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The President of the Republic refused to promulgate the Foreign Relations Act23.05.2006
The President of the Republic today signed a resolution not to promulgate, pursuant to § 107 of the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia, the Foreign Relations Act, passed by the Riigikogu on May 3, 2006.
The following is an extract from the decision made by the President of the Republic:
''§ 6, subsection 2, clause 6 of the Foreign Relations Act, passed on May 3, 2006 stipulates the obligation of the Riigikogu, and § 7, clause 6 stipulates the obligation of the President of the Republic to inform the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about their foreign relations related activities. Those clauses make the Riigikogu and the President of the Republic accountable to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and that is in contradiction with the provisions of § 65 and § 78 of the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia that regulate the competence of the Riigikogu and the President of the Republic, and the principle of separation and balance of powers stipulated by § 4 of the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia. Regulation of the coordination of foreign relations by an imperative norm, which is in the competence of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and creates subordination of the institutions contacting foreign relations (the Riigikogu and the President of the Republic) to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is not justified as it will disproportionally enlarge the competence of the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs in comparison with that provided for in the Government of the Republic Act.
As provided for in § 9, subsection 4, clause 1 of the Foreign Relations Act the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall prepare the plan of state visits without prior coordination with the President of the Republic. Such regulation contradicts § 78, clause 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia, which stipulates that the Head of State shall represent the Republic of Estonia in international relations. Based on international traditions the state visits are made only by the President of the Republic.
§ 33 of the adopted act supplements § 19¹ of the Foreign Service Act that stipulates the procedure for nomination and recall of ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary. § 33, subsection 6 of the Act stipulates the competence of the President of the Republic to appoint ambassadors and subsection 8 stipulates the competence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs to appoint ambassadors to office. Such competition in competence does not conform to the legal clarity contained in the principle of the rule of law provided for in § 10 of the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia.
I find that also § 35 of the Act does not conform to the principle of legal clarity, as the first sentence repeals the Foreign Relation Act that has been in force till now, but the second sentence of the same section stipulates that ''to fulfil the tasks provided for in the abovementioned Act the provisions of the present Act shall be applied.'' Such wording is not clear, as it is not possible to fulfil the tasks provided for in an act that has been repealed.''
In his decision, the President of the Republic pointed out that he considers it necessary that the Act passed by the Riigikogu on May 3, 2006 has to be deliberated and decided on again, and the Act has to be brought into conformity with the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia.
President Lennart Meri, with his decision of June 21, 1993 refused to promulgate the Foreign Relations Act passed by the Riigikogu on June 2, 1993. In his decision, President Meri pointed out that § 20 and § 21 of the Foreign Relations Act that left the Head of State without the right of signing of international agreements contradicted the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties that provides that the heads of state, in virtue of their functions and without having to provide full powers, are considered as representing their state for the purpose of performing all acts related to the conclusion of a treaty.
The Riigikogu passed the previous Foreign Relations Act after amending it on October 28, 1993; President Meri promulgated it on November 16, 1993.
The full text of the resolution of the President of the Republic is available www.president.ee.
Public Relations Department of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, May 23, 2006
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