Estonia’s Supreme Court restricts publication of data on expunged convictions — ERR News
Estonia’s Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional a provision providing for the indefinite publication in court rulings of data on certain expunged convictions for drug crimes and arson. The country’s parliament, the Riigikogu, must revise the relevant legislation, ERR News reports.
Which provision the court reviewed
The Criminal Records Register Act contains a list of crimes for which the names and personal identification codes of convicted persons remain available in published online court rulings even after their convictions have been expunged. As of June 9, 2026, this provision applied to 8,714 people, 5,362 of whom were convicted of acts involving a large quantity of narcotics — at least 10 doses.
Five people convicted between 2006 and 2017 appealed to the court: four for drug-related crimes and one for arson. The applicants argued that the public dissemination of data on expunged convictions harms their reputation and that of their family members, while also making employment and self-support more difficult. The Tartu Circuit Court found their claims justified and initiated a review of the provision’s constitutionality.
Supreme Court’s arguments
In two rulings published on Tuesday, the court stated that interference with private life may be permissible to protect public order and the rights and freedoms of others. At the same time, it concluded that the indefinite publication of information about everyone convicted of the relevant drug crimes or arson is neither proportionate nor justified.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
The court noted that the severity of crimes covered by Article 184 of Estonia’s Penal Code may differ substantially depending on the type and quantity of narcotics and whether they were transferred to other persons. Penalties for such acts range from one year in prison to life imprisonment. In the applicants’ cases, suspended sentences close to the minimum were imposed, and a long time has passed since the crimes were committed.
Regarding arson under Article 404, the court noted that the law provides for a fine or up to five years’ imprisonment. One of the applicants committed the crime in 2006, when he was 18, and has not since been convicted of a similar offense.
Deadline for amending the law
The court’s ruling took immediate effect for the five applicants and for other people whose similar applications for data removal are already being considered by courts. For the remaining people with expunged convictions under the relevant articles, the ruling’s entry into force was postponed for six months so that the Riigikogu could amend the law.
The Supreme Court noted that publishing such data may be justified in some cases. Legislators may provide for an individual assessment by a court of the need for publication or link it to the length of the sentence, the fact of serving imprisonment, or other criteria concerning the severity of the crime and the danger the convicted person may pose.
