Amendments to the Law on Language in Estonia: further developments

Date: Wed, 07 Jan 98 17:23:23 -0500
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Message-Id: <[email protected]>
To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
Subject: Amendments to the Law on Language in Estonia: further developments

From: MINELRES moderator       \ Internet:    ([email protected])

Original sender: Andrei Arjupin   \ Internet: ([email protected])

Amendments to the Law on Language in Estonia: further developments


Addition to the message on December 07, 1997 "Amendments to the Law on
Language, Estonia ".

As we mentioned before, the President of Estonian Republic had refused to
proclaim the discriminatory amendments to the Law on Language passed by the
Parliament on November 19, 1997. President Mr. Lennart Meri decided that
these amendments were in contradiction with the Constitution of Estonia.

Despite this, the members of Estonian legislative body have re-adopted the
law without any amendments. 

On his part, on January 1, 1998 the President of Estonian Republic appealed
to the National Court to declare the Law about amendments to the Law on
Language unconstitutional. 

Thus, a precedent has been created, as after the restoration of Estonian
independence there was no law brought under consideration of the National
Court in Estonia. The decision of the National Court has not made yet. 

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Moderator adds: Andrei, does the National (Supreme?) Court in Estonia carry
out functions of the Constitutional Court? If so, who has the right to bring
the case under the Court (besides the President)? Generally, we here in
Latvia must feel envious of you :-(, for our President is far from being so
consistent and persistent with our new draft Language Law... However,
Latvian situation with the new Language Law and its comparison with the
Estonian language regulations deserve separate posting, I will try to write
about it soon. 

Boris 
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