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Published in:
Legal Cultures: Combining Diversity and Structure Read chapter Read first chapter

2023 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

An Introduction to Finnish Legal Culture

Author : Anna Nylund

Published in: Handbook on Legal Cultures

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

The Finnish legal culture bears close affinity to the Swedish legal culture, from which it historically stems, as well as the other Nordic countries. Finland has two parallel court hierarchies, general courts and administrative courts, and has only a few special courts, and it has low litigation rates because most cases are resolved in out-of-court proceedings. While the main method for norm production is the enactment of statutes, Finland does not have codes, only single acts. Court practice, especially quasi-precedents from Supreme Courts; preparatory works; practices of lower courts and central government organisations; and legal scholarship are also important sources of law. When construing a legal norm, Finnish lawyers weigh arguments drawn from the sources of law, with the text of legislative acts forming the starting point. The prevailing ideal of justice can be characterised as a mixture of predictability and equity. Although a 5-year master’s degree in law is a prerequisite for entering into law practice, the legal profession, particularly the judges, is not very specialised. As in other European legal cultures, European supranational law increasingly permeates Finnish law and legal culture.

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Footnotes
1
The term Nordic will be used in this text instead of Scandinavian. Although Scandinavia is often used to describe the Nordic countries, it is misleading in a geographical sense, in terms of both physical and cultural geography. In physical geography, Scandinavia refers to the Scandinavian peninsula, which is shared by only two—Norway and Sweden—of the five Nordic countries; Denmark, Finland and Iceland are not included. From a cultural, more precisely linguistic, perspective, Finland and the Sami population in the north are not Scandinavians as Finnish and the Sami languages are not Scandinavian languages.
 
3
The Finnish and Swedish terms are given in brackets.
 
4
Husa (2020).
 
5
Mattila (2005), pp. 45–48.
 
6
Virrankoski (2009), pp. 497–520; Jutikkala and Pirinen (2003), pp. 299–349.
 
7
Letto-Vanamo (2021), pp. 24–27; Nylund (2010).
 
8
Meinander (2011), pp. 83–87. The situation in Finland can be compared to the situation in Norway at this time: both countries were happily divorced from their earlier motherland, Sweden respectively Denmark; both had the opportunity to build their own institutions and, from the mid-1850s, advance their own language and culture, and both kept many of their old Swedish respectively Danish laws and enacted new laws.
 
9
Russification is a process that refers to the policies in Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union, where the assimilation of non-Russian minorities was attempted. Russian nationals were given leading positions in institutions; the Russian language was promoted in business, administration and education; and Russian national symbols were presented to alter the self-identity and language of the people.
 
10
Husa (2020).
 
11
Virrankoski (2009), pp. 932–966; Jutikkala and Pirinen (2003), pp. 456–478.
 
12
Ibid.
 
13
Jutikkala and Pirinen (2003), pp. 473–474.
 
14
The number of Swedish-speaking people is approximately 300,000 and there are more than 7000 Sami and 5000–6000 Finnish Gypsies. The immigrant population amounts to about 5% of the population. Estonians, Russians, Swedes and Somali are the largest groups of immigrants. About 75% of the population is a member of the Lutheran National Church, and about 1% are a member of the National Greek Orthodox Church. http://​www.​stat.​fi/​tup/​suoluk/​suoluk_​vaesto_​en.​html. Finland and Greece have the only indigenous Orthodox Churches in Western Europe. The Finnish National Orthodox Church is a national Church and has the same status in society as the National Lutheran Church.
 
17
Only criminal matters on treason and high treason, as well as certain offences committed by a public official, will be treated at first instance by the Court of Appeal.
 
18
Letto-Vanamo (2004), pp. 124–128.
 
19
Aer (2021).
 
20
Tuori (2003).
 
21
Mäenpää (2002), p. 459.
 
22
Nylund (2018). Although England and Norway have seemingly similar rules on the preparatory stage of civil proceedings, judges perceive their role differently, and many tasks allocated to the judge in Finland are allocated to the parties.
 
23
Linnanmäki (2021); Nylund (2021b), pp. 203–207.
 
24
Nylund (2021a), p. 193.
 
25
Data is collected from annual reports of the courts on http://​www.​oikeus.​fi/​.
 
26
Data on the prevalence of oral hearings and granting of leaves to appeal (leave for continued consideration), are collected from Annual Reports of the courts found on www.​oikeus.​fi.
 
27
Pellonpää (2021).
 
29
Korkein Oikeus (2021), p. 5.
 
30
‘Tuomioistuinten työtilastoja vuodelta 2018’, Oikeusministeriön julkaisuja, Toiminta ja hallinto 2019:8 (the Finnish Ministry of Justice 2019). http://​julkaisut.​valtioneuvosto.​fi/​bitstream/​handle/​10024/​161460/​OMTH_​2019_​8_​Tuomioistuinten_​ty%c3%b6tilastoja_​vuodelta_​2018.​pdf?​sequence=​4 &​ isAllowed=​y, pp. 34–35.
 
33
Parliamentary Ombudsman of Finland (2021), pp. 36–39.
 
34
See Saarensola (2014), pp. 238–240; Ervo and Dahlqvist (2014), pp. 273–276.
 
35
Kekkonen (2002), pp. 84–85.
 
36
Edilex publishes «Lakikirja» and Talentum «Suomen Laki». Talentum also publishes the Swedish-language version «Finlands Lag». http://​www.​editapublishing.​fi/​ and www.​talentumshop.​fi.
 
37
Timonen (2002), pp. 24–28. The President may also issue decrees relating to foreign policy.
 
38
Pihlajamäki (2018), pp. 223–230.
 
39
Karhu (2008); Viljanen (2007), p. 317.
 
40
See also Nylund (2023).
 
41
See also Husa (2012), p. 9.
 
42
Husa (2020); Suviranta (2008); Scheinin (2002), pp. 40–42 and 45–50.
 
43
Björne (2002), pp. 170–171; Tuori (2011), pp. 129–131; Aarnio (2012), pp. 9–11; Siltala (2003), pp. 508–511 and 520.
 
44
Björne (2007), pp. 223–227; Lindroos-Hovinheimo (2012), p. 22.
 
45
Letto-Vanamo (2004).
 
46
Tontti (2002), p. 113.
 
47
Aarnio (1984).
 
48
Letto-Vanamo (2004), pp. 124–126.
 
49
Pöyhönen (2002), pp. 60–63.
 
50
Aarnio (2011), pp. 150–151.
 
51
Timonen (2002), pp. 22–25; Tolonen (2003), pp. 128–134; Karhu (2003).
 
52
Siltala (2003), pp. 247–284; Tuori (2011), pp. 161–172; Karhu (2003).
 
53
Boucht (2014), pp. 172–174.
 
54
In Finland, the ideal is that ordinary people should be able to understand what the law is by reading the law. Therefore, the language used in the law must be simple. See Husa (2012).
 
55
See for example the Consumer Protection Act defining consumer, consumer goods and services, and business, and the Personal Data Act, defining the objectives of the act, the scope of application and important terminology in the first three sections of the Act.
 
56
Timonen (2002), p. 28; Boucht (2014).
 
57
Case C-478/99 Commission v Sweden [2002] ECR I–04147.
 
58
Timonen (2002), p. 29; Aarnio (2002), pp. 13–15 and 18–19.
 
59
Pihlajamäki (2018), pp. 219–221.
 
60
Mäenpää (2008) and Tuori (2003).
 
61
Nieminen (2018), pp. 143–176.
 
62
The number of persons holding a doctoral degree in law from a Finnish university 498 at the end of 2015, Halila and Pönkä (2016). Since then, 70–75 new degrees have been earned.
 
63
Timonen (2002), p. 30; Letto-Vanamo (2011); Boucht (2014).
 
64
Lindroos-Hovinheimo (2012).
 
65
Tolonen (2003), pp. 175 ff.; Siltala (2003), pp. 247–284; Karhu (2003).
 
66
Aarnio (2002), pp. 6–7.
 
67
Tuori (2011), pp. 128–129; Letto-Vanamo (2004).
 
68
Lindroos-Hovinheimo (2012); Aarnio (2011), pp. 162–163.
 
69
Tuori (2002).
 
70
Tuori (2011), pp. 161–172.
 
71
Karhu (2003).
 
72
Aarnio (2012).
 
73
Siltala (1999).
 
74
Aarnio (2002), pp. 7–8.
 
76
Because Swedish is the official language of Finland, legal education is offered in Swedish at the University of Helsinki. The University has also a bilingual programme in Vaasa. Some legal books are originally written in Swedish, and some are translated into the language. However, only a small part of all legal books is available in Swedish. There are several professorships designated as Swedish speaking in Helsinki, and those professors teach mostly in the Swedish language. Swedish-speaking students can submit papers, exams and theses in Swedish, and exam questions are available in the same language.
 
77
Saarensola (2014), p. 234.
 
79
Ervo (2015).
 
80
Lindroos-Hovinheimo (2012).
 
81
Letto-Vanamo (2002).
 
82
Nylund (2021a); Leino-Sandberg et al. (2016), pp. 399–423.
 
83
Pihlajamäki (2018), pp. 249–252.
 
84
See Husa et al. (2007); Sunde (2007).
 
85
Nylund (2018); Ervo (2016), pp. 32–37.
 
86
Ervo (2016), p. 44.
 
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Metadata
Title
An Introduction to Finnish Legal Culture
Author
Anna Nylund
Copyright Year
2023
Book
Handbook on Legal Cultures

Print ISBN: 978-3-031-27744-3

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-031-27745-0

Copyright Year: 2023

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27745-0_14