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The President of the Republic submitted an appeal to the Supreme Court to declare the § 7 (3) of the Republic of Estonia Principles of Ownership Reform Act unconstitutional
04.10.2006


President Arnold Rüütel today, pursuant to § 107 of the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia, made a decision to propose to the Supreme Court to declare the Act on the Repeal of § 7 (3) of the Republic of Estonia Principles of Ownership Reform Act, passed unamended by the Riigikogu on September 27, 2006, to be unconstitutional.

In his appeal President Rüütel pointed out that “The Supreme Court en banc ruled by its judgement of October 28, 2002 (RT III 2002, 28, 308) § 7(3) of the Republic of Estonia Principles of Ownership Reform Act to be in conflict with Articles 13(2) and 14 of the Constitution in their conjunction, and obliged the legislators to bring that provision into conformity with the principle of legal clarity. According to the judgement of the Supreme Court, “Legal ambiguity exists also when some people are given the hope that property will be returned or compensated for and in regard to other people is retained an indeterminate prospect to privatise the property in their use.”

Pursuant to the opinion of the Supreme Court en banc of October 28, 2002, to overcome legal ambiguity the legislator must adopt appropriate legal regulation and until the law is brought into conformity with the principle of legal clarity, the return of or compensation for the property which had belonged to persons who resettled can not be decided and the property can not be privatised.”

The Head of State found that in the act passed by the Riigikogu no regulation has been established how the entitled subjects of ownership reform could act in the condition when § 7 (3) of the Republic of Estonia Principles of Ownership Reform Act has been declared invalid. “ Also the local governments who pursuant to § 5 of the Republic of Estonia Principles of Ownership Reform in carrying out ownership reform are obligated to perform acts prescribed by law and by the Government of the Republic pursuant to law.

The content of the ownership reform according to § 5 of the Republic of Estonia Principles of Ownership Reform is not limited with only reviewing the applications submitted by entitled subjects of ownership reform and making decisions. In order to perform acts in connection with the returning of unlawfully expropriated property to entitled subjects of the ownership reform, compensation for, or privatisation of the property to the tenants it is necessary to have respective legal regulation.

At the same time, the legal acts regulating the ownership reform belong to the coherent legal system of Estonia; all amendments to them must take into account changes in the legal order and be in conformity with the Constitution. The Constitutional Review Chamber of the Supreme Court has reached the same viewpoint in its decision of September 30, 1998 (RT I 1989, 89/87, 1434).”


Public Relations Department of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, October 4, 2006


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