Equipo Nizkor - Estonia: Persons Repressed by Occupying Powers Act.

Passed 17.12.2003
RT I 2003, 88, 589
Entry into force 01.01.2004, partially 01.01.2005

Chapter 1
GENERAL PROVISIONS

§ 1. Purpose and scope of application of Act

(1) The purpose of this Act is to alleviate the injustices committed against persons who were unlawfully repressed by the states that occupied Estonia between 16 June 1940 and 20 August 1991.

(2) This Act provides the definition of unlawfully repressed person, the privileges and benefits, and pension rights granted to unlawfully repressed persons. Unlawful expropriation of property or the alleviation of consequences thereof do not fall within the scope of application of this Act. Unlawfully repressed person is defined in this Act on the basis of international law together with all the consequences arising therefrom.

(3) The provisions of the General Part of the Social Code Act apply to the social protection prescribed in this Act.

[RT I, 08.07.2016, 1 - entry into force 01.01.2017]

§ 2. Unlawfully repressed person

(1) For the purposes of this Act, an unlawfully repressed person (hereinafter repressed person) is a person who, at the time of repression, was a citizen of the Republic of Estonia or who was not a citizen of the Republic of Estonia but a permanent resident legally residing in Estonia as at 16 June 1940, except persons who were brought or who came to Estonia on the basis of the agreement entered into by the Republic of Estonia and the Soviet Union on 28 September 1939 (so-called bases agreement) or acts arising therefrom, and:

1) who is a victim of genocide, as defined in the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide;

2) who was sentenced to imprisonment or exilement or who was committed to a psychiatric institution for his or her beliefs, political or other opinions, religion, racial or ethnic origin, nationality, birth, social origin or property;

3) who was sentenced to imprisonment or exilement for failure to comply with a special obligation established for the citizens of the occupying state (military service, allegiance, mandatory worldview, prohibition on leaving a territory, etc.);

4) who was sentenced to imprisonment or exilement for an act committed prior to the occupation or during a temporary cessation of occupation, unless such act would also have been punishable under the law of the Republic of Estonia;

5) who was sentenced to imprisonment or exilement because of his or her origin or general personal characteristics without ascertaining his or her guilt;

6) who was sentenced to imprisonment or exilement for participating in an anti-occupation protest or an act of national self-determination or for exercising or attempting to exercise his or her internationally recognised human rights or fundamental freedoms regardless of the type of criminal offence with which the occupying state formally charged the person;

7) who was unlawfully deported or displaced from his or her permanent place of residence in the occupied territory to the territory of the occupying state or another state, whether occupied or not, or who was subject to forced exile outside of the territory of Estonia after having served his or her sentence;

8) who was taken from Estonia to the Soviet Union in 1941 and subjected to forced labour with restriction of liberty in a labour battalion or a labour or construction unit or who was forcibly sent to work outside of the territory of Estonia during occupation by Greater Germany;

9) who, after having been taken as a prisoner of war or as a person to be repatriated, was subjected to forced labour with restriction of liberty in a labour battalion or a labour or construction unit of the Soviet Union;

10) who, having concealed himself or herself from unlawful repression, was sentenced to imprisonment or exilement for an act or acts which the person committed as self-defence or out of necessity without exceeding the limits established by the law of the Republic of Estonia, unless such act would also have been punishable under the law of the Republic of Estonia;

11) who was prohibited from residing in Estonia;

12) who was subjected to radiation as a test subject in connection with the explosion of a nuclear device;

13) who was forcibly sent to an area of nuclear disaster for the elimination of the effects of the disaster.

(2) A child of a person specified in subsection (1) of this section who was born while the parent was in forced exile or in a custodial institution or after the parent's release until the time when the parent was granted permission and had an actual opportunity to return to Estonia is also deemed to be a repressed person.

(3) A person described in subsection (1) or (2) of this section who has worked as a staff member of an agency which carried out the acts of repression specified in subsection (1), except as a member of the lower level service personnel or support staff, or a person who joined the Communist (Bolshevik) Party of the Soviet Union before 1 January 1954, or a person who was sentenced for a criminal offence which would also have been punishable under the law of the Republic of Estonia is not deemed to be a repressed person.

§ 3. Occupying state

For the purposes of this Act, occupying states are the states which occupied the Republic of Estonia from 16 June 1940 until 20 August 1991.

§ 4. Person treated as repressed person

(1) A citizen of the Republic of Estonia who does not receive and has not received any compensation from a foreign state for activities specified in clauses 1) and 2) of this subsection shall be treated as a repressed person (hereinafter person treated as a repressed person) provided that:

1) the person participated in the armed fight for the restoration of the independence of the Estonian state after 16 June 1940;

2) the person became an invalid while mobilised or as a conscript in the armed forces of the Soviet Union and did not participate in the commission of acts of repression in the territory of Estonia.

(2) A person who was mobilised into the Red Army as a member or candidate member of the Communist (Bolshevik) Party of the Soviet Union, the Leninist Communist Youth League of the Soviet Union (ÜLKNÜ) or the Leninist Communist Youth League of Estonia (ELKNÜ), or who belonged to a destruction battalion or defence battalion or workers' regiment of the People's Commisariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD) or the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), or who was mobilised into the German army as a member or candidate member of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) and who meets the conditions set out in subsection 2 (3) of this Act shall not be treated as a repressed person.

§ 5. Obligations of Government of Republic

The Government of the Republic shall:

1) form, involving repressed persons and persons treated as repressed persons, a government committee as a co-operation forum and the committee shall make proposals for the preparation of the necessary legislation and organise co-operation with government and local government structures, non-profit organisations and associations;

2) organise the preservation of the memory of repressed persons and persons treated as repressed persons and the study of the repressive policies of the occupying states;

3) organise the establishment of a foundation assisting repressed persons.

[RT I 2006, 14, 110 - entry into force 06.04.2006]

Chapter 2
BENEFITS AND PRIVILEGES

§ 6. Benefit for restoration of health

[Repealed - RT I, 25.11.2015, 1 - entry into force 01.01.2016]

§ 6¹. Repressed person's allowance

(1) Repressed person's allowance (hereinafter allowance) shall be paid to a repressed person and person treated as a repressed person in the amount of 192 euros in a calendar year.

(2) In order to receive the allowance specified in subsection (1) of this section, a one-time application shall be submitted to the Social Insurance Board. The application shall set out the given names and surname and personal identification code of the repressed person or person treated as a repressed person, the number and date of issue of the repressed person's certificate, bank account number, date of submission of the application and confirmation on submission of the application.

(3) The allowance is financed from the state budget through the budget of the Ministry of Social Affairs.

[RT I, 25.11.2015, 1 - entry into force 01.01.2016]

§ 7. Privileges

(1) Repressed persons and persons treated as repressed persons shall, upon presentation of a repressed person's certificate, be entitled to:

1) free entrance to the Nationwide Song Festival and Nationwide Dance Festival and the Students' Song and Dance Festival;

2) free entrance to state museums;

3) the right to fish for recreation free of charge under the conditions provided for in the Fishing Act.

(2) [Repealed - RT I, 25.11.2015, 1 - entry into force 01.01.2016]

§ 7¹. Payment of allowance

[RT I, 25.11.2015, 1 - entry into force 01.01.2016]

The allowance paid on the basis of this Act shall be paid once per calendar year pursuant to the procedure provided for in § 28 of the General Part of the Social Code Act.

[RT I, 08.07.2016, 1 - entry into force 01.01.2017]

Chapter 3
REPRESSED PERSON'S CERTIFICATE AND BADGE OF THE BROKEN CORNFLOWER

§ 8. Repressed person's certificate and procedure for issue thereof

(1) A repressed person's certificate (hereinafter certificate) is a document which certifies that a person meets the conditions specified in subsection 2 (1) or (2) or subsection 4 (1) of this Act.

(2) The procedure for the issue of certificates and the list of information included in applications and the format of certificates shall be established and the agency issuing the certificates shall be designated by a regulation of the Government of the Republic.

[RT I, 08.07.2016, 1 - entry into force 01.01.2017]

§ 9. Grounds for refusal to issue certificate

The issuer of certificate shall refuse to issue a certificate if:

1) the person does not meet the conditions provided for in subsection 2 (1) or (2) of this Act;

2) the person does not meet the conditions provided for in subsection 4 (1) of this Act;

3) the person meets the conditions provided for in subsection 2 (3) of this Act;

4) the person meets the conditions provided for in subsection 4 (2) of this Act.

§ 10. Badge of the Broken Cornflower

(1) Repressed persons and persons treated as repressed persons have the right to wear the Badge of the Broken Cornflower.

(2) The procedure for the issue and wearing of the Badge of the Broken Cornflower and the description of the Badge of the Broken Cornflower shall be established by the Government of the Republic.

Chapter 4
PENSION RIGHTS

§ 11. Subject of pension rights

The pension rights provided for in this Chapter do not extend to persons treated as repressed persons, unless the person meets the conditions specified in this Chapter.

§ 12. Old-age pension under favourable conditions

The following persons have the right to receive an old-age pension under favourable conditions as defined in the State Pension Insurance Act:

1) repressed persons who have acquired the pension qualifying period required for the grant of an old-age pension and who have been unlawfully held in a custodial institution or in exile, and persons specified in subsection 2 (2) of this Act - one year before attaining the pensionable age for each full year they have been held in a custodial institution or in exile, but not more than five years before attaining the pensionable age;

2) persons who participated in the clean-up of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station - five years before attaining the pensionable age.

§ 13. Periods included in pensionable service

[The introductory sentence of subsection (1) applied retroactively as of 1.01.2004]

(1) Years of pensionable service acquired in Estonia shall include:

1) in the case of a person who participated in the armed fight for freedom against foreign occupation in the territory of the Republic of Estonia or was in hiding from unlawful repression, the time during which the person participated in the fight for freedom or was in hiding;

2) the time during which a repressed person was held in custody, spent in a custodial institution or in exile, including any periods of time between escaping and subsequent arrest, multiplied by three;

3) the time a person spent held as a prisoner of war, or in a concentration camp or ghetto during the Second World War, or in a labour and construction battalion or labour and construction unit in 1941-1942, multiplied by three;

4) the time from when a repressed person was freed from custody or a custodial institution or returned from exile until he or she is granted the permission to settle in Estonia, if the right to live in Estonia was taken away from the person unlawfully, multiplied by three;

5) the time a parent of a person specified in subsection 2 (2) of this Act spent in a custodial institution or in exile until the person specified in subsection 2 (2) of this Act was granted permission and had an actual opportunity to return to Estonia, multiplied by three.

(2) Years of pensionable service shall be calculated and certified pursuant to the procedure established by the State Pension Insurance Act and legislation issued on the basis thereof.

[RT I 2006, 14, 110 - entry into force 06.04.2006, applied retroactively as of 01.01.2004]

§ 14. Right to receive pension supplements

(1) A pension supplement of 20 per cent of the national pension rate shall be added to old-age pensions granted on the basis of the State Pension Insurance Act to repressed persons who have been held in a custodial institution or in exile, persons held as prisoners of war, or persons held in concentration camps or ghettos during the Second World War and persons specified in subsection 2 (2) of this Act if the person is established to have partial or no work ability on the basis of the Work Ability Allowance Act at least until the date as of which the old-age pension is granted.

[RT I, 13.12.2014, 1 - entry into force 01.01.2017 (entry into force changed - RT I, 17.12.2015, 1)]

(2) [Repealed - RT I, 13.12.2014, 1 - entry into force 01.01.2017 (entry into force changed - RT I, 17.12.2015, 1)]

(3) The provisions of subsection (1) of this section do not apply to persons who, pursuant to subsection 24 (3) of the State Pension Insurance Act, have been granted another pension supplement specified in subsection 24 (1) of the State Pension Insurance Act.

[RT I, 02.07.2012, 2 - entry into force 01.01.2013]

(4) A pension supplement of 10 per cent of the national pension rate shall be added to the pension granted to a person on the basis of the State Pension Insurance Act if the person is established to have partial or no work ability on the basis of the Work Ability Allowance Act at least until the date as of which the pension is granted and the Social Insurance Board establishes on the basis of a medical document a causal relation between a nuclear disaster, a nuclear test or an accident at a nuclear power station and the injury or illness of the person.

[RT I, 13.12.2014, 1 - entry into force 01.01.2017 (entry into force changed - RT I, 17.12.2015, 1)]

(5) The pension supplement provided for in subsection 24 (11) of the State Pension Insurance Act shall be added to pensions granted on the basis of this Act pursuant to the procedure provided for in the State Pension Insurance Act.

[RT I, 02.07.2012, 2 - entry into force 01.01.2013]

§ 15. Expenditure relating to pension rights

The expenditure arising from § 12 and clause 13 (1) 1) of this Act shall be financed pursuant to the provisions of clause 57 (1) 1) of the State Pension Insurance Act.

§ 16. Application of Act to rehabilitated persons

The provisions of clauses 12 1), 13 (1) 2) and 4), subsection 13 (2) and subsections 14 (1) and (3) of this Act extend to rehabilitated persons.

[RT I, 13.12.2014, 1 - entry into force 01.01.2017 (entry into force changed - RT I, 17.12.2015, 1)]

§ 16¹. Payment of earlier granted monetary compensation

The monetary compensation determined before 1 February 2009 shall be paid pursuant to the procedure provided for in § 71 of this Act as of 1 February 2009.

[RT I 2008, 48, 264 - entry into force 01.02.2009]

§ 16². Contestation of decisions

If a person disagrees with a decision made by the Social Insurance Board pursuant to this Act, he or she has the right to file a challenge with the Social Insurance Board pursuant to the procedure provided for in the General Part of the Social Code Act.

[RT I, 08.07.2016, 1 - entry into force 01.01.2017]

Chapter 4¹
RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES

[RT I, 06.12.2012, 1 - entry into force 01.01.2013]

§ 16². Contestation of decisions

(1) If a person disagrees with a decision made by the Social Insurance Board pursuant to this Act, he or she has the right to file a challenge with the Social Insurance Board within 30 days after receipt of the decision.

(2) A challenge shall be resolved within 30 days after registration of the challenge by the Social Insurance Board.

[RT I, 06.12.2012, 1 - entry into force 01.01.2013]

Chapter 5
IMPLEMENTATION OF ACT

§ 17. Implementing provisions

[Omitted from this text.]

§ 17¹. Payment of pension supplement to person with partial or no work ability

A pension supplement of 10 per cent of the national pension rate shall be added to the pension granted to a person on the basis of the State Pension Insurance Act if the person is established to have partial or no work ability on the basis of the Work Ability Allowance Act at least until the date as of which the pension is granted and the Social Insurance Board establishes on the basis of a medical document a causal relation between a nuclear disaster, a nuclear test or an accident at a nuclear power station and the injury or illness of the person.

[RT I, 13.12.2014, 1 - entry into force 01.07.2016 (entry into force changed - RT I, 17.12.2015, 1)]

§ 17². Payment of pension supplement to persons receiving pension for incapacity for work

A pension supplement of 20 per cent of the national pension rate shall be added to pensions for incapacity for work of repressed persons who have been held in a custodial institution or in exile, persons held as prisoners of war, or persons held in concentration camps or ghettos during the Second World War and persons specified in subsection 2 (2) of this Act.

[RT I, 13.12.2014, 1 - entry into force 01.01.2017 (entry into force changed - RT I, 17.12.2015, 1)]

§ 17³. Application for benefit for restoration of health and travel fare concession

A person who has submitted an application for a benefit for restoration of health or a travel fare concession by 1 January 2016 shall not be required to submit a new application in order to receive the allowance specified in subsection 61 (1) of this Act.

[RT I, 25.11.2015, 1 - entry into force 01.01.2016]

§ 17⁴. Compensation for travel expenses

Based on transport tickets submitted by 10 April 2016, up to 50 percent of the price of the transport tickets is compensated upon carriage of passengers on a domestic route by road, water or rail in respect of the year 2015, but the compensation shall not exceed 32 euros.

[RT I, 25.11.2015, 1 - entry into force 01.01.2016]

§ 18. Entry into force of Act

(1) This Act enters into force on 1 January 2004.

(2) Subsections 7 (2) and 17 (5) of this Act enter into force on 1 January 2005.

[Documentation Note: Passed 17 December 2003, entered into force 1 January 2004. Ref.: RT1 I 2003, 88, 589. With amendments up to 15 June 2016. Official translation]

17Dec03 - EST

Persons Repressed by Occupying Powers Act

[Documentation Note: Passed 17 December 2003, entered into force 1 January 2004. Ref.: RT1 I 2003, 88, 589. With amendments up to 15 June 2016. Official translation]

[Source: Riigi Teataja (State Gazette)]

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