The ministry says the drafts were so assigned in error.

The drafts to amend the ministerial regulations in the health sector were published within the framework of the legislative information system, by the Ministry of Social Affairs.

Their exact details remained a mystery so far as the public is concerned, however, thanks to the internal use only classification.

The issue was more broadly highlighted by Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa Pakosta last weekend at the Paide Opinion Festival.

Pakosta said that even as a cabinet member, which she has been since last month, she was unable to access drafts designated for internal use.

In the latest case involving the social affairs ministry, the internal use label has since been removed, while the ministry said they were applied in error.

A social affairs ministry spokesperson, Kirsi Pruudel, said: "Human error does happen happen, but as far as we know, in recent years there have been no similar incidents at the ministry."

ERR has previously reported on the apparent tendency of ministries and state agencies to overly apply classification to documents, even as, under the law, information intended for general use should be made publicly accessible.

State Secretary Taimar Peterkop has said that the application of the Public Information Act in practice and on a daily basis has drifted away from that piece of legislation's intent, which is to ensure that all information intended for general use is accessible to all.

Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise has highlighted that the Public Information Act ensures access to information intended for general use, based on the principle that the public availability of such information is a rule, while marking documents for internal use should be the exception to that rule.

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