An appeal of the initial ruling that went to the second-tier Tallinn District Court was upheld and the case referred back to Tallinn Administrative Court for substantive review. The case was heard in the lower court again on July 5, and the ruling was to be issued by July 15.

Tallinn Administrative Court ruled to reject the complaint and leave the parties involved in the case to bear their own procedural costs, a spokesperson for the court said Monday.

The ruling has not yet entered into force and can be appealed to Tallinn Circuit Court within 30 days of the publishing of the ruling, i.e. no later than August 17, they added.

In an address to the media prior to the July 5 hearing, Kull, a 30-year veteran of Estonia's foreign service, stated that a security clearance is necessary for diplomatic duties.

In a separate case, criminal proceedings which have since been concluded had also been launched against Kull by the Prosecutor's Office in connection with suspected embezzlement and the alleged violation of the duty to maintain state secrets.

The Prosecutor's Office has not yet completed the pre-litigation procedure regarding suspected embezzlement. It has, however, since dropped its state secrets-related allegations.

The 63-year-old diplomat has previously said that the Office of the Prosecutor General and the ISS have ruined his career.

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