Research Ethics Committee

Mari-Liis Ilmoja, ITK

Katrin Kaarna, TÜK

Malle Kuum, TÜ

Kristi Lõuk, TÜ, Chairwoman

Andres Männik, ICOSAGEN

Kert Mätlik, TalTech

Taavi Päll, TÜ

Marika Tammaru, Tallinna Lastehaigla

Maarika Traat, TÜ

Evelyn Kiive, TÜ

Kairi Kreegipuu, TÜ

Kadri Leetmaa, TÜ

Raili Nugin, TLÜ

Kristo Nurmis, TLÜ

Leno Saarniit, TalTech

Kadri Simm, TÜ, Chairwoman

Pille Petersoo, TLÜ

Alar Irs, TÜK

Kadi Krinal, TalTech, Chairwoman

Kristi Lõuk, TÜ

Hedi Peterson, TÜ

Gunnar Piho, TalTech

Ana Rebane, TÜ

Rainer Reile, TAI

Toomas Toomsoo, TLÜ

Ingeri Luik-Tamme, TEGOS

Kelli Lehto, TÜ

The institutional research ethics committees of University of Tartu (UT/TÜ) and National Institute for Health Development (NIHD/TAI) will continue under new mandate and can approve amendments concerning research that is carried out at their own institutions. Therefore, researchers from University of Tartu and National Institute for Health Development should turn to their own institutional committees in case of amendments.

In all other cases, you should contact us at: teaduseetika@etag.ee. We assess each specific case individually and provide guidance. In general, there are two options regarding amendments. If the changes are minor, an assessment can be provided through a simplified procedure. If the changes are more substantial, the application must be submitted to the ethics committee meeting for discussion.

To simplify the administrative process related to the approval, we recommend entering all information related to the application into ETIS. The final approval will be issued primarily on the ETIS website, from which it can also be exported as a file if needed (e.g., for submission to a journal as proof). Within ETIS, approvals can later be linked (e.g., in the context of applying for and reporting on ETAG grants).

When entering the application into ETIS, a simplified procedure may be used in exceptional cases:

On the ‘General’ data and “Staff” tabs, the required fields should be completed correctly, since these details will also appear on the issued approval in ETIS.

In all other text boxes, you may enter ‘N/A,’ and all selection fields may be marked as ‘No’.

On the ‘General’ data tab, under ‘Additional Information,’ for the question ‘Has the study or any part of it been submitted for review to another ethics committee in Estonia or abroad?’ you should select ‘Yes’ and add an explanation in the text box stating that the application is being completed in accordance with ETAG guidelines.

Five additional files should be attached to the application:

You should modify the application if you wish to supplement it yourself or if the Research Ethics Committee has assessed that your study is in accordance with research ethics principles provided that the conditions set by the Committee are fulfilled.

1. We will return the application for editing in ETIS.
   This will make the form editable again – you will be able to upload new documents and modify the contents of the form fields. ETIS will send a corresponding procedural notification to the principal investigator.
2. For the changes made, please add a free‑form cover letter documenting how you have fulfilled the conditions set by the Research Ethics Committee. Guidance on how to mark changes in the electronic ETIS application form is available here: Marking Changes in the Research Ethics’ Electronic Application Form. The marked changes should also be made in the electronic application!
3. Upload the cover letter describing the changes under the “Additional documents” tab. Please do not delete the old documents. Add either a date or a version number to the cover letter and to all new documents so that they can be distinguished from the old documents.
4. If you make changes in an additional document, upload both a clean revised version and a version with tracked changes.
   If only a minor detail in an additional document is updated (e.g., contact email), the tracked-changes version may be replaced by noting the change directly in the cover letter. Note: It is important to indicate in the titles of the additional documents that they are revised versions.
5. Confirm the application.
6. We will assess the fulfilment of the conditions through a simplified procedure, meaning the application does not need to be submitted to a new committee meeting for discussion.

All researchers have the right to apply to the Research Ethics Committee. Research may be conducted by a researcher from a research institution, university, or higher education institution. Research may also be conducted by a hospital, a public sector institution, a company dealing with research, an NGO, or another organisation.

There can be several reasons to apply to the Research Ethics Committee, including:

1. Legal obligation: secondary use of health data, processing special categories of personal data without consent (Personal Data Protection Act § 6), all human gene studies (new Human Genes Research Act).
2. Funding requirement: European Commission, ETAG, other funders.
3. Publisher requirement: some journals require ethics committee approval as a condition for publication.
4. Disciplinary good practice: professional ethical principles, codes, or other agreements foresee the need for ethics committee approval.
5. Institutional requirement: the organisation has established internal rules requiring approval from an ethics committee.
6. Researcher’s own responsibility: voluntary submission to an ethics committee.

If any of the above reasons apply, applying to the ethics committee is necessary. Some research institutions have established their own ethics committees under the new Organisation of Research and Development and Innovation Act – researchers from such institutions may turn to their institutional committee, which will guide them if needed. All other researchers can apply only to the Research Ethics Committee of Estonian Research Council.

Applications are submitted and the entire review process takes place in the Estonian Research Information System (ETIS) through a dedicated electronic form. To apply, both the researcher and the responsible institution must have an ETIS account, and the institution must approve the application. The form can be accessed after logging in to ETIS. 

Information on creating an account is available on the ETIS webpage.

The form is electronic and uses dynamic elements, like control questions (yes/no) which display or hide questions according to the applicant’s needs.

Unlike before, the applicant must have an ETIS account (anyone can create one), but all other researchers or institutions listed in the application do not need to have ETIS accounts. The ETIS account is required for access so all team members can review or edit the application before submission. 

Institutional approval requires only a single confirmation click by the designated representative. If multiple institutions (including foreign institutions) are involved in the study, it is sufficient to upload a separate written confirmation from each.

ETIS contains built-in help questions and guidance texts. Additional guidance materials are being developed and will be published on the Estonian Research Council’s website. 

You may always seek assistance from the research ethics & integrity coordinator or the head of the unit of research integrity, and for technical questions from the ETIS team.

The researcher submits one application, and the appropriate subcommittee is assigned during the review process. Applicants may indicate a preferred subcommittee based on the content of the application and field of the study. However, the application will be processed independent of the choice of subcommittee, and the researcher doesn’t need to worry about the choice – the final decision concerning the subcommittee is made by the Research Ethics Committee.

The processing time is about 30 days, but the exact time may vary. If the application must be corrected or improved, the application may be discussed at the next meeting which can extend the time by additional 30 days. However, minor corrections can be solved without an additional meeting.

According to the regulation § 4 leg 12 the maximum review time is 90 days for complex cases.

The Committee evaluates the ethical acceptability of studies, weighing the benefits and risks, and fulfilling other legal tasks. It evaluates both ethical acceptability and justification for requesting personal data from registers.

The Committee may give three types of assessments:

1. Research complies with ethical principles.
2. Research complies with ethical principles if conditions set by the Committee are met.
3. Research does not comply.

The fulfilment of the conditions will be assessed in a simplified procedure before the next meeting. In this case, the application does require improvement, but obtaining the assessment does not require waiting for the next subcommittee meeting.

The results will be communicated via ETIS no later than ten working days after the meeting. All issued approvals are automatically published on the ETIS website, where general information about the research is provided. In the electronic processing environment, it is possible to set up automatic notifications that are sent to the email address linked to the ETIS user account. In addition to the final assessment, notifications will also be sent via ETIS regarding whether the application has been taken into processing or if additional questions have arisen concerning the application.

Although the default assumption is that the principal investigator is the person who initiates the ethics committee application in ETIS, it is also possible to authorize another person to initiate and submit the application in ETIS on their behalf. To do this, the principal investigator must log in to ETIS, select the ‘Authorize’ option from the left-hand menu under the researcher role, search for the desired person, and specify the authorization period. To avoid errors in ETIS, the authorization should be granted for all available actions. Since the authorization covers all activities performed in ETIS, delegating rights to another person is a reasonable and suitable solution primarily when the principal investigator is not an active ETIS user or fully trusts the authorized person. The authorized person can thereafter click on their name in the upper right corner, switch their role, and select the role of the person who granted the authorization. 

Because ETIS sends automatic notifications regarding the process to the principal investigator, the email address to which notifications are sent should also be updated when granting authorization. This can be done by changing the email address in the principal investigator’s ETIS CV. Inevitably, this means that all ETIS notifications will from then on be sent to the new email address, so before granting authorization it is important to consider whether forwarding notifications to the new address is suitable and appropriate.

The ethics committees that have been operating to date will continue their work in a new role from 2026. At present, it is known that the following will continue to operate as institutional ethics committees in the new year: Research Ethics Committee of the University of Tartu and the National Institute for Health Development Human Research Ethics Committee, the Tallinn University of Technology Academic Ethics Commission, the Tallinn University Ethics Committee, the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre Academy, and the Ethics Committee of the Estonian Literary Museum. Researchers from these institutions should check whether they can turn to their institution’s ethics committee before contacting the research ethics committee. All researchers whose institutions do not have an institutional ethics committee will henceforth only be able to turn to the Research Ethics Committee at Estonian Research Council.