State continuity of the Baltic states 1941–1944, Estonia remained occupied by the Soviet Union until its restoration of independence in 1991. Accordingly, Estonia as a state was temporarily prevented from fulfilling its international commitments. The court's rulings appear favorable to several aspects, which are important with regard to restoration of the Baltic states including the legal continuity doctrine. The rulings confirmed that the USSR committed crimes in the illegally occupied Baltic states such as Soviet deportations from Estonia and, in case Tatjana Ždanoka vs Latvia, drew parallels between legal treatment of the German Waffen SS and hardline elements of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
State continuity of the Baltic states In the Russian Federation rulings of the court caused negative reaction among politicians and were characterized as "politicized." In the Baltic states the court rulings were accepted within the general lines of the Western non-recognition policy (see Stimson Doctrine). Notably, the Estonian Internal Security Service emphasized the importance of the decisions in its 2006 yearbook. William Hough, New York Law School Journal of International and Comparative Law, Volume 6, Number 2, 1986, "The Annexation of the Baltic States and its Effect in the Development of Law Prohibiting Forcible Seizure of Territory" State continuity of the Baltic states State continuity of