1.
Estonia
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Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia, across the Baltic Sea lies Sweden in the west and Finland in the north. The territory of Estonia consists of a mainland and 2,222 islands and islets in the Baltic Sea, covering 45,339 km2 of land and water, and is influenced by a humid continental climate. The territory of Estonia has been inhabited since at least 6500 BC, in 1988, during the Singing Revolution, the Estonian Supreme Soviet issued the Estonian Sovereignty Declaration in defiance of Soviet rule, and independence was restored on 20 August 1991. Estonia is a parliamentary republic divided into fifteen counties. Its capital and largest city is Tallinn, with a population of 1.3 million, it is one of the least-populous member states of the European Union, Eurozone, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, OECD and Schengen Area. Estonia is a country with an advanced, high-income economy that is among the fastest growing in the EU. Its Human Development Index ranks very highly, and it performs favourably in measurements of economic freedom, civil liberties, the 2015 PISA test places Estonian high school students 3rd in the world, behind Singapore and Japan. Citizens of Estonia are provided with health care, free education. Since independence the country has developed its IT sector, becoming one of the worlds most digitally advanced societies. In 2005 Estonia became the first nation to hold elections over the Internet, in the Estonian language, the oldest known endonym of the Estonians was maarahvas, meaning country people or people of the land. The land inhabited by Estonians was called Maavald meaning Country Parish or Land Parish, one hypothesis regarding the modern name of Estonia is that it originated from the Aesti, a people described by the Roman historian Tacitus in his Germania. The historic Aesti were allegedly Baltic people, whereas the modern Estonians are Finno-Ugric, the geographical areas between Aesti and Estonia do not match, with Aesti being further down south. Ancient Scandinavian sagas refer to a land called Eistland, as the country is called in Icelandic. Early Latin and other ancient versions of the name are Estia and Hestia, esthonia was a common alternative English spelling prior to 1921. Human settlement in Estonia became possible 13,000 to 11,000 years ago, the oldest known settlement in Estonia is the Pulli settlement, which was on the banks of the river Pärnu, near the town of Sindi, in south-western Estonia. According to radiocarbon dating it was settled around 11,000 years ago, the earliest human inhabitation during the Mesolithic period is connected to Kunda culture, which is named after the town of Kunda in northern Estonia. At that time the country was covered with forests, and people lived in communities near bodies of water
2.
Sovereign state
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A sovereign state is, in international law, a nonphysical juridical entity that is represented by one centralized government that has sovereignty over a geographic area. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined territory, one government, and it is also normally understood that a sovereign state is neither dependent on nor subjected to any other power or state. The existence or disappearance of a state is a question of fact, States came into existence as people gradually transferred their allegiance from an individual sovereign to an intangible but territorial political entity, of the state. States are but one of political orders that emerged from feudal Europe, others being city states, leagues. Westphalian sovereignty is the concept of sovereignty based on territoriality. It is a system of states, multinational corporations. Sovereignty is a term that is frequently misused and that position was reflected and constituted in the notion that their sovereignty was either completely lacking, or at least of an inferior character when compared to that of civilised people. Lassa Oppenheim said There exists perhaps no conception the meaning of which is more controversial than that of sovereignty. It is a fact that this conception, from the moment when it was introduced into political science until the present day, has never had a meaning which was universally agreed upon. In the opinion of H. V. Evatt of the High Court of Australia, sovereignty is neither a question of fact, nor a question of law, but a question that does not arise at all. The right of nations to determine their own status and exercise permanent sovereignty within the limits of their territorial jurisdictions is widely recognized. The Westphalian model of sovereignty has increasingly come under fire from the non-west as a system imposed solely by Western Colonialism. What this model did was make religion a subordinate to politics and this system does not fit in the Islamic world because concepts such as separation of church and state and individual conscience are not recognised in the Islamic religion as social systems. Nation denotes a people who are believed to or deemed to share common customs, religion, language, origins, however, the adjectives national and international are frequently used to refer to matters pertaining to what are strictly sovereign states, as in national capital, international law. State refers to the set of governing and supportive institutions that have sovereignty over a definite territory, State recognition signifies the decision of a sovereign state to treat another entity as also being a sovereign state. Recognition can be expressed or implied and is usually retroactive in its effects. It does not necessarily signify a desire to establish or maintain diplomatic relations, There is no definition that is binding on all the members of the community of nations on the criteria for statehood. In actual practice, the criteria are mainly political, not legal, in international law, however, there are several theories of when a state should be recognised as sovereign
3.
Constitution of Estonia
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The Constitution of Estonia is the fundamental law of the Republic of Estonia and establishes the state order as that of a democratic republic where the supreme power is vested in its citizens. The first Constitution was adopted by the freely elected Estonian Constituent Assembly on 15 June 1920, the second Constitution was adopted on 24 January 1934, following a referendum in 1933, and was in force until the third Constitution was enacted on 1 January 1938. The first Constitution was a reflection of Jean-Jacques Rousseaus idea of national sovereignty, power was split between the judiciary, the executive and the legislature according to the principles of Montesquieu. The Constitution provided for a degree of public initiative and for referendums. The head of state and the head of government were combined in the post of State Elder, due to the instability of the government, attempts were made to redraft the Constitution. This second Constitution established an authoritarian state order by introducing an executive head of state. The President could exercise supreme power via presidential decrees with the force of law. In order to prevent the Vaps Movement coming to power under this new Constitution, Konstantin Päts and he then suspended the Constitution and initiated the preparation of a third Constitution. The third Constitution, enacted on 1 January 1938, created a bicameral National Assembly, consisting of the Chamber of Deputies and the National Council. A Soviet-style constitution was introduced illegally, not having been subjected to referendum as required by the third Constitution and it was based on the 1936 Soviet constitution. The Soviet Estonian 1940 constitution was replaced by another constitution in 1978, the present Constitution was enacted after a referendum on 28 June 1992. It incorporates elements of the Constitutions of 1920 and 1938, while retaining the presidency created in 1938, it restores the unicameral legislature established in 1920. It explicitly asserts its continuity with the Estonian state as it existed between 1920 and 1940, and thus provides a basis for Estonia’s independence. The current Constitution contains a preamble and several chapters, the current Constitution contains fifteen chapters. The first chapter makes general provision for the nature of the state, the second chapter sets out the peoples rights, liberties and duties. Chapter 3 defines the people and citizenship of Estonia, chapter 4 deals with the Estonian Parliament. Chapter 5 pertains to the President of Estonia, and his or her duties, responsibilities, chapter 7 addresses the process of legislation. Chapter 8 addresses financial issues and the budget, chapter 9 addresses international relations and treaties
4.
Estonian Declaration of Independence
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The Estonian Declaration of Independence, also known as the Manifesto to the Peoples of Estonia, is the founding act of the Republic of Estonia from 1918. It is celebrated on 24 February, the National Day or Estonian Independence Day, the declaration was drafted by the Salvation Committee elected by the elders of the Estonian Provincial Assembly. Originally intended to be proclaimed on 21 February 1918, the proclamation was delayed until the evening of 23 February, on the next day,24 February, the manifesto was printed and distributed in the capital, Tallinn. The German Empire did not recognise the newly declared Republic of Estonia, the Russian Bolshevik invasion and The Estonian War of Independence followed. On 2 February 1920, the Peace Treaty of Tartu was signed by the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Estonia obtained international recognition and became a member of the League of Nations in 1921. MANIFESTO TO THE PEOPLES OF ESTONIA In the course of centuries never have the Estonian people lost their desire for independence, an unprecedented fight between nations has crushed the rotten foundations of the Russian Tsarist Empire. All over the Sarmatian plains ruinous anarchy is spreading, threatening to overwhelm in its all the nations living in the former Russian Empire. From the West the victorious armies of Germany are approaching in order to claim their share of Russias legacy and, above all, ESTONIA, within his historical and ethnic boundaries, is declared as of today an INDEPENDENT DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC. Final determination of the boundaries of the Republic in the areas bordering on Latvia and Russia will be carried out by plebiscite after the conclusion of the present World War. In the aforementioned areas the only supreme and organizing authority is the democratically supported Estonian Salvation Committee created by the Estonian National Council, the Republic of Estonia wishes to maintain absolute political neutrality towards all neighbouring states and peoples and expects that they will equally respond with complete neutrality. Estonian military troops shall be reduced to the extent necessary to maintain internal order, Estonian soldiers serving in the Russian military forces will be called home and demobilized. All citizens of the Republic of Estonia, irrespective of their religion, ethnic origin, all ethnic minorities, the Russians, Germans, Swedes, Jews, and others residing within the borders of the republic, are going to be guaranteed the right to their cultural autonomy. The Provisional Government is given the task of immediately organizing courts of justice to protect the security of the citizens, all political prisoners shall be released immediately. The city, county, and township local governments are called upon to continue their work. For maintenance of order, peoples militia, subordinated to local governments, shall be immediately organized and citizens self-defence organizations established in the cities. You stand on the threshold of a future in which you shall be free. Begin building a home of your own, ruled by law and order, sons and daughters of our homeland, unite as one man in the sacred task of building our homeland. The sweat and blood shed by our ancestors for this country demand this from us, may God watch over theeAnd amply blessWhatever thou undertakeMy dear fatherland
5.
Human rights in Estonia
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Human rights in Estonia are acknowledged as generally respected by the government, while there are concerns in some areas, such as detention conditions, police use of force, and child abuse. Estonia is ranked above-average in democracy, press freedom, privacy, individuals are guaranteed basic rights under the constitution, legislative acts, and treaties relating to human rights ratified by the Estonian government. Estonias first constitution of 1920 included safeguards for civil and political rights that were the standard of the day, the 1925 Law on Cultural Autonomy was an innovative piece of legislation that provided for the protection of the collective rights for citizens of non-Estonian ethnicities. In 2001, Estonia has extended an invitation to Special Procedures of UN Human Rights Council. According to Amnesty International, linguistic minorities face discrimination in a number of areas, especially in employment, migrants were exposed to harassment by state officials and attacks by extremist groups. Criminal investigations into allegations of excessive use of force by police were dismissed, according to Human Rights Watch report,1993, the organisation did not find systematic, serious abuses of human rights in the area of citizenship. Non-citizens in Estonia were guaranteed basic rights under the Constitution of Estonia, however, there were some problems concerning the successful integration of some who were permanent residents at the time Estonia gained independence. According to Freedom House, Estonia has wide political rights and civil liberties, Political parties are allowed to organize freely and elections have been free and fair. Also religious freedom is respected in law and in practice, Corruption is regarded as a relatively minor problem in Estonia. The judiciary is independent and generally free from government interference, according to the report, the representatives of the Russian speaking communities in Estonia saw the most important form of discrimination in Estonia is not ethnic, but rather language-based. In its 2010 concluding observations the Committee noted some positive aspects, the United Nations Development Programmes forum Development and Transition has discussed the situation of Estonia and Latvia in 2005. He names three pillars of discrimination, refusal of citizenship, language usage, and participation rights, according to Human Right Report of United States Department of State, Estonia generally respects the human rights of citizens and the large ethnic Russian noncitizen community. However, there were problems with police use of force, conditions in detention, also there were problems in domestic violence, inequality of womens salaries, child abuse, and trafficking of women and children. 39% said they had experienced discrimination during the past 5 years when looking for work, 10% confirmed that they avoid certain places, such as shops or cafés because they believed they would receive bad treatment due to their ethnic background. This survey found that while most of the respondents had not actually experienced any discrimination personally, the European Centre for Minority Issues has examined Estonias treatment of its Russophone minority. As of September 2,2009,102,466, or 7. 5% of Estonias population remain non-citizens, dropping from 32% in 1992, in November 2005 a survey was conducted among residents with undetermined citizenship. The results show that 61% of those residents wanted Estonian citizenship, 13% Russian citizenship, 17% of the respondents were not interested in acquiring any citizenship at all. It was found that the older the respondent, the more likely he or she doesnt want to have any citizenship, the survey also showed that respondents who were born in Estonia were more likely to wish to get Estonian citizenship, than those not born in Estonia
6.
President of Estonia
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The President of the Republic of Estonia is the head of state of the Republic of Estonia. Estonia is a republic in which the President is a ceremonial figurehead with no executive power. The President is obliged to suspend their membership in any party for the term in office. Upon assuming office, the authority and duties of the President in all other elected or appointed offices terminate automatically and these measures should theoretically help the President to function in a more independent and impartial manner. The President is elected by the Riigikogu or an electoral body for a five-year term. The electoral body is convened in case no candidate secures a two-thirds supermajority in the Riigikogu after three rounds of balloting, the President holds office for five years. They can be reelected any number of times, but not more than twice consecutively, the current President is Kersti Kaljulaid, elected by Parliament on 3 October 2016, becoming the first woman and youngest person ever to hold the position. The authors of the first Estonian constitution, with memories of the Russian emperors abuses of power and this eventually led to a creation of an ultra-parliamentary system. The power of the Parliament was practically unlimited, until 1934, the nominal head of state was the State Elder, who also served as de jure chairman of the cabinet—officially known as the Government. However, he could not play a role in the event of conflict between the Parliament and the Government. The State Elder and the Government were completely dependent on the Parliament, the functions that are usually vested on a president in parliamentary systems were divided among the speaker of the Riigikogu, the State Elder and the Government. Estonias constitution was amended in 1933, instituting a strongly presidential system, the head of state, according to the new constitution, was also called the State Elder. However, it never came into effect as a result of Konstantin Pätss self-coup in 1934, in 1938, another constitution was enacted, and the head of states title was changed to President of the Republic. He was given very broad executive power, though he was less powerful than the State Elder of the 1933 constitution. Konstantin Päts became the first person to bear this title and his term was to last for six years. The Vares government had actually chosen by Soviet official Andrei Zhdanov. Following the sham elections in July, Päts was dismissed from office, later in July Päts, along with his son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons, was deported to Ufa in Russia. In accordance with this provision, Vares took over the functions of the president in order to legal sanction to the formal annexation of Estonia by the Soviet Union in August
7.
Prime Minister of Estonia
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The Prime Minister of Estonia is the head of government of the Republic of Estonia. The prime minister is nominated by the President after appropriate consultations with the parliamentary factions, in case of disagreement, the Parliament can reject the Presidents nomination and choose their own candidate. The Prime Minister is usually the leader of the largest party in the ruling coalition, the current Prime Minister is Jüri Ratas of the Centre Party. In his role as appointed by the President and laid forth in the Constitution and he does not head any specific ministry, but is, in accordance with the constitution, the supervisor of the work of the government. If the prime minister has a position within his party. In all crucial national questions, however, the final word rests with Riigikogu as the legislative power, Estonia was governed by a Prime Minister during the first two years of its independence after the collapse of the Russian Empire. Under Estonias 1920 constitution, the head of government was called the State Elder and this system was a radically parliamentary system because the State Elder could be dismissed by the Parliament with a simple majority. Moreover, the State Elder was not the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the dissolution of Parliament was only possible through a referendum. Under a new constitution passed by plebiscite in 1933, the position of Prime Minister was recreated as head of government in 1934 in a presidential system. Under this constitution, the President could appoint and dismiss the Prime Minister and Cabinet, veto laws, give decrees and he remained Prime Minister, declaring himself President-Regent, until 1938, when elections were held under a new constitution and he was elected President. The first two governments were Country Councils, the five were appointed by the directly-elected Constituent Assembly. The head of government was called the State Elder and he was the head of the cabinet and was elected by parliament as well as depending on it. Thus he was closer to a PM, although he had some responsibilities of a president as well, a specific president did not exist, presidential functions were shared between the State Elder and the speaker of the parliament. A government could be, as in 1919–1920, and sometimes was, put into office by a majority vote with even less than an absolute majority. From the time he was appointed to the post of Prime Minister until he was released, ^2 Though appointed, Birk never assumed office. ^3 Was acting Prime Minister from 29 to 30 July 1920, ^5 Was acting Prime Minister from 21 April 1938 to 9 May 1938. ^6 Appointment declared illegal by the Estonian Electoral College convened on 20 April 1944, list of heads of government of Estonia
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Government of Estonia
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The Government of the Republic of Estonia exercises executive power pursuant to the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Estonia. It is also known as the cabinet, the government, headed by the Prime Minister, thus represents the political leadership of the country and makes decisions in the name of the whole executive power. The current cabinet was approved by the Riigikogu on 23 November 2016, estonica, State, Government, Previous cabinets The Government of the Republic of Estonia
9.
Legislature
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A legislature is a deliberative assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. Legislatures form important parts of most governments, in the separation of model, they are often contrasted with the executive. Laws enacted by legislatures are known as legislation, legislatures observe and steer governing actions and usually have exclusive authority to amend the budget or budgets involved in the process. The members of a legislature are called legislators, each chamber of legislature consists of a number of legislators who use some form of parliamentary procedure to debate political issues and vote on proposed legislation. There must be a number of legislators present to carry out these activities. Some of the responsibilities of a legislature, such as giving first consideration to newly proposed legislation, are delegated to committees made up of small selections of the legislators. The members of a legislature usually represent different political parties, the members from each party generally meet as a caucus to organize their internal affairs, the internal organization of a legislature is also shaped by the informal norms that are shared by its members. Legislatures vary widely in the amount of power they wield, compared to other political players such as judiciaries, militaries. In 2009, political scientists M. Steven Fish and Matthew Kroenig constructed a Parliamentary Powers Index in an attempt to quantify the different degrees of power among national legislatures, such a system renders the legislature more powerful. Legislatures will sometime delegate their legislative power to administrative or executive agencies, legislatures are made up of individual members, known as legislators, who vote on proposed laws. For example, a legislature that has 100 seats has 100 members, by extension, an electoral district that elects a single legislator can also be described as a seat, as, for, example, in the phrases safe seat and marginal seat. In parliamentary systems of government, the executive is responsible to the legislature which may remove it with a vote of no confidence, names for national legislatures include parliament, congress, diet and assembly. A legislature which operates as a unit is unicameral, one divided into two chambers is bicameral, and one divided into three chambers is tricameral. In bicameral legislatures, one chamber is considered the upper house. In federations, the upper house typically represents the component states. This is a case with the legislature of the European Union. Tricameral legislatures are rare, the Massachusetts Governors Council still exists, tetracameral legislatures no longer exist, but they were previously used in Scandinavia. Legislatures vary widely in their size, among national legislatures, Chinas National Peoples Congress is the largest with 2987 members, while Vatican Citys Pontifical Commission is the smallest with 7
10.
Riigikogu
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The Riigikogu is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. All important state-related questions pass through the Riigikogu, in addition to approving legislation, the Riigikogu appoints high officials, including the Prime Minister and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and elects the President. April 23,1919, the session of the Estonian Constituent Assembly is the birthday of the Estonian Parliament. The first elections to the Riigikogu took place in 1920, from 1920 to 1938, there were five more elections to the Riigikogu, but several were on the basis of different constitutions. In 1920–1923 there was a closed list, while from 1926 to 1934 there was an open list choice. The basis of election was until 1932 proportional representation, the elections were on a regional basis, without any threshold in the first two elections, but from 1926 a moderate threshold was used. From 1938–1940 the National Assembly was divided into two chambers, The Chamber of Deputies and the National Council and it was replaced by the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia. During the subsequent periods of Soviet occupation, German occupation and the second Soviet occupation the Riigikogu was disbanded, the castle and the building of the Riigikogu were used by the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR during the second Soviet occupation. According to the 1992 constitution, the Riigikogu has 101 members, the present Riigikogu was elected on March 1,2015. This modification makes for more disproportionality than does the form of the formula
11.
Eiki Nestor
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Eiki Nestor is an Estonian politician, member of the Social Democratic Party. He was the leader of the party from 1994 to 1996 and he was elected Speaker of the Riigikogu in March 2014 and re-elected in March 2015. Nestor graduated from the Tallinn University of Technology in 1976 as an engineer specializing in motor transport. He is married and has two sons, Siim Nestor and Madis Nestor, eiki Nestor at the Estonian Parliament site riigikogu. ee
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Judiciary
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The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes, in some nations, under doctrines of separation of powers, the judiciary generally does not make law or enforce law, but rather interprets law and applies it to the facts of each case. In other nations, the judiciary can make law, known as Common Law, by setting precedent for other judges to follow, the Judiciary is often tasked with ensuring equal justice under law. In many jurisdictions the judicial branch has the power to change laws through the process of judicial review, Judges constitute a critical force for interpretation and implementation of a constitution, thus de facto in common law countries creating the body of constitutional law. Budget of the judiciary in many transitional and developing countries is almost completely controlled by the executive, the latter undermines the separation of powers, as it creates a critical financial dependence of the judiciary. The proper national wealth distribution including the government spending on the judiciary is subject of the constitutional economics and it is important to distinguish between the two methods of corruption of the judiciary, the state, and the private. For instance, in France, the jurisprudence constante of the Court of Cassation or the Council of State is equivalent in practice with case law, in common law jurisdictions, courts interpret law, this includes constitutions, statutes, and regulations. They also make law based upon prior case law in areas where the legislature has not made law, for instance, the tort of negligence is not derived from statute law in most common law jurisdictions. The term common law refers to this kind of law, in civil law jurisdictions, courts interpret the law, but are prohibited from creating law, and thus do not issue rulings more general than the actual case to be judged. Jurisprudence plays a role to case law. State courts, which try 98% of litigation, may have different names and organization, trial courts may be called courts of common plea, appellate courts superior courts or commonwealth courts. The judicial system, whether state or federal, begins with a court of first instance, is appealed to an appellate court, and then ends at the court of last resort. In France, the authority on the interpretation of the law is the Council of State for administrative cases. In the Peoples Republic of China, the authority on the interpretation of the law is the National Peoples Congress. Other countries such as Argentina have mixed systems that include lower courts, appeals courts, a cassation court, in this system the Supreme Court is always the final authority, but criminal cases have four stages, one more than civil law does. On the court sits a total of nine justices and this number has been changed several times. Japans process for selecting judges is longer and more stringent than the process in the United States, assistant judges are appointed from those who have completed their training at the Legal Training and Research Institute located in Wako. Once appointed, assistant judges still may not qualify to sit alone until they have served for five years, Judges require ten years of experience in practical affairs, as a public prosecutor or practicing attorney
13.
Supreme Court of Estonia
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The Supreme Court of Estonia is the court of last resort in Estonia. It is both a court of cassation and a constitutional court, with the First Constitution of Estonia and the Supreme Court Act, the Estonian Constituent Assembly established the Supreme Court of Estonia as a court of cassation on 21 October 1919. The first Justices of the Court were Kaarel Parts, Paul Beniko, Rein Koemets, Jaan Lõo, Hugo Reiman, Martin Taevere, the Court first sat in Tartu Town Hall on 14 January 1920. During the centralisation of power in 1935, the Supreme Court was transferred to Tallinn, when the Court last sat on 31 December 1940, it accepted an order by the government of the Estonian SSR to disband itself as of 1 January 1941. When the Fourth Constitution of Estonia was adopted by referendum, the basis was created for the re-establishment of the Supreme Court. Rait Maruste was designated as the first Chief Justice, the re-established Court held its first hearing in Tartu Town Hall on 27 May 1993. In 1919, a house on Aia street in Tartu was designated for the Supreme Court by the Government of Estonia. The Supreme Court worked out of the Aia Street building during the period of 1920-1935, the building currently houses a secondary school - Jaan Poska Gymnasium. From 1935 until its disbandment in 1940, the Court sat in Tallinn, in 1993, the Supreme Court moved into its current building - the former barracks-infirmary at Lossi 17. The Court en banc is the highest body of the Court, any decision is voted upon on a simple majority basis, in case of a tie, the Chief Justice has the deciding vote. For the Court to be capable of making decisions, at least 11 Justices must be present. A case can be referred to the Court en banc by any of the chambers of the Court. In 2012, for example, the Court sat en banc to decide on the legality of the European Stability Mechanism, the case was referred to the panel by the Constitutional Review Chamber because of its public and controversial nature. An Intercameral panel is summoned to solve disputes between chambers of the court regarding interpretation of the law and to decide on intra-court disputes on jurisdiction, an intercameral panel is summoned and presided over by the Chief Justice and includes two Justices from all relevant ordinary chambers. Decisions of the panel are binding for lower chambers, unless theyve been overruled by the Court en banc. The Constitutional Review Chamber fulfils the role of the court in the Estonian legal system. The Chief Justice of the Court is ex officio the chairman of the Constitutional Review Chamber, the Constitutional Review Chamber is composed of the Chief Justice and eight Justices, representing all ordinary lower chambers. Annually, two of the most senior members of the Chamber are released from their duties thereto, the Constitutional Review Chamber can strike out in any legislation that is deemed unconstitutional, and can advise Riigikogu on the constitutionality of any proposed EU law
14.
Chancellor of Justice (Estonia)
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The Estonian Chancellor of Justice is an independent supervisor of the basic principles of the Constitution of Estonia and the protector of individual rights. The Chancellor of Justice is appointed to office by the Riigikogu on the proposal of the President, the institution of the Chancellor of Justice was originally established by the 1938 Constitution but ceased to operate in Estonia during the Soviet era. Re-established in 1993, it combines the function of the body of petition. Such a combined competence is unique internationally, the institution reports annually to the Riigikogu. In 2015, the Riigikogu appointed the current Chancellor of Justice, since the office was re-established in 1993, the Chancellor of Justice has made several hundred requests for bringing various legislative acts into conformity with the Constitution. In most cases the requests were complied with, if the Chancellor finds that a legal act does not conform with the constitution or other laws he will make a proposition to change the act within 20 days. If a correction is not made, the Chancellor will make a referral to the Supreme Court to declare the act or some of its provisions void. The Chancellor of Justice may also submit his opinion to the Supreme Court in constitutional review court proceedings, the function of ombudsman was entrusted to the Chancellor of Justice in 1999. In 2004 the ombudsman functions expanded to local governments, legal persons in public law. Anton Palvadre 1938–1940 Richard Övel 1944–1949 Artur Mägi 1949–1981 Eerik-Juhan Truuväli 1993–2000 Allar Jõks 2001–2008 Indrek Teder 2008–2015 Ülle Madise 2015–present
15.
Elections in Estonia
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Estonia elects a legislature on the national level. The Riigikogu has 101 members, elected for a term by proportional representation. A head of state - the president - is elected for a term by parliament or an electoral college. Locally, Estonia elects local government councils, which vary in size, election law states the minimum size of a council depending on the size of municipality. Local government councils are elected by proportional representation too, often no one party has the chance to gain power alone and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments. The result of the vote is binding, if a bill which is submitted to a referendum does not receive a majority of votes in favour, the President of the Republic shall declare extraordinary elections to the Parliament. Some parts of the Constitution can be amended only by a referendum, the rest of Constitution can be amended either by a referendum, two successive memberships of the Parliament, the Parliament, as a matter of urgency. A three-fifths majority of the membership of the Parliament is required to submit a bill to amend the Constitution to a referendum, a referendum was called by the Parliament of Estonia on 2 occasions since Estonia regained independence from the USSR
16.
Estonian parliamentary election, 2007
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Parliamentary elections were held in Estonia on 4 March 2007. It was the worlds first nationwide vote where part of the voting was carried out in the form of electronic voting via the internet. The election saw the Estonian Reform Party emerged as the largest faction in the Riigikogu with 31 seats. The Estonian Centre Party finished second with 29 seats, whilst the new Union of Pro Patria, the Social Democrats gained 4 seats, whilst the Greens entered the Riigikogu for the first time with 7 seats and the Peoples Union lost seven of its 13 seats. In 2007 Estonia held its and the worlds first national Internet election, voting was available from February 26 to 28. A total of 30,275 citizens used Internet voting, the electoral system was a two-tier semi-open list proportional representation system with a 5% election threshold. Opinion Polls Estonia European Election Database
17.
Estonian parliamentary election, 2011
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A parliamentary election was held in Estonia on 6 March 2011, with e-voting between 24 February and 2 March 2011. The 101 members of the Riigikogu were elected using a form of representation for a four-year term. The seats were allocated using a modified DHondt method, the country is divided into twelve multi-mandate electoral districts. There is a threshold of 5% for party lists. Pre-election polls put the Reform Party, led by Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, ahead of its main rival, the former is right of centre, the latter is considered populist, slightly to the left on economic matters. Both parties are members of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party, the election was marked by the highest number of running independents since 1992. Several independent candidates were members of the Estonian Patriotic Movement, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe observed this election and issued a report with a number of recommendations
18.
Estonian parliamentary election, 2015
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Parliamentary elections were held in Estonia on 1 March 2015. Advance voting was held between 19 and 25 February with a turnout of 33 percent, the results were a victory for the ruling Reform Party. This was the first election since the resignation of Prime Minister Andrus Ansip and this replaced the prior coalition of the Estonian Reform Party and the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union. The 101 members of the Riigikogu were elected by proportional representation in twelve multi-member constituencies, the seats were allocated using a modified DHondt method. Parties had to pass a threshold of 5%, but if the number of votes cast for an individual candidate exceeded or equalled the simple quota. Poll results are listed in the table below in chronological order. The highest percentage figure in each poll is displayed in bold, in the instance that there is a tie, then no figure is shaded. The Reform Party started coalition talks with the Social Democrats, Pro Patria and Res Publica Union, after nearly three weeks of negotiations, the Free Party left the coalition talks due to disagreements with the Reform Party and the IRL. The three remaining parties signed the treaty on 8 April, and the cabinet took office on 9 April. List of members of the Parliament of Estonia Estonian National Electoral Committee Poll ratings of political parties Eesti Erakondade Ajalugu
19.
Estonian presidential election, 2011
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An indirect presidential election took place in Estonia on August 29,2011. There were two candidates, incumbent president Toomas Hendrik Ilves and European parliament deputy Indrek Tarand, for the first time in the countrys post-Soviet history, only one round took place, as Ilves was able to secure the necessary two-thirds majority to get re-elected without a runoff. Ilves received 73 votes while Tarand obtained only 25, one vote was blank and two were disqualified. Ilves was supported by the ruling Estonian Reform Party and Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica, as well as the Social Democratic Party, Tarand was supported by the Estonian Centre Party
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Estonian municipal elections, 2013
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Municipal elections were held in Estonia on 20 October 2013, with advance voting between 10 and 16 October 2013. A total of 2,951 municipal council seats were up for election in 215 municipalities, the number of councillors had decreased by over 125 compared to the previous elections due to the merging of some municipalities. The result was a victory for the Estonian Centre Party, which retained its majority in Tallinn by taking 46 of the 79 seats, alongside the six major parties,102 independent candidates and 292 citizens elections coalitions participated in the elections
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Administrative divisions of Estonia
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Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia, across the Baltic Sea lies Sweden in the west and Finland in the north. The territory of Estonia consists of a mainland and 2,222 islands and islets in the Baltic Sea, covering 45,339 km2 of land and water, and is influenced by a humid continental climate. The territory of Estonia has been inhabited since at least 6500 BC, in 1988, during the Singing Revolution, the Estonian Supreme Soviet issued the Estonian Sovereignty Declaration in defiance of Soviet rule, and independence was restored on 20 August 1991. Estonia is a parliamentary republic divided into fifteen counties. Its capital and largest city is Tallinn, with a population of 1.3 million, it is one of the least-populous member states of the European Union, Eurozone, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, OECD and Schengen Area. Estonia is a country with an advanced, high-income economy that is among the fastest growing in the EU. Its Human Development Index ranks very highly, and it performs favourably in measurements of economic freedom, civil liberties, the 2015 PISA test places Estonian high school students 3rd in the world, behind Singapore and Japan. Citizens of Estonia are provided with health care, free education. Since independence the country has developed its IT sector, becoming one of the worlds most digitally advanced societies. In 2005 Estonia became the first nation to hold elections over the Internet, in the Estonian language, the oldest known endonym of the Estonians was maarahvas, meaning country people or people of the land. The land inhabited by Estonians was called Maavald meaning Country Parish or Land Parish, one hypothesis regarding the modern name of Estonia is that it originated from the Aesti, a people described by the Roman historian Tacitus in his Germania. The historic Aesti were allegedly Baltic people, whereas the modern Estonians are Finno-Ugric, the geographical areas between Aesti and Estonia do not match, with Aesti being further down south. Ancient Scandinavian sagas refer to a land called Eistland, as the country is called in Icelandic. Early Latin and other ancient versions of the name are Estia and Hestia, esthonia was a common alternative English spelling prior to 1921. Human settlement in Estonia became possible 13,000 to 11,000 years ago, the oldest known settlement in Estonia is the Pulli settlement, which was on the banks of the river Pärnu, near the town of Sindi, in south-western Estonia. According to radiocarbon dating it was settled around 11,000 years ago, the earliest human inhabitation during the Mesolithic period is connected to Kunda culture, which is named after the town of Kunda in northern Estonia. At that time the country was covered with forests, and people lived in communities near bodies of water
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Counties of Estonia
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Counties are the first-level administrative subdivisions of Estonia. Estonian territory is composed of 15 counties, including 13 on the mainland and 2 on islands, the government of each county is led by a maavanem who represents the national government at the regional level. Governors are appointed by the government for a term of five years. Each county is divided into municipalities of two types, urban municipalities and rural municipalities. Population figures are those of 31 December 2011, in the first centuries AD, political and administrative subdivisions began to emerge in Estonia. Two larger subdivisions appeared, the parish and the county, the parish consisted of several villages. Nearly all parishes had at least one fortress, the defense of the local area was directed by the highest official, the parish elder. The county was composed of several parishes, also headed by an elder, by the 13th century the following major counties had developed in Estonia, Saaremaa, Läänemaa, Harjumaa, Rävala, Virumaa, Järvamaa, Sakala, and Ugandi. Additionally there were several smaller elderships in central Estonia where danger of war was smaller – Vaiga, Mõhu, Nurmekund, the exact number and borders of some elderships are disputed. The first documented mentioning of Estonian political and administrative subdivisions comes from the Chronicle of Henry of Livonia, the Autonomy of the Estonia counties and parishes ended after conquered and divided between Denmark, Livonian Order, Bishopric of Dorpat and Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek. The name of Rävala became Reval, replacing the name of an Estonian town Lindanisse, Ugandi, Sakala and the smaller elderships disappeared from common usage. In the 1580s, after the Livonian war as Sweden had conquered Northern Estonia, Harju, Järva, Lääne, southern Estonia, which belonged to Poland 1582-1625, was divided into voivodships of Pärnu and Tartu, the island of Saaremaa belonged to Denmark until 1645. They all became counties as they went under Swedish rule and this administrative system mostly remained as Estonia went under Russian rule as a result of the Northern War. In 1793 were formed Võru County in the south of Tartumaa, in 1796 Paldiski County was joined with Harjumaa again. Until 1888 Võrumaa and Viljandimaa were not completely independent from Tartumaa and Pärnumaa respectively, several changes were made to the borders of counties after Estonia became independent, most notably the formation of Valga County and Petseri County. During the Soviet rule, Petseri County once again became a part of Russia in 1945, hiiumaa seceded from Läänemaa in 1946, Jõgevamaa from Tartumaa in 1949 and Jõhvimaa from Virumaa in 1949. Counties were completely dissolved in 1950 as Estonian SSR was divided into regions, until the 1960s the borders of regions changed often until 15 of them were left. Out of them, Põlva and Rapla regions became separate, while the others were roughly corresponding to the pre-1950 counties, Counties were re-established on 1 January 1990 in the borders of the Soviet-era regions
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Municipalities of Estonia
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A municipality is the smallest administrative subdivision of Estonia. Each municipality is a unit of self-government with its representative and executive bodies, the municipalities in Estonia cover the entire territory of the country. Municipalities in Estonia are of two types, urban municipalities or towns and rural municipalities or parishes, there is no other status distinction between them. Municipality may contain one or several settlements, all urban municipalities plus 6 rural municipalities contain only one settlement. Of the latter six,5 are so-called borough-parishes, consisting of one borough, some municipalities are divided into districts. The 8 urban districts of Tallinn have limited self-government, while other districts are formed for administrative purposes. Some rural districts have limited self-government, while other types of rural districts do not, municipalities range in population from Tallinn with 427,500 inhabitants to Ruhnu with 68. As over two-thirds of the municipalities have a population of under 3,000, many of them have found it advantageous to co-operate in providing services, currently, since 12 December 2014, there are total of 213 municipalities,30 of which are urban and 183 rural. The council is a body elected by the residents of a municipality for a term of three years. The members of the council elect a chairman, who organises the council’s work, the government is an executive body formed by the council. It is headed by a mayor, who is appointed for a four-year term, the mayor cannot be the chairman of the council. Other members of the government are chosen by the mayor with the approval of the council, counties of Estonia Populated places in Estonia Local Government Reform by the Estonian Institute. Local Government Reform by the Institute of Baltic Studies, administrative Division of Estonia at the Institute of the Estonian Language website
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Foreign relations of Estonia
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The Republic of Estonia gained its independence from the Russian Empire on 24 February 1918 and established diplomatic relations with many countries via membership of the League of Nations. Following the restoration of independence from the Soviet Union, Russia was one of the first nations to re-recognize Estonias independence, Estonias immediate priority after regaining its independence was the withdrawal of Russian forces from Estonian territory. In August 1994, this was completed, however, relations with Moscow have remained strained primarily because Russia decided not to ratify the border treaty it had signed with Estonia in 1999. Since regaining independence, Estonia has pursued a policy of close cooperation with Western European nations. The two most important policy objectives in this regard have been accession into NATO and the European Union, achieved in March, Estonia has become an increasingly strong supporter of deepening European integration. The decision to participate in the preparation of a transaction tax in 2012 reflects this shift in Estonia’s EU policy. An important element in Estonias post-independence reorientation has been closer ties with the Nordic countries, especially Finland, in December 1999 Estonian foreign minister Toomas Hendrik Ilves delivered a speech entitled Estonia as a Nordic Country to the Swedish Institute for International Affairs. In 2003, the ministry also hosted an exhibit called Estonia. And in 2005, Estonia joined the European Unions Nordic Battle Group and it has also shown continued interest in becoming a full member in the Nordic Council. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union Estonia had hoped for the return of more than 2,000 square kilometers of territory annexed to Russia after World War II in 1945, the annexed land had been within the borders Estonia approved by Russia in the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty. However, the Boris Yeltsin government disavowed any responsibility for acts committed by the Soviet Union, after signing the border treaty by the corresponding foreign minister in 2005, it was ratified by the Estonian government ad President. The Russian side interpreted the preamble as giving Estonia a possibility for future territorial claim, negotiations were reopened in 2012 and the Treaty was signed in February 2014. Estonia established diplomatic relations with Kazakhstan on 27 May 1992, Estonia is represented in Kazakhstan through its embassy in Moscow. Kazakhstan is represented in Estonia through its embassy in Vilnius, Uruguay was among the countries that refused to recognize the Soviet occupation of the Baltic countries. Uruguay re-recognised Estonia’s independence on 28 August 1991, Estonia and Uruguay established diplomatic relations on 30 September 1992. Estonia is represented in Uruguay through a consulate in Montevideo. Uruguay is represented in Estonia through its embassy in Stockholm and a consulate in Tallinn. As of February 2012, Estonia has not established diplomatic relations with three countries, North Korea, Sudan, and Myanmar, List of diplomatic missions in Estonia List of diplomatic missions of Estonia Visa requirements for Estonian citizens
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Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Estonia)
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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia is a Cabinet-level governmental agency in Estonia in charge of conducting and designing Estonian Foreign policy. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia was established in 1919 soon after the declaration of independence of Estonia on February 23,1918, after the occupation of Estonia by the Soviet Army in September 1939 following the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact in August of the same year. After establishment of the Soviet rule in Estonia, the government in exile assumed the duties of the foreign service. This government promoted and called for Estonian independence abroad, among the Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs in exile were August Rei, Aleksander Warma, August Koern, Elmar Lipping, Olev Olesk. After restoration of independence of Estonia in 1990, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was reestablished in Tallinn, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia
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Parliamentary system
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In a parliamentary system, the head of state is usually a different person from the head of government. Since ancient times, when societies were tribal, there were councils or a headman whose decisions were assessed by village elders, eventually these councils have slowly evolved into the modern Parliamentary system. The first parliaments date back to Europe in the Middle Ages, for example in 1188 Alfonso IX, the modern concept of parliamentary government emerged in the Kingdom of Great Britain and its contemporary, the Parliamentary System in Sweden. In England, Simon de Montfort is remembered as one of the fathers of representative government for holding two famous parliaments, the first, in 1258, stripped the King of unlimited authority and the second, in 1265, included ordinary citizens from the towns. Later, in the 17th century, the Parliament of England pioneered some of the ideas and systems of liberal democracy culminating in the Glorious Revolution, in the Kingdom of Great Britain, the monarch, in theory, chaired cabinet and chose ministers. In practice, King George Is inability to speak English led the responsibility for chairing cabinet to go to the minister, literally the prime or first minister. By the nineteenth century, the Great Reform Act of 1832 led to parliamentary dominance, with its choice invariably deciding who was prime minister, hence the use of phrases like Her Majestys government or His Excellencys government. Nineteenth century urbanisation, industrial revolution and, modernism had already fueled the political struggle for democracy. In the radicalised times at the end of World War I, a parliamentary system may be either bicameral, with two chambers of parliament or unicameral, with just one parliamentary chamber. Scholars of democracy such as Arend Lijphart distinguish two types of parliamentary democracies, the Westminster and Consensus systems, the Westminster system is usually found in the Commonwealth of Nations and countries which were influenced by the British political tradition. These parliaments tend to have a more style of debate. The Australian House of Representatives is elected using instant-runoff voting, while the Senate is elected using proportional representation through single transferable vote, regardless of which system is used, the voting systems tend to allow the voter to vote for a named candidate rather than a closed list. The Western European parliamentary model tends to have a more consensual debating system, Consensus systems have more of a tendency to use proportional representation with open party lists than the Westminster Model legislatures. The committees of these Parliaments tend to be more important than the plenary chamber, some West European countries parliaments implement the principle of dualism as a form of separation of powers. In countries using this system, Members of Parliament have to resign their place in Parliament upon being appointed minister, ministers in those countries usually actively participate in parliamentary debates, but are not entitled to vote. Some countries such as India also require the prime minister to be a member of the legislature, the head of state appoints a prime minister who will likely have majority support in parliament. The head of state appoints a minister who must gain a vote of confidence within a set time. The head of state appoints the leader of the party holding a plurality of seats in parliament as prime minister
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Representative democracy
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Representative democracy is a type of democracy founded on the principle of elected officials representing a group of people, as opposed to direct democracy. Representative democracy is often presented as the most efficient form of democracy possible in mass societies and it arguably allows for efficient ruling by a sufficiently small number of people on behalf of the larger number. Government efficiency can be judged based on metric of cost effectiveness, representatives voting on behalf of the people allows for a monetary benefit as there is lessened use of polling stations, vote counters, etc. The government is responsible for paying for the wages of the representatives. This system of governance is also time efficient as decisions can be made by a select few and it is a system in which people elect their lawmakers, who are then held accountable to them for their activity within government. It has been described by political theorists including Robert A Dahl, Gregory Houston. In it the power is in the hands of the representatives who are elected by the people in elections. Representatives are elected by the public, as in elections for the national legislature. Elected representatives may hold the power to other representatives, presidents, or other officers of the government or of the legislature. The constitution may also provide for some deliberative democracy or direct popular measures, however, these are not always binding and usually require some legislative action—legal power usually remains firmly with representatives. Their wishes ought to have great weight with him, their opinion, high respect, their business, unremitted attention. It is his duty to sacrifice his repose, his pleasures, his satisfactions, to theirs, and above all, ever, and in all cases, to prefer their interest to his own. But his unbiassed opinion, his judgment, his enlightened conscience, he ought not to sacrifice to you, to any man. These he does not derive from your pleasure, no, nor from the law and they are a trust from Providence, for the abuse of which he is deeply answerable. Your representative owes you, not his only, but his judgment. The Roman Republic was the first government in the world to have a representative government. In Britain, Simon de Montfort is remembered as one of the fathers of representative government for holding two famous parliaments, the first, in 1258, stripped the King of unlimited authority and the second, in 1265, included ordinary citizens from the towns. Later, in the 17th century, the Parliament of England pioneered some of the ideas and systems of liberal democracy culminating in the Glorious Revolution, the American Revolution led to the creation of a new Constitution of the United States in 1787
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Republic
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It is a government where the head of state is not a monarch. Both modern and ancient republics vary widely in their ideology, composition, in the classical and medieval period of Europe, many states were fashioned on the Roman Republic, which referred to the governance of the city of Rome, between it having kings and emperors. The Italian medieval and Renaissance political tradition, today referred to as humanism, is sometimes considered to derive directly from Roman republicans such as Sallust. Republics were not equated with classical democracies such as Athens, but had a democratic aspect, Republics became more common in the Western world starting in the late 18th century, eventually displacing absolute monarchy as the most common form of government in Europe. In modern republics, the executive is legitimized both by a constitution and by popular suffrage, for instance, Article IV of the United States Constitution guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican form of Government. The term originates as the Latin translation of Greek word politeia, cicero, among other Latin writers, translated politeia as res publica and it was in turn translated by Renaissance scholars as republic. The term politeia can be translated as form of government, polity, or regime, and is therefore not always a word for a specific type of regime as the modern word republic is. And also amongst classical Latin, the term republic can be used in a way to refer to any regime. In medieval Northern Italy, a number of city states had commune or signoria based governments, in the late Middle Ages, writers, such as Giovanni Villani, began writing about the nature of these states and the differences from other types of regime. They used terms such as libertas populi, a free people, the terminology changed in the 15th century as the renewed interest in the writings of Ancient Rome caused writers to prefer using classical terminology. To describe non-monarchical states writers, most importantly Leonardo Bruni, adopted the Latin phrase res publica. While Bruni and Machiavelli used the term to describe the states of Northern Italy, which were not monarchies, the term can quite literally be translated as public matter. It was most often used by Roman writers to refer to the state and government, in subsequent centuries, the English word commonwealth came to be used as a translation of res publica, and its use in English was comparable to how the Romans used the term res publica. Notably, during The Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell the word commonwealth was the most common term to call the new monarchless state, likewise, in Polish, the term was translated as rzeczpospolita, although the translation is now only used with respect to Poland. Presently, the term republic commonly means a system of government which derives its power from the rather than from another basis. After the classical period, during the Middle Ages, many cities developed again. The modern type of itself is different from any type of state found in the classical world. Nevertheless, there are a number of states of the era that are today still called republics
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Head of government
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The term head of government is often differentiated from the term head of state, as they may be separate positions, individuals, and/or roles depending on the country. In parliamentary systems, including constitutional monarchies, the head of government is the de facto leader of the government. For example, in the United Kingdom, the prime minister advises the Queen on the appointment of the cabinet, advice she is required to accept. On the other hand, the Queens long service as the head of state enables her to provide the prime minister with information and insight into many matters to better run the government. However, because the United Kingdom is a monarchy, the Prime Minister uses his or her own discretion regarding whether or not to follow the Queens advice. The Queen also is entitled to appoint a new Prime Minister, in presidential republics or in absolute monarchies, the head of state is also usually the head of government. The relationship between that leader and the government, however, can vary greatly, ranging from separation of powers to autocracy, in semi-presidential systems, the head of government may answer to both the head of state and the legislature, with the specifics provided by each countrys constitution. A modern example is the present French government, which originated as the French Fifth Republic in 1958, in France, the president, the head of state, appoints the prime minister, who is the head of government. In some cases, the head of state may represent one political party, in this case, known as cohabitation, the prime minister, along with the cabinet, controls domestic policy, with the presidents influence is largely restricted to foreign affairs. In directorial systems, the executive responsibilities of the head of government are spread among a group of people, a prominent example is the Swiss Federal Council, where each member of the council heads a department and also votes on proposals relating to all departments. A common title for many heads of government is prime minister, various constitutions use different titles, and even the same title can have various multiple meanings, depending on the constitutional order and political system of the state in question. In addition to prime minister, titles used for the democratic model, some of these titles relate to governments below the national level. Have been used by various Empires, Kingdoms and Princely States of India as a title for the Prime Minister, maltese, In Malta, the head of government is Prim Ministru. In this case, the prime minister serves at the pleasure of the monarch, some such titles are diwan, mahamantri, pradhan, wasir or vizier. However, just because the head of state is the de jure dominant position does not mean that he/she will not always be the de facto political leader, in some cases, the head of state is a figurehead whilst the head of the government leads the ruling party. In some cases a head of government may even pass on the title in hereditary fashion, the ability to vote down legislative proposals of the government. Control over or ability to vote down fiscal measures and the budget, all of these requirements directly impact the Head of governments role. Many parliamentary systems require ministers to serve in parliament, while others ban ministers from sitting in parliament, heads of government are typically removed from power in a parliamentary system by Resignation, following, Defeat in a general election
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Multi-party system
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First-past-the-post requires concentrated areas of support for large representation in the legislature whereas proportional representation better reflects the range of a populations views. Proportional systems have multi-member districts with more than one elected from a given district to the same legislative body. Duvergers Law states that the number of political parties is one plus the number of seats in a district. In these countries, usually no single party has a majority by itself. Instead, multiple political parties form coalitions for the purpose of developing power blocks for governing, a system where only two parties have the possibility of winning an election is called two-party system. A system where three parties have a realistic possibility of winning an election or forming a coalition is sometimes called a Third-party system. Usually this is because the electoral system penalises the third party, in the 2010 elections, the Liberal Democrats gained 23% of the total vote but won less than 10% of the seats due to the First-Past-The-Post electoral system. Despite this, they still had enough seats to form coalitions with one of the two parties, or to make deals in order to gain their support. An example is the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition formed after the 2010 general election, another is the Lib-Lab pact during Prime Minister James Callaghans Minority Labour Government, when Labour lost its three-seat majority in 1977, the pact fell short of a full coalition. Unlike a one-party system, a multi-party system encourages the general constituency to form distinct, officially recognized groups. Each party competes for votes from the enfranchised constituents, a multi-party system prevents the leadership of a single party from controlling a single legislative chamber without challenge. If the government includes an elected Congress or Parliament, the parties may share power according to proportional representation or the first-past-the-post system, in proportional representation, each party wins a number of seats proportional to the number of votes it receives. In first-past-the-post, the electorate is divided into a number of districts and this gravitation is known as Duvergers law. Proportional representation, on the hand, does not have this tendency. But, recent coalition governments, such as that in the U. K. represent two-party systems rather than multi-party systems and this is regardless of the number of parties in government. A two-party system requires voters to align themselves in large blocs, some theories argue that this allows centrists to gain control. On the other hand, if there are multiple parties, each with less than a majority of the vote. This also promotes centrism, as well as promoting coalition-building skills while discouraging polarization, coalition Polarized pluralism Political organisation Ingroups and outgroups
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United Nations
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The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization to promote international co-operation. A replacement for the ineffective League of Nations, the organization was established on 24 October 1945 after World War II in order to prevent another such conflict, at its founding, the UN had 51 member states, there are now 193. The headquarters of the UN is in Manhattan, New York City, further main offices are situated in Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna. The organization is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states, the UNs mission to preserve world peace was complicated in its early decades by the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union and their respective allies. The organization participated in actions in Korea and the Congo. After the end of the Cold War, the UN took on major military, the UN has six principal organs, the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Secretariat, the International Court of Justice, and the UN Trusteeship Council. UN System agencies include the World Bank Group, the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, UNESCO, the UNs most prominent officer is the Secretary-General, an office held by Portuguese António Guterres since 2017. Non-governmental organizations may be granted consultative status with ECOSOC and other agencies to participate in the UNs work, the organization won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001, and a number of its officers and agencies have also been awarded the prize. Other evaluations of the UNs effectiveness have been mixed, some commentators believe the organization to be an important force for peace and human development, while others have called the organization ineffective, corrupt, or biased. Following the catastrophic loss of life in the First World War, the earliest concrete plan for a new world organization began under the aegis of the US State Department in 1939. It incorporated Soviet suggestions, but left no role for France, four Policemen was coined to refer to four major Allied countries, United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and China, which emerged in the Declaration by United Nations. Roosevelt first coined the term United Nations to describe the Allied countries, the term United Nations was first officially used when 26 governments signed this Declaration. One major change from the Atlantic Charter was the addition of a provision for religious freedom, by 1 March 1945,21 additional states had signed. Each Government pledges itself to cooperate with the Governments signatory hereto, the foregoing declaration may be adhered to by other nations which are, or which may be, rendering material assistance and contributions in the struggle for victory over Hitlerism. During the war, the United Nations became the term for the Allies. To join, countries had to sign the Declaration and declare war on the Axis, at the later meetings, Lord Halifax deputized for Mr. Eden, Wellington Koo for T. V. Soong, and Mr Gromyko for Mr. Molotov. The first meetings of the General Assembly, with 51 nations represented, the General Assembly selected New York City as the site for the headquarters of the UN, and the facility was completed in 1952. Its site—like UN headquarters buildings in Geneva, Vienna, and Nairobi—is designated as international territory, the Norwegian Foreign Minister, Trygve Lie, was elected as the first UN Secretary-General
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European Union
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The European Union is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. It has an area of 4,475,757 km2, the EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states. Within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished, a monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002, and is composed of 19 EU member states which use the euro currency. The EU operates through a system of supranational and intergovernmental decision-making. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community, the community and its successors have grown in size by the accession of new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. While no member state has left the EU or its antecedent organisations, the Maastricht Treaty established the European Union in 1993 and introduced European citizenship. The latest major amendment to the basis of the EU. The EU as a whole is the largest economy in the world, additionally,27 out of 28 EU countries have a very high Human Development Index, according to the United Nations Development Programme. In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, through the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the EU has developed a role in external relations and defence. The union maintains permanent diplomatic missions throughout the world and represents itself at the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G7, because of its global influence, the European Union has been described as an emerging superpower. After World War II, European integration was seen as an antidote to the nationalism which had devastated the continent. 1952 saw the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, the supporters of the Community included Alcide De Gasperi, Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, and Paul-Henri Spaak. These men and others are credited as the Founding fathers of the European Union. In 1957, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany signed the Treaty of Rome and they also signed another pact creating the European Atomic Energy Community for co-operation in developing nuclear energy. Both treaties came into force in 1958, the EEC and Euratom were created separately from the ECSC, although they shared the same courts and the Common Assembly. The EEC was headed by Walter Hallstein and Euratom was headed by Louis Armand, Euratom was to integrate sectors in nuclear energy while the EEC would develop a customs union among members. During the 1960s, tensions began to show, with France seeking to limit supranational power, Jean Rey presided over the first merged Commission. In 1973, the Communities enlarged to include Denmark, Ireland, Norway had negotiated to join at the same time, but Norwegian voters rejected membership in a referendum
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NATO
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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party, three NATO members are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and are officially nuclear-weapon states. NATOs headquarters are located in Haren, Brussels, Belgium, while the headquarters of Allied Command Operations is near Mons. NATO is an Alliance that consists of 28 independent member countries across North America and Europe, an additional 22 countries participate in NATOs Partnership for Peace program, with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programmes. The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70% of the global total, Members defence spending is supposed to amount to 2% of GDP. The course of the Cold War led to a rivalry with nations of the Warsaw Pact, politically, the organization sought better relations with former Warsaw Pact countries, several of which joined the alliance in 1999 and 2004. N. The Treaty of Brussels, signed on 17 March 1948 by Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, the treaty and the Soviet Berlin Blockade led to the creation of the Western European Unions Defence Organization in September 1948. However, participation of the United States was thought necessary both to counter the power of the USSR and to prevent the revival of nationalist militarism. He got a hearing, especially considering American anxiety over Italy. In 1948 European leaders met with U. S. defense, military and diplomatic officials at the Pentagon, marshalls orders, exploring a framework for a new and unprecedented association. Talks for a new military alliance resulted in the North Atlantic Treaty and it included the five Treaty of Brussels states plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, stated in 1949 that the goal was to keep the Russians out, the Americans in. Popular support for the Treaty was not unanimous, and some Icelanders participated in a pro-neutrality, the creation of NATO can be seen as the primary institutional consequence of a school of thought called Atlanticism which stressed the importance of trans-Atlantic cooperation. The members agreed that an attack against any one of them in Europe or North America would be considered an attack against them all. The treaty does not require members to respond with military action against an aggressor, although obliged to respond, they maintain the freedom to choose the method by which they do so. This differs from Article IV of the Treaty of Brussels, which states that the response will be military in nature. It is nonetheless assumed that NATO members will aid the attacked member militarily, the treaty was later clarified to include both the members territory and their vessels, forces or aircraft above the Tropic of Cancer, including some Overseas departments of France. The creation of NATO brought about some standardization of allied military terminology, procedures, and technology, the roughly 1300 Standardization Agreements codified many of the common practices that NATO has achieved
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History of Estonia
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The history of Estonia forms a part of the history of Europe. Humans settled in the region of Estonia near the end of the last glacial era, before German crusaders invaded in the early 13th century, proto-Estonians of ancient Estonia worshipped spirits of nature. From 1418 to 1562 the whole of Estonia formed part of the Livonian Confederation, after the Livonian War of 1558-1583, Estonia became part of the Swedish Empire until 1710/1721, when Sweden ceded it to Russia as a result of the Great Northern War of 1700-1721. Throughout this period the Baltic-German nobility enjoyed autonomy, and German served as the language of administration and education, the Estophile Enlightenment Period led to the Estonian national awakening in the middle of the 19th century. In the aftermath of World War I and the Russian revolutions of 1917, the Estonian War of Independence ensued on two fronts, the newly proclaimed state fought against Bolshevist Russia to the east and against the Baltic German forces to the south. The Tartu Peace Treaty marked the end of fighting and recognised Estonian independence in perpetuity, in 1940, in the wake of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939, the Soviet Union occupied Estonia and illegally annexed the country. In the course of Operation Barbarossa, Nazi Germany occupied Estonia in 1941, Estonia regained independence in 1991 in the course of the collapse of the USSR and joined the European Union and NATO in 2004. The region has been populated since the end of the Late Pleistocene Ice Age, the earliest traces of human settlement in Estonia are connected with the Kunda culture. The early mesolithic Pulli settlement is located by the Pärnu River and it has been dated to the beginning of the 9th millennium BC. The Kunda culture received its name from the Lammasmäe settlement site in northern Estonia, bone and stone artifacts similar to those found at Kunda have been discovered elsewhere in Estonia, as well as in Latvia, northern Lithuania and southern Finland. Among minerals, flint and quartz were used the most for making cutting tools, the beginning of the Neolithic Period is marked by the ceramics of the Narva culture, and appear in Estonia at the beginning of the 5th millennium. The oldest finds date from around 4900 BC, the first pottery was made of thick clay mixed with pebbles, shells or plants. The Narva-type ceramics are found throughout almost the entire Estonian coastal region and on the islands, the stone and bone tools of the era have a notable similarity with the artifacts of the Kunda culture. Around the beginning of 4th millennium BC Comb Ceramic culture arrived in Estonia, until the early 1980s the arrival of Finnic peoples, the ancestors of the Estonians, Finns, and Livonians, on the shores of the Baltic Sea was associated with the Comb Ceramic Culture. Some researchers have argued that a Uralic form of language may have been spoken in Estonia. The burial customs of the comb pottery people included additions of figures of animals, birds, snakes and men carved from bone, antiquities from comb pottery culture are found from Northern Finland to Eastern Prussia. The beginning of the Late Neolithic Period about 2200 BC is characterized by the appearance of the Corded Ware culture, pottery with corded decoration, evidence of agriculture is provided by charred grains of wheat on the wall of a corded-ware vessel found in Iru settlement. Osteological analysis show an attempt was made to domesticate the wild boar, specific burial customs were characterized by the dead being laid on their sides with their knees pressed against their breast, one hand under the head
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Estonian Constituent Assembly election, 1919
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The Estonian Constituent Assembly was elected on 5–7 April 1919, called by the Estonian Provisional Government during the Estonian War of Independence. The Assembly was elected by party-list proportional representation in one nationwide district using the DHondt method, eligible voters included soldiers at the front. The elections were won by left-wing and centrist parties, the 120 members of the Constituent Assembly met at the opening session on 23 April 1919, the birthday of the Estonian Parliament and elected the chairman, Social Democrat August Rei. On 7 May the Assembly passed the Public Elementary Schools Act, The principle of compulsory, on 8 May 1919 the Estonian provisional government resigned, and the first fully democratically elected Government of Estonia headed by Prime Minister Otto Strandman took office. On 15 May the assembly reaffirmed the Estonian Declaration of Independence, on 13 February the Peace Treaty of Tartu was ratified, signed by Estonia and Russian SFSR on 2 February. The first Constitution of Estonia was adopted on 15 June 1920, after the constitution had entered into effect and the first parliamentary elections were held, the Constituent Assembly disbanded itself on 20 December 1920
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Head of state
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A head of state is the public persona that officially represents the national unity and legitimacy of a sovereign state. In some countries, the head of state is a figurehead with limited or no executive power, while in others. Former French president Charles de Gaulle, while developing the current Constitution of France, some academic writers discuss states and governments in terms of models. An independent nation state normally has a head of state, the non-executive model, in which the head of state has either none or very limited executive powers, and mainly has a ceremonial and symbolic role. In parliamentary systems the head of state may be merely the chief executive officer, heading the executive branch of the state. This accountability and legitimacy requires that someone be chosen who has a majority support in the legislature and it also gives the legislature the right to vote down the head of government and their cabinet, forcing it either to resign or seek a parliamentary dissolution. In parliamentary constitutional monarchies, the legitimacy of the head of state typically derives from the tacit approval of the people via the elected representatives. In reality, numerous variants exist to the position of a head of state within a parliamentary system, usually, the king had the power of declaring war without previous consent of the parliament. For example, under the 1848 constitution of the Kingdom of Italy, the Statuto Albertino—the parliamentary approval to the government appointed by the king—was customary, so, Italy had a de facto parliamentarian system, but a de jure presidential system. These officials are excluded completely from the executive, they do not possess even theoretical executive powers or any role, even formal, hence their states governments are not referred to by the traditional parliamentary model head of state styles of His/Her Majestys Government or His/Her Excellencys Government. Within this general category, variants in terms of powers and functions may exist, the constitution explicitly vests all executive power in the Cabinet, who is chaired by the prime minister and responsible to the Diet. The emperor is defined in the constitution as the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people and he is a ceremonial figurehead with no independent discretionary powers related to the governance of Japan. Today, the Speaker of the Riksdag appoints the prime minister, Cabinet members are appointed and dismissed at the sole discretion of the prime minister. In contrast, the contact the President of Ireland has with the Irish government is through a formal briefing session given by the taoiseach to the president. However, he or she has no access to documentation and all access to ministers goes through the Department of the Taoiseach. The president does, however, hold limited reserve powers, such as referring a bill to the court to test its constitutionality. The most extreme non-executive republican Head of State is the President of Israel, semi-presidential systems combine features of presidential and parliamentary systems, notably a requirement that the government be answerable to both the president and the legislature. The constitution of the Fifth French Republic provides for a minister who is chosen by the president
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