No. 4

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Democracy or a steamroller?

Democracy is a form of political culture and communication. In order for it to work and be sustainable, it requires, like any other sophisticated system, fixed rules, a certain cultural environment, and – most importantly – a system for ensuring the observance of all these principles.

Everything obviously does not depend on the Riigikogu, but it is only a slight simplification to say that aside from our culture’s generally degraded values, it is the current rules and regulations of the Riigikogu, including the way we present and process our draft laws, which are largely responsible for deficiencies in democracy, including why it is taking such an effort to move forward towards a real democracy.

As development of common law and culture takes time, as it must, and these are not things that cannot be foisted on the Riigikogu or even the Speaker, in my opinion, we must begin from the issue of how we deliberate on bills that are introduced.

First it would be necessary to improve gradually, but consistently, the level of quality requirements set out for the drafts accepted for processing. This is particularly true for the explanatory notes. A draft can be discussed in its essence only when it has been shown with sufficient clarity what it is that is to be achieved with the law or with the amendment, what will be brought about by application of the law, what the planned conditions to achieve the set goal are, and what the risks are.

Full article in Estonian

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