Jüri Raidla received the “Defender of Justice” award from the Estonian Ministry of Justice

It is a great pleasure and honour to announce that Jüri Raidla, founder and senior partner of Ellex in Estonia, received the “Defender of Justice” award from the Estonian Ministry of Justice. The award was presented by the Estonian Minister of Justice, Lea Danilson-Järg, on 6 October 2022, during the Days of Legal Scholars in Tartu, Estonia.

“I am grateful to fate and history that I was given the opportunity to participate in the restoration of the Republic of Estonia and the creation of a new legal order,” said attorney-at-law Jüri Raidla, the Minister of Justice at the time of the re-liberation and the head of the expert committee of the Constitutional Assembly, upon accepting the recognition award “Defender of Justice”.

“It is an extraordinary pleasure to note on the 30th anniversary of the Constitution that, thanks to the joint work of politicians and lawyers, the Constitutional Assembly created the best social agreement of all time in Estonia, which was approved by the citizens of Estonia in a referendum. The name of this agreement is the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia 1992.” “However, time does not stand still and development must not fade,” continued Raidla. “The mission of today’s and tomorrow’s generation is to keep and maintain the state of Estonia in such a way that it can be a home for all Estonians in the centuries to come and be set for overall success regardless of the trials that await us. The task of lawyers is to stand up for the law and take care that our rule of law does not bend.”

The “Defender of Law” award recognizes people or groups of people who have significantly contributed to the maintenance and development of Estonia’s rule of law through their initiative, behaviour, attitude or other activities.

Since 2018, the Estonian Ministry of Justice has been awarding the “Defender of Law” award every two years. The tradition was initiated by the Ministry of Justice on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia and the rule of law.