Riigikogu re-passes church influence bill unchanged
On Wednesday, the Riigikogu passed the Churches and Congregations Act unchanged. President Alar Karis has already refused to proclaim the bill on two occasions.
On September 8, the Riigikogu's Legal Affairs Committee proposed that the Churches and Congregations Act, which had not been promulgated by the president at the beginning of the summer, be resubmitted to the Riigikogu for adoption in its original form.
On Wednesday, the same law was debated and the decision was taken to re-adopt it unchanged. Sixty-three members voted in favor of its adoption, 15 voted against and 9 did not participate in the vote. Fourteen MPs were absent.
As the Riigikogu re-adopted the law without amendment, the President Karis now has to either proclaim the law or refer it to the Supreme Court of Estonia with the proposal to declare it unconstitutional.
The Riigikogu first adopted the amendment to the Churches and Congregations Act on April 9. However, President Alar Karis opted not to proclaim the law on April 24.
On May 14, the plenary assembly of the Riigikogu decided not to re-adopt the law in its previous form but to make amendments.
The Riigikogu then re-adopted the law in its new form on June 18. On July 3, the president again refused to proclaim it, finding the law had still not been amended sufficiently.
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Editor: Johanna Alvin, Michael Cole
