Summary

In 2015, the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) published a comprehensive report on a comparative study of the organisation of administration in Estonia and Finland. It recommended that in order to increase the unity of the government and its strategic decision-making ability both countries should dismantle the legal barriers that hinder their institutional flexibility. Thus the OECD essentially reiterated its recommendation given to Estonia in its earlier 2011 report to amend the Government of the Republic Act in order to move towards a more cohesive government and allow the government itself to introduce changes in the government structure by way of administrative regulations either at the start of the parliament’s tenure or during it in order to implement the government’s priorities and respond to citizens’ needs in the best possible way.

According to the laws in force today, the establishment of ministries is the sole responsibility of the legislator. Section 45 of the Government of the Republic Act provides a list of ministries and §§ 57–69 of the Act determine the areas of government of the ministries. According to the prevailing opinion among jurists, vesting the right to create ministries and determine their duties and mandate in the Government of the Republic instead of Riigikogu would be unconstitutional. The article examines whether the recommendations of the OECD could be implemented without amending the Constitution insofar as ministries are concerned. In order to place the seeking of an answer in a broader perspective and open up different pathways to the solution, earlier solutions of other countries and Estonia are addressed first. Thereafter, the current Constitution is analysed and a quest to answer the question is started.