The second reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Citizenship Act and the State Fees Act (164 SE), initiated by the Social Democratic Party Faction, was concluded. The Bill provides for granting the citizenship to a person who has been erroneously defined as an Estonian citizen, that is, the amendments provide the right of a person to maintain the Estonian citizenship granted to him or her erroneously. This provision does not apply in case when the source documents which were the basis for granting citizenship were falsified. According to the Act which is currently in force, the errors of officials made before the year 1995 can be resolved in a manner favourable to the person while the Act provides no such opportunity in the case of the identity documents of an Estonian citizen erroneously issued after 1 July 1995. The Bill was sent to the third reading.

The second reading of the Bill on Amendments to Family Law Act (214 SE), initiated by the Government, was concluded. The aim of the Bill is to specify the wording of the Act to state clearly that a guardian will not have to indicate separately and certify documentarily the expenses incurred daily for the maintenance of a ward in the annual report of the guardian and it will be enough to indicate the amount spent every month. The current wording of the Family Law Act, if interpreted grammatically, allows to understand the Act in such a way that under subsection 194 (2) of the Act, guardians must certify one by one and with receipts, among other things, also the expenses incurred for the daily maintenance of a ward. The Bill was sent to the third reading.

The second reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Aliens Act and the State Fees Act (212 SE), initiated by the Government, was concluded. The aim of the Bill is to reduce the risk of misuse of the living permits integrally and to ensure that the immigration quota is fulfilled with those persons whose settling in Estonia is in the public interests, that is, who contribute to the development of Estonian society. The Bill specifies the bases and purposes of issuing of a temporary residence permit for employment as a member of a managing body of a company or as a posted worker, for enterprise as well as in case of substantial public interest. The Bill was sent to the third reading.

The first reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Political Parties Act (216 SE), initiated by the Constitutional Committee, was concluded. The Bill provides the basis of the payment of remuneration to members of the Political Parties Financing Surveillance Committee formed on the basis of the Political Parties Act as there is no relevant regulation in the Act which is currently in force. The initiator of the Bill finds that it would be fair to make the remuneration of a member of the Political Parties Financing Surveillance Committee dependent on the work that he or she contributes. In the opinion of the initiator, upon calculation of the contributed work, it would be expedient to proceed from the time spent on attending the meetings of the committee and on performance of other functions of the Political Parties Financing Surveillance Committee. Upon calculation of the remuneration, the amount of the remuneration of the members of the National Electoral Committee has been taken as a model. It equals to 25 times the minimum hourly wage rate established by the Government of the Republic (which at present amounts to 1.8 euro per hour upon full-time employment). The Bill was sent to the second reading.

On the motion of the Legal Affairs Committee, the first reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Penal Code (209 SE), initiated by the Social Democratic Party Faction, was concluded. The aim of the Bill is to amend the current Penal Code by adding a provision which criminalises purchase of sex from minors, that is, persons under 18 years of age. According to the Bill, a pecuniary punishment or up to three years’ imprisonment is established for promising remuneration or transfering it to a person younger than 18 years of age or to the person pimping him or her for the purpose of engaging in sexual intercourse or satisfaction of sexual desire in another manner. The same act is punishable by one to five years’ imprisonment if the purchase is committed with regard to a person who is placed in such a situation by using force or violence (within the meaning of § 133 of the Penal Code). The Bill was sent to the second reading.

On the motion of the Cultural Affairs Committee, the Bill on Amendments to the Study Allowances and Study Loans Act and Other Associated Acts (210 SE), initiated by the Social Democratic Party Faction, was rejected at the first reading. 41 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the motion and 33 voted against. Thus, the Bill was dropped from the legislative proceeding.

The Riigikogu Press Service