The most important decisions concerning the administration of courts of first and second instance are discussed and approved by the Judicial Council. The Supreme Court, being an independent constitutional institution, administers itself and is financed directly from the state budget.
The Supreme Court has the role of guaranteeing proper functioning of administration of justice in the court system, especially through organizing the work of judges’ self-government bodies. There are 5 such bodies in Estonia:
- General Assembly of Estonian Judges
- Disciplinary Chamber of Judges
- Judge's Examination Committee
- Judicial Training Council
- Judicial Ethics Council
All self-government bodies function using the administrative support of the Supreme Court's officials.
The Supreme Court also performs the following functions in the administration of the lower courts:
- reviews applications from candidates for judicial office and makes proposals to the President of the Republic for their appointment;
- hears appeals against decisions of the Judge’s Examination Committee and the Disciplinary Chamber of Judges;
- decides whether to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the President of the Supreme Court.
Meeting of the General Assembly of Estonian Judges in June 2026.