1.
Council of State (Finland)
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The Council of State is Finlands cabinet, it directs the Government of Finland. However, in translations to English, the distinction is often blurred between cabinet and government in the wider sense. This wider sense includes the Parliament of Finland, the agencies that are directed by the Cabinet. Despite of the blurring by translators, the difference is significant. The Cabinet is directly responsible to the parliament and may be dismissed by a motion of no confidence, the President, according to the 2000 constitution, formally appoints the cabinet, but the daily working is the responsibility of the Prime Minister. In 1918, after Finlands independence, the Cabinet, that in the Grand Duchy of Finland had been called the Senate of Finland, was reorganized and renamed to the Council of State. One of the objectives of that reform was to separate the judiciary from the executive branch. International treaties and declaration of war are within the authority of the parliament, less important matters are decided within the respective ministries. Matters within the authority of the President are decided at plenary meetings of the Cabinet, with the exception of appointments, pardon, after election, the party in plurality has the privilege to appoint a negotiator to form the government. In practice, this person is the leader of the party, since 1972, all cabinets have been formed as coalitions of multiple parties that together constitute a parliamentary majority. In an intense period after elections, the negotiator will attempt to forge a consensus between the parties on the issues to be prosecuted during the tenure of the government. This will then be written down in a government platform, following from President Urho Kekkonens excessive direction over the government formation process, the 2000 constitution limited the Presidents power in government formation. Today, the President only formally appoints the government, but cannot select or remove individual members, the current Council of State, the 72nd since Finlands independence, was inaugurated by President Sauli Niinistö on 29 May 2015. The current Council of State is a Center-right, 14-minister coalition consisting of the Centre Party, the Finns Party, the Chancellor of Justice is not a member of the Council of State but must by law attend its every meeting. Council of State Minister for Foreign Affairs Minister of Justice Minister of Defence Minister of Finance Minister of the Interior The Finnish Government – Official site
2.
European Council
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The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy also takes part in its meetings. Established as a summit in 1975, the European Council was formalised as an institution in 2009 upon the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon. Its current President is Donald Tusk, while the European Council has no formal legislative power, it is a strategic body that provides the union with general political directions and priorities, and acts as a collective presidency. The European Commission remains the sole initiator of legislation, but the European Council is able to provide an impetus to guide legislative policy, decisions of the European Council are taken by consensus, except where the Treaties provide otherwise. The European Council officially gained the status of an EU institution after Lisbon treaty in 2000, before that, the first summits of EU heads of state or government were held in February and July 1961. The summits were only formalised in the period between 1974 and 1988, the inaugural European Council, as it became known, was held in Dublin on 10 and 11 March 1975 during Irelands first Presidency of the Council of Ministers. In 1987, it was included in the treaties for the first time and had a role for the first time in the Maastricht Treaty. At first only a minimum of two meetings per year were required, which resulted in an average of three meetings per year being held for the 1975-1995 period, since 1996, the number of meetings were required to be minimum four per year. For the latest 2008-2014 period, this minimum was well exceeded, the seat of the Council was formalised in 2002, basing it in Brussels. Three types of European Councils exist, Informal, Scheduled and Extraordinary, some meetings of the European Council are seen by some as turning points in the history of the European Union. For example,1969, The Hague, Foreign policy and enlargement,1974, Paris, Creation of the Council. 1985, Milan, Initiate IGC leading to the Single European Act,1991, Maastricht, Agreement on the Maastricht Treaty. 1992, Edinburgh, Agreement to retain at Strasbourg the plenary seat of the European Parliament,1993, Copenhagen, Leading to the definition of the Copenhagen Criteria. 1997, Amsterdam, Agreement on the Amsterdam Treaty,1998, Brussels, Selected member states to adopt the euro. 1999, Cologne, Declaration on military forces,1999, Tampere, Institutional reform 2000, Lisbon, Lisbon Strategy 2002, Copenhagen, Agreement for May 2004 enlargement. 2007, Lisbon, Agreement on the Lisbon Treaty,2009, Brussels, Appointment of first president and merged High Representative. The Treaty of Lisbon made the European Council a formal institution distinct from the Council of the EU, as an outgrowth of the Council of the EU, the European Council had previously followed the same Presidency, rotating between each member state. Following the ratification of the treaty in December 2009, the European Council elected the then-Prime Minister of Belgium Herman Van Rompuy as its first permanent president
3.
Official residence
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An official residence is the residence at which a nations head of state, head of government, governor or other senior figure officially resides. It may or may not be the location where the individual conducts work-related functions or lives. This has occurred in the 21st century in Detroit and New York City, in the case of Denver, no mayor has ever lived in the official residence, the city instead makes it available to certain non-profit groups for special functions. The President uses own private residence, - Its address is 1 Cheongwadae-ro, Jongro-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea. It is located next to Gyeongbokgung, the palace during the Joseon Dynasty. Cheong Nam Dae - Cheong Nam Dae used to be one of the two residences for the President of Republic of Korea. It was returned to public in 2003, - It is located in Cheongwon-gun, North Chungcheong Province. Cheong Hae Dae - Cheong Hae Dae used to be one of the two residences for the President of Republic of Korea. Although the president no longer uses this facility this compound is still under the administration of the Republic of Korea Navy, - It is located on one of the islands of Geoje-shi, South Gyeongsang Province. Chongri Gonggwan - This is the residence for the Prime Minister of Republic of Korea. The Prime Minister, however, does not work here, - Its address is 111-2 Samcheongdong-gil, Jongro-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea. It is located close to Cheong Wa Dae, gukhoeuijang Gonggwan - This is the official residence for the Speaker of the National Assembly of Republic of Korea. The Speaker, also, does not work here, - It is located in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, where many foreign missions to Korea are located. Daebeobwonjang Gonggwan - This is the residence for the Chief Justice of Republic of Korea. The Chief Justice, also, does not work here, - It is also located in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Most ministers of state and heads of administrative regions also have official residences, although they are not listed here. S
4.
Helsinki
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Helsinki is the capital and largest city of Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland. Helsinki has a population of 629,512, a population of 1,231,595. Helsinki is located some 80 kilometres north of Tallinn, Estonia,400 km east of Stockholm, Sweden, Helsinki has close historical connections with these three cities. The Helsinki metropolitan area includes the core of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen. It is the worlds northernmost metro area of one million people. The Helsinki metropolitan area is the fourth largest metropolitan area in the Nordic countries, Helsinki is Finlands major political, educational, financial, cultural, and research center as well as one of northern Europes major cities. Approximately 75% of foreign companies operating in Finland have settled in the Helsinki region, the nearby municipality of Vantaa is the location of Helsinki Airport, with frequent service to various destinations in Europe and Asia. In 2009, Helsinki was chosen to be the World Design Capital for 2012 by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design, the city was the venue for the 1952 Summer Olympics and the 52nd Eurovision Song Contest 2007. In 2011, the Monocle magazine ranked Helsinki the most liveable city in the world in its Liveable Cities Index 2011, in the Economist Intelligence Units August 2015 Liveability survey, assessing the best and worst cities to live in globally, Helsinki placed among the worlds top ten cities. Helsinki is used to refer to the city in most languages, the Swedish name Helsingfors is the original official name of the city. The Finnish name probably comes from Helsinga and similar names used for the river that is known as the Vantaa River. Helsingfors comes from the name of the parish, Helsinge and the rapids, which flowed through the original village. As part of the Grand Duchy of Finland in the Russian Empire, one suggestion for the origin of the name Helsinge is that it originated with medieval Swedish settlers who came from Hälsingland in Sweden. Others have proposed that the name derives from the Swedish word helsing, other Scandinavian cities located at similar geographic locations were given similar names at the time, for example Helsingør and Helsingborg. The name Helsinki has been used in Finnish official documents and in Finnish language newspapers since 1819, the decrees issued in Helsinki were dated with Helsinki as the place of issue. This is how the form Helsinki came to be used in written Finnish, in Helsinki slang the city is called Stadi. Hesa, is not used by natives to the city, helsset is the Northern Sami name of Helsinki
5.
Finland
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Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a sovereign state in Northern Europe. A peninsula with the Gulf of Finland to the south and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west, the country has borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north. Estonia is south of the country across the Gulf of Finland, Finland is a Nordic country situated in the geographical region of Fennoscandia, which also includes Scandinavia. Finlands population is 5.5 million, and the majority of the population is concentrated in the southern region,88. 7% of the population is Finnish people who speak Finnish, a Uralic language unrelated to the Scandinavian languages, the second major group are the Finland-Swedes. In terms of area, it is the eighth largest country in Europe, Finland is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in the capital Helsinki, local governments in 311 municipalities, and an autonomous region, the Åland Islands. Over 1.4 million people live in the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area, from the late 12th century, Finland was an integral part of Sweden, a legacy reflected in the prevalence of the Swedish language and its official status. In the spirit of the notion of Adolf Ivar Arwidsson, we are not Swedes, we do not want to become Russians, let us therefore be Finns, nevertheless, in 1809, Finland was incorporated into the Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland. In 1906, Finland became the nation in the world to give the right to vote to all adult citizens. Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, Finland declared itself independent, in 1918, the fledgling state was divided by civil war, with the Bolshevik-leaning Reds supported by the equally new Soviet Russia, fighting the Whites, supported by the German Empire. After a brief attempt to establish a kingdom, the became a republic. During World War II, the Soviet Union sought repeatedly to occupy Finland, with Finland losing parts of Karelia, Salla and Kuusamo, Petsamo and some islands, Finland joined the United Nations in 1955 and established an official policy of neutrality. The Finno-Soviet Treaty of 1948 gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics during the Cold War era, Finland was a relative latecomer to industrialization, remaining a largely agrarian country until the 1950s. It rapidly developed an advanced economy while building an extensive Nordic-style welfare state, resulting in widespread prosperity, however, Finnish GDP growth has been negative in 2012–2014, with a preceding nadir of −8% in 2009. Finland is a top performer in numerous metrics of national performance, including education, economic competitiveness, civil liberties, quality of life, a large majority of Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, though freedom of religion is guaranteed under the Finnish Constitution. The first known appearance of the name Finland is thought to be on three rune-stones. Two were found in the Swedish province of Uppland and have the inscription finlonti, the third was found in Gotland, in the Baltic Sea. It has the inscription finlandi and dates from the 13th century, the name can be assumed to be related to the tribe name Finns, which is mentioned first known time AD98. The name Suomi has uncertain origins, but a candidate for a source is the Proto-Baltic word *źemē, in addition to the close relatives of Finnish, this name is also used in the Baltic languages Latvian and Lithuanian
6.
President of Finland
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The President of the Republic of Finland is the nations head of state. Under the Finnish constitution, executive power is vested in the president, the president is elected directly by the people of Finland for a term of six years. Since 1991, no president may be elected for more than two consecutive terms, the president must be a native-born Finnish citizen. The office was established by the Constitution Act of 1919, the current office-holder is Sauli Niinistö. Officially the head of state is known as the President of the Republic of Finland or, more often and this is in contrast to the former presidents, who retain the title President. In other contexts, the term for president is puheenjohtaja – except for appeals courts. Candidates for president can be nominated by registered parties which have received at least one seat in the parliamentary election. A candidate may also be nominated by 20,000 enfranchised citizens, between 1919 and 1988, the president was elected indirectly by an electoral college made up of electors chosen by voters in the presidential election. Since 1994, the president has been elected by a popular vote. If only one candidate is nominated, he or she becomes president without an election, otherwise, the first round of balloting takes place on the third Sunday of January in the election year. If one of the candidates receives more than half of the votes cast, if no candidate wins a majority in the first stage, the top two candidates rerun in the second stage three weeks later. The candidate who receives more votes is elected. In the event of a tie, the election is resolved by lot, the Council of State confirms the outcome of the election and, if necessary, conducts the drawing of lots. The president assumes office on the first day of the following the election. There have been several presidential elections. The first president, Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg, was chosen by the Finnish parliament due to the rule of the constitution. In 1940 and 1943, the 1937 electoral college chose the president, as it was felt that an election could not be arranged due to the martial law. In 1944 special legislation directly stipulated that Marshal Mannerheim be elected president for six years after Risto Ryti had resigned mid-term, in 1946, special legislation empowered the Parliament to choose a successor for the remainder of Mannerheims term, the latter having resigned
7.
Term of office
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A term of office is the length of time a person serves in a particular elected office. In many jurisdictions there is a limit on how long terms of office may be before the officeholder must be subject to re-election. Some jurisdictions exercise term limits, setting a number of terms an individual may hold in a particular office. Being the origin of the Westminster system, aspects of the United Kingdoms system of government are replicated in other countries. The monarch serves as head of state until his or her death or abdication, in the United Kingdom Members of Parliament in the House of Commons are elected for the duration of the parliament. Following dissolution of the Parliament, an election is held which consists of simultaneous elections for all seats. For most MPs this means that their terms of office are identical to the duration of the Parliament, an MP elected in a by-election mid-way through a Parliament, regardless of how long they have occupied the seat, is not exempt from facing re-election at the next general election. The Septennial Act 1715 provided that a Parliament expired seven years after it had been summoned, prior to the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 parliaments had no minimum duration. Parliaments could be dissolved early by the monarch at the Prime Ministers request, the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 mandated that Parliaments should last their full five years. Early dissolution is possible, but under much more limited circumstances. Hereditary peers and life peers retain membership of the House of Lords for life, Lords Spiritual hold membership of the House of Lords until the end of their time as bishops, though a senior bishop may be made a life peer upon the end of their bishopric. The devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are variations on the system of government used at Westminster, the office of the leader of the devolved administrations has no numeric term limit imposed upon it. However, in the case of the Scottish Government and the Welsh Assembly Government there are fixed terms for which the legislatures can sit and this is imposed at four years. Elections may be held before this time but only if no administration can be formed, offices of local government other regional elected officials follow similar rules to the national offices discussed above, with persons elected to fixed terms of a few years. Federal judges have different terms in office, however, the majority of the federal judiciary, Article III judges, such as those of the Supreme Court, courts of appeal, and federal district courts, serve for life. The terms of office for officials in state governments according to the provisions of state constitutions. The term for state governors is four years in all states but Vermont and New Hampshire, the National Conference of State Legislatures reported in January 2007 that among state legislatures,44 states had terms of office for the lower house of the state legislature at two years. Five had terms of office at four years,37 states had terms of office for the upper house of the state legislature at four years
8.
Parliament of Finland
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The Eduskunta is the parliament of Finland. The unicameral parliament has 200 members and normally meets in the Parliament House in Helsinki, however, during the 2015–2017 renovation of the Parliament House, the parliament temporary meets in the nearby Sibelius Academy. The latest election to the parliament took place on April 19,2015, under the Constitution of Finland, the 200-member unicameral parliament exercises supreme decision-making authority in Finland. Sovereignty belongs to the people and that power is vested in the parliament and it passes legislation, decides on the state budget, approves international treaties, and supervises the activities of the government. It may alter the constitution, bring about the resignation of the Council of State, legislation may be initiated by the Council of State, or one of the members of the Eduskunta. To make changes to the Constitution, amendments must be approved twice by the Eduskunta, the Eduskuntas 200 representatives are elected directly by secret ballot on the basis of proportional representation. The electoral period is four years, Elections previously took two days but as early voting became popular they are now conducted on one day, since 2011 the third Sunday in April. Every citizen who is at least 18 years of age by the date is entitled to vote in general elections. All registered parties are entitled to nominate candidates, individual citizens, in parliamentary elections, Finland is divided into 13 electoral districts. The number of representatives returned by each district depends on the population, Åland is an exception in that it always elects one representative. The provincial state offices appoint a board in each electoral district to prepare lists of candidates. The Ministry of Justice is ultimately responsible for elections, prior to the new constitution the President had the power to do this independently. The President has called an early election eight times in Finnish history, however, there is no hard and fast election threshold to get a seat in Parliament. In large part due to this, it is impossible for one party to win an outright majority. Since the first election in 1907, only one party has won a majority—in the election of 1916. Since Finland gained independence in 1917, no party has won the 101 seats necessary for a majority and it is also very difficult for the socialist and non-socialist blocs to form a government on their own. Most Finnish governments in recent history have been coalitions between three or more parties, and many of them have been coalitions between socialist and non-socialist parties. The seats for each district are assigned according to the dHondt method
9.
Senate of Finland
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The Senate of Finland combined the functions of cabinet and supreme court in the Grand Duchy of Finland from 1816 to 1917 and in the independent Republic of Finland from 1917 to 1918. The body that would become the Senate was established in 1809, when the Diet of Porvoo was requested to, in 1816, this institution was renamed the Senate by the tsar, to demonstrate that it was equal to, rather than subsidiary to its Russian equivalent. The Senate was headed by the Governor-General of Finland, the members of the Senate had to be Finnish citizens. The Senate was divided into the division and the judicial division. In 1822 both divisions were given a Finnish vice-chairman, from 1858 and onwards the members of the senate were formally known as senators. After the February Revolution in Russia the Vice Chairman of the Economic Division became the Chairman of the Senate, due to the Civil War in 1918 the Senate was relocated to the town of Vaasa from January 29 to May 3. In 1918 the economic division became the Cabinet and the division became the Supreme Court. The vice chairman of the division became the Prime Minister of Finland
10.
Pehr Evind Svinhufvud
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Pehr Evind Svinhufvud af Qvalstad was the third President of Finland from 1931 to 1937. Serving as a lawyer, judge, and politician in the Russian Grand Duchy of Finland, in 1917–1918, Svinhufvud was the first Head of State of independent Finland, first as Chairman of the Senate and subsequently as Protector of State or Regent. He also served as Prime Minister from 1930 to 1931, Pehr Evind Svinhufvud af Qvalstad was born in Sääksmäki. He was the son of Pehr Gustaf Svinhufvud af Qvalstad, a sea captain and his father drowned at sea off Greece in 1863, when Pehr Evind was only two years old. He spent his childhood at the home of his paternal grandfather, Pehr Gustaf Svinhufvud af Qvalstad, at Rapola. The Svinhufvuds are a Finland-Swedish noble family tracing their history back to Dalarna, Pehr Gustaf Svinhufvud af Qvalstad, an army lieutenant in the reign of Charles XII, had moved from there to Rapola after the Great Northern War. The family had been ennobled in Sweden in 1574, and it was introduced to the Finnish House of Nobility in 1818. Rapola was sold when his grandfather shot himself in 1866, and Svinhufvud moved to Helsinki with his mother and he attended the Swedish-language high school in Helsinki. In 1878, at the age of 16, he enrolled at the Imperial Alexander University of Helsinki, there he gained a Bachelors degree in 1881, and then completed a Master of Arts degree in 1882, his main subjects being Finnish, Russian and Scandinavian History. After this, he took a Master of Laws degree, graduating in 1886, in 1889, Svinhufvud married Alma Timgren. They had six children, Yngve, Ilmo Gretel, Aino Mary, Eino, Arne, Svinhufvuds career in law followed a regular course, he worked as a lawyer, served at district courts, and served as a deputy judge at the Turku Court of Appeal. In 1892 he was appointed as a member of the Senates law-drafting committee at the young age of 31. For six years he worked in the committee, initially redrafting taxation laws, as head of his family, Svinhufvud participated as a member of the Estate of Nobles in the Diet of Finland in 1894 and 1899-1906. He found his work on the law-drafting committee tedious and moved to the Court of Appeal as an assistant judge in 1902, Svinhufvud stayed mainly in the background until 1899, when Imperial Russia initiated a Russification policy for the autonomous Grand Duchy. The Finnish answer was mainly legislative and constitutional resistance, of which Svinhufvud became a figure as a judge in the Court of Appeals. Bobrikov demanded that they be stopped, and when this did not happen, he used a decree which the Finns regarded as illegal to dismiss sixteen officials of the court, including Svinhufvud. He moved to Helsinki to work as a lawyer and participated in the activities both of the Diet and of a secret society, Kagal. Svinhufvud played a key role in the birth of a new system in 1905
11.
Politics of Finland
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Politics of Finland takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic and of a multi-party system. The President of Finland is the head of state, leads the foreign policy, the Prime Minister of Finland is the head of government, executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in the Parliament of Finland, and the government has limited rights to amend or extend legislation, the president has the power of veto over parliamentary decisions although it can be overrun by the parliament. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature, the Judiciary consists of two systems, regular courts and administrative courts, headed by the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court, respectively. Administrative courts process cases where decisions are contested. There is no Constitutional Court - the constitutionality of a law can be contested only as applied to a court case. Though Finland has a parliamentary system, the president has some notable powers. The foreign policy is led by the president, in co-operation with the cabinet, the main executive power lies in the cabinet headed by the prime minister. Before the constitutional rewrite, which was completed in 2000, the president enjoyed more power, finns enjoy individual and political freedoms, and suffrage is universal at 18, Finnish women became the first in the world to have unrestricted rights both to vote and to stand for parliament. The countrys population is homogeneous with no sizable immigrant population. Few tensions exist between the Finnish-speaking majority and the Swedish-speaking minority, although in certain circles there is a debate about the status of the Swedish language. The labor agreements also pose significant political questions, bargaining is highly centralized and often the government participates to coordinate fiscal policy. Finland has universal validity of collective agreements and often, but not always, the trade unions, employers. Significant trade unions are SAK, STTK, AKAVA and EK, the current Constitution was rewritten on 1 March 2000, the first was adopted on 17 July 1919. The original comprised four constitutional laws and several amendments, which the latter replaces, the Supreme Court may request legislation that interprets or modifies existing laws. Judges are appointed by the President, in principle, the constitutionality of laws in Finland is verified by a simple vote in the parliament. However, the Constitutional Law Committee of the parliament reviews any doubtful bills and recommends changes, in practice, the Constitutional Law Committee fulfills the duties of a constitutional court. A Finnish peculiarity is the possibility of making exceptions to the constitution in ordinary laws that are enacted in the procedure as constitutional amendments
12.
Finnish Declaration of Independence
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The Finnish Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Parliament of Finland on 6 December 1917. Declaring the independence was only part of the process leading to independence of Finland. There were negotiations between the Russian Provisional Government and Finnish authorities, at the time of the vote it was believed that the Provisional Government would be quickly defeated by the rebellion in Saint Petersburg. The Provisional Government survived, however, disapproved of the Power Act, the regency council was however never elected because of the strong opposition of Finnish socialists and their general strike which demanded for more radical action. On 2 November 1917, the Bolsheviks declared a right of self-determination, including the right of complete secession. On the same day the Finnish Parliament issued a declaration by which it assumed, pro tempore, the old Instrument of Government was however no longer deemed suitable. Leading circles had long held monarchism and hereditary nobility to be antiquated, the Senate of Finland, the government the Parliament had appointed in November, drafted a Declaration of Independence and a proposal for a new republican Instrument of Government. Chairman of the Senate Pehr Evind Svinhufvud read the Declaration to the Parliament on 4 December, the Declaration of Independence was technically given the form of a preamble of the proposition, and was intended to be agreed by the Parliament. Parliament adopted the Declaration on 6 December, the people of Finland feel deeply that they cannot fulfil their national and international duty without complete sovereignty. The century-old desire for freedom awaits fulfilment now, Finlands people step forward as a nation among the other nations in the world. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania declared their independence from Russia during the same period, see Estonian War of Independence, Latvian Independence and Lithuanian Wars of Independence. These three countries were occupied by, and annexed into, the Soviet Union, see Occupation of the Baltic states. The people of Finland have by this step taken their fate in their own hands, the people of Finland feel deeply that they cannot fulfil their national duty and their universal human obligations without a complete sovereignty. The century-old desire for freedom awaits fulfilment now, The People of Finland has to step forward as an independent nation among the nations in the world. Achieving this goal requires mainly some measures by the Parliament, the same goal also calls for measures from the part of the Government. The Government will approach foreign powers to seek an international recognition of our country’s independence as a state. And widely over all the horrors of the war is heard a voice, that one of the goals of the present war is to be, that no nation shall be forced against its will to be dependent on another. The Finnish people believe that the free Russian people and its constitutive National Assembly don’t want to prevent Finland’s aspiration to enter the multitude of the free and independent nations
13.
Law enforcement in Finland
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Law enforcement in Finland is the responsibility of several agencies. The Police of Finland, a police agency, is responsible for most tasks. The two other agencies are the Finnish Border Guard and the Finnish Customs. Other agencies with limited powers are the Finnish Defence Forces, municipal parking inspectors. The Police of Finland is subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior and divided into the National Police Board, within the departments, there is a division between uniformed patrol police and criminal investigation. The national unit is the Police University College, which is responsible for training, research. The Finnish Security Intelligence Service specializes in the prevention of security threats of the State, such as counterintelligence, supo was a police agency but was moved directly under the Ministry of the Interior in 2016. The NBI is a law enforcement agency. It is tasked with fighting international, organised and serious crime, and also counterintelligence and terrorism to some extent. Karhu ryhmä is also under the control of the NBI, the Finnish Border Guard have police powers in border zones, likewise, Finnish Customs have police powers when dealing with arriving persons and goods. Within their fields of work, the Customs and Border Guard officers have most police powers, in the Customs, the power to arrest is delegated to the level of senior customs inspectors. In the Border Guard, the power to arrest is delegated to the level of border control detachments commander, the Border Guard is also responsible for search and rescue and maritime search and rescue. The Customs may utilize all investigative powers, with the exception of the use of deep-cover personnel. The Border Guard may use almost all investigative powers, the Customs also occasionally enforces laws such as fuel taxes and vehicle traffic-worthiness, without connection to imported goods. PTR is a scheme for cooperation between the police, customs and border guard, in a PTR patrol, there is a patrol from two of the agencies, for instance two officers from customs and two from police, who then get acquainted with each others tasks and expertise. Another form of PTR cooperation is in criminal intelligence, the Finnish Defence Forces have provost duties and jurisdiction over guarding military installations. The Defence Forces also have the right to all military crimes. In addition, the Defence Forces have the right to conduct counter-espionage and counter-sabotage activities related to the national defence, however, Suojelupoliisi conducts actual criminal investigations of state-security-related crimes also within the Defence Forces
14.
Finnish Defence Forces
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The Finnish Defence Forces are responsible for the defence of Finland. A universal male conscription is in place, under which all men above 18 years of age serve for 165,255 or 347 days, alternative non-military service and volunteer service by women are possible. Finland is the only non-NATO EU country bordering Russia, finlands official policy states that a wartime military strength of 230,000 personnel constitutes a sufficient deterrent. The army consists of a mobile field army backed up by local defence units. Finlands defence budget equals approximately 2.8 billion euros or 1.3 percent of GDP, the voluntary overseas service is highly popular and troops serve around the world in UN, NATO and EU missions. Homeland defence willingness against an enemy is at 76%, one of the highest rates in Europe. Fighting between the White Guards and the Red Guards had already broken out about a week before around Viipuri, after winning the Civil War, the Finnish peacetime army was organized as three divisions and a brigade by professional German officers. It became the structure for the next 20 years. The coast was guarded by former czarist coastal fortifications and ships taken as prizes of war, the Air Force had already been formed in March 1918, but remained a part of the Army and did not become a fully independent fighting force until 1928. The new government instituted conscription after the Civil War and also introduced a mobilization system, when the Soviets invaded in November 1939, the Finns defeated the Red Army on numerous occasions, including at the crucial Battle of Suomussalmi. These successes were in part thanks to the application of motti tactics. While the Finns ultimately lost the war and were forced to agree to the Moscow Peace Treaty, during the war the Finns lost 25,904 men, while Soviet losses were 167,976 dead. Finland fought in the Continuation War alongside Germany from 1941 to 1944, thanks to German aid, the army was now much better equipped, and the period of conscription had been increased to two years, making possible the formation of sixteen infantry divisions. The demobilization and regrouping of the Finnish Defense Forces were carried out in late 1944 under the supervision of the Soviet-dominated Allied Control Commission. Following the Treaty of Paris in 1947, which imposed restrictions on the size and equipment of the forces and required disbandment of the Civic Guard. The reorganization resulted in the adoption of the brigade -in place of the division- as the standard formation, for the first two decades after the Second World War, the Finnish Defence Forces relied largely on obsolete wartime material. Defence spending remained minimal until the early 1960s, during the peak of the Cold War, the Finnish government made a conscious effort to increase defence capability. This resulted in the commissioning of new weapons systems and the strengthening of the defence of Finnish Lapland by the establishment of new garrisons in the area
15.
Speaker of the Parliament of Finland
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The speaker of the Parliament of Finland, along with two deputy speakers, is elected by Parliament during the first plenary session each year. Speakers are chosen for a year at a time, the speaker and two deputy speakers are elected by parliament from among its members by secret ballot. Formally, the speaker ranks second in the protocol, after the president of Finland, an interim speaker is elected for the duration of government formation talks. Parliament of Finland Diet of Finland Lantmarskalks of the Finnish House of Nobility Media related to Speakers of the Parliament of Finland at Wikimedia Commons www. eduskunta. fi
16.
Maria Lohela
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Maria Lohela is a Finnish politician and the current Speaker of the Parliament. She has served as a Member of Parliament for Finland Proper since 2011, after having maintained her seat in the 2015 election, Lohela became Speaker of the Parliament in May 2015. 36 years old when elected Speaker, she is one of the youngest MPs to hold office in the parliaments history. Before her parliamentary career, she took her bachelors degree in University of Turku and she has also served as a member of the Turku city council between 2009 and 2012. Lohela has been a proponent of an immigration policy for Finland. Along with other prominent Finns Party politicians, Lohela was one of the authors of the so-called Nuiva Manifesti, Parliament of Finland, Maria Lohela Home page
17.
Judicial system of Finland
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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 system of Finland. 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 countrys first court of appeals was established at Turku in 1634. Since then, the Code has undergone numerous changes and this division dates back to the administrative procedure of the 18th and 19th centuries. This division was formalized in 1918 when two sections of the Senate became the newly independent countrys 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 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. Both officials receive complaints from citizens about the conduct of civil servants, the Chancellor of Justice also supervises advocates. Both officials may call any Finnish authorities to render assistance as they deem fit. 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 Parliaments Constitutional Committee. Finnish thinking on criminal policy, as it was evolved by the 1980s, 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, thus, the tendency has been to rely on light punishment, especially on fines, and to emphasize short sentences of a few weeks or months. The courts are expected to ensure that punishment is not extended indirectly to the offenders family. The tendency since the early 1970s has been to decriminalize a number of actions formerly indictable under the penal code, 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, 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. As a result, the number of offenders held in internment of any kind fell dramatically, although indefinite detention remained legal, this provision was not enforced after the mid-1970s. Any lawyer applying for membership in the Finnish Bar Association must have completed a Master of Laws degree, entitling them to judicial office
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Supreme Court of Finland
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The Supreme Court of Finland, located in Helsinki, consists of a President and at minimum 15, currently 18, other Justices, usually working in five-judge panels. Its jurisdiction does not extend to the court system or the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland. Decisions of courts of appeal, as well as decisions of the Insurance Court may be appealed against to the Supreme Court. In the rare cases where a court of appeals acts as a court of first instance. The Supreme Court may annul final decisions of courts on the provided in Chapter 31 of the Code of Judicial Procedure. The Court also handles complaints concerning errors in procedure, in some cases the Court may restore the right of appeal after the expiration of a specified period of time. The Supreme Court gives advice to the President in cases concerning the right to grant a pardon and 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, the Supreme Court mainly relies on written evidence when deciding on a case. The Court may, however, hold hearings in which the parties, witnesses. The precedents are usually created in cases for which the applicable Acts of Parliament, approximately 150 such precedents are decided each year. Under the Finnish legal system a judicial precedent is not binding, courts of appeal and even district courts may depart from earlier decisions made by the Supreme Court, for example when the social circumstances have considerably changed. In practice, however, precedents of the Supreme Court are followed in cases arising after the precedent has been created, the Supreme Court may also itself depart from its earlier precedents, provided that the case is considered by an enlarged chamber or by a full court. Precedents in the Supreme Court cases are published six months. In addition they are available in a database at http. The panel of the Court deciding the precedents also makes the decisions concerning their publication, the title of a judgment briefly sets forth the point of law to which the precedent applied and which constitutes the reason for its publication. In cases containing to precedents, the Supreme Court will also have to take a position on other than those outlined in the title. However, such positions are like any other judgements of the Court, a precedent contributes to the development of national law by providing consistency in case law. The objective is that throughout the country interpret the law in a uniform manner and apply legal principles by means of consistent assessment
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Supreme Administrative Court of Finland
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The Supreme Administrative Court of Finland is the highest court in the Finnish administrative court system, parallel to the Supreme Court of Finland. Its jurisdiction covers the legality of the decisions of government officials, in most issues, it is possible to appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland from the judgment of the administrative court. However, in some areas of administrative law, an appeal requires a leave of appeal from the Supreme Administrative Court. The most important such area are insurance cases, in some restricted areas of law, for example, in parking fines, the decision of the administrative court is final and cannot be appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court. The Council of State, i. e. the Finnish government, the decisions it makes in this competence can be appealed against on the grounds of legality of the decision. As in all Finnish administrative courts, the costs of both parties in the Supreme Administrative Court are born, unless it is reasonable to award the prevailing party all or part of the costs. Nonetheless, when the authority prevails against a private claimant, it must bear all its costs, the Court has a President,20 Justices and 4 Temporary Justices, organized into three chambers of five Justices. In addition, there are 16 Expert Counsellors, in cases concerning water, environmental protection and intellectual property, the chamber is composed of five Justices and two Expert Counsellors. In 2011, the Court processed 4044 cases, with an time of hearing of 12.2 months. The homepage of the Supreme Administrative Court Of Finland Media related to Supreme Administrative Court of Finland at Wikimedia Commons
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Prosecutor General of Finland
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The Prosecutor General of Finland is the supreme prosecutor and head of the prosecution service. The current Prosecutor General of Finland is Matti Nissinen, the Prosecutor General directs and develops prosecutorial activity by issuing general instructions and guidelines to prosecutors. He may take over a case from a subordinate prosecutor, some of the duties of the Prosecutor General are assigned to the Deputy Prosecutor General, the office of which is held by Jorma Kalske. For routine prosecutorial tasks, the office has thirteen State Prosecutors, the first Prosecutor General of Finland was Matti Kuusimäki
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