Summary

The Constitution sets out a number of requirements that the state must adhere to in developing its police law. These requirements are quite similar in the Estonian and German Constitutions. This article defines these constitutional requirements and examines how German police law has been adapted to these principles. The author examines requirements arising from the rule of law, from fundamental rights and from the principles of democracy that have led in German police law to such rules as a strict distinction between the functions of the police in criminal surveillance and danger prevention, the right of the police to primary intervention only, the relationship between police work and the authority to interfere with a person’s rights as well as the responsibility of citizens to contribute to security themselves. According to the author, current Estonian police law does not sufficiently adhere to these constitutional principles. In the last part of the article the author offers some suggestions on how these constitutional principles could be incorporated into Estonian law such that Estonian police law would adhere to the principles of democracy and the rule of law.