Estonia

28/04/1998

1 Conscription

conscription exists

Conscription is enshrined in art. 124 of the 1991 Constitution, which states: "Estonian citizens shall be obligated to participate in national defence in accordance with the bases and procedures established by law."

The present legal basis of conscription is the 1994 Law on Service in the National Defence Forces. [3]

Military service can be performed in the Estonian Armed Forces or the Border Guards. The latter are within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior and are to be professionalised. [2]

military service

All men between the ages of 19 and 27 are liable for military service. [1]

The length of military service is 12 months. It was reduced from 18 months in 1994. [2]

postponement and exemption

Postponement is possible for students. Until 1994 students were totally exempt from military service, but in 1994 a law was passed stating that all male students who started their courses in 1994 would have to perform military service afterwards. [2]

Exemption is possible for domestic reasons (for instance if one is a family's sole breadwinner) and for medical reasons. Medical examinations do not include psychological tests as the Ministry Defence can not afford to employ psychologists. [2]

Many exemptions are granted. According to the Ministry of Defence, in 1995 about 50-55 percent of all liable conscripts were exempted from military service. The majority of exemptions are granted in the big towns. In 1995, for instance, some 70 percent of liable conscripts in Tallinn were granted exemption. [2]

recruitment

Call-up for medical examination takes place at the age of 17, after finishing high-school. Call-up for military service usually takes place at the age of 19. It is possible to volunteer for military service from the age of 17. [2]

Call-up for military service takes place three times a year. Before 1996, there were four call-ups annually. [6]

Every year there are about 11,000 liable conscripts, but the government can afford to draft only 3,500 a year into the armed forces. The number of voluntary applications is usually sufficient to achieve the requisite number of recruits.

Most conscripts in the armed forces are not highly educated and belong to the lower social-economic classes. Moreover of the conscripts drafted in during the 1996 autumn call-up, 14 per cent did not speak Estonian and 8 per cent had court convictions. [11]

The calibre of conscripts seems to worry the Ministry of Defence, which in 1994 decided to abolish student exemptions (see: postponement and exemption). It is not clear how far this has affected recruitment practice, as the first university graduates have yet to be called up. [2]

2 Conscientious objection

legal right

The right to conscientious objection is enshrined in art. 124 of the Constitution, which states: "Any person who refuses service in the Defence Forces for religious or ethical reasons shall be obligated to participate in alternative service, in accordance with procedures established by law."

Chapter XI of the 1994 Law on Military Service contains some further provisions for substitute service. According to par. 10 (1): "Citizens, who on religious or ethical grounds refuse to do military service, are obliged to perform alternative service in a manner prescribed by law". According to par. 89: "(1) The carrying out of duties in alternative service may not contradict the religious and ethical values of the person doing alternative service. (2) Persons carrying out alternative service may not against their will be obliged to use weapons, to train in their usage or their upkeep and may also not be obliged to use other means or substances that are intended for the destruction of persons or for rendering harmless an enemy." [3]

The 1994 law requires the government to pass further legislation implementing the right to conscientious objection, but this has not happened yet. [5]

procedure and practice

Par. 85 (2) of the 1994 Law on Military Service requires written applications to perform substitute service to be made to the local national defence commission. Applications can be made either before entering military service or during service. [1] [3]

It's not clear how far the application procedure actually works, as no further legislation has been passed and as there are not many applications for CO status. According to the Ministry of Defence, there were four applications in 1993, three in 1994 and two in 1995. [1]

substitute service

The length of substitute service is 12 months, which is the same length of time as military service. It was reduced from 15 months by governmental decree in November 1996. [7]

According to the 1994 Law on Military Service, substitute service is run by the Ministry of Defence, in co-operation with the Ministry of Interior. [4]

As no further legislation on substitute service has been passed, it is not clear just how far this service is practically available. Since such legislation has not been passed, COs are evidently not forced to perform substitute service. [1]

3 Draft evasion and desertion

penalties

It is not known under which legislation draft evasion and desertion are punishable. The Ministry of Defence stated in 1995 that refusal to perform military or substitute service is not considered a criminal offence. [4]

Desertion and absence without leave, if they are repeated offences, are punishable by three months' military imprisonment.

practice

Draft evasion is widespread. It is apparently not unusual for people to obtain false medical certificates by means of bribery and thus get exemption on medical grounds. Others simply do not respond to call-up notices. During the 1997 spring call-up, for instance, only 50 percent responded to the call-up for medical examination. [2] [10]

Because voluntary applications to perform military service seem enough to obtain the requisite number of recruits, punishment of draft evasion does not seem to be government priority. Also the government does not seem to employ an accurate conscript registration system for conscripts. [1]

There are no cases of draft evaders getting charged. According to the government, in February 1996 there were seven conscripts in prison for desertion/absence without official leave. [2]

6 Annual statistics

The armed forces are 3,500-strong, which is 0.24 percent of the population. [8]

Every year approximately 11,000 young men reach conscription age. There are 1,630 conscripts in the armed forces. [8]

According to the Ministry of Defence, there were four applications in 1993, three in 1994 and two in 1995. [1]

Sources

[1] Tannert, C., R. Bachmann 1997. Military service and conscientious objection in Central and Eastern Europe in view of the extension of the European Union towards the East. Brussels. [2] ECCO 1996. Compulsory military service in Central and Eastern Europe, a general survey. European Council of Conscript Organisations (ECCO), Utrecht, Netherlands. [3] Estonian embassy in Brussels 1997. Response to CONCODOC questionnaire, 30 January 1997. [4] Amnesty International 1995 Concerns in Europe, EUR 01/02/95. AI, London. [5] Amnesty International 1997. Out of the margins, the right to conscientious objection in Europe. AI, London. [6] 'Call-up 9 percent above target'. Estonian Radio, Tallinn, 12 November 1996. [7] 'Government cuts alternative service to 12 months'. Estonian Radio, Tallinn, 26 November 1996. [8] Institute for Strategic Studies 1997. Military Balance 1997/98. ISS, London. [9] General Staff of the Estonian Defence Forces 1996. Inquiry for the ECCO databank. ECCO, Utrecht. [10] 'Defence minister concerned at draft-dodging and conscript unfitness'. ETA news agency, Tallinn, 16 April 1997.

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