Legislative Intent of Act in Estonia

Abstract

It is in the interests of both the legislator and society that the law should be effective. In order to be effective, there are rules established for legislative drafting in Estonia, set forth in corresponding regulations.
Rules for Good Legislative Practice and Legislative Drafting (hea õigusloome ja normitehnika eeskiri, abbr. HÕNTE) provide for important steps in the legislative process to ensure a higher quality and efficiency of laws. Among other things, these rules introduced the legislative intent for drafting process, and the concept of draft Act, as well as the obligation to assess the impact and demonstrate corresponding results in the explanatory memorandum to the draft Act. This also expanded the scope of the interest group participation in the various stages of the legislative process.