Summary

Estonia has been in the sphere of influence of Russian criminal law throughout the independence period. The purpose of the current criminal law reform is to get rid of the criminal law of a totalitarian state. However, there are disagreements about whether the Penal Code should be completely new or whether the effective Code should be improved. In brief, the question is whether it is possible to adopt a criminal code of one system into another effectively.
In the author’s opinion, one of the main disadvantages of the reform is the fact that the Code is being drafted by a limited number of people. The Code has not been widely discussed and positions are not always justified. The general part of the draft Penal Code has been completed but an expert group consisting of practising lawyers does not consider it ready for submission to the Riigikogu although the Ministry of Justice has submitted the draft to the Government for approval. Also, it is questionable whether the general part of the draft Penal Code should be introduced to the Riigikogu before completion of its specific part.
The author believes that the behaviour of population should not be adjusted to rules of law but that rules of law should take into account the legal system, situation of crime and legal consciousness of the country.