Could the Estonian e-justice system be transposed at the scale of the European Union? According to Katlin Kattai, responsible for relations at the Centre of Registers and Information Systems (RIK), we are not far off. She had come to present the functioning of the Estonian system at the European Parliament’s legal affairs committee on Tuesday 10 October, where she found MEPs were fascinated and sceptical about the system.
The e-justice regime set up by Estonia in the form of a website allows citizens to interact with national institutions in a secure, paperless environment that is more efficient and less costly, she explained.
It is possible, for example, to set up a company with a few clicks and only a few working days by going onto the website with one’s identity card. Another option available to people in Estonia is taking a case to court online. Citizens can directly submit all the necessary documents electronically for a civil case to the competent court. The ruling is also delivered electronically.
She recognised that at EU level, things would be more complicated to set up than in Estonia, since these systems were designed by the Estonian government, which supported their implementation. Kattai said that that key blocks in the EU could achieve similar objectives.
Describing the system as a genuine inspiration, Austria MEP Evelyn Regner (S&D) was concerned that the inclusive Estonian system marginalised people less familiar with digital technology.
MEPs asked a lot of questions about illegal activities and tax evasion. In response, Kai Harmand, under-secretary at the Estonian justice ministry, said that no data system could totally avoid abuse, but with very good databases, it was easier to exchange information and therefore more effectively tackle abuse.
Axel Voss (EPP, Germany) said we all want to protection ourselves and think we are protecting everything, but we do it in far too limited a manner. He asked about the compatibility of the Estonian mindset, open to new possibilities, with restricted European thinking. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)