Estonian courts may use Facebook, Twitter to contact crime suspectsMarch 19, 2012 - 22:55 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Estonia's Justice Ministry has asked parliament to adopt amendments to enable courts to use Facebook and Twitter accounts to contact crime suspects, a ministry spokesman said Monday, March 19. "One of the main reasons why court cases proceed slowly in Estonia is often the very slow delivery of relevant documents to those involved," Justice Ministry spokesman Priit Talv told AFP, referring to the laborious process of serving suspects with subpoenas. "Around a third of all civil cases are constantly in phase of documents delivery. With the new legal steps planned to take force in January 2013, we want to expand the electronic means of courts to deliver these documents" including subpoenas, he added. According to the draft bill, a person contacted by court via their email, Facebook or Twitter account will receive a note with a link to the court documents. But the subpoena will be legally delivered only after he or she has clicked the link and visited the official site that can be accessed with an electronic identification ID-card issued to all adult Estonians. "In addition to those criminal suspects who deliberately try to hide their mail or residence address there are many people whose address is either not registered or they travel a lot. Reaching people via electronic means is both cheaper and quicker," Talv said. "It would be helpful for example in cases when one of the parents refuses to pay child support and claims to be too poor to pay a penny, but the very same person can be found in Facebook posing in front of his or her expensive house or car or resting at a resort," lawyers Maret Hallikma and Anton Sigal wrote in Paevaleht, a leading Estonian daily. According to a recent study, 65 percent of all Internet users in Estonia - a figure rising to 80 percent for those under 40 - visit their Facebook account at least once a week. Twitter is less popular, with just five percent of Estonian Internet users logging on at least once a week, AFP reported. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |