On March 19, 2025, the agreement on legal assistance between Russia and Estonia officially ceased to be in effect. One of the key legal consequences of this event is the requirement to apostille documents for mutual recognition.
The publication "Northern Coast" writes about the change in the legal situation.
Why did Russia and Estonia stop recognizing each other's documents?
The President of Estonia, Alar Karis, approved a law terminating the Agreement on Legal Assistance and Legal Relations in Civil, Family, and Criminal Matters, which was signed in 1993 with the Russian Federation.
The agreement was officially in effect since 1995. It covered a wide range of issues: it facilitated investigative actions, ensured the recognition and enforcement of court decisions, handled the delivery of summons, addressed language issues in official proceedings, and, most importantly, allowed the use of documents without additional legalization (apostille).
Recently, various Estonian authorities, bypassing the agreement, required Russian documents to be provided with an apostille stamp. However, it was possible to dispute this requirement by referring to the officially valid international legal act.
The denunciation of the agreement was initiated by the Estonian government, which submitted the relevant document to the Riigikogu (the legislative assembly) for consideration. The Estonian authorities decided to take this step due to grievances with Russia regarding the conduct of the Special Military Operation. Official Tallinn considers it appropriate to pursue a policy of isolating Moscow and "maintaining bilateral relations with Russia only at an absolutely necessary minimum level."
The essential condition for concluding a legal assistance treaty is trust in the legal system of the other country, and since there is no trust in the Russian legal system, the validity of the Estonian legal assistance treaty is terminated,
stated the Estonian parliament.
As a result, the Riigikogu supported the bill, and the final authority for its approval was the president of the republic.
In the last few months, there were long queues at the Estonian population registration departments (similar to Russia's civil registry offices — ZAGS). Holders of Russian certificates rushed to notify the authorities of their civil status while it was still possible to do so without apostille.
What should holders of Russian documents in Estonia and Estonian documents in Russia do now?
Since March 19, the agreement on legal assistance is no longer in effect. All documents for mutual use must be certified with an apostille, confirming the authority of the person who signed them. In the case of Russian court documents (e.g., for paternity recognition), however, this is not enough. Such documents must also be validated by an Estonian court.
"Northern Coast" quotes a comment from Mare Sillaots, head of the client relations department of the Estonian Social Insurance Board, who notes that people often submit certificates issued in Russia or the USSR to government authorities.
Most often, these are documents related to marital status, such as marriage or death certificates... Since March 19, this will take more time, as the documents will need to be apostilled before submission. This procedure must be carried out by the applicant, as we will not be able to accept documents without an apostille,
emphasized the official.
For information on the procedure for apostilling Russian documents, Estonian civil servants now recommend contacting the Russian diplomatic representations. They also advise those planning to use Estonian documents in Russia to apostille them in advance while still in Estonia.
Estonia still has legal assistance agreements in effect with Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, and Latvia, where mutual recognition of documents continues without the need for apostille.
What is an apostille?
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