Supreme Court of Finland

Supreme Court of Finland
Korkein oikeus - Högsta domstolen
The Court House of the Supreme Court
Jurisdiction	Finland
Location	Helsinki
Composition method	Appointed by the President of Finland
Authorized by	Constitution of Finland
Appeals from	Courts of Appeal
Number of positions	At least 15
Annual budget	8,96 million € (2022)[1]
Website	The homepage of the Supreme Court of Finland
President
Currently	Tatu Leppänen[2]
Since	1 September 2019

Politics of Finland
State Constitution Declaration of Independence Human rights Law enforcement Military
Executive President (list) Alexander Stubb Prime Minister (list) Petteri Orpo Government Ministries (list)
Legislative Parliament Speaker: Jussi Halla-aho
Judiciary General Courts Supreme Court Courts of Appeal District Courts Administrative Courts Supreme Administrative Court Regional Administrative Courts Prosecutor General Chancellor of Justice
Recent elections Presidential: 2006 2012 2018 Parliamentary: 2015 2019 2023 European: 2014 2019 2024
Political parties Social Democratic Party (SDP) Finns Party (PS) National Coalition Party (KOK) Centre Party (KESK) Green League (VIHR) Left Alliance (VAS) Swedish People's Party (RKP) Christian Democrats (KD) Movement Now (LIIK)
Administrative divisions Regions (Maakunnat, Landskap) Sub-regions (Seutukunnat, Ekonomiska regioner) Municipalities (Kunnat, Kommuner) Wellbeing services counties (Hyvinvointialueet, Välfärdsområde)
Foreign relations Ministry of Foreign Affairs Minister: Elina Valtonen Diplomatic missions of / in Finland Ambassadors Politics of the European Union
Finland portal Other countries
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The Supreme Court of Finland (Finnish: korkein oikeus, abbreviated as KKO; Swedish: högsta domstolen, abbreviated as HD), located in Helsinki, is the court of last resort for cases within the private law of Finland (that is, civil and criminal cases). The Court's counterpart is the Supreme Administrative Court, which is the court of last resort for cases within the administrative law.^[3][4][5]

The Supreme Court consists of a President and at minimum 15, currently 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 administering of justice in future cases. Decisions of the Courts of Appeal (Finnish: hovioikeudet, Swedish: hovrätter), as well as certain decisions of the Insurance Court may be appealed against to the Supreme Court, provided that it grants leave to appeal. In the rare criminal cases where a Court of Appeal acts as the court of first instance, the leave to appeal is not needed.^[a][6]

The Supreme Court may annul final decisions of courts on the grounds 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 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.^[7]

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.

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