Estonia |
This article is part of the series: |
|
Other countries · Atlas |
The Constitution of Estonia is the fundamental law of the Republic of Estonia and establishes the state order as that of a democratic republic where the supreme power is vested in its citizens. It was adopted in a freely elected Estonian Constituent Assembly on 15 June 1920 and came into force on 21 December 1920[1]. A second constitution was adopted on 24 January 1934 following a referendum in 1933, and was in force until a third constitution was enacted on 1 January 1938[2]. It remained in force, de facto, until 16 June 1940, when the Soviet Union occupied Estonia and, de jure, until 28 June 1992[3] when the fourth and current Constitution of the Republic of Estonia was adopted by referendum.[4]
Contents |
The first constitution was a reflection of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's idea of national sovereignty. Power was split between the judiciary, the executive and the legislature according to the principles of Montesquieu. The constitution provided for a high degree of public initiative and for referenda. Despite the constitution being modelled upon Montesquieu's ideas, there existed an imbalance with the single-chamber Riigikogu exercising undue power over the executive and the judiciary, leading to instability and frequent changes of government. The head of state and the head of government was the State Elder.
Due to the instability of the government, attempts were made to redraft the constitution, with a referendum held in 1932 to consider two draft versions. Both drafts were rejected, however a third draft proposed by the populist Estonian War of Independence Veterans' League or Vaps Movement was adopted in a 1933 referendum and came into force on 24 January 1934. This second constitution established a more authoritarian state order, with the introduction of an executive head of state and the Riigikogu reduced in size and power. A new powerful Presidential institution was established which could exercise supreme power via presidential decree that assumed the force of law. In order to prevent the Vaps Movement coming to power under this new constitution, Konstantin Päts (who had been elected head of State under the new constitution) seized power in a bloodless coup d’etat on the 12th March 1934. Suspending the existing constitution Päts initiated preparation of a third constitution.
The third constitution was enacted on 1 January 1938. It saw the creation of a bicameral National Assembly consisting of a Chamber of Deputies being the first chamber and the National Council being the second chamber. The role of the National Council was to review and ratify legislation from the Chamber of Deputies, it consisted of elected representatives from local and vocational self-governments and high officials, while the Chamber of Deputies was directly elected by the people. Another change compared to the 1934 constitution was the President was no longer directly elected by the people but by an electoral college consisting of both chambers of the State Assembly and local self-government representatives.
A Soviet style constitution was introduced on August 25, 1940. It was succeeded by the Estonian SSR constitution of 1978.
The present constitution was enacted after a referendum on 28 June 1992 and incorporates elements of both the 1920 and 1938 constitutions. While retaining the Presidential office of the 1938 constitution, it returns to the parliamentary unicameral chamber model of the 1920 constitution. It asserts its continuity with the pre-1940 state and the restitutive basis of Estonia’s independence.
The constitution contains a preamble and several chapters. The Preamble to the current Constitution of Estonia reads:
The current constitution contains fifteen chapters, which contain the following:
For the Constitution's fifteenth anniversary celebrations, A. Le Coq produced a new brand of beer, the Constitutional Pilsener (Estonian: Põhiseaduse Pilsner) in cooperation with Estonian Ministry of Justice.[6]
|
|
|