Organization for Youth Education & Development (OYED)

Laws Concerning Youth in Estonia

Laws Concerning Youth in Estonia

The Parliament of Estonia (Riigikogu) adopted a new Youth Work Act on Thursday 17th of June 2010. 83 members out of 101 voted for it; none of the delegates voted against the new law. The first Youth Work Act after Estonia's reindependence was adopted by Riigikogu in 1999. Since then the Act has remained unchanged, except minor changes.

The Estonian National Youth Council made it's first amendments to the Youth Work Act in 2005. It has been a very long process of preparing the new Youth Work Act which has been coordinated by the Ministry of Education and Research. In the ministry and in parliament long debates and discussions were held before the adoption of the new law.

The new Youth Work Act will take effect from the 1st of September 2010. For the first time in the history of Estonian youth policy, local youth councils and their rights as well as the national youth council are defined by law. The definition of youth organization has also changed. The act changes the definition and defines the principles of youth work, the regulation of youth camps and youth organization’s annual support etc.

Young people are defined in Estonia as a person aged between 7 and 26 years of age. [1]


2010

  • Youth Work Act
    The Act coordinates the implementation of national youth policy in the country, analyses youth work in the country and prepares overviews of youth work, supervises the use of funds allocated for youth work from the state budget and fulfills other functions arising from legislation. [2]

2007

  • Republic of Estonia Child Protection Act, the Basic and Upper Secondary Schools Act, the Social Welfare Act, the criminal record Schools Act, Vocational Educational Institutions Act, Headteacher of Law, Youth Law, the Penal Code, a misdemeanor Procedure Code, the law of the state and the interest of the school's Act
    Limitation of youth work agencies and associations [3]


2006

  • Estonian Youth Work Strategy 2006-2013
    The new Youth Work strategy was devised for 2006 - 2013; there were more specific definitions, making a list of 10 areas of youth work, which are: special youth work, youth hobby education and hobby activities, youth information, youth counseling, youth research, youth work training, recreational activities of youth, work education of youth, international youth work, youth participation. [4]

2004

  • Amendment for Youth Work Act [5]
  • The Local Government Act
    The Act states that the local governments role is to organize youth work, however, there is no youth work in the list of maintenance tasks, which provides certain expenses of the state budget or from other sources. [6]


1999

  • Youth Work Act
    This Youth Work Act defines youth work as the creation of conditions for young people from 7 to 26, to join activities which facilitate their development and enable them to be active outside their families, formal education acquired within the adult education system and to work on the basis of their free will. [7]

 

  1. Eesti Noorteühenduste Liit: http://www.enl.ee/en/News&nID=199 (accessed 01.04.2014)
  2.  Mugford 2012, 16: http://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/47760/Mugford_Tiia%202012.pdf?sequence=3 (accessed 01.04.2014)
  3. Estlex: http://www.estlex.ee/tasuta/?id=7&aktid=82017&fd=1&leht=1 (accessed 01.04.2014)
  4. Mugford 2012, 16:  http://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/47760/Mugford_Tiia%202012.pdf?sequence=3 (accessed 01.04.2014)
  5. Estlex: http://www.estlex.ee/tasuta/?id=7&aktid=61899&fd=1&leht=1(accessed 01.04.2014)
  6. Mugford 2012, 16:  http://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/47760/Mugford_Tiia%202012.pdf?sequence=3 (accessed 01.04.2014)
  7. Mugford 2012, 16:  http://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/47760/Mugford_Tiia%202012.pdf?sequence=3 (accessed 01.04.2014)