Supreme Court ends indefinite publication of some criminal records

Estonia’s Supreme Court has ruled unconstitutional a law allowing certain drug offenders and people convicted of arson to remain named in online court judgments after their criminal records have been expunged, ERR reported. The ruling took effect immediately, and Parliament must review the law.

The Criminal Records Act lists offences for which people’s names and personal identification codes remain visible in court judgments online even after their records are removed from the criminal register. As of June 9, the provision applied to 8,714 people, including 5,362 convicted of handling a large quantity of drugs, defined as at least 10 doses.

Five people convicted between 2006 and 2017 asked the courts to stop publishing their details: four had been convicted of drug offences and one of arson. They argued that publishing expunged records harmed their reputations and those of their families, and made it harder to manage daily life and find work. The Tartu Circuit Court found their applications justified and referred the law to the Supreme Court for constitutional review.

The Supreme Court said publishing expunged records can serve the legitimate aims of preventing serious crimes and protecting other people’s rights. However, it ruled that permanently publishing the details of everyone convicted of the specified drug offences or arson was disproportionate.

Drug offences covered by section 184 of the Penal Code vary widely in seriousness, depending on factors including the substance, quantity and whether it was passed on. Penalties range from one year in prison to life imprisonment. The applicants in this case received suspended sentences close to the minimum, and a long time had passed since their offences, the court said.

Arson under section 404 carries a fine or up to five years in prison. The law covers endangering someone’s life or health, but not causing actual harm, and does not distinguish an isolated act from systematic behaviour, including pyromania. The applicant convicted of arson committed the offence in 2006, aged 18, and was not later convicted of a similar crime.

The court said continued publication of expunged records amounts in practice to a lifelong social punishment. It can make reintegration difficult by limiting a person’s private life, employment and educational opportunities, and can also affect relatives, including minor children.

The ruling applies immediately to the five applicants and to others convicted under the same provisions whose requests to have their records removed are currently being considered by the courts.

Tags: Estonia, Supreme Court, criminal records