In
Finland a (Finnish for registered association) or (Swedish) is a registered,
non-profit organization. The abbreviations (Finnish) or (Swedish) are used as a
suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns, adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can carry ...
ending of the
association's name, added when the association is officially registered. Registration is not mandatory, but is required in order for the association to become a juridical person, which confers various benefits. Registration requires the association to create a legally sound constitution, which must be approved by the
Finnish Patent and Registration Office.
Said constitution must contain provisions outlining the association's policies regarding language, its home address, its intended purpose and forms of activity, membership fees, its government board, accounting and bookkeeping, revision of the constitution, assembly meetings and how the association's property is to be utilised in the event of its dissolution. Registered associations can have both individual persons and legal persons as its members. The association must have a government board consisting of at least three members, out of whom the speaker must be at the
age of majority (18 years), the rest at least 15 years old. In principle, if the constitution provides for it, every member who is at least 15 years of age has one vote during board meetings, board elections and other votes.
When an association is officially registered, it becomes a
juridical person with
legal personality separate from those of its individual members and gains the right to own property and make
contracts
A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...
on its own behalf independently of its members, and it ensures the legal enforceability of its constitution. At the same time, the individual members no longer personally hold responsibility for the association's liabilities.
In 2021, Finland had around 108,000 registered associations, down from 130,000 in 2011.
Related types of Finnish companies
* ''Avoin yhtiö'', ''ay'',
general partnership
A general partnership, the basic form of partnership under common law, is in most countries an association of persons or an unincorporated company with the following major features:
*Must be created by agreement, proof of existence and estoppel ...
* ''Kommandiittiyhtiö'', abbreviated ''ky'',
limited partnership
A limited partnership (LP) is a form of partnership similar to a general partnership except that while a general partnership must have at least two general partners (GPs), a limited partnership must have at least one GP and at least one limited ...
* , abbreviated ,
limited company (in , abbreviated )
See also
*
Registered association (Germany)
An (; "registered association" or "incorporated association"), abbreviated (), is a legal status for a registered voluntary association in Germany. While any group may be called a , registration as confers many legal benefits, because it con ...
References
External links
Finnish Register of Associationsat the Finnish Patent and Registration Office
Non-profit organisations based in Finland
{{Nonprofit-org-stub