Estonian commentator: officials should be given room to avoid unjust penalties
Imre Kaas, a commentator on Estonia's public radio Vikerraadio, argues that state agencies should be able to withdraw clearly unfair decisions. He cites a mother whom the Social Insurance Board is demanding repay at least €1,960 in child support assistance.
In his daily commentary on Estonia's public radio station Vikerraadio, Imre Kaas argues that the state should change its attitude toward people who end up at a disadvantage because of formal rules. He believes the law should give officials discretion in situations where they currently have none.
Kaas acknowledges that administrative authorities must act in line with existing law. Still, in his view, the outcome should always be proportionate, humane and reasonable. He notes that pointing to the option of filing an administrative appeal or going to court is not always realistic, since not everyone has the energy, knowledge and resources to do so. The appeals process also leaves little room for compromise, he says.
He also raises the use of artificial intelligence. Agencies are already receiving many complaints and petitions drafted with AI, and courts have warned that chatbots can cite academic papers, legal provisions and Supreme Court rulings that do not exist. A complaint containing such errors may be seen as an attempt to mislead the court and can lead to a fine for the complainant.
A case of a mother and child support
Kaas refers to a case reported by the weekly Eesti Ekspress. A mother went to court to seek child support from the father, and during the proceedings the Social Insurance Board paid her child support assistance. Two years later the agency demanded that the mother, rather than the father, repay the money. The reason was a technicality: the parties had reached a settlement in court, and the father had not been required to pay child support retroactively. The court of first instance sided with the state. The mother had agreed to the settlement at the encouragement of the court itself.
If every level of the judiciary upholds the claim, she will have to pay at least €1,960. The Ministry of Social Affairs has already moved to fix the problem through a legislative amendment. Kaas, however, says rewriting laws is not always the most practical solution and suggests the law should let authorities drop unjust decisions before they are challenged in court.
He argues that when a violation is minor and unintentional, proceedings should be allowed to end without administrative consequences, and that authorities should not only be permitted but required to use such discretion.
