11. April 08
Today, on 11 April, the Estonian Forensic Science Institute will celebrate its 70
th anniversary. In connection with the anniversary a festive event was arranged which was opened by the Minister of Justice, Rein Lang.
According to the Director of the institute, Üllar Lanno Estonia is a small country, but the level of our forensic examination is very high in its present format of a new merged institute. “We are certainly pioneering the development in the whole field of forensic examination in Europe, but maybe also in the whole world,” Lanno commented.
The Minister of Justice, Rein Lang, said that during the first Republic of Estonia, it took 18 years to establish the institute. “The re-establishment of the same institute after the regaining of independence took only 16 years and this is the best indication of the present-day expectations and capabilities of the state,”
“Forensic examination needs better working conditions than at present possible and the construction of a new building for the institute is one of the main priorities for the Ministry,“ Lang added. Üllar Lanno said that the agency was given its name in 1938 when based on the new Courts Act the Estonian Forensic Science Institute was designated the national agency for conducting forensic expertise.
The main tasks of the institute at the time were to "investigate graphologic, photographic, dactyloscopic, chemical, microscopic, forensic chemical and other scientific-technical investigations based on the requests of courts and authorities investigating offences and to publish written opinions based on these investigations. Also, giving expert opinions on issues concerning topics specified at court sessions and in more important cases to assist the authorities pursuing surveillance at the seat of the investigated event.”
Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of the Interior and the Chairman of the Estonian Forensic Science Institute Erkki Koort, Security Police Commissioner Aldis Aus and the Chief Public Prosecutor Norman Aas also took part in the event held today.
The chronology of the merging of the two agencies – the Estonian Bureau of Forensic Medicine under the area of government of the Ministry of Justice and the Forensic Service Centre under the area of government of the Ministry of the Interior:
28 June 2006 – Ministers Rein Lang and Kalle Laanet agree to merge the agencies into one governmental authority under the area of government of the Ministry of Justice;
26 October 2006 – the merging of the Estonian Bureau of Forensic Medicine and the Forensic Service Centre was approved at the sitting of the Government of the Republic;
February 2007 – a decision was made to merge the agencies on 1 January 2008 (both to minimise the personnel risks arising from the prolonging of the merging and to start with the levelling of the forensic examination system);
7 June 2007 – by the law adopted in Riigikogu it was decided that the activities of the Forensic Service Centre would be terminated and its tasks, rights, obligations, public property and records management will be transferred to the Estonian Bureau of Forensic Medicine from 1 January 2008;
9 August 2007 – A decision was made at the sitting of the Government of the Republic to establish a liquidation committee for the Forensic Service Centre and the ministers were assigned the task to organise the amendment of legislation in view of the merging;
13 December 2007 – the amendment of the legislation necessary for the merging was decided at the sitting of the Government of the Republic;
14 December 2007 – the Minister of Justice signed the statutes of the merged agency
