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The Finnish judicial system consists of
BACKGROUND The Finnish legal system originated during the period of Swedish rule and the country's first court of appeals was established at Turku in 1634 . The modern division of the Finnish courts into two main branches - general courts, dealing with civil suits and criminal cases, and administrative courts, regulating the actions of the country's bureaucracy - also dates from this time. This division 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. 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 Council Of State , 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 supervises public prosecutors, and they also have the unrestricted right to investigate private persons. Both officials may call on either of the supreme courts for assistance. 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. LEGAL PROFESSION Advocates Any lawyer applying for membership in the Finnish Bar Association 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" (: ''advokat''). 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 Matti Kuusimäki . The Prosecutor General directs and develops prosecutorial activity by issuing general instructions and guidelines to the prosecutors. He also appoints local prosecutors. The Prosecutor General may take over a case from a subordinate prosecutor. He also acts as the prosecutor in the High Court Of Impeachment if the Parliament decides that charges are to be brought against the President Of Finland or against a member of the Finnish Council Of State . 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, the Åland Islands have a provincial prosecutor. The Parliamentary Ombudsman and the Chancellor of Justice are competent to raise charges in special cases. COURTS General Courts District Courts The Finnish District Courts (: ''Tingsrätt'') deal with criminal cases, civil cases and petitionary matters, such as divorce, the custody of children or debt adjustment. There are 61 district courts in Finland. A district court is headed by the Chief Judge 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. Lay Judges sit mainly in criminal cases, but it can also sit in civil matters as well as tenancy disputes. The composition with Lay Judges consists of the ordinary District Judge at the District Court, acting as the chairperson, and 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. Courts of Appeal Appeals from the District Courts are addressed to the six Courts of Appeal (, Turku , Vaasa , Kouvola , Kuopio , and Rovaniemi . Most of the cases dealt with by the Courts of Appeal are appeals against decisions of the district courts. In addition, Courts of Appeal decide, as the first instance, matters of treason and high treason, as well as certain offences in public office. The head of a Court of Appeal is the Chief Justice. The other judges of the court are called Senior Justices or Justices. Cases are presented for decision by legally trained referendaries, who are called Senior Assistant Justices or Assistant Justices. Most cases are heard by professional three-judge divisions, with each division headed by a Senior Justice. More important cases are tried before a plenary session of judges if the Chief Justice decides. In cases involving senior government officials, a court of appeals may serve as the court of first instance. The judges of the Courts of Appeal are appointed by the President, on the basis of a draft decision presented by the government. Supreme Court The ''': ''Högsta domstolen''), located in Helsinki, consists of a President and 18 other Justices, usually working in five-judge panels. The most important function of the Supreme Court is to rule on important points of law in cases which are significant for the entire legal order, guiding the administration of justice in future cases. Decisions of courts of appeal, as well as certain decisions of the Insurance Court may be appealed against to the Supreme Court, provided that it grants leave to appeal. The Supreme Court gives advice to the President in cases concerning his or her right to grant a pardon, and to the Ministry of Justice in cases concerning extradition. It may provide legal opinions on Government Bills at different stages of the legislative process, and the President may consult it on Bills passed by Parliament before ratifying them. The Supreme Court may also approach the President on its own initiative, and propose enactment of a new Parliament Act or an amendment to an existing Act. The Supreme Court mainly relies on written evidence when deciding on a case. The Court may, however, hold oral hearings in which the parties, witnesses and experts are heard in person. The oral hearings are public. The President and other justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President of the Republic. The current judges of the Supreme Court are:
Further reading: Administrative Courts Regional Administrative Courts There are eight regional Administrative Courts (, Hämeenlinna , Kouvola , Kuopio , Oulu , Rovaniemi , Turku and Vaasa . In addition, the autonomous Åland Islands have a separate administrative court. The judicial oversight of administrative acts is the task of the administrative courts. A person or a corporation that believes a decision of a state or local authority relating to them is illegal is entitled to appeal against the decision. On appeal, the administrative court reviews the legality of the decision of the authority. If the appellant is discontent with the decision of the administrative court, it is possible to appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court. All judges in administrative courts are professionals, appointed in the same manner as judges who sit in general courts. Judges work in three-judge panels in the regional administrative courts and in five-judge panels in the Supreme Administrative Court. Supreme Administrative Court The Supreme Administrative Court (: ''Högsta förvaltningsdomstolen'') consists of a President and 19 other Justices. The court has three chambers. The first chamber focuses on cases concerning building and planning, environmental permits, real property, waste management, water rights, roads, nature conservation, extraction of land resources and general administrative law. The second chamber handles cases concerning taxation and customs, competition, trades, access to documents, population administration, and driver’s licences and other cases related to vehicles, as well as cases concerning traffic, financial management, pharmacies, agriculture and forestry, labour administration and state officials. The third chamber handles cases concerning social welfare, child welfare and public care of children, nationality, aliens, patents and registers, local government, local authority officials, Church law, handicap services, mental health, health care, health inspections, school education, public order and public entertainment, and firearms. The chambers do not exclusively handle cases concerning the aforementioned subject-matters but may examine any types of cases falling within the Court's jurisdiction. About 50 percent of the cases heard in the Supreme Administrative Court involve questions about taxes. The current judges of the Supreme Administrative Court are:
Special Courts Market Court The Market Court is a special court that hears market law, competition and public procurement cases. It issues injunctions against illegal restrictions of competition and order monetary penalties. It has duties also in the supervision of mergers and acquisitions. In addition, the Market Court may overturn public procurement decisions, adjust the procurement process and order compensatory payments. Labour Court The Labour Court has jurisdiction in disputes on collective agreements and collective civil service agreements. Disputes on individual employment relationships are heard by the general courts and disputes on individual civil service relationships by the administrative courts. Insurance Court The Insurance Court has jurisdiction in certain matters of social insurance, such as accident insurance, employment pensions, civil service pensions and national pensions. High Court of Impeachment The High Court of Impeachment may be convened for cases dealing with criminal charges (for an offence in office) against the President of the Republic, the justices of the supreme courts, members the Council of State, the Chancellor of Justice and the Ombudsman of Parliament. The court has been used only three times since its formation in 1922. Members of this court are the presidents of the two supreme courts, three most senior chief judges of the courts of appeal and five members elected by the Parliament. EXTERNAL LINK
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