Here you will find information on the principles of personal data processing at the Office of the President of the Republic and on individuals' rights to access their personal data. Data Protection Officer contact: [email protected]

Personal Data

Personal data means any information that makes it possible to identify an individual. Processing of personal data includes any operation performed on personal data, except:

• the processing of data relating to legal entities and institutions, and the processing of data relating to a natural person where such data are processed in connection with that person’s official duties;
• the processing of personal data on websites linked from the website of the President of the Republic or the Office of the President of the Republic but not administered by the Office of the President of the Republic (external links).

Visiting the Website of the President of the Republic and the Office of the President of the Republic

When visiting the website, the information collected and stored about the visitor is limited to:

• the internet address (IP address) of the computer or computer network used;
• the name and address of the internet service provider of the computer or network used;
• the time of the visit (hour, date, year);
• information on which parts of the website are visited and how long the visitor remains there.

IP addresses are not linked to personally identifiable information. The collected data are used to compile visitor statistics in order to develop the website and make it more convenient for visitors. The data are retained for 1 year.

Legal Acts of the President of the Republic. Documents Related to the President’s Decisions

Personal data are contained in legal acts regulating the rights or obligations of a specific person (for example, a directive conferring a military rank). Proposals for the issuance of such legal acts, together with other documents necessary for decision-making (supporting documents), are submitted to the President through the Office of the President of the Republic. The supporting documents are forwarded by the institution that prepared them, and, if necessary, the Office of the President of the Republic collects additional information. Where a legal act contains personal data, personal data are generally also included in its supporting documents. A legal act of the President of the Republic is forwarded to third parties in accordance with the distribution plan attached to the records management procedure of the Office of the President of the Republic and to the individual whose personal data it contains.

Legal acts of the President of the Republic are published in the electronic State Gazette (Riigi Teataja), on the President’s website, and in the document register of the Office of the President of the Republic. Access to supporting documents of presidential decisions that contain personal data is not provided through the Office’s document register.

Requests for Clarification, Memoranda, Information Requests and Other Correspondence (Submissions)

Personal data are used for responding to correspondents. If additional inquiries are necessary in order to provide a response, the Office of the President of the Republic discloses personal data only to the extent strictly necessary.

If the Office receives a submission that falls within the competence of another authority, the submission is forwarded to that authority. The sender is informed that the correspondence has been forwarded.

Correspondence may also be used internally to assess the quality and quantity of work. Statistics and summaries of correspondence are published, where necessary, only in an anonymized form, without names.

In accordance with the law, metadata relating to correspondence are accessible through the document register of the Office of the President of the Republic. As a rule, submissions and responses relating to private individuals are given general titles in the public view of the document register and more specific titles in the internal view to facilitate work.

When fulfilling an information request seeking access to correspondence, the Office of the President of the Republic redacts information subject to access restrictions under Section 35 of the Public Information Act.

Despite access restrictions, a document is disclosed to an institution or individual who has a direct statutory right of access (for example, a pre-trial investigator or a court).

Correspondence with private individuals is retained by the Office of the President of the Republic for 5 years. Documents exceeding that retention period are either destroyed or transferred to the National Archives. If a document is subject to access restrictions, the National Archives will not provide access to it until the expiry of the restriction period established under the Public Information Act.

Internship Applications, Employment Applications and Recruitment at the Office of the President of the Republic

All documents related to applications contain personal data (for example, an application and accompanying documents, correspondence with candidates, and information collected about candidates from public sources). With regard to personal data of third parties provided by an applicant, the Office of the President of the Republic assumes that the applicant has complied with personal data protection legislation and that the Office has the right, for example, to contact persons named as referees in application documents.

Correspondence relating to applications is registered in the document register of the Office of the President of the Republic, where document metadata and the candidate’s initials are displayed. Public access to the documents themselves is not provided. All documents relating to an individual’s application are subject to access restrictions. Information about an individual’s participation in a competition is also not disclosed. Information concerning the appointment or employment of an individual is public.

Within the Office of the President of the Republic, access to such documents is granted only to persons involved in the relevant decision-making process.

Documents containing personal data that are subject to registration are retained in accordance with the retention periods specified in the records retention schedule. Additional documented but unregistered materials collected by the Office of the President of the Republic are destroyed when they are no longer needed.

Contracts Concluded by the Office of the President of the Republic

Contracts concluded with natural persons contain personal data, including data whose disclosure may infringe personal privacy (for example, contact details). Access to contracts concluded with natural persons is provided to persons submitting the relevant information requests.

Disclosure of Personal Data to Other Authorities and Individuals

In addition to the cases described above, personal data subject to restricted access may only be disclosed to an authority or individual who has a direct statutory right to receive them (for example, a court or pre-trial investigator) and a justified need for access.

Right to Access One’s Own Data. Right to Request Correction of Inaccurate Data

Everyone has the right to access personal data concerning them that have been collected by the Office of the President of the Republic.

If personal data have not been published on the website, an application may be submitted to obtain them. Where possible, the data will be provided in the manner requested by the applicant within five working days of registration of the application. If the personal data are subject to access restrictions, the Office of the President of the Republic must verify the applicant’s identity. For paper copies, a fee of up to EUR 0.19 per page may be charged starting from the 21st page.

An application may be refused if granting it could:

• infringe the rights and freedoms of another person;
• hinder the prevention of a crime or the apprehension of an offender;
• make it more difficult to establish the truth in criminal proceedings;
• endanger the protection of the confidentiality of a child’s parentage.

Everyone has the right to request the correction of inaccurate personal data concerning them.

If the Office of the President of the Republic no longer has a lawful basis for using personal data, you may request that the use of those data be discontinued or that the data be deleted.

If an individual believes that the Office of the President of the Republic has improperly processed personal data, they have the right to submit an objection or complaint to the Data Protection Inspectorate or to file a complaint with an administrative court.