The Constitution of Estonia is the fundamental law of the Republic of Estonia and establishes the state order as that of a democratic republic where the supreme power is vested in its citizens. The first Constitution was adopted by the freely elected Estonian Constituent Assembly on 15 June 1920 and came into force on 21 December 1920. The second Constitution was adopted on 24 January 1934, following a referendum in 1933, and was in force until the third Constitution was enacted on 1 January 1938. It remained in force, de facto, until 16 June 1940, when the Soviet Union occupied Estonia and, de jure, until 28 June 1992, when the fourth and current Constitution of the Republic of Estonia was adopted by referendum.
History
First Constitution (1920–1933)
The first Constitution was a reflection of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's idea of national sovereignty. Power was split between the judiciary, the executive and the legislature according to the principles of Montesquieu. The Constitution provided for a high degree of public initiative and for referendums. Despite the Constitution being modelled upon Montesquieu's ideas, there was an imbalance, since the single-chamber Riigikogu exercised extensive power over the executive and the judiciary, leading to instability and frequent changes of government. The head of state and the head of government were combined in the post of State Elder.
Second Constitution (1934–1938)
Due to chronic government instability, attempts were made to redraft the Constitution. In a referendum held in 1932, voters rejected two proposed drafts of a new Constitution, but a third draft, proposed by the populist Estonian War of Independence Veterans' League or Vaps Movement was adopted in a referendum in 1933 and came into force on 24 January 1934. This second Constitution vested broad powers in the head of state—still called the State Elder—while reducing the size and power of the Riigikogu. The State Elder had the power to issue decrees with the force of law. In order to prevent the Vaps Movement coming to power under this new Constitution, Konstantin Päts, who was serving as "Prime Minister in Duties of the State Elder" pending elections, seized power in a bloodless coup d’etat on 12 March 1934. He then suspended the Constitution and initiated the preparation of a third Constitution.
Third Constitution (''de facto'' 1938–1940, ''de jure'' 1938–1992)
The third Constitution, which came into force on 1 January 1938, created a bicameral National Assembly, consisting of the Chamber of Deputies and the National Council. The National Council, which was to review and ratify legislation from the Chamber of Deputies, consisted of representatives from local government, professional and vocational bodies, and high officials, while the Chamber of Deputies was directly electedby the people. Another change compared to the Constitution of 1934 was that the President was no longer directly elected by the people, but instead was chosen by an electoral college consisting of both chambers of the National Assembly and additional representatives of local government. The President was vested with fairly broad powers, but was somewhat less powerful than the State Elder of the 1934 constitution. A Soviet-style "constitution" was introduced illegally, not having been subjected to referendum as required by the third Constitution, by a Soviet-backed puppet government on 25 August 1940. It was based on the 1936 Soviet constitution. The Soviet Estonian 1940 constitution was replaced by another constitution in 1978, based on the 1977 Soviet constitution.
Fourth Constitution (1992–present)
The present Constitution was enacted after a referendum on 28 June 1992. It incorporates elements of the Constitutions of 1920 and 1938. While retaining the presidency created in 1938, it restores the unicameral legislature established in 1920. It explicitly asserts its continuity with the Estonian state as it existed between 1920 and 1940, and thus provides a restitutive basis for Estonia’s independence. Like the 1920 Constitution, the head of state—titled as President after some debate about restoring the old title of State Elder—is a largely ceremonial post. However, unlike the 1920 Constitution, the government is headed by a separate Prime Minister.
Composition
The current Constitution contains a preamble and several chapters. The Preamble reads:
Chapters
The current Constitution contains fifteen chapters.
The first chapter makes general provision for the nature of the state. It contains seven articles.
The second chapter sets out the people's rights, liberties and duties.
Chapter 3 defines the people and citizenship of Estonia.
