Euroopa Komisjoni küsimustik õigusriigi aruande koostamiseks

Annex: Checklist - relevant topics for your contribution

I. Justice System
A. Independence
Relevant topics to be covered in your contribution include:
1. Appointment and selection of judges1, prosecutors and court presidents (incl. judicial review)
2. Irremovability of judges; including transfers (incl. as part of judicial map reform), dismissal and retirement regime of judges, court presidents and prosecutors (incl. judicial review)
3. Promotion of judges and prosecutors (incl. judicial review)
4. Allocation of cases in courts
5. Independence (including composition and nomination and dismissal of its members), and powers of the body tasked with safeguarding the independence of the judiciary (e.g. Council for the Judiciary)
6. Accountability of judges and prosecutors, including disciplinary regime and bodies and ethical rules, judicial immunity and criminal/civil (where applicable) liability of judges (incl. judicial review)
7. Independence/autonomy of the prosecution service
8. Independence of the Bar (chamber/association of lawyers) and of lawyers
9. Significant developments capable of affecting the perception that the general public has of the independence of the judiciary
B. Quality of justice2
Relevant topics to be covered in your contribution include:
10. Accessibility of courts (e.g. court/legal fees, legal aid, language)
11. Resources of the judiciary (human/financial/material3), remuneration/bonuses/rewards for judges and prosecutors, including observed changes (significant and targeted increase or decrease over the past year),
12. Training of justice professionals (including judges, prosecutors, lawyers, court staff, clerks/trainees)
13. Digitalisation (e.g. use of digital technology, including electronic communication and AI tools, within the justice system and with court users, procedural rules, access to judgments online)4
14. Use of assessment tools and standards (e.g. ICT systems, including AI-based systems, for case management, court statistics and their transparency, monitoring, evaluation, surveys among court users or legal professionals)
15. Geographical distribution and number of courts/jurisdictions (“judicial map”) and their specialisation, in particular specific courts or chambers within courts to deal with fraud and corruption cases.
16. Specialisation (of judges/specific courts/chambers within courts) and training for the judiciary to deal with commercial cases, as well as alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and mediation as regards commercial cases.
C. Efficiency of the justice system5:
E.g. Measures as regards length of proceedings, to address backlogs, …
Other – please specify
II. Anti-corruption framework6
A. The institutional framework capacity to fight against corruption (prevention and investigation / prosecution)
Relevant topics to be covered in your contribution include:
17. List any changes as regards relevant authorities (e.g. national agencies, bodies) in charge of prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of corruption and the resources allocated to each of these authorities (the human, financial, legal, and technical/specialised resources as relevant), including the cooperation among domestic and with foreign authorities. Indicate any relevant measures taken to effectively and timely cooperate with OLAF and EPPO.
18. Safeguards for the functional independence of the authorities tasked with the prevention and detection of corruption.
19. Information on the implementation of measures foreseen in the strategic anti-corruption framework (if applicable). If available, please provide relevant objectives and indicators.
B. Prevention
Relevant topics to be covered in your contribution include:
20. Measures to enhance integrity in the public sector in particular as regards high-level officials (including as regards incompatibility rules, revolving doors, codes of conduct, ethics)
21. Measures to enhance general transparency of public decision-making (including rules on lobbying, asset and interest disclosure rules, gifts policy, transparency of political party financing).
22. Measures to prevent conflicts of interest in the public sector. Please specify the features and scope of their application (e.g. categories of officials concerned, types of checks and corrective measures depending on the category of officials concerned).
 For the three previous points, please also provide information and figures on their application/enforcement, such as number of detected breaches/irregularities of the various rules in place and the follow-up given (investigations, sanctions, etc.).
23. Measures to ensure whistleblower protection and encourage reporting of corruption, including their application (i.e. number of reports received, and the follow-up given).
24. Specific measures to enhance transparency, integrity and accountability in sectors with high risks of corruption, with a view to monitor and prevent corruption and conflict of interests, and where applicable measures to prevent and address corruption committed by organised crime groups.
• Such high-risk sectors could include: public procurement, including construction, transport/infrastructure, defence, cohesion, agriculture, environment, healthcare, investor residence schemes, large-scale investments of national interest and the spending of EU funds, urban planning.
• In particular, measures to mitigate high risks of corruption in the area of public procurement, such as enhancing transparency and oversight (for example through digital technologies) and promoting fair competition and accountability in public procurement (e.g. targeted actions to address the high share of single bids) and measures to guarantee the effective and independent functioning of the public procurement review bodies.
25. Measures for the prevention of corruption in relation to the issuing of official permits (e.g. related to environment, energy, service provision and various types of construction)
C. Repression
Relevant topics to be covered in your contribution include:
26. The legal framework on the criminalisation and sanctions for corruption and related offences, including foreign bribery
27. Official data on the number of investigations, prosecutions, final judgments, and the application of sanctions for corruption offences (differentiated by offence if possible)7. Please indicate whether the cases: involve legal persons; are related to the implementation of EU or national funds8; involve high level corruption. Please indicate which data is publicly available and how policy-making is informed by the data.
28. Potential obstacles identified in law or in practice to the investigation and prosecution of high-level and complex corruption cases (e.g. political immunity regulation, procedural rules, statute of limitations, cross-border cooperation, pardoning),
29. Information on effectiveness of criminal and non-criminal measures and of sanctions (e.g. recovery measures and administrative sanctions) on both public and private offenders.
Other – please specify
III. Media pluralism and media freedom
A. Media authorities and bodies9
Relevant topics to be covered in your contribution:
30. Measures taken to ensure the independence, enforcement powers and adequacy of resources (financial, human and technical) of media regulatory authorities and bodies.
31. Conditions and procedures for the appointment and dismissal of the head / members of the collegiate body of media regulatory authorities and bodies.
32. Existence and functions of media councils or other self-regulatory bodies.
B. Safeguards against government or political interference and transparency and concentration of media ownership
Relevant topics to be covered in your contribution include:
33. Measures taken to ensure the fair and transparent allocation of state advertising
34. Safeguards against state / political interference, in particular:
- safeguards to ensure editorial independence of media (private and public)
- specific safeguards for the independence of heads of management and members of the governing boards of public service media (e.g. related to appointment, dismissal), safeguards for their financial and operational independence (e.g. related to reporting obligations and the allocation of resources) and safeguards for plurality of information and opinions
- information on specific legal provisions and procedures applying to media service providers, including as regards granting/renewal/termination of licences, company operation, capital entry requirements, concentration, and corporate governance
35. Transparency of media ownership and public availability of media ownership information, including on direct, indirect and beneficial owners
C. Framework for journalists' protection, transparency and access to documents
Relevant topics to be covered in your contribution include:
36. Rules and practices guaranteeing journalist’s independence and safety, including as regards protection of journalistic sources and communications, referring also, if applicable, to follow-up given to alerts lodged with the Council of Europe’s Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists.
37. Law enforcement capacity, including during protests and demonstrations, to ensure journalists’ safety and to investigate attacks on journalists.
38. Access to information and public documents by public at large and journalists (incl. transparency authorities where they exist, procedures, costs/fees, timeframes, administrative/judicial review of decisions, execution of decisions by public authorities, possible obstacles related to the classification of information).
39. Lawsuits (incl. SLAPPs - strategic lawsuits against public participation) and convictions against journalists (incl. defamation cases) and measures taken to safeguard against manifestly unfounded and abusive lawsuits.
Other – please specify
IV. Other institutional issues related to checks and balances
A. The process for preparing, enacting and implementing laws
Relevant topics to be covered in your contribution include:
40. Framework, policy and use of impact assessments and evidence based policy-making, stakeholders'10/public consultations (including rules and practices on the transparent participation of civil society to policy development and decision-making processes, and transparency and quality of the legislative process in the preparatory, the parliamentary and implementation phase (including guidance on how to implement legislation).
41. Rules and use of fast-track procedures and emergency procedures (for example, the percentage of decisions adopted through emergency/urgent procedure compared to the total number of adopted decisions)
42. Safeguards to ensure legal certainty, the stability of the legal framework and non-discrimination.
43. Rules and application of states of emergency (or analogous regimes), including judicial review and parliamentary oversight.
44. Regime for constitutional review of laws
B. Independent authorities
Relevant topics to be covered in your contribution include:
45. Independence, resources, capacity and powers (including effective access to relevant data) of national human rights institutions (‘NHRIs’), of ombudsman institutions if different from NHRIs, of equality bodies if different from NHRIs and of supreme audit institutions11
46. Statistics/reports concerning the follow-up to recommendations by National Human Rights Institutions, ombudsman institutions, equality bodies, and supreme audit institutions in the past year.
47. Safeguards to ensure the effective independence of supervisory and regulatory authorities with a direct impact on economic operators such as national economic oversight, enforcement and competition authorities,
C. Accessibility and judicial review of administrative decisions
Relevant topics to be covered in your contribution include:
48. Transparency of administrative decisions and sanctions (incl. their publication and rules on collection of related data) and respect of the good administration principle (including the obligation of the administration to give reasons for decisions)
49. Judicial review of administrative decisions: short description of the general regime (in particular competent court, scope, suspensive effect, interim measures, and any applicable specific rules or derogations from the general regime of judicial review).
50. Safeguards (other than judicial review) regarding decisions or inaction of administrative authorities, including remedies (e.g. administrative review)
51. Rules and practices related to the application by all courts, including constitutional jurisdictions, of the preliminary ruling procedure (Art. 267 TFEU)
52. Implementation of final judgments by the public administration and State institutions and follow-up given to supranational judgments, including decisions from the European Court of Human Rights, as well as available remedies in case of non-implementation
53. Oversight, including by courts, of the use of intrusive surveillance software by national authorities
D. The enabling framework for civil society
Relevant topics to be covered in your contribution include:
54. Measures regarding the framework for civil society organisations and human rights defenders (e.g. legal framework and its application in practice incl. registration, transparency and dissolution rules)
55. Rules and practices having an impact on the effective operation and safety of civil society organisations and human rights defenders. This includes measures to protect them from attacks – verbal, physical or on-line –, intimidation, legal threats incl. SLAPPs, negative narratives or smear campaigns, measures capable of affecting the public perception of civil society organisations, etc. It also includes measures to monitor threats or attacks and dedicated support services, as well as available remedies.
56. Organisation of financial support for civil society organisations and human rights defenders (e.g. framework to ensure access to funding, and for financial viability, taxation/incentive/donation systems, measures to ensure a fair distribution of funding)
E. Initiatives to foster a rule of law culture
This can include developments related to initiatives to foster a rule of law culture, please specify which, (e.g. debates in national parliaments on the rule of law, public information campaigns on rule of law issues, contributions from civil society, education initiatives, etc.): …
Other – please specify

Cross-pillar elements: cross-border rule of law issues related to the Single Market
If you are aware of any significant challenges concerning the Single Market faced by businesses or citizens from your Member State in a cross-border context relating to any of the four pillars of the report, including for example issues with market access and the conditions for economic activities, please highlight them in your input12

European Rule of Law Mechanism: input from Member States
2026 Rule of Law Report
The written input from Member States is a key source of information for the annual Rule of Law Report, as clearly set out in the Report’s methodology. As every year, the Commission would hereby like to invite the national contact points to provide their input to the 2026 Rule of Law Report. Based on this input, further targeted questions may follow, as it was the case in previous years, to ensure that the Commission has all relevant information from Member States for the preparation of the 2026 Rule of Law Report. Such further targeted input will be sought in particular in the context of country visits or bilateral contacts, as well as during the consultation on the draft country chapters prior to the Report’s adoption.
The 2026 Rule of Law Report will continue to assess rule of law related developments under the existing four pillars and will follow-up on the implementation of the recommendations to Member States that were issued as part of the 2025 Rule of Law Report. To facilitate the preparation of input by Member States, this year’s questionnaire has been adapted. Member States are asked to provide information about:
(1) developments and measures taken in relation to the recommendations in the 2025 report,
(2) developments that are relevant for updating and following up on the assessment of the topics covered in the 2025 country chapter, as well as any other new developments related to the rule of law.
The input under these points should cover any developments since the adoption of the 2025 Rule of Law Report. The annex to this request for input sets out a checklist/guidelines on relevant topics falling within the Report’s scope to help Member States prepare their input, building on experience from previous years.
Nature of the contribution
The input should preferably be in English and not exceed 30 pages. Relevant legislation or other documents may be referenced with a link (no need to provide the full text). The contributions will be published on the Commission’s website upon explicit consent of the Member States. In order to avoid duplication and excessive administrative burden, please include where applicable explicit references to any relevant contribution already provided by your Member State in a different context (including under Council of Europe, OECD, OSCE and UN bodies or procedures) or to the previous Rule of Law Reports. Contributions should focus on significant developments since the last Rule of Law Report both as regards the legal framework and its implementation in practice.
Type of information to be included
A) Legislative developments
• Newly adopted legislation
• legislative drafts currently discussed in Parliament
• legislative plans envisaged by the Government
B) Policy developments
• Implementation and enforcement of legislation
• evaluations, impact assessment, surveys
• white papers/strategies/actions plans/consultation processes
• follow-up to reports/recommendations of Council of Europe bodies or other international organisations
• important administrative measures
• generalised practices
C) Developments related to the judiciary / independent authorities
• important case law by national courts
• important decision/opinions from independent bodies/authorities
• state of play on terms, nominations and expired mandates for high-level positions (e.g. Supreme Court, Constitutional Court, Council for the Judiciary, Prosecutor General, heads of independent authorities included in the scope of the request for input1)
D) Any other relevant developments
• National authorities are free to add any further information, which they deem relevant; however, this should be short and to the point.
Please also indicate whether the developments reported are linked to the implementation of reforms and investments under the RRP, where applicable.
Please send us your contribution by 23 January 2026 to the following email address: [email protected]. In case you would have any questions or requests for clarifications, please do not hesitate to contact the Commission at the same email address.

Template for input
This template for input indicates the type of contribution sought from Member States for the 2026 Rule of Law Report and provides a suggested format of reply. However, Member States are free to decide on the precise format of their contribution, as long as the key points are covered.
(1) Information on developments and measures taken to implement each of the recommendations addressed to your Member State in the 2025 Rule of Law Report
In the below box, please describe relevant developments and the measures taken with a view to implement the recommendations, following the order of the recommendations as they were addressed to your Member State in the 2025 Rule of Law Report.














(2) Information on:
a. developments that are relevant for updating and following up on the assessment of the topics covered in the respective country chapter of the 2025 Report, including possible clarifications
▪ In the boxes below, describe developments (updates or feedback) related to the topics covered in your country chapter of the 2025 Report (if not already covered under point (1)). You are invited to follow the order of topics as presented in the country chapter and insert direct references to the country chapter text, if convenient; and
b. any other new developments not already covered under points (1) and (2)a. that you consider relevant
▪ The list of topics provided in the Annex can provide guidance for this input.
I. Justice Systems











II. Anti-Corruption Framework










III. Media Pluralism and Media Freedom









IV. Other institutional issues related to check and balances









Cross-pillar elements: cross-border rule of law issues related to the Single Market
If you are aware of any significant challenges concerning the Single Market faced by businesses or citizens from your Member State in a cross-border context relating to any of the four pillars of the report, including for example issues with market access and the conditions for economic activities, please highlight them in the box below.2









As regards the publication of your written input, please indicate whether you3:
☐ Consent
☐ Do not consent