Court delays Pruunsild and Humal ruling for tenth time

Tallinn Administrative Court has postponed for the tenth time its decision on businessman Parvel Pruunsild and politician Priit Humal’s damages claim against the Estonian state, ERR reported. The court has set November 9 as the new date for announcing its ruling.

The court had set October 29 as the deadline, then moved the announcement to November 4. That date was also missed. Court spokeswoman Anneli Vilu told ERR that November 9 is now the scheduled date.

The court has previously cited the size of the case file, which exceeds 5,000 pages, the legal complexity of the dispute and a heavy workload as reasons for the delays.

Pruunsild and Humal are seeking compensation for non-material damage. They argue that the state failed to protect their rights in the collection and retention of personal data and did not amend the relevant laws. They say the state collected and retained their data unlawfully and intruded excessively on their privacy.

The men said they learned during criminal proceedings that telecommunications company Telia Eesti had provided prosecutors with personal data collected about them. They cite a 2021 Supreme Court ruling, arguing that under EU law such data may not be retained and used for criminal proceedings. They also say the rules conflict with Article 11 of Estonia’s constitution and that the state continued to request personal data from telecommunications companies and use it in criminal cases, including cases against them.

The claimants argue that the state should have addressed the issue after the Supreme Court ruling and passed legislation to protect people’s rights. The Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs, representing the state, has opposed the claim, saying the conditions for compensation under the State Liability Act have not all been met.

In late April, Pruunsild also sued Telia, seeking to stop what he described as unlawful collection of communications data and its transfer to the security police. He is seeking one million euros in non-material damages.

In May 2023, the security police suspected Humal of a serious breach of restrictions on transactions and Pruunsild of aiding such a breach. The police said Humal should have withdrawn from decisions concerning the auction sale of the former Estonian National Museum exhibition building at Kuperjanovi 9 to the Sakala student corporation, of which Pruunsild is a member. Both men were acquitted by the county and circuit courts, and prosecutors did not appeal to the Supreme Court.

Tags: Estonian courts, Parvel Pruunsild, personal data