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The President of the Republic met with the Parliament's Constitutional and National Defence Committees
22.10.2002


President Arnold Rüütel today at Kadriorg conferred with the Constitutional Committee and the National Defence Committee of the Riigikogu on expediency of amending the Constitution.

In connection with the suggested direct election of the President of the Republic, Estonia's accession to the European Union, the extension of powers of local government councils, establishing a constitutional court, and restricting the powers of the President of the Republic in the field of national defence, bills proposing amendments to the Constitution have been introduced in the Riigikogu.

Both committees of the Riigikogu meeting today with the President took the view that, by contrast to several other topical matters of our state-life, none of the aforementioned amendments was pressing. According to the Members of the Parliament, only amendments due to the accession to the European Union were urgent. However, it would not be advisable to change the competences of Estonia's constitutional institutions before the European Convention would have completed its work and Estonia's admission to the European Union and NATO be decided.

The majority of those participating in today's discussion was in favour of the direct election of the President but, at the same time, they thought that there was no need to rush the enactment of it. Referring to the experience of the Constitutional Assembly, both the President and the members of the parliamentary committees emphasized that, with a view to amending the Constitution, it was important that consensus be reached and the amendment be discussed by the people. For this reason it was deemed necessary that this subject be discussed at least by two successive memberships of the Riigikogu.

The ideas of setting up a constitutional court and restricting the powers of the President of the Republic in the field of national defence were not supported by the members of the parliamentary committees since, in their opinion, this area was already sufficiently regulated by the Peacetime National Defence Act. At the same time, they underlined the importance of observing the principle of balanced separation of powers provided for by the Constitution, which might be shaken by any unnecessary delegation of legislator's powers to the government.

The members of both committees disapproved of amending the Constitution for the sake of day-to-day politics and of using this issue in election campaign. The participants in the meeting repeatedly underscored that the Constitution could only be amended if it were inevitable and would not jeopardize the interests of our independent democratic state.


Press Service of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, October 22, 2002


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