"The Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs has proposed to partially withdraw the proposals it submitted on December 17 and disregard the proposal involving changes to surveillance authority," MP Andre Hanimägi (SDE), chair of the Legal Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu, told ERR on Thursday.

"In short, these concerned proposals that had already been publicly discussed as well, including granting the MTA the right to monitor or listen to information, as well as use undercover agents," he explained. "The Ministry of Justice currently wishes to withdraw these proposals."

This week, Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa Pakosta (Eesti 200) submitted a request to the Legal Affairs Committee, seeking to remove the clauses involving changes to surveillance authority from the changes she had proposed on December 17 to a bill of amendments to the Penal Code and related laws.

The bill, which was initiated by the ministry itself last May, passed its first reading in the Riigikogu on September 25, 2024, and had been sent back to the Ministry of Justice for further revisions.

Hanimägi explained that the new proposal submitted by the ministry on Wednesday legally means that the ministry has withdrawn its proposal, but he added that the committee itself always has the option to make its own proposals, or support or reject others' proposals.

"So we will discuss this issue within the committee," he noted.

Asked about the prevailing opinion in the Legal Affairs Committee regarding this matter, Hanimägi acknowledged that there had already been differing opinions regarding the surveillance authority matter even before the proposals had first been submitted. The general feeling, he added, is that this matter still requires more work.

"Personally, I would have preferred the option that, if we're talking about the Tax and Customs Board's surveillance authority, we shouldn't [address it] within the framework of this bill, but rather start completely fresh with a new development plan and draw up a completely new bill where we could address the issue more thoroughly," he said. "I'd prefer this route, but we will see if the rest of the committee agrees with me."

The committee chair added that while he also found granting the tax and customs authority wiretapping rights to be excessive, the right to use undercover agents, which the Justice Ministry also wants to remove from the current bill, may be a good idea for the committee to include as a proposed change.

The planned legislative amendment aimed to grant the MTA additional powers for surveillance activities. Currently, the MTA can inspect postal items, but under the new law, the agency could also engage in wiretapping. Amending the Penal Code would also fully assign the judicial preliminary investigation of violations of trade sanctions, including sanctions imposed on Russia, to the MTA.

According to the bill, the MTA would have the right to covertly monitor or listen to information as well as use undercover agents. Currently, the MTA must obtain authorization from a court or the Prosecutor's Office before requesting such activities from either the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) or the Estonian Internal Security Service (ISS). Among the reasons provided for the change is the desire to reduce the burden on ISS and the PPA.

Some coalition members in the Riigikogu's Legal Affairs Committee are opposed to granting these additional powers, and expressed dismay that this change was added to the bill after it passed its first reading last fall.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!