The amendments to the Prosecutor's Office Act approved by the government in May passed their first reading last week and on Monday the Riigikogu Legal Affairs Committee decided to send the bill to its second reading next Monday and its third reading the following Wednesday.

Under the amendments, the prosecutor general's term would be limited to a single consecutive seven-year period. The terms of chief state prosecutors and senior prosecutors would be set at five years.

In addition, prosecutors working in Ida-Viru County could receive a salary supplement of up to 20 percent to help attract qualified personnel to the region.

The bill also provides that, following the acquittal of former police chiefs, the Prosecutor's Office should give greater consideration to appealing court rulings.

In the future, filing appeals with the Supreme Court would require more thorough internal review as well as approval from both a chief prosecutor and the prosecutor general.

The aim of the amendment is to ensure consistent decision-making in criminal proceedings, particularly on questions of appeal, which are considered an institutional responsibility of the Prosecutor's Office rather than that of an individual prosecutor.

The bill would also introduce longer probationary periods for prosecutors, clarify disciplinary procedures and establish new grounds for dismissal from office.

Prosecutor General Astrid Asi told ERR in April that most of the planned changes had either been discussed with the Prosecutor's Office or proposed by it.

"We are not directly opposed to anything. The amendments would give the Prosecutor's Office more tools to maintain and improve quality on its own and would add flexibility to personnel management. In that sense, it is something we need," Asi said.

Terms

The most significant part of the bill — the seven-year term limit — is an idea that has previously been supported for other institutions as well.

For example, President Alar Karis has on several occasions said that Estonia's president should serve a single seven-year term.

"Some [presidents] start thinking halfway through their term about whether they will be re-elected or not," Karis said in March. The presidential term is currently five years.

In 2018, the civic initiative State Reform Foundation (Riigireformi Sihtasutus) proposed introducing a single seven-year term for both the president and the auditor general.

At the same time, Jüri Adams, one of the authors of Estonia's Constitution, has argued that the term of office for the chief justice of the Supreme Court could be shorter than the current nine years.

Current terms of office for the heads of Estonia's constitutional institutions:

Speaker of the Riigikogu — one year (although the Riigikogu is elected for four years, MPs elect the speaker and deputy speakers from among their ranks each spring);
President — five years;
Auditor general — five years;
Bank of Estonia governor — five years;
Chancellor of justice — seven years;
Chief justice of the Supreme Court — nine years.

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