Estonia Supreme Court on Reopening of Judicial Proceedings Following a Judgement of the European Court of Human Rights. Decisions of 6 January 2004, case No. 3-1-13-03 and 10 January 2004, case No. 3-3-2-1-04

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In the fourteen years since Estonia regained its independence in 1991, the Europeanisation of its legal, political and economic system has been rapid. Estonia became a member of the Council of Europe in May 1993 and has, thereafter, ratified most of its important international human rights conventions. Before becoming a member of the European Union in May 2004, a large-scale harmonisation of its laws with the EU standards has taken place. Two recent decisions by the Estonian Supreme Court, the subject of the present annotation, on the application of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) and the execution of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights illustrate the way in which European standards have become a part of the Estonian legal system.