NordenBladet —
63 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act unamended and 15 were against it. This means that the President must either proclaim the Act or turn to the Supreme Court with a request to declare the Act to be in violation of the Constitution.
At the new debate on the Act on Amendments to the Churches and Congregations Act (570 UA), the Chairman of the Constitutional Committee Ando Kiviberg and member of the Legal Affairs Committee Andre Hanimägi explained the discussions in their Committees and replied to questions.
Kiviberg quoted the President as saying that cutting dangerous administrative ties was probably in conformity with the Constitution and followed the main goal of the Act; however, the problem lied in the definition of the basis for teaching, and which instructional ties could remain and which had to be cut. Kiviberg suggested assessing the elements as part of a whole. He added that the Bill did not concern freedom of religion and that congregations could continue their religious practices even with the new Act in force.
Hanimägi reported that the sitting of the Legal Affairs Committee had focused on whether the Act was in conformity with the Constitution. “Restricting the freedom of religion has never been the intent of the Bill. This has also been emphasised by the Ministry of the Interior and great many other experts,” he said. Hanimägi also answered questions, saying that different legal experts have often retained different opinions on the Act and that it was therefore not at all wrong to let the judges decide the right position.
“Ensuring security is a basic function of the state and even the President of the Republic has not fundamentally questioned the need to possibly restrict the activities of religious associations for reasons of security,” said the Chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee Madis Timpson. He added that the President had not contested the purpose of the Bill, that there was no conflict of values in that respect and that the dispute concerned proportionality.
The Bill makes a value-based judgement as an abstract standard—the Republic of Estonia does not tolerate interference into the internal matters of the state under the cover of freedom of religion and canonical activities. “These amendments do not restrict anyone’s freedom of religion, ban any religion in Estonia, dissolve any church, congregation, convent, or union of congregations,” Timpson assured and added that there was room for discretion when interpreting the Act.
The Riigikogu first passed the Churches and Congregations Act on 9 April. The purpose of the Act is to ensure, among other things, that religious organisations operating in Estonia cannot be used to spread hostile influence, disseminate extremist ideologies, or incite violence under the guise of freedom of religion and freedom of association guaranteed by the Constitution. According to the explanatory memorandum, Estonia stands for freedom of religion, and everyone has the freedom to choose whether to follow a religion and which religion to follow. However, in addition to respecting the freedom of religion, belief, and association, the state must also take into account the challenges that threaten national security and security in the society.
The President did not proclaim the Act on 24 April, arguing that it created disproportionate restrictions on religious freedom and freedom of association. On 14 May, the plenary of the Riigikogu decided that it would not pass the Act again without amendments but would begin to amend it. While discussing the Act again, the Riigikogu made several amendments, such as repealing the prohibition on being guided by a person of significant influence who resides abroad and extended the transitional period for introducing the necessary changes from two to six months. The Riigikogu passed the amended version of the Act on 18 June.
However, the President again refused to proclaim the Act on 3 July. He acknowledged that the Riigikogu had changed the text of the Act somewhat but not enough. He continued to see a violation with three provisions of the Constitution and a disproportionate restriction to the freedom of association and religion. He made a proposal to the Riigikogu to discuss the Act again and bring it into conformity with the Constitution. The Riigikogu decided to make no further amendments to the Act.
Riigikogu Press Service
Merilin Kruuse
+372 631 6592; +372 510 6179
merilin.kruuse@riigikogu.ee
Questions: press@riigikogu.ee
Link uudisele: The Riigikogu adopted the Churches and Congregations Act again
Source: Parliament of Estonia