Finland – a state governed by the rule of law

The Ministry of Justice maintains various channels for participation and keeps developing them further. In addition to voting in elections, citizens can make a difference in society and influence legislation by using the online services we maintain:

• Kansalaisaloite.fi
• Kuntalaisaloite.fi
• Lausuntopalvelu.fi
• Otakantaa.fi
• Demokratia.fi 
• Puoluerekisteri.fi.

Read more about promoting democracy and opportunities for participation and elections and voting.

The Government’s anti-corruption work in 2021–2023 is based on the Anti-Corruption Strategy. The Strategy supports and strengthens the rule of law and good governance.

The Ministry of Justice develops preventive measures, is responsible for international cooperation and coordinates the national anti-corruption network. In addition to the Ministry of Justice, anti-corruption work is also carried out by several other actors. For example, the Ministry of Finance is responsible for coordinating the public-service ethical standards. The National Audit Office of Finland audits central government finances and supervises compliance with the fiscal policy rules and the rules on party and election funding. It is within the competence of the National Bureau of Investigation to investigate corruption. 

Information on corruption and its identification and prevention is available on the website Anti-Corruption.fi. Read more about the Ministry of Justice’s anti-corruption efforts and international cooperation for combating corruption. 

In a state governed by the rule of law, it is important to enforce criminal liability and safeguard the rights of both the victim and the suspect and the accused. In this area, the Ministry of Justice is currently working on a project to improve the efficiency of the criminal procedure (in Finnish), and a number of measures to improve the position of crime victims are underway, for example. 

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) protects persons deprived of their liberty from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment. The Committee carries out periodic visits, including to Finland. Information on the Committee’s latest visit to Finland is available on the Committee’s website.

Finland is also engaged in work promoting compliance with the rule of law on the international arena. The most important channels for multilateral international cooperation are the UN, the OECD, the Council of Europe and the Hague Conference on Private International Law. We also work in close cooperation with the Nordic and Baltic countries. Read more about our bilateral cooperation.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Justice is the designated central authority for the purposes of several conventions concerning the international administration of justice and is engaged in cooperation in the area of international legal assistance. 

The rule of law is one of the core values on which the European Union is built. The development of the rule of law is being monitored in a variety of ways in Finland, the EU, Europe and even more broadly. The monitoring data lays an important foundation for the development work.

• A key tool in protecting the rule of law in the EU is the annual Rule of Law Report published by the European Commission. According to the Commission’s 2022 Rule of Law Report, the Finnish justice system continues to enjoy a very high level of perceived judicial independence. According to the report, 88 per cent of the general public and 87 per cent of companies perceive the independence of courts as ‘fairly or very good’. In the 2022 rule of law report, Member States will be given recommendations tailored to them for the first time. Read more about the rule of Law report from the commisson communication.
• The Commission also publishes an annual EU Justice Scoreboard, which monitors the independence, quality and efficiency of the national justice systems. 
• The independence of the justice systems in Europe is monitored by the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ). The CEPEJ published its tenth Evaluation Report in October 2022. The Report contains data and analyses on the functioning of the judicial systems of the 44 Council of Europe member States and three observer States, providing a tool for the States to measure the efficiency and quality of their systems. For data on the Finnish judicial system, please see the CEPEJ's Report.
• Every year, the Council of Europe also publishes a comprehensive report on the state of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe.
• Globally, the development of the rule of law in different countries, including Finland, is monitored by the World Justice Project, which publishes an annual Rule of Law Index. Read more about the 2022 Rule of Law Index.
• As part of the Government’s analysis, assessment and research activities, a VNTEAS project aiming to produce information on the state and development of the rule of law in Finland and Europe, particularly from the perspective of EU law, has been carried out. The report of the project, The Rule of Law in the European Union and Finland, was published on 11 May 2022 and is available here (only in Finnish and Swedish).