Regulation of emergency states in the Republic of Estonia and the COVID-19 pandemic

There are two types of emergency states distinguished by the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia: state of emergency and state of war. They have been sparsely regulated at the level of the Constitution, leaving detailed issues to statutory regulation. The decision in this regard requires the cooperation of parliament with the authorities of executive power, i.e. the president and the government. The threat to the health and lives of citizens posed by a coronavirus pandemic is not a circumstance justifying the imposition of a state of emergency, let alone a state of war as stipulated in §§128–129 of the Constitution. Thus, the Estonian authorities in March 2020 decided to apply the mechanism of §87 section 8 of the Constitution.