Summary

The objective of constitutional review is to ensure compliance with the basic law – the Constitution – of the state. Either the primary or secondary law of the European Community could be contrary to the Constitution, which means that constitutional review should be guaranteed in both cases. The issue, therefore, is only how the review should and could function. Integration law (including the principle of the supremacy of Community law) cannot justify the violation of the fundamental principles of the state’s Constitution, since the fundamental principles of the Constitution are the basic values, without which the Estonian state, and the Constitution enacted in its name, loses its substance.

The author is of the opinion that the model chosen in Estonia for constitutional court review is suitable for guaranteeing the protection of the fundamental principles of the state, as provided for in the Constitution, but the current law does not enable seamless constitutional court review of integration law. Preventive review of the accordance of foreign agreements (amendments to the basic treaties concluded with the Community, or new basic treaties) with the Constitution is not guaranteed. The standpoint of the legislator on the secondary law of the Community (as well as on the national legal acts that incorporate this) is unclear as regards the implementation of constitutional review. In the area of integration law, the legislator should consider the regulation of the procedure for constitutional review; it should not leave the formation of the content for the protective clause in the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia Amendment Act, and its use in constitutional review, to only court practice.