"We spoke with our attorneys and ultimately reached the conclusion that there are, in fact, grounds to proceed further with this matter. We have now filed an application with the European Court of Human Rights concerning the Supreme Court's decision," Center Party Secretary General Anneli Ott told ERR.

"In our consultations with the attorneys, several additional points were raised that could still be disputed. Of course, one of the main issues is that different levels of Estonia's judicial system viewed this case differently. And since there are entirely contradictory rulings, the Center Party believes it is necessary to continue pursuing the matter. Many of our members have also expressed the desire for us to take this further and exhaust every possible avenue to gain clarity on how this situation should be viewed," she said.

"The Center Party is doing everything it can to achieve a final resolution in this case," Ott added.

According to her, it will take approximately four months before a response to the complaint is received from the European Court.

The Center Party is represented by sworn attorneys Paul Keres and Andri Rohtla from the law firm LEVIN. They argue that the Supreme Court's decision contains multiple elements that may constitute violations of Articles 6, 7 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

According to Keres, the guilty verdict is incomprehensible because the businessman involved did not seek to gain an unlawful advantage during his conversation with the Center Party's then-secretary general, but rather wished to inform him about an abuse of authority by a city official who had unlawfully demanded an excessively high servitude fee.

"That the city official recognized their mistake and ceased the unlawful conduct cannot be considered a benefit for which undue influence had to be exerted in a rule-of-law state. Therefore, there is no aspect of the incident that can reasonably be interpreted as influence peddling. The interpretation that a city official acting lawfully constitutes an unlawful advantage granted to a businessman is highly novel," Keres explained.

The complaint also specifically highlights that, in determining the penalty, the Supreme Court did not base its decision on the facts of the case but rather on a desire to restrict the Center Party's operations. "In doing so, the Supreme Court violated the Center Party's, its members' and its voters' rights to freedom of association and political expression," Keres said.

"Even if sanctions against the party had been justified, they should — according to the complaint — have taken the form of the least restrictive means that do not hinder democratic participation. Restrictions on a political party's activities would only be proportionate in the case of parties whose actions threaten democracy or incite violence, which is not the case here with either this proceeding or the Center Party's broader activities. Therefore, the way the Center Party's operations were limited is in no way a proportionate response to the acts for which it was held responsible in this case."

If the European Court of Human Rights agrees to take up the complaint, the case will be referred back to the Supreme Court for reconsideration. "However, if the complaint is not accepted for review, a precedent will be cemented in Estonian legal practice — one that all political parties in Estonia, as well as private individuals and businesses dealing with government authorities, will have to take seriously in the future," Keres added.

On February 7, the Supreme Court upheld a ruling by the Tallinn Circuit Court from March last year, which found the Center Party, its former secretary general Mihhail Korb and businessman Hillar Teder guilty of influence peddling in the so-called Porto Franco case.

The Circuit Court sentenced Teder to one year and five months' imprisonment and Korb to one year and two months, both suspended sentences. The Center Party was fined €750,000, which was increased based on the unpaid portion of a previous sentence. The total combined fine imposed on the party amounted to €1 million.

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