The Riigikogu removed parliamentary immunity from Mihhail Korb

At its today’s sitting, on the proposal of the Chancellor of Justice, the Riigikogu gave its consent to the removal of parliamentary immunity from Member of the Riigikogu Mihhail Korb and the continuation of legal proceedings against him.

Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise said that the proposal was based on the request of the Prosecutor General of 17 March, according to which a suspicion of influence peddling had been filed against Mihhail Korb. “In short, the Prosecutor General claims that, on 9 February 2020, Mihhail Korb promised to Hillar Teder that he would use his influence over Mayor of Tallinn Mihhail Kõlvart in order that a third person, Porto Franco Plc, could get from Mihhail Kõlvart, who was an official, an advantage that was unjustified in terms of public interest. It concerned a servitude and the question of whether Porto Franco should construct exit roads on its own land or it should be possible to construct them on municipal land and at a price lower than the one initially suggested,” she explained.

Madise pointed out that the Chancellor of Justice had to examine the case files but was not allowed to assess the evidence collected or take a position on whether the person was guilty or not. Nor does the Riigikogu decide the question of guilt when it grants its consent to the bringing of charges against Member of the Riigikogu Mihhail Korb and the continuation of criminal proceedings, she added.

Member of the Riigikogu Mihhail Korb said that he supported his parliamentary immunity being lifted because he was interested in ensuring that the charges brought against him would reach court hearing and the ascertainment of the truth as soon as possible.

82 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the proposal of the Chancellor of Justice and there was one abstention.

A Bill passed the first reading

The Bill on Amendments to the Identity Documents Act, the Consular Act and the State Fees Act (570 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the first reading. The Bill will include the EU Emergency Travel Document among the identity documents issued under the Act.

An EU Emergency Travel Document is issued to any unrepresented citizen in a third country or the EU whose passport or travel document has been lost, stolen or destroyed, or can otherwise not be obtained within a reasonable time, for example to newborns born during travel. A person is unrepresented in the case when his or her country of nationality does not have a representation in the third country or EU Member State or it is impossible for the relevant representation or honorary consul to issue an emergency travel document in the particular case.

According to the Bill, the rates of the state fees for acts performed in foreign missions will also be amended and new state fees will be established for acts that are not yet subject to a fee. The state fees will be brought in line with actual costs. The Bill will also update the regulation concerning the state fees relating to the acts of the Police and Border Guard Board and differentiate the rates of state fees charged for applications submitted in the service bureaus of the Police and Border Guard Board, by post and e-mail and in the self-service environment.

Two drafts were rejected

The plenary rejected the Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Making a Proposal to the Government of the Republic to support coastal inhabitants” (539 OE), submitted by Faction Isamaa. The initiators wished to make a proposal to the Government to initiate a Bill that would amend the Fishing Act by including a definition of coastal inhabitant and extending the procedure for issuing fishing permits to coastal inhabitants. By definition, a coastal inhabitant is a person permanently residing in a settlement unit that has a water border and using a landing place and a boat. It was also intended to make a proposal to develop a coastal life support programme.

During the debate, Heiki Hepner took the floor on behalf of Faction Isamaa and Peeter Ernits on behalf of the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction.

36 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the Resolution. A majority of the votes of the members of the Riigikogu, that is, at least 51 votes, would have been needed for the Resolution to be passed.

The Riigikogu rejected at the first reading the Bill on Amendments to the Vital Statistics Registration Act (534 SE), initiated by the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction. The purpose of the Bill was to amend the procedure for the registration of data on children and to fill the legislative gap concerning the cases when a child is born at home or on the way to a provider of health care services. According to the Bill, the family physician would have issued the certificate in such cases.

During the debate, Paul Puustusmaa took the floor on behalf of the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction and Helmen Kütt on behalf of the Social Democratic Party Faction.

The Legal Affairs Committee moved to reject the Bill at the first reading. 47 members of the Riigikogu voted for the rejection, 22 were against and there was one abstention.

Source: Parliament of Estonia