Estonia

• The Constitution of 1992, the highest law
• Codes and statutes, such as the Law of Obligations Act and the Penal Code
• European Union law, which takes priority in its area
• Decisions of the Supreme Court, which carry great weight

• The Supreme Court (Riigikohus), which includes a constitutional review chamber
• Circuit courts (courts of appeal)
• County courts and administrative courts at first instance

A master's degree in law and the bar exam, then admission to the Estonian Bar Association as an attorney-at-law.

• There is no separate constitutional court; a chamber of the Supreme Court reviews laws.
• Many court procedures, registers and documents are digital.
• Estonian private law follows German models more closely than its neighbours' laws.

Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Germany, Sweden

The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Estonia as: Civil law. It names the systems in order of importance.

The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.

Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria.

• Supreme Court of Estonia (English pages)

Sources last reviewed: October 2026.