NordenBladet —
According to Chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee Madis Timpson, the aim of the Bill is to increase liability for damaging critical submarine infrastructure and to raise the penalties for such acts so high that, for example, Russia’s shadow fleet would think carefully about whether it is worth to commit such a crime.
“We are responding to bad experiences where two ships have damaged our important submarine cables with their anchors and caused damage to our economy. The aim is to respond to hybrid warfare and the security situation, prevent such economically damaging attacks, and claim compensation for damage,” Timpson said. He added that there were plans to strengthen penalties both for damaging cables and for the so-called commissioned vandalism.
According to the Bill, criminals who have damaged infrastructure connected with Estonia in our economic zone can be punished. The Bill also plans to strengthen penalties for crimes related to damage to critical underwater infrastructure and to allow surveillance in such criminal cases in order to better combat hybrid attacks by hostile countries.
It was noted at the sitting that Estonia had acceded to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), according to which coastal states must provide for sufficiently dissuasive penalties in their legislation and update their penal law if necessary. It was also pointed out that Finland, for example, had already strengthened its penalties.
Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa Pakosta and Adviser of the Penal Law and Procedure Division of the Ministry Martin Ziehr gave an overview of the Bill at the sitting.
The Legal Affairs Committee decided to send the Bill on Amendments to the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure (Penal Jurisdiction and Damaging Underwater Infrastructure) (656 SE) to the first reading at the plenary sitting of the Riigikogu on 8 October with the motion to conclude the first reading.
Riigikogu Press Service
Merilin Kruuse
+372 631 6592; +372 510 6179
merilin.kruuse@riigikogu.ee
Questions: press@riigikogu.ee
Link uudisele: The Legal Affairs Committee supports increasing liability for damaging underwater infrastructure
Source: Parliament of Estonia