The Riigikogu concluded the first reading of two Bills
Two Bills, one of which was intended to speed up court proceedings and the other to allow schools greater flexibility in hiring beginning teachers, passed the first reading at today’s sitting of the Riigikogu. The parliament did not support the removal of parliamentary immunity from Member of the Riigikogu Tõnis Mölder.
The Bill on Amendments to the Courts Act and Other Acts (speeding up court proceedings) (854 SE), initiated by the Government of the Republic, passed the first reading in the Riigikogu. The Bill introduces amendments to courts administration, civil and administrative court proceedings, and court fees to speed up court proceedings. The amendments to procedural law would simplify the hearing of simple cases in order to optimise and reduce the workload of the courts. For example, in administrative court procedure, the court may, in clear-cut cases, make a decision during the preliminary proceedings without holding a hearing.
The aim of the changes to the court system is to streamline court administration, improve the work organization of courts and promote specialization in order to speed up the proceedings in more complex cases. According to the Bill, the courts of first instance and the courts of appeal will become independent constitutional institutions alongside the Supreme Court in terms of court administration and budgetary procedure. The strategic management of the court system will be directed by the council of courts, and the day-to-day support services for the courts will be provided by a new court administration service. In order to increase the specialisation of judges, the Bill establishes nine areas of specialisation instead of the current two. In addition, the system of lay judges will be abolished.
According to the explanatory memorandum, raising state fee rates in civil and administrative court proceedings will help at least partially cover the increase in operational costs of courts, prevent malicious or non-viable legal recourse applications, and encourage the parties to disputes to reach a compromise. In civil cases, fees will increase by an average of 50 per cent, and fees for appeals to administrative courts will increase by an average of 200 per cent. The option for financial aid will remain available to low-income individuals, and applicants for international protection will be exempt from state fees.
Evelin Poolamets from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group took the floor during the debate.
The Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group moved to reject the Bill at the first reading, but the plenary did not support the motion. Nine members of the Riigikogu supported rejection but 37 were against.
The Bill on Amendments to the Vocational Educational Institutions Act (843 SE), initiated by the Cultural Affairs Committee, also passed the first reading in the Riigikogu. The Bill will clarify the regulations concerning beginning teachers. The Bill will allow vocational educational institutions to enter into fixed-term employment contracts of up to three years with persons who are hired as vocational teachers and are acquiring teacher certification, and with teachers of general education subjects who are studying for teacher training at a higher education level or are acquiring or hold a master’s degree or equivalent qualification. As with teachers who meet the qualification requirements, the minimum wage for teachers will also apply to them.
According to the explanatory memorandum, the Bill will allow schools to be more flexible in recruiting beginning teachers in a situation where there are no candidates meeting the qualification requirements. This supports the emergence of new vocational teachers and helps mitigate the risks associated with the ageing of teachers and with labour shortages.
Kadri Tali from Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.
At its today’s sitting, the Riigikogu also discussed the proposal to remove parliamentary immunity from Member of the Riigikogu Tõnis Mölder, and to continue the legal proceedings against him. The proposal was not supported.
Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise forwarded to the Riigikogu the request of the Prosecutor General to remove parliamentary immunity from Tõnis Mölder. She pointed out in her report that although in legal terms it was referred to as a proposal by the Chancellor of Justice, and in that case it may appear as if the Chancellor of Justice agreed with the request, the Chancellor of Justice had no authority to evaluate the evidence or any other important aspects. “Therefore, the Chancellor of Justice cannot agree or disagree with this request,” she said.
According to her, it has been the Riigikogu’s wish and intent that the Chancellor of Justice must not assess the evidence, as well as, for example, whether the alleged misuse of expense allowance should be addressed through criminal proceedings, or whether such use of state resources is reasonable. “I also emphasize that it is up to the people’s representative body to decide which acts constitute crimes, whether the cases where no one has suffered any harm and no one has gained any profit, and where it also has not been proven that anything evil has been agreed on should be treated as crimes,” she said.
According to Madise, the request of the Prosecutor General states that the Estonian Internal Security Service has filed charges against Mölder for submitting on 15 November 2022, as a member of the Riigikogu, through the Estonian Centre Party, a proposal to include in the State Budget for 2024 Bill the payment of activity support in the amount of 25,000 euros to the non-profit organization Kõo Hunting Society. “Before submitting the proposal, Tõnis Mölder entered into an agreement with a representative of NPO Kõo Hunting Society that when the activity support has been paid, he would receive at least 10,000 euros in return for submitting the proposal. Whether this agreement is substantiated by direct evidence, whether such an agreement existed, and whether the proceedings that took place were lawful may, in accordance with the law, be assessed only by a court,” the Chancellor of Justice said.
She also noted that, during the investigation, the Member of Parliament’s e-mails had been seized, and these e-mails had been found to contain elements of fraud as defined by the Penal Code. “According to the suspicion, on 10 January 2023, the Member of the Riigikogu submitted to the Finance Department of the Chancellery of the Riigikogu an application to which invoice No. 221530 from Vali Press OÜ in the amount of 624 euros was attached, and requested reimbursement of this amount as an expense related to the work of the Riigikogu. The Chancellery of the Riigikogu did indeed make a payment to Tõnis Mölder to reimburse this invoice,” Madise said, adding that according to the charges, Mölder had been aware that the Christmas cards purchased on the basis of this invoice were not related to the work of a member of the Riigikogu, but constituted election propaganda. “And the Chancellery of the Riigikogu was misled, and this is how this fraud took place, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.”
Member of the Riigikogu Tõnis Mölder said before the Riigikogu that he did not accept the charges brought against him. “In Estonia, only a court can determine guilt. Not removing my parliamentary immunity will not free me of suspicion in a criminal matter or constitute an assessment by you of my actions or inactions. Rejecting the request will allow the Prosecutor’s Office to conduct proper pre-trial proceedings. My wish is that the Prosecutor’s Office corrected all unlawful errors in the pre-trial proceedings, and if it is then decided to proceed with this criminal case, I am prepared to resolve these issues in court,” he said.
Varro Vooglaid and Anti Poolamets from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Parliamentary Group and non-attached Members of the Riigikogu Kalle Grünthal took the floor during the debate.
44 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the proposal of the Chancellor of Justice and one was against it. The proposal was not supported because a majority of the votes of the members of the Riigikogu, that is, at least 51 votes, would have been needed for it to be passed.
Verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian)
Photos (Erik Peinar / Chancellery of the Riigikogu)
Video recording will be available on the Riigikogu YouTube channel.
Riigikogu Press Service
Karin Kangro
+372 631 6356, +372 520 0323
[email protected]
Questions: [email protected]
