Filing a challenge against an administrative act or operation

Challenge proceedings, unlike court proceedings, are a much simpler, less costly, and faster way for a person to protect their rights.

The administrative acts of the Labour Inspectorate are the precept and the decision that can be challenged, for example, by the person subject to the precept (i.e. the person obliged to comply) or by an interested third party.

The act which is the subject of the challenge can be any measure or action taken in the course of an administrative proceeding (for example, a supervisory or an application proceeding) which may be required from the administrative authority to be taken, but which does not itself terminate the procedure.

The individual acts of the administrative procedure in issuing an administrative act are generally challenged together with the administrative act (precept or decision). Subsection 1 of § 5 of the Administrative Procedure Act provides that an administrative authority shall determine the form of procedural acts on the basis of the right of discretion unless otherwise provided by an Act or regulation. Which is to say that a procedural act can be understood as any action by a Labour Inspectorate official that is directed at a party to the proceedings or the issuance of an administrative act. See also: Procedural operations in the exercise of supervision.

The following actions and inactions may be challenged separately from an administrative act:

• delay;
• omission;
• refusal to remove an official;
• return of an application for issue of the administrative act;
• other acts provided by law.

A challenge against an administrative act or operation must be filed within 30 days as of the date you became or should have become aware of the administrative act or operation. The Labour Inspectorate will resolve your challenge within 10 days as of the filing of the challenge.

Challenges must be signed by hand or digitally by the person filing it or their representative. If the challenge is signed by the representative of the person filing it, a document certifying the authorisation of the representative (signed by hand or digitally) must be attached to the challenge.

Signed challenges must submitted to the Director General of the Labour Inspectorate either:

• by email to [email protected]
• or by post to Mäealuse 2/3, 12618 TALLINN.