Proposal reforming the Act on the Sámi Parliament is not taken forward

The proposal concerning the reform of the Act on the Sámi Parliament will not be submitted to Parliament. The Plenum of the Sámi Parliament decided this week that it does not accept the proposal on the amendment of the Act on the Sámi Parliament.

The reform of the Act would have brought essential changes to the linguistic and cultural autonomy of the Sámi people. The Ministry of Justice considers that it cannot take the proposal forward without the approval of the Sámi Parliament.

In November 2017, following negotiations with the Sámi Parliament, the Ministry of Justice appointed a committee to prepare a reform of the Act on the Sámi Parliament. A parliamentary monitoring group was appointed to support the preparation of the amendments to the Act.

The draft proposal on the amendment of the Act on the Sámi Parliament prepared by the committee was sent out for comments in June. The committee consisted of representatives of the government parties and the Sámi Parliament.

Inquiries:

Director Johanna Suurpää, tel. +358 50 520 9320, [email protected]

Johanna Hautakorpi, Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 2951 50018, [email protected]

Yrsa Nyman, Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 2951 50293, [email protected]