Restoring the Rule of Law in Estonia 1992-2002: oral legal history, reform debates and results
In our presentation, we will look at the reform debates carried out in Estonia in the 1990s. The Republic of Estonia regained its independence in 1991 after 50 years of Soviet occupation. During the Soviet occupation, the rule of law was abolished in Estonia, and after the end of the occupation, the young republic faced the question of whether and how quickly it would be able to re-establish democratic government and implement Western-oriented legislation.
When preparing legislation to restore the rule of law, become market-oriented and respect human rights, the choice of model was one of the central questions: what should be the basis for re-building the Estonian legal system? Should Estonia opt for a Continental-European (and, more precisely, a Germanic or Roman legal family) or Anglo-American legal system, or should it design its own, uniquely Estonian legal order? Or should Estonia simply re-establish the legislation that was in force in Estonia before the Soviet occupation? Using the method of oral history to gain an insight into the background and emotions not available in written sources, we explore the decade between 1992 and 2002 when private as well as penal law was fully reformed, and fundamental institutional law reforms were made.