Plenipotentiaryeesti

Plenipotentiaryeesti, also known as the Republic of Estonia's extraordinary and pleinary plenipotentiary powers, refers to the extraordinary legislative powers granted to the Estonian Parliament, the Riigikogu, under Article 101 of the Estonian Constitution. This provision allows the Riigikogu to pass laws that do not conform to the Constitution or those of the European Union, if national security or defense are at stake.

In order to enact laws under plenipotentiary powers, the Riigikogu must achieve an absolute majority in both the legislative process and the presence of meaningful participation in the adoption and approval of the law from the prime minister or the ministers with some membership within the Estonian Parliament. The justification for the passage of such laws must be put down in writing and sent to the European Court of Human Rights at least three months ahead of time, and ratified by the President of the Republic of Estonia.

Article 101 does not codify the grounds on which a government can abuse the parliament in passing laws in state of exception, making the process highly susceptible to exploitation. Regardless of this, the use of plenipotentiary powers is largely perceived as part of Estonia's long term struggle for political revival since the country entered the 21st century after years of independence in 1991.

Overall, the application of Article 101 represents the attempt to balance the rights and freedoms of Estonian citizens with the security and defense of the state.