Personnel Risk:
Low
Score:
69/100
Leadership Behaviour
Q34
50/100
Do the Defence Ministry, Defence Minister, Chiefs of Defence, and Single Service Chiefs publicly commit, through, for example, speeches, media interviews, or political mandates, to anti-corruption and integrity measures?
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The Ministry of Finance (MOF) has shown commitment to anti-corruption and integrity measures. In the Estonian Republic Basic Security Policy Act, the ministry has…
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When the Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces or the Minister of Defence have mentioned corruption in their statements or interviews, the topic has…
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There have been some statements and publications about the importance of shared values in the military organisation that have involved senior armed forces officers.…
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Q35
100/100
Are there effective measures in place for personnel found to have taken part in forms of bribery and corruption, and is there evidence that these measures are being carried out?
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There are two pieces of legislation that define bribery in Estonia: The Anti-corruption Act defines bribery as an income derived from corrupt practices. [1]…
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There have been a few cases of bribery in the defence sector in recent years. These have been investigated by different institutions. For example,…
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Q36
42/100
Is whistleblowing encouraged by the government, and are whistle-blowers in military and defence ministries afforded adequate protection from reprisal for reporting evidence of corruption, in both law and practice?
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Personal data in Estonia can only be processed with the consent of the data’s subject, unless otherwise stipulated by law, in accordance with the…
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Public servants are obliged to report on violations of rules and the law. The emphasis in training is to teach civil servants to act…
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All civil servants have the obligation to report wrongdoings. There are ombudsmen in every military unit who they can turn to, as pointed out…
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Q37
33/100
Is special attention paid to the selection, time in post, and oversight of personnel in sensitive positions, including officials and personnel in defence procurement, contracting, financial management, and commercial management?
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Special attention is paid to personnel in sensitive positions. The Commander of the Defence Forces is one of the most powerful positions in Estonia’s…
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In accordance with the Civil Service Act, an official who is released from office may not become, within one year, a legal person in…
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The Chancellor of the Ministry of Defence coordinates the human resources department and their work. The human resources department develops the overall principles of…
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Payroll, Promotions, Appointments, Rewards
Q38
67/100
Is the number of civilian and military personnel accurately known and publicly available?
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The number of military personnel is made public by the Defence Forces, and updated on an irregular basis. For example, the data could be…
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The number of civilian and military personnel is not disaggregated by rank bracket, but rather presented in an aggregate form. [1] Even then, often…
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As explained by a former flag officer, in Estonia, the problem is the opposite. [1] There are more servicemen in the reserve than in…
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Q39
63/100
Are pay rates and allowances for civilian and military personnel openly published?
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According to the Public Service Act, [1] since 2015 all the officials’ salary data are published only on one “central website”, which is the…
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The Civil Service Act states that besides the official’s basic salary, other incomes like variable pay and bonuses have to be made public. [1]…
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Q40
100/100
Do personnel receive the correct pay on time, and is the system of payment well-established, routine, and published?
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In accordance with the Military Service Act, the salary scale of active servicemen is established by regulation of the Defence Minister. [1] With regard…
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All military and civilian defence personnel are public servants and therefore are employed by the government according to the Civil Service Act, which provides…
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The pay brackets are public and approved by the Minister of Defence. According to the Military Service Act, the Commander of the Defence Forces…
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Q41
50/100
Is there an established, independent, transparent, and objective appointment system for the selection of military personnel at middle and top management level?
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The requirements for the appointment and promotion of military personnel in the Defence Forces and the Defence League are stipulated in detail in the…
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The supervision of the appointment system for the selection of military personnel is exercised by the Defence Resources Agency, which is a government agency…
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There is very limited information about the exact and clear recruitment procedure on the website of the Defence Forces [1] as well as on…
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Q42
44/100
Are personnel promoted through an objective, meritocratic process? Such a process would include promotion boards outside of the command chain, strong formal appraisal processes, and independent oversight.
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TheMilitary Service Act stipulates the granting of ranks: the Commander of the Defence Forces grants ranks to senior non-commissioned officers, the Commander of the…
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One of the few exceptions to the promotion and appointment of ranks that is stipulated in the Military Service Act describes the employment in…
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The publishing of postings and promotions is not required by law, [1] but the top management ranks granted by the President are published on…
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Postings and promotions are very rarely published (less frequently than annually) hence not regularly. [1]
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Conscription and Recruitment
Q43
83/100
Where compulsory conscription occurs, is there a policy of not accepting bribes for avoiding conscription? Are there appropriate procedures in place to deal with such bribery, and are they applied?
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There is a general policy of not accepting bribes under any circumstances, including for avoiding conscription. Bribery in Estonia is considered a corrupt practice.…
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In Estonia, the suitability for conscription is evaluated by local medical commissions. The commission consists of doctors and officials from Defence Forces. The officials…
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The only persons to bribe to avoid conscription are the doctors in Estonia and there are not many public examples where a doctor was…
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Q44
100/100
is there a policy of refusing bribes to gain preferred postings? Are there appropriate procedures in place to deal with such bribery, and are they applied?
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There is no law on bribery that specifically applies to the Defence Forces. As described in Q43, giving, accepting and arranging bribery are criminal…
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There are no known cases where a serviceman has bribed someone to gain a preferred posting. The situation is rather the reverse: the Defence…
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This indicator has been marked Not Applicable.The Assessor found no evidence of an occurrence of bribery for a preferred posting.
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Salary Chain
The pay brackets are public and approved by the Minister of Defence. [1] Within those brackets, superiors have the right to decide what will…
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Values and Standards
Q46
88/100
Is there a Code of Conduct for all military personnel that includes, but is not limited to, guidance with respect to bribery, gifts and hospitality, conflicts of interest, and post-separation activities? Is there evidence that breaches of the Code of Conduct are effectively addressed?
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Kaitseväe sisemäärustik (Internal regulations of the Defense Forces), an internal document, approved by the Commander of the Defence Forces, is the basis of all…
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Kaitseväe Sisemäärustik is publicly available and easy to find on the website of the Defence Forces. [1] As the most important document for military…
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In cases when a breach of the code of conduct occurs, a disciplinary proceedure is opened. [1] The infractions are reported by the direct…
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As the most important document for military activities in Estonia, Kaitseväe Sisemäärustik is one of the first topics introduced and covered in training for…
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Q47
58/100
Is there a Code of Conduct for all civilian personnel that includes, but is not limited to, guidance with respect to bribery, gifts and hospitality, conflicts of interest, and post-separation activities? Is there evidence that breaches of the Code of Conduct are effectively addressed?
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The Civil Service Act applies to all officials of national and local government authorities, as well as active servicemen. It stipulates the formation and…
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The Code of Ethics is publicly available and it is expected to be integrated into the everyday work of officials. The Code is introduced…
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This indicator has been marked Not Applicable. The Council of Ethics of Officials analyses the implementation of the Code of Ethics of Officials. [1]…
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Although the Code of Ethics is publicly available, and it is expected to be integrated into the everyday work of officials, a study has…
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Q48
42/100
Does regular anti-corruption training take place for military and civilian personnel?
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There are some courses that cover corruption, but the training is not carried out systematically and not specifically on corruption. [1] The course for…
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Anti-corruption training is not regular. It is either organised for public servants by the government to introduce a new Anti-Corruption Law or funded by…
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There is no regular systematic training on corruption in the defence sector addressing military and civil personnel, except for courses for Masters students. [1]…
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Q49
100/100
Is there a policy to make public outcomes of the prosecution of defence services personnel for corrupt activities, and is there evidence of effective prosecutions in recent years?
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Court decisions, with restrictions arising from law, have to be made public. [1] Court judgments and court rulings which have entered into force are…
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Information concerning punished persons and their sanctions is made public in the criminal records database, a state information system. [1] The court, the extra-judicial…
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Cases are investigated or prosecuted through formal processes and without undue political influence. There is no evidence of cases being influenced externally. Based on…
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Q50
100/100
Are there effective measures in place to discourage facilitation payments (which are illegal in almost all countries)?
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It is illegal for officials to receive and to be offered any types of perks and benefits, whether it is appropriate or not. This…
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There is no evidence of unfair investigations or prosecutions concerning facilitation payments. [1] There is an external oversight of the defence sector and risks…
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Based on media reports, there are not many cases of facilitation payments. The cases that are uncovered are extensively reported by journalists, as they…
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