| Guiding principle: |
The Estonian language is an essential component of the Estonian nation and culture, without which the preservation of the Estonian nation and culture is not possible, the enacting of electoral qualifications guaranteeing theuse of Estonian by the Local Government Council Election Act is constitutionally justified.The general requirement of the command of Estonian and the language qualification for local government council elections are conditions restricting the right to vote and as such these must meet the constitutional aim of guaranteeing the preservation of the Estonian nation and culture, and also the bases for requirements concerning the use of Estonian established by the Constitution. Such restriction must not distort the bases of local government, which proceed from the Constitution, namely that the representative body of a local government, which shall resolve and manage alllocal issues, shall be elected in free, general, uniform and direct elections. Also, the constitutionally justified electoral qualification guaranteeing the use of Estonian may ? due to the extent of the restriction ? prove to be in conflict with the referred provision of the Constitution or infringe the principle of the representative quality of a local government representative body. Pursuant to Article 11 of the Constitution the restrictions of rights and freedoms ? and electoral qualification is essentially a restriction ? must be necessary in a democratic society and must not distort the nature of the rights and freedoms restricted. |