Summary

The Republic of Estonia Principles of Ownership Reform Act establishes that applications for the return of or compensation for unlawfully expropriated property which was in the ownership of persons who left Estonia on the basis of agreements entered into with the German state and which was located in the Republic of Estonia are dealt with on the basis of an international agreement rather than the Principles of Ownership Reform Act.
In practice, this provision has been interpreted in three different ways.
According to the prevailing position, property which was transferred under the resettlement conditions to German or Soviet authorities by the person who resettled is not deemed to be unlawfully expropriated. However, issues concerning the unlawful expropriation of property from a person who resettled before entry into a resettlement agreement are subject to resolution under an international agreement.
Another way to interpret the provision is to regard the property transferred under agreements with the German state also as unlawfully expropriated.
According to the third possible interpretation, only property which was transferred under agreements entered into with the German state by persons who resettled is considered unlawfully expropriated.
The author analyses the above-mentioned different interpretations and how they relate to other Estonian Acts.