The

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

(, ) is based on the civil law tradition, primarily consisting of

statutory law A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wi ...

promulgated by the

Parliament of Finland The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral and Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that ...

. The

constitution of Finland The Constitution of Finland ( or ) is the supreme source of national law of Finland. It defines the basis, structures and organisation of government, the relationship between the different constitutional organs, and lays out the fundamental right ...

, originally approved in 1919 and rewritten in 2000, holds supreme authority and establishes key procedures for enacting and applying legislation. As is typical in civil law systems, judicial decisions are generally not authoritative, and there is limited development of

precedent Precedent is a judicial decision that serves as an authority for courts when deciding subsequent identical or similar cases. Fundamental to common law legal systems, precedent operates under the principle of ''stare decisis'' ("to stand by thin ...

. Supreme Court decisions may be cited, but courts are not bound to follow previous rulings. As a member of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

European Union law European Union law is a system of Supranational union, supranational Law, laws operating within the 27 member states of the European Union (EU). It has grown over time since the 1952 founding of the European Coal and Steel Community, to promote ...

is in force in Finland, and Finland implements

EU directive A directive is a legal act of the European Union that requires Member state of the European Union, member states to achieve particular goals without dictating how the member states achieve those goals. A directive's goals have to be made the go ...

s through national legislation. The

Court of Justice of the European Union The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ( or "''CJUE''"; Latin: Curia) is the Judiciary, judicial branch of the European Union (EU). Seated in the Kirchberg, Luxembourg, Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, this EU ins ...

is the ultimate authority on matters within the competence of the European Union. Similar to Sweden,

administrative law Administrative law is a division of law governing the activities of government agency, executive branch agencies of government. Administrative law includes executive branch rulemaking (executive branch rules are generally referred to as "regul ...

is interpreted by a separate system of

administrative court An administrative court is a type of specialized court on administrative law, particularly disputes concerning the exercise of public power. Their role is to ascertain that official acts are consistent with the law. Such courts are usually co ...

s. Besides acts of parliament (''laki''), permanent government decrees (''asetus'') constitute an important body of law. Issued when permitted by an act of parliament, decrees can clarify acts and guide their implementation but cannot contradict them.

History

Finnish law and legal traditions are rooted in Swedish law and, more broadly, in the Scandinavian and German legal traditions, which are subsets of Roman law. The oldest instruction still applied is Olaus Petri's instructions for judges from 1530, although these are not legally binding. Parts of the oldest act formally still in force are contained within the Swedish

Civil Code of 1734 The Civil Code of 1734 ( Swedish: ''1734 års lag''), was a code of law passed by the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates in 1734, and put in effect after it had been ratified by Frederick I of Sweden 23 January 1736. It became the foundation of the lat ...

. Books of Court Procedure (''oikeudenkäymiskaari''), Trade (''kauppakaari''), and Construction (''rakennuskaari'') formally remain in force; however, many corresponding acts have been repealed in Sweden. In practice, these older laws have been gradually superseded over time, and many provisions are no longer enforced, such as references to fines denominated in the ancient currency of the

Swedish riksdaler The Svenska riksdaler () was the name of a Swedish coin first minted in 1604. Between 1777 and 1873, it was the currency of Sweden. The daler, like the dollar,''National Geographic''. June 2002. p. 1. ''Ask Us''. was named after the German Thal ...

. A divergence from Swedish tradition began after the transfer of sovereignty to Russia in 1809. Significant codifications were made during Imperial Russian sovereignty, including the Criminal Code promulgated by

Czar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

Alexander III in 1889. Finland had a representative body, the

Diet of Finland The Diet of Finland (Finnish language, Finnish ''Suomen maapäivät'', later ''valtiopäivät''; Swedish language, Swedish ''Finlands Lantdagar''), was the Diet (assembly), legislative assembly of the Grand Duchy of Finland from 1809 to 1906 ...

, which convened in 1809 and was dissolved in 1906. The Diet was only actively legislative from 1863; between 1809 and 1863, the country was governed primarily by administrative means. Towards the end of the 19th century, the Imperial Russian government began restricting Finnish autonomy, often refusing Royal Assent. The Diet was replaced by the modern

(''eduskunta'') in 1906. Following independence in 1917, the

Constitution of Finland The Constitution of Finland ( or ) is the supreme source of national law of Finland. It defines the basis, structures and organisation of government, the relationship between the different constitutional organs, and lays out the fundamental right ...

was promulgated in 1919. The constitution underwent numerous amendments throughout the 20th century, scattered across various acts. In 2000, a rewritten, consolidated version was enacted to replace them.

Enacting laws

Acts of Parliament form the primary body of law. Typically, the

Finnish Government The Finnish Government (; ; ) is the executive branch and cabinet of Finland, which directs the politics of Finland and is the main source of legislation proposed to the Parliament. The Government has collective ministerial responsibility an ...

proposes a bill to the

. Once amended and approved by Parliament, the act is submitted to the

President of Finland The president of the Republic of Finland (; ) is the head of state of Finland. The incumbent president is Alexander Stubb, since 1 March 2024. He was elected president for the first time in 2024 Finnish presidential election, 2024. The presi ...

for presidential assent. Upon the President's signature, the act becomes law. The President may exercise a right of

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president (government title), president or monarch vetoes a bill (law), bill to stop it from becoming statutory law, law. In many countries, veto powe ...

, but Parliament can override the veto with a simple majority. Decrees are based on an authorization ( authorization for delegation) stipulated in an act of parliament. Decrees can be issued by the

, the

, and individual ministries. They are formally enacted during President in session with the Government (''presidentin esittely''). The European Union can issue both Regulations, which are directly applicable law in member states, and Directives, which are implemented in Finland through Acts of Parliament.

Publication of laws

Finland does not have a single unified

civil code A civil code is a codification of private law relating to property law, property, family law, family, and law of obligations, obligations. A jurisdiction that has a civil code generally also has a code of civil procedure. In some jurisdiction ...

, unlike countries such as France or Germany. All laws are published in the official journal ''Suomen säädöskokoelma'' (the Statutes of Finland) upon promulgation. Most legislation is available through the online Finlex database, published by Edita Publishing Oy, and in a two-volume book set ''Suomen laki'', published by Talentum Media. However, these collections are not entirely exhaustive.

References

*Sarvilinna, Sami. In Winterton and Moys (eds).

Information Sources in Law ''Information Sources in Law'' is a book. First Edition The first edition was edited by R G Logan and published by Butterworths in 1986. It is part of the series, which was then known as Butterworths Guides to Information Sources. It consists of t ...

. Second Edition. Bowker-Saur. 1997. Chapter Ten: Finland. Pages 163 to 176.

External links

Guide to Law Online - Finland
from the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

.
Finlex database
- official translations of statutes and ordinances on

Finlex Finlex is a website that publishes information on judicial affairs of Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the eas ...

{{Law in Europe Law of Finland

History

Enacting laws

Publication of laws

See also

References

External links