Supreme Court rules four subsections of Aliens Act unconstitutional

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Estonia has ruled that four subsections of the Aliens Act are unconstitutional. The subsections in question concern appeals against a decision to refuse a visa.
The Constitutional Review Chamber of the Supreme Court of Estonia declared four subsections of Section 100 of the Aliens Act unconstitutional and invalid in so far as they preclude the filing of an appeal to an Administrative Court for the granting of a visa in a situation where the applicant was in Estonia during the visa procedure, the published ruling stated.
The Supreme Court additionally ordered Russian citizen Marina Tverdokhlebova, who brought the appeal to court, to pay compensation for the costs of the proceedings totaling €411.77.
Ms. Tverdokhlebova, who previously visited her ailing mother in Estonia on short-stay visas, applied for a long-stay visa last year. However, the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) refused to issue her with the visa, citing doubts about the authenticity or accuracy of the data or documents she had submitted.
When Ms. Tverdokhlebova sought to challenge the decision before the Administrative Court, it transpired that doing so would not be possible under the relevant sections of the Aliens Act.
As a result, Tartu Administrative Court decided to accepted the appeal, declaring § 1001 subsection 11, § 10010 subsection 1, § 10013 subsection 2 and § 10018 of the Aliens Act unconstitutional in so far as they preclude the filing of an appeal to the Administrative Court to challenge the refusal to grant a long-stay visa. The order was then referred to the Supreme Court for the initiation of constitutional review proceedings.
The Supreme Court heard evidence from the Riigikogu, the Chancellor of Justice, the Estonian Government, the Minister of the Interior, the PPA, the Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the appellant, before deciding to declare the respective sections of the Aliens Act unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court heard evidence from the Riigikogu, the Chancellor of Justice, the Estonian Government, the Minister of the Interior, the PPA, the Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the appellant, before deciding to declare the respective sections of the Aliens Act unconstitutional.
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Editor: Mait Ots, Michael Cole