Finland
1. Constitutional structure and position of IHL in domestic law
Finland is a democratic republic. Section 1 of the Finnish Constitution (731/1999) states that “Finland participates in international co-operation for the protection of peace and human rights [...]”. According to section 93 of the Constitution, “the foreign policy of Finland is directed by the President of the Republic in co-operation with the Government”. The President makes the most important formal decisions concerning foreign policy in a plenary session of the government and on the basis of a draft government decision presented by the minister concerned.
It is the President who has the capacity to enter into international agreements and this may be delegated only by an Act of Parliament to the government, a ministry or – to a limited extent – some other authority. Under the prevailing national practice concerning treaties, an implementing decree issued by the President is required in order for a treaty to become internally applicable law.
In certain cases the final acceptance or ratification of a treaty is subject to previous parliamentary approval. Under section 94 of the Constitution, such approval is necessary in respect of international obligations containing provisions of a legislative nature, or which are otherwise significant or otherwise require approval by Parliament under the Constitution. Likewise, Parliament must approve any denunciation of international obligations whose acceptance required parliamentary approval. All Acts of Parliament must be signed into law by the President in the form of a presidential decree before they can be published and enter into force.
One feature of the Finnish legal system is that it is possible for an Act to constitute a departure from the Constitution. In such a case the Constitution is not amended but the Act containing the departure enters into force by means of a special procedure for constitutional amendments. This procedure enables the government and Parliament to accept international obligations that are in some way inconsistent with the Constitution. Such decisions are taken reluctantly and only after careful scrutiny. The decision as to the legislative procedure to be used is made by the parliamentary Committee for Constitutional Law. When tabling a bill in Parliament, the government gives its view as to the appropriate procedure.
The general and administrative courts in Finland may apply international treaties directly, but they seldom do so in practice.
Finland has ratified the four Geneva Conventions on 22 February 1955 as well as both Additional Protocols I and II of 1977 on 7 August 1980. On the same day, Finland also accepted the competence of the International Fact-Finding Commission under Article 90 of Protocol I. Both the Conventions and the Additional Protocols were incorporated into national law through an Act of Parliament and a presidential decree (the Conventions through 7 - 8/1955 and the Protocols through 81 - 82/1980) and entered into force on 22 August 1955 and 7 February 1981 respectively.
2. Implementing institutions
The Finnish National Committee for the Dissemination of Humanitarian Law was set up in 1979 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an informal working group of government experts to coordinate dissemination in Finland of the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols. In 1993, the Committee became an official and permanent body chaired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Director General for Legal Affairs. It now includes representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, the Interior, Education, Social Affairs and Health, and Defence, and from the armed forces' general staff and the Finnish Red Cross. Since 2001, the Finnish Society of Humanitarian Law and the Finnish branch of Amnesty International have also been represented on the Committee. The same year, the Committee changed its mandate and its name became, consequently, Finnish National Committee for International Humanitarian Law.
The Committee's mandate is now to coordinate the implementation and dissemination of the Conventions and Protocols and other international humanitarian law instruments, to prepare for the International Conferences of the Red Cross and Red Crescent and other international conferences relating to humanitarian law, and to monitor new developments in international humanitarian law and consider their implications for Finland.
3. Legal advisers to the armed forces
There are over 20 legal advisers in the Finnish Defence Forces, serving at various headquarters in all parts of the country. They have the status of civil servants. Most act as general legal advisers performing various legal duties, though training and advice in international humanitarian law is an important part of their duties. During war or other crises the number of legal advisers would grow to five to 10 times their number in peacetime. The legal advisers work and have influence at all levels and functions of the Finnish Defence Forces.
4. Bibliography
- Sandvik-Nylund Monica, Caught in conflicts – civilian victims, humanitarian assistance and international law, Institute for Human Rights, Åbo Akademi University, 1998
- Hannikainen Lauri, Hanski Raija, Rosas Allan, Implementing humanitarian law applicable in armed conflicts – the case of Finland, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1992
- Nationale Strafverfolgung völkerrechtlicher Verbrechen (National Prosecution of International Crimes), 2: Finnland / Polen / Schweden, A. Eser & H. Kreicker, Beiträge und Materialien aus dem Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches und internationales Strafrecht Freiburg, iuscrim, Freiburg in Breisgau, 2003.
- Humanitaarinen oikeus ja Suomi (Humanitarian law and Finland), Ministry for Foreign Affairs, 11/1999
- Kulttuuriomaisuuden suojelu osana kriisityötä (Protection of cultural property as a part of crisis management), Finnish UNESCO Commission, 77/1999
