entered into force may be completed according to the rules applicable at the time when they were started.
[RT I, 22.03.2021, 1 – entry into force 01.04.2021]
§ 21. Application of lower rates of the statutory fee
(1) The statutory fee paid at the rate effective from 1 January 2009 until 30 June 2012 in relation to filing, under the rules of civil court procedure, a petition, court claim, appeal against the judgment or interim appeal or appeal against an order concluding the proceedings, is refunded based on the corresponding application by the party to proceedings in the amount by which it exceeds, by more than 50 euros, the rate of the statutory fee effective for the same procedural operation at the time of deciding the refund, unless, by the date of filing the application, the relevant judicial proceedings have ended with a conclusive disposition that has entered into effect.
[RT I, 21.06.2014, 8 – entry into force 01.07.2014]
(2) [Repealed – RT I, 21.06.2014, 8 – entry into force 01.07.2014]
§ 22. Implementation of the provision of access to documents and of the digital signing of judgments
(1) The Minister in charge of the policy sector may, by regulation, establish a transition period, which may not last longer than until 1 January 2015, concerning implementation of the service of documents and of the provision of access to documents through an information system.
(2) The Minister in charge of the policy sector may, by regulation, establish a transition period, which may not last longer than until 1 January 2015, concerning implementation of the electronic rendering of judgments. If such a transition period is established, courts may render and sign judgments on paper until the end of that period.
[RT I, 29.06.2012, 3 – entry into force 01.07.2012]
§ 23. Entry of a default judgment on failure to respond to the court claim
If the defendant fails to respond to a court claim filed before 1 January 2013, the court may enter a default judgment only on the corresponding motion of the claimant.
[RT I, 29.06.2012, 3 – entry into force 01.07.2012]
§ 24. Implementation of subsection 5 of § 41 of the Code of Civil Procedure
[Repealed – RT I, 07.12.2018, 2 – entry into force 17.12.2018]
§ 25. Jurisdiction of district courts in connection with the entry into force of Agreement on Unified Patent Court
For seven years following the entry into force of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (OJ C 175, 20.6.2013, pp. 1–40), jurisdiction to dispose of cases related to infringement or revocation of European patents and cases related to infringement or declaration of invalidity of a supplementary protection certificate issued for a product protected by a European patent is also vested in district courts.
[RT I, 04.07.2017, 4 – entry into force 01.06.2023 – enters into force simultaneously with the entry into force, in respect of Estonia, of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court and of the Agreement on the establishment of a Nordic-Baltic regional division of the Unified Patent Court (announcements of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – RT II, 04.03.2023, 3 and RT II, 04.03.2023, 4)]
§ 26. Determination of a parent’s rights regarding a child and arrangements concerning access to the child
(1) Where, before 1 September 2022, the court has received a petition for determining a parent’s rights regarding a child or concerning arrangements of access to the child, it disposes of the petition under the provisions applicable to such determinations and arrangements before that date.
(2) The enforceability of judicial dispositions rendered and settlements reached in cases mentioned in subsection 1 of this section is governed by the law applicable before 1 September 2022.
[RT I, 10.12.2021, 1 – entry into force 01.09.2022]
§ 3. Allocation and determination of case costs
(1) If proceedings were commenced before the entry into force of this Act, the allocation and determination of case costs is governed by the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure hitherto in force.
(2) A deposit fee is to be paid on applications for interim protection of the claim that are filed before 1 January 2009. Although such applications are not subject to subsection 11 of § 383 of the Code of Civil Procedure, this does not preclude the court from exercising its right to require a guarantee under subsection 1 of the same section.
(21) Payment and return of deposit fees is governed by the version of the Code of Civil Procedure that was in force until 31 December 2021.
[RT I, 08.12.2021, 1 – entry into force 01.01.2022]
(3) When disposing of an application for the grant of financial aid after 1 January 2009, reasonable costs of the applicant’s housing and transport are taken into account even if the application was filed before 1 January 2009.
[RT I 2008, 59, 330 – entry into force 01.01.2009]
§ 31. Taxation of the fee of the trustee in bankruptcy
If a bankruptcy petition is accepted before 1 January 2015, the fee of the trustee in bankruptcy is subject to taxation in accordance with subsection 2 of § 183 of the versioon of the Code of Civil Procedure in force until 30 June 2014, and either the value added tax or the social tax charge is added to the fee of the interim trustee or of the trustee in bankruptcy.
[RT I, 21.06.2014, 8 – entry into force 01.07.2014]
§ 4. Agreement on jurisdiction
An agreement on jurisdiction concluded before the entry into force of this Act remains valid if it has been concluded in conformity with the requirements of the Code of Civil Procedure hitherto in force.
§ 41. Right of appeal of a third party without an independent claim
A third party without an independent claim who entered or was joined to proceedings before 1 January 2009 does not have a right of appeal concerning any disposition made in those proceedings.
[RT I 2008, 59, 330 – entry into force 01.01.2009]
§ 42. Judgment in simplified form in simplified proceedings
The option, prescribed for cases dealt with under the simplified procedure, of rendering a judgment without the descriptive part or without the statement of reasons, does not apply, and the restrictions on the acceptance of appeals in such cases do not apply if the court claim was filed before 1 January 2009.
[RT I 2008, 59, 330 – entry into force 01.01.2009]
§ 43. Appeals against orders rendered in registration cases
Appeals against orders which were rendered before 1 January 2009 and which are mentioned in § 599 of the version of the Code of Civil Procedure in force before 1 January 2009 may be filed within the time limit prescribed in that section.
[RT I 2008, 59, 330 – entry into force 01.01.2009]
§ 44. Implementation of subsections 21 and 22 of § 83, subsection 2 of § 871 and subsections 51 and 52 of § 93 of the Code of Enforcement Procedure
(1) Not later than on 1 January 2016, the Minister in charge of the policy sector enacts a regulation under subsection 22 of § 83 and under subsection 52 of § 93 of the Code of Enforcement Procedure.
(2) The provisions of subsection 21 of § 83, subsection 2 of § 871 and subsection 51 of § 93 of the Code of Enforcement Procedure apply from the entry into force of the regulations mentioned in subsection 1 of this section.
[RT I, 31.12.2012, 5 – entry into force 10.01.2013]
§ 45. Application of subsection 2 of § 231 of the Code of Enforcement Procedure
The requirement concerning the use of an information system provided for in subsection 2 of § 231 of the Code of Enforcement Procedure applies starting 1 January 2015.
[RT I, 21.06.2014, 8 – entry into force 01.07.2014]
§ 46. Dissemination over computer networks of judicial dispositions that have entered into effect
Subsection 1 of § 462 of the Code of Civil Procedure applies to judicila dispositions that enter into effect on or after 1 January 2006.
[RT I, 19.03.2019, 2 – entry into force 29.03.2019]
§ 47. Implementation of Council Regulation (EU) 2019/1111
Unless the principal parties agree otherwise, proceedings on dispositions rendered in judicial proceedings that were initiated before 1 August 2022, on documents that were officially created or registered before that date as well as on agreements which, in the Member State in which they were concluded, became enforceable before that date and which fall within the scope of application of Council Regulation (EU) 2019/1111 on jurisdiction, the recognition and enforcement of decisions in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, and on international child abduction (recast) (OJ L 178, 02.07.2019, pp. 1–115) are completed in accordance with the law as applicable before 1 August 2022.
[RT I, 10.11.2022, 1 – entry into force 20.11.2022]
§ 5. Participation in procedural operations before the Supreme Court
A person who, at the time of entry into force of this Act, is a party to civil proceedings pending before the Supreme Court, may participate in those proceedings without a representative.
§ 6. Expedited procedure for orders for payment
(1) Until the creation of the corresponding technical conditions in the courts, the electronic expedited procedure for orders for payment prescribed in the Code of Civil Procedure is conducted on the basis of paper documents. The Minister in charge of the policy sector enacts, by regulation, the period of and requirements and rules for transition to the electronic expedited procedure.
[RT I 2008, 28, 180 – entry into force 15.07.2008]
(2) Expedited proceedings for orders for payment on claims exceeding 6390 euros are not conducted before 1 January 2010. The amount represents the total of the principal and ancillary claims.
[RT I 2010, 22, 108 – entry into force 01.01.2011]
(3) Where expedited order-for-payment proceedings in the matter are not authorised by virtue of subsection 2 of this section, the court enters an order by which it denies the petition for such proceedings.
(4) If the claimant so requests, a statement of claim filed before 1 January 2006 may be dealt with as a petition for expedited order-for-payment proceedings.
(5) If the court receives a petition for expedited procedure for an order for payment before 1 January 2007, the court disposes of such a petition according to the rules applicable to expedited procedure for orders for payment before 1 January 2007.
[RT I 2006, 61, 457 – entry into force 01.01.2007]
(6) If the court receives a petition for expedited order-for-payment proceedings before 15 July 2008, the court disposes of such a petition according to the rules applicable to the expedited procedure for orders for payment before 15 July 2008.
[RT I 2008, 28, 180 – entry into force 15.07.2008]
(7) Jurisdiction in cases filed on or after the date of implementation of partial electronic expedited procedure for orders for payment, but before transition to a fully electronic expedited procedure, is determined as follows:
1) petitions for expedited procedure for orders for payment on paper as well as petitions submitted electronically such that they cannot be processed in an automated manner at the court are filed with the courts mentioned in subsections 1–3 of § 108 of the Code of Civil Procedure;
2) electronic petitions for expedited procedure for orders for payment which it is possible for the court to process in an automated manner are filed with the court mentioned in subsection 4 of § 108 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
[RT I 2008, 28, 180 – entry into force 15.07.2008]
(8) A case filed under the expedited procedure for orders for payment which has been accepted before transition to a fully electronic procedure is seen through to its completion by the district court dealing with the case.
[RT I 2008, 28, 180 – entry into force 15.07.2008]
(9) As of the implementation of a fully electronic expedited procedure for orders for payment, jurisdiction over cases filed with the courts under the expedited procedure for orders for payment is determined in accordance with subsection 4 of § 108 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
[RT I 2008, 28, 180 – entry into force 15.07.2008]
§ 7. Consideration of petitions for correction of court errors and petitions for review of judicial dispositions that have entered into effect
Consideration of petitions filed before the entry into force of this Act for the correction of court errors and for review of judicial dispositions that have entered into effect is conducted following the Code of Civil Procedure hitherto in force.
§ 8. Application of the Code of Civil Procedure in arbitration proceedings
(1) The validity of an arbitration agreement concluded before the entry into force of this Act is evaluated under the law hitherto in force.
(11) The validity of an arbitration agreement entered into before 1 July 2015 is evaluated under the law in force before 1 July 2015.
[RT I, 12.03.2015, 5 – entry into force 01.07.2015]
(2) Unless the principal parties agree otherwise, arbitration proceedings commenced before the entry into force of this Act are completed in accordance with the law hitherto in force.
(3) Unless the principal parties agree otherwise, arbitration proceedings commenced before 10 January 2015 are completed in accordance with the law in force before 10 January 2015.
[RT I, 31.12.2014, 1 – entry into force 10.01.2015]
(4) Unless the principal parties agree otherwise, arbitration proceedings commenced before 1 April 2019 are completed in accordance with the law in force until 31 March 2019.
[RT I, 19.03.2019, 8 – entry into force 01.04.2019]
(5) Subsection 1 of § 753 of the version of the Code of Civil Procedure in force starting 1 April 2019 also applies to arbitration proceedings commenced before 1 April 2019.
[RT I, 19.03.2019, 8 – entry into force 01.04.2019]
§ 9. Cases dealt with under the action-by-petition procedure
(1) An appeal or appeal to the Supreme Court filed against a decision rendered before the entry into force of this Act in an action-by-petition case is heard, respectively, under the procedure for appeals or the procedure for appeals to the Supreme Court. In such a situation, preliminary operations under the procedure for appeals are performed by the court of the first instance and preliminary operations under the procedure for appeals to the Supreme Court are performed by the circuit court of appeal.
(2) Where a legal guardian has been appointed to a full-age individual for an unlimited period of time before the entry into force of this Act, 1 January 2011 is deemed to be the latest date by which the court must, in accordance with clause 5 of subsection 2 of § 526 of the Code of Civil Procedure, decide on terminating or extending the guardianship.
(3) Cases initiated before 1 January 2009 concerning the appointment of legal guardians or the placement of individuals in a closed institution are dealt with under the provisions in force before 1 January 2009 unless otherwise provided for in this section. This does not apply to the varying or termination of the orders rendered in such proceedings, or to extension of the time limits concerned.
[RT I 2008, 59, 330 – entry into force 01.01.2009]
§ 91. Special rules for placement of persons in a closed institution during the emergency situation declared by the Government of the Republic on 12 March 2020
(1) Under the procedure for placing a person in a closed institution, during the emergency situation declared by the Government of the Republic on 12 March 2020 the court may authorise an extension of the period for which it gives interim protection to persons’ rights without observing the requirement, provided by the second sentence of subsection 5 of § 534 and by subsection 3 of § 535 of the Code of Civil Procedure, to hear the person concerned.
(2) Where the period for which interim protection was given to persons’ rights, set under the second sentence of subsection 5 of § 534 of the Code of Civil Procedure, expires during the emergency situation declared by the Government of the Republic on 12 March 2020, the running of that period is suspended for the duration of the aforementioned emergency situation.
(3) Where a due date set under subsection 2 of § 538 of the Code of Civil Procedure arrives during the period that starts with the beginning of the emergency situation declared by the Government of the Republic on 12 March 2020 and ends when two months have elapsed after its end, the running of the time limit is suspended for the aforementioned period.
[RT I, 06.05.2020, 1 − entry into force 07.05.2020]
§ 92. Special rules for appointing a legal guardian to a minor who is not a citizen or permanent resident of Estonia
(1) The time limit provided for by the second sentence of subsection 2 of § 382 of the Code of Civil Procedure for the filing of the relevant petition does not apply when appointing – under the rules for giving interim protection to persons’ rights and before the filing of the petition to appoint a legal guardian – a temporary guardian to a minor who is not a citizen or permanent resident of Estonia. In a situation mentioned in the first sentence of this subsection, the time limit set by the court under the first sentence of subsection 2 of § 382 of the Code of Civil Procedure may not be longer than six months.
(2) The time limit provided by subsection 5 of § 555 of the Code of Civil Procedure does not apply when appointing a temporary legal guardian under the rules for interim protection of persons’ rights to a minor who is not a citizen or permanent resident of Estonia. In a situation mentioned in the first sentence of this subsection, the temporary guardian may not be appointed for longer than one year.
[RT I, 07.06.2022, 1 – entry into force 08.06.2022, applicable through 04.03.2025]
§ 10. Continuation of the work of the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Arbitration Tribunal
The entry into force of this Act is without prejudice to the continuation of the work of the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Arbitration Tribunal, which operated under the Republic of Estonia Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Arbitration Tribunal Act, or to the validity of that Tribunal’s rules of procedure as hitherto in force, provided such rules are not contrary to the Code of Civil Procedure.
§ 11. Enforcement proceedings based on an earlier enforceable title
(1) Enforcement proceedings that have been commenced by the time of entry into force of this Act are seen through to their conclusion also if they are based on an enforceable title that cannot be enforced under the Code of Enforcement Procedure. Enforcement proceedings may be commenced after the entry into force of this Act only based on an enforceable title that complies with the requirements of the Code of Enforcement Procedure, except in the situation provided for by subsection 4.
(2) Revocation under the rules for clawback only applies to transactions that have been concluded after the entry into force of the Code of Enforcement Procedure.
(3) A person whose property has been attached or concerning whose property a note restraining the person from disposing of the property has been recorded in the register by an enforcement agent before 1 March 2001 based on a claim in respect of which enforcement proceedings have not been pursued after that date has a right to file a petition with the court for preclusion, by unknown rightholder proceedings provided for by the Code of Civil Procedure, of the rights of the party seeking enforcement.
(4) A notarial agreement, authenticated before 31 December 2005, concerning a claim which requires payment of a fixed sum of money or delivery of a specific quantity of fungible items or security instruments, may be presented for compulsory enforcement also after the entry into force of this Act provided that, in the agreement, the debtor has consented to immediate compulsory enforcement. A claim arising under a pledge contract is also deemed one which requires payment of a fixed sum of money; in the case of such a claim, an immediate compulsory enforcement clause must also appear in the agreement concluded concerning the claim secured by the pledge contract.
[RT I 2006, 7, 42 – entry into force 04.02.2006]
§ 111. Application of the Taxation Act to payment and set-off of case costs
(1) Until 30 June 2014, subsection 51 of § 179 of the Code of Civil Procedure only applies to the payment and set-off of statutory fees charged for operations in the Commercial Register, the Register of Non-profit Associations and Foundations, the Commercial Pledge Register and the Land Register.
(2) Starting 3 February 2015, subsection 51 of § 179 of the Code of Civil Procedure applies to the payment and set-off of statutory fees charged for operations in the Register of Ships and in the Marital Property Register and for consideration of petitions for expedited order-for-payment proceedings.
[RT I, 31.01.2014, 6 – entry into force 01.04.2014]
§ 112. Implementation of subsection 5 of § 65 of the Code of Enforcement Procedure
Subsection 5 of § 65 of the Code of Enforcement Procedure applies to enforcement cases initiated from 1 October 2015.
[RT I, 12.03.2015, 4 – entry into force 01.10.2015]
§ 113. Procedure under Protocol No. 16 to the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
Subsection 5 of § 33, subsection 5 of § 356, subsection 4 of § 358 and § 6811 of the Code of Civil Procedure apply from the day of entry into force, in respect of Estonia, of Protocol no. 16 to the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
[RT I, 26.06.2017, 17 – entry into force 06.07.2017]
§ 114. Attachment, in enforcement proceedings, of a claim concerning a mandatory funded pension
A claim for a payment – to be made by the Registrar of the Register of Pensions mentioned in § 13 of the Register of Securities Act – mentioned in § 31 and in subsections 2 and 3 of § 40 of the Funded Pensions Act, to a debtor in whose respect enforcement proceedings are pending, is not subject to attachment, including provisional attachment, under the Code of Enforcement Procedure until 1 January 2023.
[RT I, 28.12.2020, 1 – entry into force 02.01.2021]
§ 115. Implementation of subsection 3 of § 501 of the Code of Enforcement Procedure
The enforcement agent considers the application made by the debtor until 31 December 2021 within 60 days following its reception and, within 15 days following consideration, makes a decision to terminate enforcement proceedings, or – without making a decision – informs the parties to proceedings of continuing the proceedings.
(RT I, 22.03.2021, 1 – entry into force 01.04.2021]
§ 116. Enforcement proceedings – levying on the benefit paid as a measure to alleviate the hike in energy costs
The benefit paid under subsection 3 of § 161 of the Atmospheric Air Protection Act to insufficiently provided-for families as partial compensation for the hike in the energy costs related to their residence constitutes earnings that cannot be levied on in enforcement proceedings.
[RT I, 18.02.2022, 1 – entry into force 19.02.2022]
§ 117. Case files on paper
Case files opened before 1 April 2023 are subject to the rules that applied through 31 March 2023.
[RT I, 10.02.2023, 1 – entry into force 01.04.2023]
Chapter 2 AMENDMENT OF LEGISLATION
§ 12. – § 99. [Omitted from this text.]
Chapter 3 PROVISIONS DELEGATING AUTHORITY; ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THIS ACT
§ 100. Provision delegating authority
The Government of the Republic arranges publication of the consolidated text of the Code of Civil Procedure in the Riigi Teataja within two months following proclamation of this Act.
§ 101. Entry into force of this Act
(1) This Act enters into force on 1 January 2006.
(2) Clause 3 of § 26, clauses 1 and 2 of § 32 and §§ 36, 50 and 65 of this Act enter into force on the tenth day following the date of publication of this Act in the Riigi Teataja.
Removed
Added
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