At the public hearing of the Constitutional Review Chamber of the Supreme Court on 4 September 2016, Ellex Raidla senior associates Jüri Raidla and Arne Ots outlined important arguments according to which the administrative reform is in compliance with the Constitution.

 

Pursuant to the administrative reform adopted by the parliament, local governments had to initiate merger negotiations by 1 October. 26 local governments requested the Supreme Court to repeal the provisions of the Administrative Reform Act.

 

The Constitutional Review Chamber of the Supreme Court found that of the provisions disputed by the 26 local governments only subsection 24 (1), which set the limit of covering the costs of the merger initiated by the government at 100,000 euros, is in conflict with the Constitution. The Chamber repealed the said provision.

 

The Ellex Raidla team that advised the dispute of the constitutional review of the administrative reform included partners Jüri Raidla, Arne Ots and senior associate Martin-Johannes Raude.

 

 

 

Questions and updates related to the Republic of Estonia in administrative reform dispute can be addressed to our expert:

 

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The analysis “Determining the estimated cost of a public procurement” was commissioned by the Ministry of Finance and conducted by Senior Associate Martin-Johannes Raude and Partner Arne Ots of Ellex Raidla. Determining the estimated cost of a public procurement is an essential part in planning a public procurement and it affects the choice of proper procedural rules which apply to the specific public procurement. The estimated cost of a public procurement has to be determined proceeding from the requirements provided in the Public Procurement Act, primarily in sections 20–24. It should also be specified how the object and period of the public procurement should be defined in determining the estimated cost.

On 10 October the analysis “Contracting for research and development services” was published. The analysis was commissioned by the Ministry of Finance and conducted by Senior Associate Martin-Johannes Raude and Partner Arne Ots of Ellex Raidla. The main aim of the analysis was to provide an overview of determining the research and development services contracted for on the basis of clause 14 (1) 11) and subsection 14 (4) of the Public Procurement Act and the practice of contracting these services in European Union member states.

The minority shareholders of BLRT Grupp AS filed a claim with a court to request dividends pursuant to minutes that seemingly reflected a general meeting of shareholders that in fact had not taken place.

 

The dispute covered both the authenticity of the minutes as well as the request for dividends. The courts found that there is no basis for ordering dividends pursuant to minutes drawn up by the minority shareholders.

 

What raises questions in this case is that the Estonian judicial authorities did not regard a claim made on a basis of fabricated minutes as something that would belong to the field of criminal law.

 

The clients were represented by partner Arne Ots and senior associates  Neve Uudelt and Martin-Johannes Raude.

Ellex Raidla represented Nordecon AS, one of the largest construction groups in Estonia, in public procurement dispute with Riigi Kinnisvara AS, real estate service company established by the Republic of Estonia.

 

Riigi Kinnisvara AS organized a public procurement proceeding for reconstruction works of Ugala Theatre building. AS Nordecon successfully challenged the procurer’s decisions on qualification of competing bidder and, as a result, achieved the the procurement contract with the value exceeding EUR 7,8 million.

 

Nordecon AS was advised by our partner Arne Ots and senior associate Martin-Johannes Raude.

Ellex Raidla partner Arne Ots and associate Kerstin Linnart-Herm represented Prisma Peremarket AS, one of the largest hypermarket chains in Baltic/Nordic region, in a criminal matter regarding accusation of violation of the Competition Act.

The accusation is focused on alleged price fixing with other food retailers on the price of low-cost vodka. It is noteworthy that the alleged price fixing took place through the medium of a local alcohol production company, i.e. the alleged coordinated behaviour did not involve direct contacts between the retailers but each of them had contacts with the alcohol production company.

 

The matter is one of the 3 largest cartel criminal cases in Estonia, currently the dispute is on the 2nd court level.  Our firm has been representing clients in all the three largest cartel criminal cases that have taken place in Estonia and two of them have ended successfully for our clients.

Ellex Raidla partners Arne Ots and Ants Nõmper represented HELMES AS, the leading IT company in Estonia, in the arbitration case where HELMES claimed full payment for the software development under a respective contract with the client.
 

The arbitration court fully satisfied the claim of HELMES.

 

Ellex Raidla advised Elektrilevi OÜ, the main supplier of electricity in Estonia, in the public procurement for the supply and installation of nearly 630,000 remote-readable meters across Estonia. The contract was concluded with Ericsson Estonia and a total of nearly 94 million Euros will be invested in the purchase and installation of the meters and the accompanying IT systems.
 

The firms´ work included preparation of procurement documents and the contract as well as representing the client in disputes and negotiations concerning the procurement. The project team included partner Arne Ots, counsels Jaanus Ikla and Triin Frosch and senior associate Neve Uudelt.
 

Under the Grid Code, all standard electricity meters in Estonia must be replaced with remote-readable meters by the end of 2016 at the latest. These smart meters will exempt consumers from the obligation to report meter readings and serve to simplify the functioning of the electricity market. Remote-readable meters will provide the network operator with a better overview of what is happening in the network. They will also expedite the elimination of failures and serve to help reduce losses as well as improve capacity and investment planning. Within the framework of the procurement contract, Ericsson Estonia will supply the meters as well as conduct the installation and provide the required IT systems.