President: I hope Timpson will bring more listening, understanding to Estonian govt

TALLINN - President Alar Karis, who on Monday appointed Madis Timpson as the new minister of justice of Estonia, expressed hope that a new member will bring more listening and understanding to the government.

The head of state said it is positive that, as minister of justice, Madis Timpson, who previously served as mayor of Viljandi, has experience in both local government and the central government from working as an adviser at the finance, interior and justice ministries.

"With such wealth of experience, it is possible to feel and understand Estonia more deeply, not only as seen from the capital," Karis added.

"Madis Timpson has sympathetically said that it bothers him when ambitious people are punished and a 'wise state' knows what is good for every person. It bothers me too. And I, like Madis Timpson, like a country where decisions are made by people who know their field, not by those who shout the loudest. Thus, our cooperation could be quite good," the president said.

"I hope that Madis Timpson will bring more listening and understanding to the government and quickly settle into the position of minister of justice," he added.

One of the important tasks of the minister of justice is definitely helping to find a solution to the problem of the next generation of judges and prosecutors. However, the new minister of justice must also answer the question of the limits of the independence of the prosecutor's office, which has not been thoroughly discussed in Estonia so far, the president's office said.

The topic came up sharply a few weeks ago, when accusations were made against the minister of justice by members of the prosecutor's office. At the time, Karis said that it is necessary to ascertain how the minister of justice can influence the activities of the prosecutor's office in a rule of law and how to ensure that any intervention is transparent.

The head of state confirmed that in Estonia, politicians do not lead the prosecutor's office's investigations just as prosecutors do not determine politicians' decisions. He called for an in-depth discussion on the independence of the prosecutor's office, in which representatives of the court system, the Bar Association, the office of the chancellor of justice, the legal affairs committee of the Riigikogu and the Ministry of Justice would participate. This could help make the entire justice system stronger, Karis stressed.