Summary

In legal articles, as well as all other research or student papers, the citing of sources is elementary. Violation of the citing obligation is plagiarism. The consequences of being caught in the act of plagiarism in academic life can be quite serious. Among other things, criminal charges could be brought against the person for violation of copyright.

However, the decisions of Estonian courts, including the Supreme Court (at least in the field of penal power) very rarely contain references to specialised literature. In light of the above-mentioned, the question arises whether in judicial decisions, unlike research, it is permitted to hide the use of some opinions from specialised literature. If not, what are the consequences of a decision being an act of judicial plagiarism? To answer these questions, we need to determine what is viewed as plagiarism, what are its legal grounds, and where do sanctions for violation of the citation requirement originate.