President Alar Karis had declined to promulgate the law for a second time at the start of July, citing a lack of legal clarity.

The final decision on whether to send the bill to amend the Churches and Congregations Act back to the Riigikogu's main chamber unchanged will be made by another committee, the parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee.

On Monday, the Constitutional Committee held an extraordinary session to discuss the amendment to the Churches and Congregations Act.

If the law passes another Riigikogu vote unchanged, it may be that the head of state appeals to the Supreme Court.

The Riigikogu must decide whether to amend the laws.

Constitutional committee member Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart (Center) voted against proceeding with an unamended bill, while Ants Frosch (EKRE) abstained.

Kovalenko-Kõlvart said the Riigikogu's plan to vote for a law that conflicts with the constitution creates an additional burden for the Supreme Court.

"The Center Party and I personally voted against the decision to adopt this law in unchanged form. This is a very big problem – the Riigikogu knowingly wants to vote for a bill that conflicts with the constitution, knowing that the president will very likely turn to the Supreme Court," Kovalenko-Kõlvart said.

She noted that the president also pointed out that the law could begin to affect other associations in addition to churches, including political parties. Kovalenko-Kõlvart noted that her party had made specific amendment proposals to the bill.

"For example, one amendment proposal concerned that a local church must not follow orders or directives that could pose a threat to the security of the Estonian state and public order. Such directives would have no legal basis and should not be legally followed," the MP said.

Kovalenko-Kõlvart noted that existing laws already apply in cases such as treason or incitement to war hatred.

Committee chair Ando Kiviberg (Eesti 200) said that in the committee's view, the law is sufficiently clear and unambiguous,

"The goal of this bill has been quite clear and unambiguous from the outset. Considering the changed global situation and where Estonia is located, and what kinds of influences we have been under in recent years, we have no other choice. We must set very clear rules for all types of influence activities, regardless of the cover they come under," he said.

"In this case, our security considerations strongly outweigh people's right to do whatever they want under the label of religious freedom, including evil acts," Kiviberg added.

While President Karis has said that in its current form the law is too vague and affects the work of congregations, not just their ties with foreign countries, the majority of the committee does not agree with this line, Kiviberg noted.

"As for the overly broad interpretation, the committee concluded that these restrictions are fairly clear and comprehensible," he went on. "Let me give an example. We would not want, for instance, a radicalized religious group operating in Estonia, receiving instructions from its spiritual leader somewhere far away, to start stoning adulterers to death or doing something else like that."

"If we rely on the relevant Supreme Court rulings, for example in matters of treason, then they are quite broad. Two conditions must be met. If your activity is aimed at maliciously influencing the public – let's talk here about conducting hybrid warfare – and you have received instructions or funding from a foreign country for this activity, then it is already a case of treason," he added.

The final decision on whether and how to send the Churches and Congregations Bill back to the Riigikogu plenary will be made by the Legal Affairs Committee, the lead committee.

Legal Affairs Committee chair Madis Timpson (Reform) said his committee will start discussing the bill in September, once the Riigikogu reconvenes after the summer break, but indicated that the committee might support not changing the bill too.

Timpson said that in his view it is difficult to improve the bill in any way.

The Riigikogu first passed the law on April 9, with the head of state refusing to promulgate it on April 24.

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