Last Friday, the proposed closure was put to the Court Administration Council by Viru County Court and the Tartu Administrative Court to save money. In future, court hearings in the region will be directed to Rakvere and Narva.

However, the possibility of keeping the Jõhvi courthouse open has not been ruled out.

"For the past three months, court chairmen have been working hard to reach an agreement with the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs and the Ministry of Finance so that the budget cuts already made by the courts through unfilled positions are taken into account and our reduction mandate is eased. That is a possibility here," Viru County Court Chairman Liina Naaber-Kivisoo told Monday's "Aktuaalne kaamera."

"Otherwise, if our budget cut mandate remains the same as it is now, then we have to make reductions somewhere, either in staff or in buildings," she added

Viru County Court Judge Olev Mihkelson does not understand why the Jõhvi courthouse is slated for closure. It is a hub for other security institutions.

"The most crucial issue here is security. The formation of a security cluster in Jõhvi began back in 1999. Year after year, key security institutions were concentrated in Jõhvi: the court, the prosecutor's office, the Eastern Prefecture of the Police and Border Guard Board, and the Internal Security Service. If one part of this cluster is removed, it means that the entire cluster will begin to disintegrate," he told the show.

Jõhvi Council Chairman Vallo Reimaa is concerned decisions have been made without an impact assessment.

On Monday, together with Riigikogu member Meelis Kiili, he sent a letter to the chairman of the Viru County Court, requesting additional information. The pair wants to know if the proposal considered the potential combined effects of the decision.

"The entire Estonian legal system mandates that the more serious the decision and the greater its impact on neighboring sectors and regions, the more clearly all justifications, as well as pros and cons, must be presented. That is why we are asking to see them. And then we will assess the situation. Perhaps these concerns are not as serious as they seem," Reimaa said.

Prosecutor's Office: Access to justice will decline

Chief Prosecutor of the Viru District Prosecutor's Office Gardi Anderson said the issue is about accessibility and proximity of justice, not the closure of a single facility.

"The prosecution hopes that, regardless of how the placement of law enforcement agencies in the Viru district is decided, the interests of as many people affected by the justice system as possible will be considered," Anderson said.

"I repeatedly see how important our presence here is for the sense of security. If the court moves away from Jõhvi, it distances itself from victims and witnesses, making it more costly in terms of time and money for them to attend hearings, thereby reducing access to justice. I stress that justice is not just about the court itself. An analysis is needed to determine whether this kind of distribution of state institutions — where the main pre-trial investigation agencies are based in Jõhvi while the court is in Narva — is justified and reasonable from a security standpoint. Ida-Viru County is more exposed to external influences from neighboring countries, which makes the presence of state institutions particularly important," the chief prosecutor added.

The Court Administration Council will discuss the closure of the Jõhvi and Rapla courthouses on March 14. The final decision will then be made by the Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa Pakosta (Eesti 200.)

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