Under the Constitution of Finland, everyone is entitled to have their case heard by a court or an authority appropriately and without undue delay. This is achieved through the judicial system of Finland.
The Finnish judicial system is mostly organized under the Ministry of Justice, and consists ofJudicial system in Finland. Finnish ministry of Justice. Retrieved 10-4-2007 the independent courts of law and administrative courts the prosecution service the enforcement authorities, who see to the enforcement of judgments the prison service and the probation service, who see to the enforcement of custodial sentences, and the Bar Association and the other avenues of legal aid.
Background The Finnish legal system originated during the period before Swedish rule. The traditional system of tings for criminal cases and civil disputes continued after conquest and the country's first court of appeals was established at Turku in 1634.Turku. (2007). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved October 4, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Olaus Petri's The Rules for Judges unified legal system since the 1530s and the law concerning the judicial procedure, the Code of Judicial Procedure (), was instituted as part of the legal codification of 1734. Since then, the Code has undergone numerous changes.
Nowadays, the Finnish courts are divided into two main branches: general courts dealing with civil suits and criminal cases, and administrative courts regulating the actions of the administration and litigations between individuals and the administration. This division dates to the administrative procedure of the 18th and 19th centuries and was formalized in 1918 when two sections of the Senate became the newly independent country's two highest courts. The Senate Department of Justice became the Supreme Court, and part of the Senate Finance Department was the basis of the Supreme Administrative Court. The two court systems are entirely separate, and they have no jurisdiction over one another. The establishment of the two courts was confirmed by the Constitution Act of 1919.Supreme Administrative Court of Finland: Activities . Retrieved 10-4-2007Suomen Hallitusmuoto (94/1919). 2 §. Retrieved 10-4-2007.
Overseeing the system of justice are the Chancellor of Justice and the Parliamentary Ombudsman. Although these two officials have largely parallel functions and each is required to submit an annual report of their activities to Parliament, the Chancellor of Justice is appointed for life by the President and is a non-voting member of the Government, whereas the Parliamentary Ombudsman is chosen for a four-year term by the Parliament. Both officials receive complaints from citizens about the conduct of civil servants, and on their own may investigate all public officials and may order prosecutors to proceed against them. The Chancellor of Justice also supervises advocates.The Ombudsman and the Chancellor of Justice. Parliamentary Ombudsman. Retrieved 10-4-2007.Subjects of the Ombudsman's oversight. Parliamentary Ombudsman. Retrieved 10-4-2007Supervision of legality . Chancellor of Justice. Retrieved 10-4-2007 Both officials may call any Finnish authorities to render such assistance as they deem fit.Laki eduskunnan oikeusasiamiehestä (197/2002) 6 §. Retrieved 10-4-2007. Laki valtioneuvoston oikeuskanslerista (193/2000). 8 §. Retrieved 10-4-2007.
As in the other Nordic countries, there is no constitutional court. Issues dealt with by a court of this kind elsewhere are handled by the Parliament's Constitutional Committee.
Principles of criminal justice Finnish thinking on criminal policy, as it was evolved by the 1980s, regards the punishment of offenders essentially as society's reproach to the criminal. In the abstract, the type and the length of punishment prescribed by law are considered indicative of the norms of society regarding the seriousness of the offense and the potential threat posed to society by the offender. In practical terms, punishments are standardized, and they are imposed consistently for all categories of crimes, in the interest of ensuring equality in the application of the law. For this reason, the penal code restricts the discretionary power of the courts in imposing sentences.
Imprisonment is not regarded as benefiting the offender, nor is the length of time in an institution to be set on the basis of need for treatment; it is accepted that punishment is detrimental and should be used sparingly. Thus, the tendency has been to rely on light punishment, especially on fines, and to emphasize short sentences of a few weeks or months.
In addition to ensuring that sentences are equal and proportional, the penal code advises that sentences imposed should not cause the "unregulated accumulation of sanctions," that is, when assessing punishment, courts should avoid several sanctions being imposed – such as dismissal from office, or revocation of a driver's permit – as the result of a single offense. The courts are also expected to ensure that punishment is not extended indirectly to the offender's family. Also, bail bonds do not exist in Finland, so if bail is ordered, it is enforced only by the threat of punitive measures and does not depend on the suspect's finances.
The tendency since the early 1970s has been to decriminalize a number of actions formerly indictable under the penal code. The modifications in the code reflected changing priorities in assessing the seriousness of criminal conduct, changing norms of social behavior, and an attempt to distinguish between premeditated crime and spontaneous actions. Among the acts decriminalized were creating a public disturbance because of drunkenness as well as certain offenses against property, such as petty theft. Homosexual acts between consenting adults also ceased to be regarded as a criminal offense. Stiff penalties for offenses against persons, threats of violence against persons, and driving under influence remained unaffected, however.
Finland has been less willing than other Scandinavian countries to replace punishment with other measures, such as treatment-oriented institutions for repeat offenders. Under legislation enacted in 1931, offenders "dangerous to private or public safety" could be confined in a separate institution for recidivists after their sentences had expired. In 1971 the law was amended so that property offenses could no longer be considered grounds for indeterminate incarceration, and conditions under which violent offenders could be so confined were more narrowly defined. As a result, the number of offenders held in internment of any kind fell dramatically, from nearly 400 in the 1960s to fewer than 10 in 1984.Text from PD source: US Library of Congress: A Country Study: Finland, Library of Congress Call Number DL1012 .A74 1990. Although indefinite detention remained legal, this provision was not enforced after the mid-1970s.
Legal profession The basic degree for a legal professional in Finland is a Master of Laws degree. Additionally, the title of varatuomari can be earned by completing a one-year court training in a district court.
Advocates Any lawyer applying for membership in the must have completed a Master of Laws degree, entitling them to hold judicial office, and must be known to be a person of integrity. They also must have several years experience in the legal profession and other judicial duties. An advocate must be independent and autonomous in relation to the government and all other quarters with the exception of their client.
Only members of the bar association are entitled to use the professional title "advocates" (Finnish: , Swedish: ). The Finnish Bar Association has about 1,570 members. Practising lawyers who are not members of the Bar Association may not meet the requirements for an advocate, or may prefer not to submit to the obligations of an advocate.
Prosecutors The prosecutors in Finland are organised in two tiers. The prosecution service consists of the Office of the Prosecutor General in Helsinki and the local prosecution units in all 90 state local districts in Finland. The Office operates as the central administrative authority for the prosecution service.
The Prosecutor General is the supreme prosecutor and the head of the prosecution service. The current Prosecutor General is Ms. Raija Toiviainen. The Prosecutor General appoints local prosecutors, and directs and develops prosecutorial activity by issuing general instructions and guidelines to the prosecutors. The Prosecutor General may take over a case from a subordinate prosecutor. If the Parliament decides that charges are to be brought against the President of Finland or against a member of the Finnish Government in the High Court of Impeachment, the Prosecutor General acts as the prosecutor in the case. Some of the duties of the Prosecutor General are assigned to the Deputy Prosecutor General, the office of which is presently held by Jorma Kalske. For regular prosecutorial tasks, the office has thirteen State Prosecutors, whose jurisdiction covers the entire country.
In the state local districts, prosecutorial duties are performed by local district prosecutors. Their jurisdiction normally covers one local district. In addition, Åland has a provincial prosecutor. The Parliamentary Ombudsman and the Chancellor of Justice are competent to raise charges in special cases.
Judges and referendaries Professional judges are appointed by the President of Finland, on the proposal of a judge selection committee. Appointments are permanent. Experience in other court functions qualifies for the task. Judges in higher and administrative courts are assisted by legally trained referendaries ().
Finland employs lay judges in serious cases in the district courts. They are not legally trained and not part of the legal profession. However, a professional judge serves as the chairman of the panel of judges.
Courts
General Courts
District Courts The Finnish District Courts (, ) deal with criminal cases, civil cases and petitionary matters, such as divorce, the custody of children or debt adjustment. There are 27 district courts in Finland. A district court is headed by the chief judge (Finnish: , Swedish: ) and other judges (, ) who have the title of district judge. In certain cases, the district court may also have lay judges (, ). The cases are handled and resolved either in a session, or in chambers. In simple cases decisions can be made by notaries at the court or by trained office staff. The decision of a district court can normally be appealed in a Court of Appeal (, ).
Routine cases can be handled by a single district judge. More complicated cases are handled by three district judges. Lay judges sit nowadays only in criminal cases, previously also in certain civil matters. The composition with lay judges consists of the ordinary district judge at the District Court, acting as the chairperson, and two (or three) lay judges. The municipal councils appoint the lay judges for terms of four years. Each lay judge participates in a hearing approximately once a month. The District Court pays a hearing fee to the lay judges and reimburses them for loss of income. Lay judges are appointed by municipal councils, and are not a part of the legal profession.
Trial by jury does not exist in Finland as such. In civil cases, there are no non-professional judges involved in the process. In criminal cases, the common sense and popular sense of justice are represented by the three (or four, in complicated matters) lay judges. However, they participate both in the trying of fact and of law, as well as in sentencing.
Courts of Appeal