Lavly Perling may leave Prosecutor's Office altogether
Lavly Perling, who has served as acting prosecutor general since her term ended last October, finds that it would be appropriate for her to leave the Prosecutor's Office after a time. Possible alternative options for work may include the Supreme Court or the Ministry of Justice.
"It would be better to let the new chief act his own way," Perling told ERR on Friday, her last day of work as prosecutor general. Her successor, Andres Parmas, will begin work on Monday.
Speaking on Vikerraadio's "Uudis+," Perling said that she will begin work on Monday morning as chief state prosecutor, and in the afternoon will travel to Ukraine, where she is to meet with representatives of the Ukrainian Prosecutor's Office.
"We will discuss whether and how it would be possible for us to advise and help them," she explained. "Once I have returned from there, then I can think about where and as whom I would like to move on. We'll see in the near future. I believe that I will continue working as a prosecutor."
The law allows for a prosecutor to rotate in their position and, for example, work as an adviser at the Ministry of Justice or the Supreme Court of Estonia while retaining their title of prosecutor. This is how Kristel Siitam-Nyiri, who previously served as a senior prosecutor, is currently serving as deputy secretary general of the Ministry of Justice's Criminal Policy Department.
Perling's term as prosecutor general began in 2014. She recalled that her goal at the time was to make Estonia's criminal investigation system more victim-friendly. "It cannot be some kind of Kafkaesque gauntlet that someone ends up in," she said. "The justice and social systems are now better integrated than before."
Also important according to Perling was the fight against organized crime, exposed fraud and convicted bankrupters. "Criminal investigations have gotten smarter and faster," she highlighted. "Of course, I don't want to tie all of this to my term; I have had good people around me."
While several corruption cases have ended in acquittals, Perling said that these cannot be taken as pointless investigations.
"Taking these cases to court has been the right thing to do," she said. "Society is becoming more open and transparent, there is less and less corruption."
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Editor: Aili Vahtla
