We consider the Laplace equation in a smooth bounded domain. We
prove logarithmic estimates, in the sense of John [5] of solutions on
a part of the boundary or of the domain without known boundary conditions.
These results are established by employing Carleman estimates and techniques
that we borrow from the works of Robbiano [8,11]. Also, we establish
an estimate on the cost of an approximate control for an elliptic model equation.