Law of Finland

The law of Finland (Finnish: Suomen laki, Swedish: Finlands lag) is based on the civil law tradition, consisting mostly of statutory law promulgated by the Parliament of Finland. The constitution of Finland, originally approved in 1919 and rewritten in 2000, has supreme authority and sets the most important procedures for enacting and applying legislation. As in civil law systems in general, judicial decisions are not generally authoritative and there is little judge-made law. Supreme Court decisions can be cited, but they are not actually binding.

As a member of the European Union, European Union law is in force in Finland, and Finland implements EU directives in its national legislation. The Court of Justice of the European Union is the ultimate authority in matters in the competence of the European Union.

As in Sweden, administrative law is interpreted by a separate administrative court system. Besides law proper, i.e. acts of parliament (laki), permanent government decrees (asetus) form an important body of law. Issued if permitted by an act of parliament, the decrees may clarify acts and guide implementation thereof, but not contradict them.