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Ramon Rask writes in Päevaleht: “The prevailing jurisprudence of Estonia turns criminal proceedings into a punishment”

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Ramon Rask writes in Päevaleht: “The prevailing jurisprudence of Estonia turns criminal proceedings into a punishment”

On 28 May, RASK partner Ramon Rask writes in the Estonian daily Päevaleht, about a reasonable time-frame for criminal proceedings and discusses the purpose of criminal prosecution in Estonia and how the length of the proceedings may itself become an unreasonable punishment.

According to Ramon, pre-trial criminal proceedings are often unreasonably long in Estonia, which in turn limits the quality of court proceedings. In developed Western societies, however, the state does not claim to be infallible, and the presumption of innocence should ensure that the person subject to proceedings is not burdened for more than a day longer than is absolutely necessary for clarifying the validity of the allegations.

Ramon’s opinion was published as part of the series “Let’s Talk about Fundamental Rights” by the daily Päevaleht and the Estonian Bar Association, where well-known lawyers talk about fundamental rights and their place in everyday life.