Bill prohibiting the exhibition of symbols of hostility passed the second reading in the Riigikogu

If passed, the Bill would prohibit the exhibition of symbols connected with the commission of an act of aggression, genocide, a crime against humanity, or a war crime in a manner that supports or justifies such acts.

Under the Bill on Amendments to the Penal Code and the Code of Misdemeanour Procedure (support of aggression) (585 SE) (consolidated Bills 556 SE and 576 SE), initiated by Faction Isamaa, amendments will be made to the Penal Code that have been prompted by Russia’s attack Ukraine and will ensure an appropriate sanction where a person takes part in a crime of aggression.

According to the Bill, joining the armed forces of a foreign state committing an act of aggression or any other armed unit participating in an act of aggression committed by a foreign state, participation in the commission or preparation of an act of aggression of a foreign state, or knowingly and directly supporting an act of aggression of a foreign state, including funding it, will be punishable as a criminal offence. An imprisonment of up to five years will be provided for such an act. If a legal person commits such an act, it will be sanctioned by a pecuniary punishment.

The Bill also provides that it will not be allowed to publicly exhibit symbols connected with the commission of an act of aggression, genocide, a crime against humanity, or a war crime in a manner that supports or justifies such acts. The Bill provides for a fine of up to three hundred fine units, that is, 1200 euro, or detention for such an act. If a legal person commits such an act, it will be punished by a fine of up to 32,000 euro. The section relating to the exhibition of symbols is planned to enter into force on the day following the day of publication in the Riigi Teataja.

During the debate, Raimond Kaljulaid (Social Democratic Party), Paul Puustusmaa (Estonian Conservative People’s Party), Kalle Grünthal (Estonian Conservative People’s Party), Heljo Pikhof (Social Democratic Party), Urmas Reinsalu (Isamaa), Tarmo Kruusimäe (Isamaa) and Hanno Pevkur (Reform Party) took the floor.

The Riigikogu passed an Act

The Act on Amendments to the Employment Contracts Act and Other Associated Acts (521 SE), initiated by the Government, transposes the relevant European Union directive on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union, which lays down minimum requirements relating to working conditions that apply to every worker in order to guarantee an adequate degree of transparency and predictability as regards the working conditions. The proposed amendments will enhance the protection of both employees and officials in employment and service relationships and will help ensure that they are informed about essential working and service conditions at as early a stage of an employment or service relationship as possible.

In the Employment Contracts Act, amendments are made to the set of data of which the employer must inform the employee in writing on commencement of employment. The employer will have the obligation to inform the employee of the training entitlement provided by the employer, the paid leave, the duration of the probationary period, the procedure for working overtime and compensation therefor, the form for cancellation of the employment contract and the obligation to provide justifications, as well as the institutions receiving the taxes and social contributions and the protection accompanying the payment thereof. In the event of changes to the data, information on the changes will have to be provided at the latest on the day on which the changes take effect.

It is also provided that, in the event of an impediment to work, the probationary period is extended correspondingly in relation to the duration of the absence, for example, in the event of temporary incapacity for work. The employee is given the right to request suitable working conditions, for example, to request full-time work instead of part-time work and to receive a response to the request from the employer. In addition, the Act provides for protection against unfavourable treatment for the case when an employee invokes their rights or draws attention to a breach of such rights. This means that, where an employee stands up for their rights, this must not be followed by adverse consequences, for example, where an employee draws attention to the fact that the employer is failing to meet the working hours and rest period requirements, the employer must not impose adverse consequences on the employee.

The Act also amends the Civil Service Act and amends the set of data that must be provided to officials in the acts concerning the organisation of work and in the salary guides of authorities. At the same time, the Working Conditions of Employees Posted to Estonia Act provides for the set of data of which the employer must inform the employer in writing in the event of a posting longer than one month, for example, information on the amount of and the currency to be used for the payment of remuneration, and repatriation. The Occupational Health and Safety Act is amended by adding the obligation of the employee to ensure that their working or provision of services at other persons providing employment does not endanger the employee’s or other people’s life or health. The amendment is important for drawing employees’ attention to the importance of meeting the working hours and rest period requirements for health protection purposes.

67 members of the Riigikogu voted for the Act and 11 were against.

Five Bills passed the first reading

The Bill on Amendments to the Health Services Organisation Act and Other Associated Acts a (569 SE) initiated by the Government, will harmonise the current fragmented databases in order to ensure that the data in the current national register of health care professionals, the national register of pharmacists and assistant pharmacists and the national register of activity licences for the provision of health services will be managed uniformly through a new information system. Basically, the essentially intertwined registers will be consolidated into a single health care management information system.

In addition, the possibility of digital registration of health care professionals is provided for. The digital registration of health care professionals will begin to take place on the basis of the Estonian personal identification code through the self-service portal of the Health Board. If the data certifying the qualifications of the person are contained in the Estonian Education Information System, no additional certifications will need to be submitted to the Health Board and the decision on registration as health care professional will be made automatically. Currently, in addition to applications, documents certifying education must be submitted on paper or as photocopies. For people who do not have an Estonian personal identification code the registration process will remain the same compared to the Health Services Organisation Act.

The Bill on Amendments to the Defence Forces Organisation Act and Other Acts (transfer of the ships of the Police and Border Guard Board to the area of government of the Ministry of Defence) (572 SE), initiated by the Government, will create the legal bases for the transfer of the ships of the Police and Border Guard Board to the Defence Forces from 1 January 2023.

According to the amendments, the Defence Forces will be responsible for creating maritime situational awareness, guarding the maritime border, and detecting and eliminating marine pollution in the Estonian marine area. The Defence Forces will also begin to be responsible for maritime surveillance, and will begin to manage and operate a maritime surveillance system, also ensuring among other things the availability of the service to domestic partners (e.g. Police and Border Guard Board, Transport Administration). Although marine rescue will continue to remain the task of the Police and Border Guard Board, the Defence Forces will participate in search and rescue at sea with the ships to be transferred. In addition, the Defence Forces will exercise state supervision in the territorial sea over the conformity of the equipment of recreational craft, ships with an overall length of less than 12 metres and personal watercraft, provide the marine assistance service, respond to emergencies at sea and provide professional assistance to other agencies, in particular outside the navigation period. For guarding the maritime border and ensuring maritime safety, the Defence Forces will be given law enforcement powers and the right to use direct coercion. The Defence Forces will also be given law enforcement powers to perform initial procedures for intervention in the event of threats to human life and health in small islands and the marine area.

The aim of the reform is to improve the situational awareness and response capability in the Estonian marine area, including to simplify the chain of command in order to ensure Estonia’s independent defence capabilities and the preconditions for allied response to conflicts taking place in the region. The consolidation of the ships of the Police and Border Guard Board under the Defence Forces will ensure better performance of national defence duties both in peace time and in situations of threat. During threat situations, the ships to be transferred will have both a security and a civil role.

During the debate, Martin Helme (Estonian Conservative People’s Party) and Mati Raidma (Reform Party) took the floor.

The Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction moved to reject the Bill at the first reading. 10 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the motion and 48 voted against. Thus, the motion was not supported and the Bill passed the first reading.

The Insolvency of Natural Persons Bill (575 SE), initiated by the Government, provides for making the insolvency proceedings for natural persons quicker, more efficient and less costly.

A new Act will be established that will regulate the opening of insolvency proceedings, and debt adjustment and debt discharge proceedings for natural persons. The Debt Restructuring and Debt Protection Act that has been in force so far will be repealed. Bankruptcy proceedings will remain to be regulated by the Bankruptcy Act.

In the future, insolvency proceedings for a natural person will be opened by a request for insolvency proceedings, which may turn into bankruptcy proceedings, debt discharge proceedings as well as debt adjustment proceedings. The system for counselling debtors will also change. In the future, a trustee will be counselling and assisting a debtor from the beginning to the end. A person becomes a trustee when he or she passes the relevant examination. Courts will appoint trustees for individual proceedings from the list of trustees maintained at the Chamber of Bailiffs and Trustees in Bankruptcy. In addition, the awarding of the profession of practitioner in the field of restructuring in the restructuring procedure will be regulated.

In addition, trustees in bankruptcy will be given the right to open professional payment accounts upon carrying out bankruptcy proceedings. Under the current procedure, trustees in bankruptcy are allowed to use only debtors’ accounts for settlement but this has caused several problems in practice. For example, it is not unusual that the debtor’s account is closed when bankruptcy is declared but no new account is opened. In order to overcome this and several other problems, in the future, it will be possible for trustees in bankruptcy to open proceedings-based accounts.

The Bill on Amendments to the Police and Border Guard Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (532 SE), initiated by the Government, will make the necessary amendments to implement the Entry/Exit System (EES), which was established by a relevant European Union Regulation. The data of third-country nationals who cross the external borders with the aim of entering the European Union for the purpose of a short stay (90 days in any 180-day period) will be entered in the system.

The agency established for the operational management of large-scale EU IT systems (eu-LISA) will be managing the system, and Estonia will establish no new database. In Estonia, we will be able to use the system in border control, migration supervision, and visa proceedings. In addition, the Regulation enables the data entered in the system to be used for the prevention, detection or investigation of terrorist offences or of other serious criminal offences. No one will have an automatic right to view the data for such purposes. An application will have to be made to the relevant unit, and the conditions set out in the EU Regulation will have to be met.

In addition, amendments will be made that will enable officials of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency who are included in the activities of the police and customs to use their service weapons.

The amendments concerning the Entry/Exit System are planned to enter into force on the date that the European Commission will determine for the introduction thereof.

The amendments proposed by the Bill on Amendments to the State Borders Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (577 SE), initiated by the Government, will give the state better opportunities to fight mass immigration in emergency when foreigners are invading illegally across the state border of Estonia and are submitting unfounded applications for international protection.

According to the Bill, during an emergency, the Police and Border Guard Board may refuse to accept an application for international protection from an alien who has arrived in the country illegally and send them back without issuing a precept to leave or making a decision on prohibition on entry. It is allowed to enter Estonia through the external border only through open border crossing points.

At the same time, according to the Bill, the Police and Border Guard Board will be given the right to designate the places where aliens can submit applications for international protection.

The Bill also provides for more flexible involvement of the Defence Forces and the Defence League in the protection of public and constitutional order in the cases when the resources of the Police and Border Guard Board are insufficient. Currently, the Defence Forces or the Defence League can be involved for a period not exceeding 30 days, but this does not meet the changed security situation where it may be necessary to involve them for longer periods.

The explanatory memorandum notes that the artificially created migration pressure in the region has shown that the Estonian legal order needs to be ready to manage such hybrid attacks and to ensure security in a mass immigration emergency.

During the debate, Toomas Kivimägi (Reform Party) and Eduard Odinets (Social Democratic Party) took the floor.

Source: Parliament of Estonia