Prime Minister Andrus Ansip replied to the interpellation concerning the quality of legislative drafting (No 462), submitted by Members of the Riigikogu Jüri Tamm and Eiki Nestor on 17 June. The interpellators claim that the quality of the draft legislation submitted to the legislative proceeding of the Riigikogu by the Government has decreased significantly in recent years.

 

Ansip explained that, in the course of the legislative proceeding, new decisions are made which may not be in conformity with the original concept of the draft legislation and which require a reaction form ministries by submitting motions to amend, sometimes even a new text. “The aim is to contribute to the legislative process which is not always possible without submitting motions to amend. However, in order to develop legislative drafting further, on the proposal of the Ministry of Justice, the Government has prepared legal policy development objectives which also contain proposals for more efficient organisation of the analysis of the impacts of legislation,” said the Prime Minister. He found that the problem with the current legislative drafting is that insufficient attention is paid to the question of the desired impacts of Acts as well as to possible alternatives of Acts. Therefore it often happens that the valuable time of ministries, the Government and the Riigikogu is spent on arguments about some nuances of draft Acts while nobody knows whether it is at all possible to achieve the desired objective or result with the Act as a whole.

 

In Ansip’s words, the foundations and development principles of legal policy have been integrated in the document “Development Objectives of Legal Policy until 2013”. The development objectives describe the basic content of the proposed amendments and if they prove appropriate it will be possible to improve and amend the detailed technical rules for the Government and the Riigikogu concerning the drafting of legislation. The purpose of the amendments is to raise the quality of legislative drafting by demanding more thorough and well considered activities in the initial stages of the drafting of legislation. This will economise on the resources that have so far been spent in further stages of preparing draft legislation, in connection with repeated submissions for approval, explaining the purposes of the draft legislation to the public as well as correction of the deficiencies of adopted legislation, explained Ansip. He admitted that it is not a sphere in which final decisions can be made at a certain moment of time and then the quality will be guaranteed forever. “It is a constantly changing and developing process and there will never be a victorious end in it,” said the Prime Minister.

 

The Prime Minister replied to three more interpellations. They were the following:

 

the interpellation concerning conclusions of the Estonian Human Resources Report (No 465), submitted by Members of the Riigikogu Heimar Lenk, Marika Tuus, Valeri Korb, Eldar Efendijev, Mailis Reps, Nelli Privalova, Vladimir Velman, Jaak Aab, Nikolai Põdramägi and Evelyn Sepp on 2 August;

 

the interpellation concerning the procedure for resolution of the applications of persons reclaiming property owned by persons resettled to Germany (No 478), submitted by Members of the Riigikogu Helle Kalda, Toivo Tootsen, Marika Tuus, Olga Sõtnik, Vladimir Velman, Nelli Privalova, Heimar Lenk and Valeri Korb on 2 August;

 

the interpellation concerning the state budget (No 485), submitted by Members of the Riigikogu Arvo Sarapuu, Tiit Kuusmik, Lembit Kaljuvee, Toivo Tootsen, Kalev Kallo, Olga Sõtnik, Jüri Ratas, Toomas Varek, Vladimir Velman and Nelli Privalova on 3 August;

 

The Minister of Agriculture Helir-Valdor Seeder replied to the interpellation concerning the rural life policy (No 504), submitted by members of the Riigikogu Arvo Sarapuu, Jaak Aab, Nikolai Põdramägi, Marika Tuus, Tiit Kuusmik, Lembit Kaljuvee, Toomas Varek, Georg Pelisaar, Lauri Laasi, Inara Luigas, Eldar Efendijev, Jüri Ratas and Toivo Tootsen on 20 September.

 

The Minister of Education and Research Tõnis Lukas replied to five interpellations. They were the following:

 

the interpellation concerning the financing of private schools (No 466), submitted by Members of the Riigikogu Mailis Reps, Vladimir Velman, Eldar Efendijev, Nelli Privalova, Toivo Tootsen, Arvo Sarapuu, Nikolai Põdramägi, Evelyn Sepp, Kadri Simson and Valeri Korb on 3 August;

 

the interpellation concerning implementation of the Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act (No 476), submitted by Members of the Riigikogu Mailis Reps, Inara Luigas, Eldar Efendijev, Vladimir Velman, Nelli Privalova, Olga Sõtnik, Nikolai Põdramägi, Rein Ratas and Kadri Simson on 2 August;

 

the interpellation concerning implementation of the Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act (No 470), submitted by Members of the Riigikogu Mailis Reps, Valeri Korb, Helle Kalda, Eldar Efendijev, Nelli Privalova, Vladimir Velman, Olga Sõtnik, Toivo Tootsen, Nikolai Põdramägi and Rein Ratas on 2 August;

 

the interpellation concerning the compulsory elementary swimming course (No 495), submitted by Members of the Riigikogu Evelyn Sepp, Rein Ratas, Tiit Kuusmik, Ester Tuiksoo, Heljo Pikhof, Nikolai Põdramägi, Georg Pelisaar, Kalle Laanet, Olga Sõtnik, Mai Treial, Jüri Tamm and Kadri Simson on 3 August;

 

the interpellation concerning availability of the higher education (No 496), submitted by Members of the Riigikogu Mailis Reps, Nikolai Põdramägi, Kadri Simson, Vladimir Velman, Toivo Tootsen, Nelli Privalova, Evelyn Sepp and Georg Pelisaar on 3 August.

 

The Minister of Regional Affairs Siim Valmar Kiisler replied to three interpellations. They were the following:

 

the interpellation concerning spatial planning pursuant to subsection 1 (3) of the Planning Act (No 473), submitted by Members of the Riigikogu Rein Ratas, Evelyn Sepp, Ain Seppik, Kadri Simson, Aivar Riisalu, Lembit Kaljuvee, Valeri Korb, Inara Luigas, Olga Sõtnik and Jüri Ratas on 2 August;

 

the interpellation concerning drafting of the state budget of 2011, with regard to local governments (No 483), submitted by Members of the Riigikogu Jüri Ratas, Olga Sõtnik, Vladimir Velman, Kalev Kallo, Toivo Tootsen, Evelyn Sepp, Rein Ratas, Arvo Sarapuu, Nikolai Põdramägi, Kadri Simson, Aivar Riisalu, Marika Tuus and Tiit Kuusmik on 3 August;

 

the interpellation concerning the increasing perpherisation (No 493), submitted by Members of the Riigikogu Arvo Sarapuu, Jaak Aab, Nikolai Põdramägi, Rein Ratas, Toivo Tootsen, Kalev Kallo and Inara Luigas on 3 August.

 

The Minister of Internal Affairs Marko Pomerants replied to five interpellations. They were the following:

 

the interpellation concerning the risk of counterfeiting of the kroon and the euro (No 486), submitted by Members of the Riigikogu Rein Ratas, Tiit Kuusmik, Jüri Ratas, Arvo Sarapuu and Nikolai Põdramägi on 3 August;

 

the interpellation concerning the increase of the number of citizens (No 487), submitted by Members of the Riigikogu Olga Sõtnik, Vladimir Velman, Nelli Privalova, Tiit Kuusmik and Evelyn Sepp on 3 August;

 

the interpellation concerning the working time of police officers (No 488), submitted by Members of the Riigikogu Ain Seppik, Tiit Kuusmik, Kalle Laanet, Marika Tuus, Helle Kalda, Toivo Tootsen, Mailis Reps, Inara Luigas, Eldar Efendijev, Nelli Privalova, Vladimir Velman, Jüri Ratas, Olga Sõtnik, Arvo Sarapuu and Nikolai Põdramägi on 3 August;

 

the interpellation concerning politisation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (No 505), submitted by Members of the Riigikogu Kalle Laanet, Kadri Simson, Ain Seppik, Tiit Kuusmik, Kalev Kallo and Aivar Riisalu on 21 September;

 

the interpellation concerning the budget of the Police and Border Guard Administration (No 511), submitted by Members of the Riigikogu Lauri Laasi, Mailis Reps, Inara Luigas, Enn Eesmaa, Nelli Privalova, Olga Sõtnik, Toivo Tootsen, Nikolai Põdramägi, Rein Ratas, Helle Kalda and Georg Pelisaar on 28 September.

 

During the open microphone, Kalle Kallo took the floor.

 

The sitting ended at 10.54 p.m.

 

The Riigikogu Press Service