Constitution of Estonia

The Constitution of Estonia was first adopted on 15 June 1920 by the freely elected Estonian Constituent Assembly, entering force on 21 December 1920 and establishing Estonia as a democratic republic in which citizens hold supreme power. That original text, shaped by Rousseau and Montesquieu, gave way to a 1934 amendment creating a directly elected head of state after chronic governmental instability, and then a 1938 constitution introducing a bicameral legislature, which was superseded by the 1940 Soviet occupation. The current constitution was adopted by referendum on 28 June 1992, after Estonia restored its independence, synthesizing elements of the 1920 and 1938 texts into 15 chapters covering governance, citizens' rights and international relations, including provisions that enabled Estonia's 2003 European Union accession.