Estonian Constitution of 1920
The first Basic Law of the Republic of Estonia ( Estonian Eesti Vabariigi põhiseadus ) was the constitution of Estonia from December 21, 1920 to January 23, 1934 .
History of origin
Estonia declared its independence from Russia on February 24, 1918 . From April 23, 1919, a constituent assembly , the Asutav Kogu , drafted a free and democratic constitution for the young state. On June 15, 1920, the constitutional text was adopted by the constituent assembly. In contrast to all later constitutions of the Republic of Estonia, there was no referendum . The constitution came into force on December 21, 1920.
construction
The Estonian Constitution of 1920 is divided into a preamble and ten sections ( peatükk ). The preamble emphasizes the will of the Estonian people to establish a state based on justice , justice and freedom .
The general provisions (section 1) are followed by a detailed catalog of basic rights (section 2). The Constitution does in terms of the separation of powers four constitutional bodies : the people as the supreme authority (Section 3), Parliament as a legislative (literally: "National Assembly", Section 4), the government executive (5th section) and the courts as Judicial branch (6th section).
The 7th section lists the principles of local self-government . This is followed by provisions on the case of defense and the state budget . Section 10 contains provisions amending the Constitution.
structure
| section | §§ | German | Estonian |
| (Preamble) | (Preambula) | ||
| 1 | 1-5 | General provisions | Üleüldised määrused |
| 2 | 6-26 | About the fundamental rights of Estonian citizens | Eesti kodanikkude põhiõigustest |
| 3 | 27-34 | About the people | Rahvast |
| 4th | 35-56 | houses of Parliament | Riigikogu |
| 5 | 57-67 | About the government | Valitsusest |
| 6th | 68-74 | About the court | Kohtust |
| 7th | 75-77 | About self-management | Omavalitsusest |
| 8th | 78-82 | About state defense | Riigikaitsest |
| 9 | 83-85 | About state taxes and the budget | Riigi maksudest yes eelarvest |
| 10 | 86-89 | About the validity of the Basic Law and its amendment | Põhiseaduse jõust ja muutmisest |
State principles
Estonia is an independent, indivisible republic . The state power comes from the people of (§ 1). The territory of the Republic of Estonia includes the areas specified in § 2. The national borders are determined by international treaties. The general principles of international law are part of the Estonian legal system. The state language is Estonian .
Fundamental rights
In §§ 6 to 34 under the heading "On the fundamental rights of Estonian citizens " the civil liberties , property rights and basic judicial rights are documented. The economic system must comply with the principles of justice (Section 25). The right to strike is guaranteed (Section 18 sentence 3). The privileges of birth, belief, sex, class or nationality are abolished (§ 6).
Every Estonian is free to profess a nationality (§ 20). In areas where the majority of the population is not of Estonian nationality, the local self-governing bodies can use the languages of the national minorities. Members of the German , Russian and Swedish minorities can contact the state authorities in their language (§§ 21-23). The national minorities are free to found autonomous cultural and social bodies.
Except in times of war, Estonia does not award any medals or decorations . Estonian nationals are prohibited from accepting foreign orders and decorations (§ 7).
State organization
The highest state organ of the Republic of Estonia is the people "in the form of citizens entitled to vote" (§ 27). The people exercise power through plebiscites , referendums and the elections of the Parliament. Anyone who has reached the age of 20 and has been an Estonian citizen for at least one year is entitled to vote.
Before a law comes into force, a referendum supported by 25,000 citizens entitled to vote can be used to demand a referendum on a law passed by parliament. With the same majority, parliament can request the enactment, amendment or repeal of a law in a referendum. If the parliament does not comply with the request, a referendum takes place on the corresponding amendment proposal. This is deemed to have been accepted if the majority of the voters so request (Sections 30, 31). If the referendum is successful, the parliament is automatically dissolved. Parliamentary elections will then take place no later than 75 days after the referendum (Section 32).
Referendums and referendums cannot be held on budgetary issues, declarations of war, concluding peace or international agreements (Section 34). The constitution itself can only be changed by referendum (§ 88).
The parliament ( Riigikogu ) consists of 100 members who are elected according to the principles of proportional representation . The Riigikogu has the possibility to increase the number of members for the following legislative period by simple law (§ 36). The electoral term is three years (Section 39). The MPs are free and only responsible to the public (Section 48). You enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution (Section 49). Parliament's sessions are public. The public can be excluded if two thirds of the MPs request it (Section 47).
The government consists of the elder of state ( riigivanem ) as head of government and the ministers (§ 58). The state elder is also the head of state of the Republic of Estonia (§ 61). The government is appointed and dismissed by parliament. It must always enjoy the confidence of Parliament. In the event of a vote of no confidence , the government or an individual minister is obliged to resign (Section 64).
The judicial power is delegated to independent courts (§ 68). The highest body of the judiciary is the State Court of Justice ( Riigikohus ), whose members are elected by Parliament (Section 69). The Estonian lower level judges are appointed by the State Court (Section 70). You enjoy judicial independence . Exceptional courts are only permitted in times of war , in a case of defense or on warships .
Constitutional reality
The Estonian Basic Law of 1920 was a very modern republican constitution for its time. Fundamental rights and freedoms were guaranteed. The constitution gives national minorities a strong position, which was reinforced by the Estonian Law on Cultural Autonomy of 1925.
The 1920 constitution was characterized by its strong emphasis on democracy . The aim of the constituent assembly was to realize Rousseau's idea of popular sovereignty . The people themselves were counted among the state organs alongside the legislative, executive and judicial branches. Referendums and referendums, which were not yet widespread in Europe in 1919/1920, were introduced.
Parliament had very great powers. The government could be overthrown or individual ministers dismissed at any time by means of a vote of no confidence . The result was a multitude of short-lived governments and periods of political instability. Between December 1920 and January 1934, Estonia had 16 governments, some of which only stayed in office for a few months.
Particularly during the economic crisis in Estonia from 1929 onwards, more and more voices were heard calling for an amendment to the Basic Law in order to achieve more political stability. Above all, the influential Central Association of Freedom Fighters ( Eesti Vabadussõjalaste Keskliit ), in which the veterans of the Estonian War of Independence (1918–1920) had organized, loudly pleaded for a replacement by a new constitution. The new constitution , which was adopted in a referendum in October 1933 and came into force in 1934, tried to compensate for the weaknesses of the Basic Law .
literature
- Basic Law of the Estonian Republic. Unofficial translation from the State Gazette No. 113 and 114 of August 9, 1920. Tallinn n.d. (1920)
- Riesenkampff, Alexander O .: Meie põhiseadus ja kohtu rippumatus. Haapsalu 1927
Web links
Remarks
- ↑ The most important treaty was the Tartu Peace Treaty of February 2, 1920, with which the state border between the Republic of Estonia and Soviet Russia was established
- ↑ The active and passive right to vote for women was introduced in Estonia as early as 1918
- ↑ The proposal of the Basic Law Commission to create the office of President just missed a majority in the plenary session of the constituent assembly
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original dated June 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ The average term of office of a government at that time was eleven months
- ↑ http://www.miksike.ee/docs/referaadid2005/ew_1920-1930_evelin.htm
