Chapter 2PERSONS INVOLVED IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS
Division 1Courts
§ 24. General jurisdiction in hearing of criminal matters in county courts
(1) The criminal matter shall be heard by the county court in whose territorial jurisdiction the criminal offence was committed.
(2) As an exception, a criminal matter may be heard according to the location of occurrence of the consequences of the criminal offence or the location of the majority of the accused persons or victims or witnesses. Exceptional transfer of a criminal matter within the territorial jurisdiction of one circuit court shall be decided by the chairman of the circuit court; in other cases, the transfer shall be decided by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
(3) If the place of commission of a criminal offence cannot be ascertained, the criminal matter shall be heard by the court in whose territorial jurisdiction the pre-court proceedings were completed.
(4) A preliminary investigation judge of a county court in whose territorial jurisdiction the criminal offence was committed shall perform the duties of a preliminary investigation judge. Where it is impossible to clearly determine the place of commission of the criminal offence, a preliminary investigation judge of a county court of the place of performance of the procedural act shall perform the duties of a preliminary investigation judge. Permission for surveillance activities is granted by a judge designated by the division of tasks plan who is not the chairman of the court.
[RT I, 13.03.2019, 1 - entry into force 01.01.2020]
(5) The jurisdiction of criminal matters proceedings in which are conducted by international cooperation is provided for in Chapter 19.
Part 1 GENERAL PART
Chapter 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS
§ 6. Territorial applicability of penal law
(1) The penal law of Estonia applies to acts committed within the territory of Estonia.
(2) The penal law of Estonia applies to acts committed on board of or against ships or aircraft registered in Estonia, regardless of the location of the ship or aircraft at the time of commission of the offence or the penal law of the country where the offence is committed.
2. In the case of article 13, paragraph (a) or (c), the Court may exercise its jurisdiction if one or more of the following States are Parties to this Statute or have accepted the jurisdiction of the Court in accordance with paragraph 3:
(a) The State on the territory of which the conduct in question occurred or, if the crime was committed on board a vessel or aircraft, the State of registration of that vessel or aircraft;