President of Estonia refuses to proclaim Employment Contracts Act amendments

President Alar Karis has decided not to promulgate a law amending the Employment Contracts Act, citing constitutional violations during its passage in the Riigikogu.

News ERR, yesterday at 15.33

https://news.err.ee/1609875024/president-refuses-to-proclaim-employment-contracts-act-amendments

The Riigikogu sent the president a law whose text had been altered without legal basis after it was passed by parliament.

"As indicated in the 'Notice of Correction' attached to the law, the text was changed after the law was adopted and before it was sent to the president. According to the adopted version, Section 433(2)(4) referred to subsection 7 of the same section, while in the revised version, it refers to subsection 6. This provision concerns the information that must be included in a flexible working hours agreement," the president wrote in his decision.

In his decision, the president stated that the legislative process violated Sections 3(1), 102 and 104(1) of the Constitution. Section 3(1) states that governmental power shall be exercised solely pursuant to the Constitution and laws in conformity with it. Section 102 requires that laws be adopted in accordance with the Constitution. Section 104(1) provides that the procedure for adopting laws is determined by the Riigikogu's Rules of Procedure Act.

"This was not a mere clerical error but a substantive change that affects the rights and obligations of individuals. In its adopted form, the law was not incomprehensible. There is no apparent reason why the law could not require that a flexible working hours agreement include information on how working hours are recorded."

"In the corrected version, however, the agreement must instead contain information on the employee's right to refuse to work additional hours and how their consent is confirmed. In both cases, this is crucial information from the standpoint of the contracting parties. Furthermore, the obligation to present such information affects the parties' rights and obligations, as it defines what kind of agreements can be concluded," the president argued in his decision.

The Riigikogu's Rules of Procedure Act imposes very strict limits on how a bill may be amended even during preparations for its third reading.

"Aligning a clearly worded text with the presumed intent of the legislature is not a linguistic or technical clarification. If the law does not allow such corrections to be made by the lead committee before the final vote, it is clear that no such corrections can be made after the law has been passed. Allowing changes to a law post-adoption on the grounds of aligning it with legislative intent would create the potential for significant distortions of the parliamentary process," President Karis reasoned.

The head of state finds it necessary for the law to be reconsidered and decided on again by the Riigikogu, in a way that complies with the Constitution.

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Editor: Urmet Kook, Marcus Turovski