{"id":4067,"date":"2026-06-08T14:30:33","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T11:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/?p=4067"},"modified":"2026-06-12T13:22:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T10:22:59","slug":"the-judiciary-as-of-early-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/en\/the-judiciary-as-of-early-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"The judiciary as of early 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><strong>Kristi Jakobsoo<br \/>\n<\/strong>Human resources specialist at the Supreme Court<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Ave Hussar<br \/>\n<\/strong>Head of the Personnel and Communication Department of the Supreme Court<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Number of judges and justices<\/h3>\n<p>There are 249 judge and justice positions in Estonia, 256 positions together with the so-called temporary judge positions<a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\">[1]<\/a> and those with temporary specifications<a href=\"#_ftn2\" name=\"_ftnref2\">[2]<\/a>. Of these,<a href=\"#_ftn3\" name=\"_ftnref3\">[3]<\/a> 240 were filled at the beginning of 2026. There was one vacancy in the Supreme Court, two in the Tallinn Circuit Court, six in the Harju District Court, four in the Tartu District Court and three in the Viru District Court.<\/p>\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_4082\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4082\" style=\"width: 1600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-01.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4082 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-01.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"909\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-01.webp 1600w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-01-300x170.webp 300w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-01-1024x582.webp 1024w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-01-768x436.webp 768w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-01-1536x873.webp 1536w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-01-739x420.webp 739w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-01-1479x840.webp 1479w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-01-696x395.webp 696w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-01-1392x791.webp 1392w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-01-1068x607.webp 1068w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4082\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 1.\u00a0Distribution of judge positions<\/figcaption><\/figure> <figure id=\"attachment_4083\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4083\" style=\"width: 1600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-02.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4083 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-02.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"947\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-02.webp 1600w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-02-300x178.webp 300w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-02-1024x606.webp 1024w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-02-768x455.webp 768w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-02-1536x909.webp 1536w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-02-710x420.webp 710w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-02-1419x840.webp 1419w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-02-696x412.webp 696w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-02-1392x824.webp 1392w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-02-1068x632.webp 1068w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4083\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 2. Distribution of filled positions<\/figcaption><\/figure> <figure id=\"attachment_4084\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4084\" style=\"width: 1600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-03.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4084 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-03.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1023\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-03.webp 1600w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-03-300x192.webp 300w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-03-1024x655.webp 1024w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-03-768x491.webp 768w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-03-1536x982.webp 1536w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-03-657x420.webp 657w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-03-1314x840.webp 1314w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-03-696x445.webp 696w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-03-1392x890.webp 1392w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-03-1068x683.webp 1068w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4084\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 3. Vacant positions in 2012-2026<strong style=\"color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, BlinkMacSystemFont, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 15px;\">\u00a0<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n<h3>Gender structure of judges<\/h3>\n<p>There are 165 women and 75 men in office as of 1 January 2026.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4085\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4085\" style=\"width: 1600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-04.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4085 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-04.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"902\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-04.webp 1600w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-04-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-04-1024x577.webp 1024w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-04-768x433.webp 768w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-04-1536x866.webp 1536w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-04-745x420.webp 745w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-04-1490x840.webp 1490w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-04-696x392.webp 696w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-04-1392x785.webp 1392w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-04-1068x602.webp 1068w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4085\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 4. Gender structure of judges by court<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>Age of judges<\/h3>\n<p>The average age of judges in office as of 1 January 2026 was 48.7 years.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4086\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4086\" style=\"width: 1600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-05.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4086 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-05.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-05.webp 1600w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-05-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-05-1024x576.webp 1024w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-05-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-05-1536x864.webp 1536w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-05-747x420.webp 747w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-05-1493x840.webp 1493w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-05-696x392.webp 696w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-05-1392x783.webp 1392w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-05-1068x601.webp 1068w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4086\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 5. Average age of judges by court<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The largest numbers of judges in office are aged 40-49 (88) and 50-59 (also 88). They are followed in number by those aged 30-39 (41). Those who have reached the age of 60 (23) make up the smallest part. There are no judges under the age of 30.<\/p>\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_4087\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4087\" style=\"width: 1600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-06.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4087 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-06.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"780\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-06.webp 1600w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-06-300x146.webp 300w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-06-1024x499.webp 1024w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-06-768x374.webp 768w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-06-1536x749.webp 1536w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-06-862x420.webp 862w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-06-696x339.webp 696w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-06-1392x679.webp 1392w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-06-1068x521.webp 1068w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-06-533x261.webp 533w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4087\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 6.\u00a0Average age of judges in 2012-2026<\/figcaption><\/figure> <figure id=\"attachment_4088\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4088\" style=\"width: 1600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-07.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4088 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-07.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"905\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-07.webp 1600w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-07-300x170.webp 300w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-07-1024x579.webp 1024w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-07-768x434.webp 768w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-07-1536x869.webp 1536w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-07-743x420.webp 743w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-07-1485x840.webp 1485w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-07-696x394.webp 696w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-07-1392x787.webp 1392w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-07-1068x604.webp 1068w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4088\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 7. Distribution of judges in office by age group in different court instances<strong style=\"color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, BlinkMacSystemFont, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 15px;\">\u00a0<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n<h3>Renewal of the judiciary<\/h3>\n<p>At the turn of the year, there were 15 judges eligible for retirement, one of whom is known to be retiring in 2026. It is worth noting that more than half of the judges in office at the beginning of 2026 (141 judges or 59%) will not have the right to receive a judge&#8217;s pension.<a href=\"#_ftn4\" name=\"_ftnref4\">[4]<\/a><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4089\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4089\" style=\"width: 1600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-08.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4089 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-08.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"859\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-08.webp 1600w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-08-300x161.webp 300w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-08-1024x550.webp 1024w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-08-768x412.webp 768w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-08-1536x825.webp 1536w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-08-782x420.webp 782w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-08-1565x840.webp 1565w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-08-696x374.webp 696w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-08-1392x747.webp 1392w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-08-1068x573.webp 1068w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4089\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 8. Distribution of judges eligible to retire as of the beginning of the year<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In 2026, four judges will become eligible for retirement, one of whom has expressed the desire to retire. Thus, two judges will retire in 2026, according to current data. In 2027, there will be four more judges eligible for retirement, two of whom have already expressed their wish to exercise this right. A total of 35 judges will become eligible for retirement between 2026 and 2031.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4090\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4090\" style=\"width: 1600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4090 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-09.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"882\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-09.webp 1600w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-09-300x165.webp 300w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-09-1024x564.webp 1024w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-09-768x423.webp 768w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-09-1536x847.webp 1536w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-09-762x420.webp 762w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-09-1524x840.webp 1524w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-09-696x385.webp 696w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-09-1392x767.webp 1392w, https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bench-2025-EN-fig-09-1068x589.webp 1068w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4090\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 9. Judges who will become eligible to retire in 2026\u20132031<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>Judges who left office<\/h3>\n<p>Last year, 13 judges left office: one from the Supreme Court, two from the Tallinn Circuit Court, two from the Tartu Circuit Court, two from the Harju District Court, one from the Tartu District Court, four from the Viru District Court and one from the Tallinn Administrative Court.<\/p>\n<p>Due to retirement, judges Ingeri Tamm and \u00dcllar Roostoja of the Tartu Circuit Court, judges <span style=\"border: 3px solid black;\">\u00a0Maido Roots \ud83d\udd6f\u00a0<\/span>, Aarne L\u00f5hmus and Olev Mihkelson of the Viru District Court, judges Eha Popova and Piret R\u00f5uk of the Harju District Court, judge Rita Kulberg of the Tartu District Court and judge Enno Loonurm of the Tallinn Administrative Court were granted discharges. Supreme Court Justice <span style=\"border: 3px solid black;\">\u00a0Urmas Volens \ud83d\udd6f\u00a0<\/span> and district court judges Maris Kuurberg and Neve Uudelt left their positions at their own request. Judge Andres Hallm\u00e4gi of the Viru District Court was removed from office.<\/p>\n<h3>New judges and transfers<\/h3>\n<p>In 2025, 6 new judges joined the judiciary, two of them in Harju District Court, three in Viru District Court and one in Tallinn Administrative Court. At the same time, three judges were transferred within the court system: Aleksandr Kondra\u0161ov, who had been working as a judge of the Harju District Court, took up his post as a judge of the Tallinn Circuit Court, and Marina Ninaste and Hele Kaldma, who had been working as judges of the Tartu District Court, took up their posts as judges of the Tartu Circuit Court.<\/p>\n<p>J\u00fcri-Karl Leppik and Priit Palmiste started their service at the Harju District Court, Triin Maksing, Maris M\u00f6ls and Mari-Ann Veiermann at the Viru District Court and Janno Voog at the Tallinn Administrative Court. Before being appointed as judges, three of them worked as judicial clerks and three as sworn advocates.<\/p>\n<p>In 2025, there were two hiring rounds for three judge positions in the first and second instance courts. For an overview of these hiring rounds, see the article on the activities of the judicial examination committee.<\/p>\n<p>The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Villu K\u00f5ve, announced a hiring round for the position of the Justice of the Supreme Court (Civil Chamber) on 31 March 2025. Martin Triipan, former sworn advocate, was selected from among three candidates and took up his post as a Justice of the Supreme Court on 9 March 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Between 2021 and 2025, 65 new judges took up their posts. Thus, more than a quarter of the judges in office at the beginning of 2026 have started their service in the last five years.<\/p>\n<p>____________________________<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\">[1]<\/a> If a judge is absent from duty for a long period, an additional judge may be appointed. For this reason, the number of judges may be temporarily increased by up to five in the Harju District Court and by one in the Tartu District Court<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref2\" name=\"_ftn2\">[2]<\/a> There may be 17 judges in the Tartu Circuit Court until the end of 2030.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref3\" name=\"_ftn3\">[3]<\/a> Starting from 2023, data are submitted as of the turn of the year.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref4\" name=\"_ftn4\">[4]<\/a> Pursuant to section 132<sup>2<\/sup> of the Courts Act, judges who took office after 1 July 2013 are not entitled to a judges&#8217; pension.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><i>Kristi Jakobsoo, Human resources specialist at the Supreme Court<br \/>\nAve Hussar, Head of the Personnel and Communication Department of the Supreme Court<\/i><\/p>\n<p>There are 249 judge and justice positions in Estonia, 256 positions together with the so-called temporary judge positions and those with temporary specifications. Of these, 240 were filled at the beginning of 2026. &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4091,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[109],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bench-in-2025"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The judiciary as of early 2026 - Yearbook of Estonian Courts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/aastaraamat.kohus.ee\/en\/the-judiciary-as-of-early-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The judiciary as of early 2026 - Yearbook of Estonian Courts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kristi Jakobsoo, Human resources specialist at the Supreme Court Ave Hussar, Head of the Personnel and Communication Department of the Supreme Court There are 249 judge and justice positions in Estonia, 256 positions together with the so-called temporary judge positions and those with temporary specifications. 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