On Tuesday, the Tartu Circuit Court ruled in favor of the defense forces in two cases involving military personnel who refused the COVID-19 vaccine, annulling the compensation previously awarded by an administrative court to service members who were forced to leave their positions, Postimees reports.
The court rulings have not yet been enforced, and the military personnel who refused the vaccine have the right to appeal the appellate court’s decisions to the Supreme Court.
These cases involve two separate legal disputes — in one, a single service member contested their dismissal, while in the other, five military personnel challenged their removal for refusing vaccination.
On April 18 of last year, the Tartu Administrative Court ruled that the defense forces’ order to dismiss the complainant was unlawful and awarded them 19 months of salary as compensation. Additionally, the administrative court ordered the defense forces to cover the complainant’s legal expenses, which amounted to over 3,600 euros.
However, according to Tuesday’s ruling by the Tartu Circuit Court, the defense forces are not required to pay compensation to the dismissed service member, and the legal costs will be borne by the complainant.
On Oct. 5, 2023, the Tartu Administrative Court declared the placement of five unvaccinated service members into reserve as unlawful and ordered compensation from the defense forces in their favor.
The court determined compensation for each complainant, with the amount depending on their length of service and whether they were raising a child under the age of seven. Additionally, the defense forces were ordered to cover the complainants’ legal expenses, which ranged between 1,800 and 2,100 euros.
On Aug. 31, 2021, commander of the defense forces, Gen. Martin Herem, signed the order “Risk Analysis of Safety Factors in the Defense Forces’ Work Environment. Biological Safety Factor. COVID-19.” This order required all military personnel to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Those who failed to present proof of vaccination were placed in reserve.
Source: BNS
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