Fundamental rights The Ministry of Justice prepares the fundamental provisions relating to the Constitution and the public administration. These include the laws regulating the competency of the President of the Republic, the Parliament and the Go...

Linguistic rights The Ministry of Justice is responsible for promoting the realisation of linguistic rights by monitoring the implementation and application of the Language Act and by issuing recommendations. The Unit for Democracy, Language Affai...

Fundamental and human rights The Ministry of Justice prepares amendments to the Constitution and the fundamental rights provisions laid down in it. The Ministry is also responsible for coordinating the national fundamental and human rights policy....

Rights of the Sámi people Ministry of Justice safeguards the rights of the Sámi people The Ministry of Justice supports the development of Sámi cultural autonomy and coordinates the handling of Sámi rights across the ministries. The Ministry of Ju...

Rights of the Sámi people Ministry of Justice safeguards the rights of the Sámi people The Ministry of Justice supports the development of Sámi cultural autonomy and coordinates the handling of Sámi rights across the ministries. The Ministry of Ju...

European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) was established in 2007 by the Council Regulation (EC) No 168/2007. The purpose of the Fundamental Rights Agency is to provide independent, e...

One of the objectives set out in the Government Programme is to promote democracy and human rights education and the participation of young people and to reinforce the obligation to consult young people. The task of the coordination group is to monitor and support the planning and implementation of the measures.

Organising and securing the exercise of rights of access under the hague convention on international child abduction A child has the right to keep in touch and spend time with the parent with whom he or she does not reside also when the parent res...

15.1.2026 | Today the Government decided in its plenary session to submit to Parliament the Government Report on the Application of Language Legislation in 2025. The report provides important monitoring data on the current state of Finland’s national languages and other indigenous languages and on the realisation of linguistic rights.

Crime victims The Ministry of Justice is responsible for drafting the legislation related to the legal status of crime victims and for improving the position of crime victims within its mandate. The efforts to improve the position of crime victims...

Finnish and Swedish Linguistic rights are based on section 17 of the Constitution . The Language Act contains more detailed provisions on the linguistic rights laid down in the Constitution, and it applies to the Finnish and Swedish languages. Eve...

The goal of the project is to facilitate the participation of children and young people in policy-making at the national level. The goal is to develop methods, gather best practices and produce training materials on child participation and to provide relevant training for public authorities. The project in Finland is part of the joint European CP4Europe project, which is coordinated by the Council of Europe.

EU funding programmes for 2021–2027 In 2021–2027, EU funding in the area of justice will consist of two different funding programmes: the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV) and the Justice Programme. Together, these programmes ...

Finland – a state governed by the rule of law Finnish democracy is built on the rule of law. The rule of law and respect for fundamental rights are key principles enshrined in the Constitution of Finland. Finland is also committed to these princip...

The Government Programme states that preparation of a cross-administrative democracy programme shall be launched. The National Democracy Programme 2025 covers the numerous measures related to civil society and participation outlined in the Government Programme of Prime Minister Marin. It will function as an umbrella for democracy-related projects to be carried out by different ministries.

From 1 December 2020 to 30 November 2021, the Ministry of Justice will implement the Election Pool project, which will support elections and cooperation between authorities. The project is funded by the European Commission’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship (REC) Programme. The objective of the project is to strengthen cooperation among authorities and cooperation with social media in addressing election interference and improving election preparedness.

Justice affairs in the EU EU affairs at the Ministry of Justice The Ministry of Justice is responsible for EU projects within its mandate and seeks to influence EU legislation proactively. The objective is to ensure that Finland’s interests are se...

Department for Democracy and Public Law The Department for Democracy and Public Law is responsible for tasks related to fundamental rights policy, legislation in the field of public law, and implementation of electoral and other participatory righ...

Policy of the Ministry of Justice for International and EU Activities The main responsibility of the Ministry of Justice is to ensure the operation of the rule of law. The Ministry’s international and EU activities support the achievement of its i...

International and EU affairs The EU-related activities and international cooperation conducted by the Ministry of Justice aim to maintain an open, active and safe society where people can be confident that their rights are being respected. The eff...