Estonia

The Constitution of Estonia was adopted by a referendum on June 28, 1992, and entered into force on June 29, 1992. It has been amended many times, most recently on April 27, 2011.

As the fundamental law of Estonia, the Constitution defies the structure of its Government, the rights and duties of the country's citizens, its mode of passing laws and specifies the principle of separation and balance of the legislative, executive and judicial powers. The legislative power is exercised by Riigikogu (Parliament). The executive branch consists of the President, who is the Head of State, and the Primer Minister, who is the Head of Government. The judicial power is vested by the county and administrative courts (the first instance courts), the circuit courts (the second instance courts), and the Supreme Court (the third instance courts).

The Constitution contains specific provisions concerning the protection of intellectual property. Article 39 stipulates “Authors shall have the inalienable right to their work. The state shall protect intellectual property rights.” The Constitution also protects the right of private property (Article 32), the ethnic minorities and their culture (Article 50).