The Riigikogu facilitates the use of e-services of registers
At Thursday’s sitting, the Riigikogu approved the Act according to which it is possible to examine data and file documents in court registers and to obtain print-outs of them only in notaries’ offices or electronically via a corresponding website.
The land register, the ship registry, the marital property register and the commercial register, the non-profit associations and foundations register and the commercial pledge register are court registers.
The aim of the Act is to increase the use of e-services, and to reduce the workload of the registrar and the management costs of registers.
80 members of the Riigikogu supported the passage of the Act on Amendments to the Commercial Code and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (384 SE), initiated by the Government.
The Chamber of Notaries has to ensure the possibility to examine business and public files in one notary’s office in Harju, Tartu, Pärnu and Ida-Viru counties. Servicing of people at the offices of the land registry departments and registration departments of Tartu County Court is terminated, and they are encouraged to use e-service. It is still possible for persons to see data and documents of companies, non-profit associations or foundations relating to them in the information system of the commercial register. At the same time, every registry card of a company, non-profit association or foundation in which all data entered into the commercial register or the non-profit associations and foundations register are visible is available free of charge. In the case of the land register, the owner of an immovable can also see data and documents relating to him or her free of charge.
According to statistics, already now e-services are used approximately ten times more often than services in the office. 343 certified print-outs were applied for from the land registry department, and 2145 from the registration department in 2015. Print-outs of the registry cards of the commercial register account for the largest share. In 90 per cent of cases, legal persons applied for such print-outs in 2015.
The Riigikogu also introduced an amendment to the Act according to which in all cases where Estonian law applies to the proprietary relationship of spouses and where spouses have not selected a proprietary relationship, the proprietary relationship of jointness of property applies.
The Act enters into force on 1 July this year, except for the amendments to the Accounting Act and the Apartment Ownership and Apartment Associations Act which enter into force on 1 January next year. The provision on the possibility to examine land registry files and registry files and marital property register documents in the Notary Fees Act enters into force on 1 March 2018.
The Riigikogu passed another Act:
The Riigikogu approved with 67 votes in favour (6 against, 1 abstention) the Act on Amendments to the Security Authorities Act and Other Acts (383 SE), initiated by the Government.
The Act organises the regulation concerning the shadow information and covert measures necessary for the performance of the functions of security authorities, with a view to enhancing the work of security authorities. The Security Authorities Act entered into force in 2001, and it needs updating because some provisions of the current Act are vague and this hinders the activities of security authorities.
For example, the covert measure where a security authority must use a cover enterprise to perform its functions is not applicable in practice. Under the current procedure, for founding a company, the relevant minister must submit a petition to the commercial register which in turn makes it impossible to be covert. The Act provides for the possibility to found cover enterprises and acquire holdings in enterprises in view of security needs by a decision of the head of security authority.
The Act enters into force on 1 July this year.
Martin Helme, who took the floor on behalf of the Conservative People’s Party Faction in the debate, noted that the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction did not support the passage of the Bill.
Verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian)
Video recordings of the sittings of the Riigikogu can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/riigikogu
(NB! The recording will be uploaded with a delay.)
Riigikogu Press Service
Kati Varblane
T: 631 6353, 516 9152
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