According to the chair of the Constitutional Affairs Committee Ando Kiviberg (Eesti 200), the committee decided unanimously, following a thorough discussion, not to support the readoption of the act in its unamended form.

"Parliament must make the necessary adjustments to the law in light of the president's views and bring it into line with the Constitution so that it can enter into force as soon as possible. This is the only way to prevent religious organizations from being used to incite hatred or violence against another state, nation, religion, culture or set of values," Kiviberg said.

The law, which has not yet been promulgated, must also be debated again in a plenary by the Riigikogu's Legal Affairs committee.

The Riigikogu adopted the law amending the Churches and Congregations Act, as initiated by the government, on April 9. However, on April 24, President Alar Karis did not promulgate the law, saying that the restriction on religious freedom and freedom of association it created was not proportionate. Karis considered it necessary to re-debate the law in the Riigikogu and bring it into line with the Estonian Constitution.

A law that has not been promulgated will be discussed again in a plenary session of the Riigikogu after the Legal Affairs Committee has also taken a position on it. The plenary assembly is addressed by a representative of the Constitutional Committee and the Legal Affairs Committee, to whom each deputy may pose a question. Negotiations will then be opened, with the floor given to MPs as well as representatives of the committees and political groups. Once those negotiations have been concluded, a vote will be taken on the re-adoption of the law as it stands at that point.

If the Riigikogu decides not to re-adopt the act in its unchanged form, a deadline for putting forward new amendments will then be set and the act will continue to be dealt with as part of the general procedure.

Among other things, the law aims to ensure that religious organizations operating in Estonia cannot be used to incite hatred or violence. According to the accompanying explanatory memorandum, Estonia stands for freedom of religion and everyone has the freedom to choose whether and which religion to follow. However, in addition to respecting freedom of religion, belief and association, the state also has to take into account challenges that threaten national security and the security of society.

According to the bill, a church, congregation or monastery operating in Estonia may not be guided in its activities by a person or association with significant influence in a foreign country, nor be linked by statute, contract or other documents or economically to a religious community, clerical center, governing body or clerical leader in a foreign country if they pose a threat to the security of the Estonian state, constitutional order or public order. Such a threat may arise, inter alia, if the religious center, governing body, clerical leader, person or association supports or has supported military aggression or has incited to war, terrorist offences or otherwise unlawful use of armed force or violence.

The law also specifies who can serve as a member of the clergy on the board of a religious community in Estonia. Neither clergy nor religious community board members can be a person who is not allowed to reside or stay in Estonia. The bill also specifies the requirements for the constitution of a religious community and creates the possibility to leave a church whose activities, constitution or governing board do not meet the requirements to be established. To this end, the congregation or monastery would be required to adopt a new constitution, after which it will be possible to register the changes that comply with the requirements without the approval of the church's governing body, since gaining such approval may not be a realistic option.

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