Summary

Despite the torrential developments that have occurred within the Estonian legal space over the past decade, changes to the concept of public order have been no more than cosmetic: no fundamental differences exist in the definition of public order in legislation drafted today and legislation drafted in the early 1990s. A new mechanism for law enforcement in tune with the needs of modern society has been provided for in the draft Law Enforcement Act written in 2003, yet these ideas have yet to be enshrined in law.

Protection of public order has historically been one of the primary functions of the state. The risks that threaten society’s peaceful co-existence have changed over time, and this has lead to differences in the definition of public order in constitutional law and practice. This article provides a brief survey of the definition of public order in current Estonian law de lege ferenda and explains some key terms used in the regulation of public order