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  • Article
    Finland: Parliament Adopts New Residency Requirements for Citizenship On July 1, 2024, the Finnish parliament voted to approve a government proposal to increase the length of residency requirements for naturalization for foreigners seeking to become Finnish citizens, by amending the Citizenship Act (Kansalaisuuslaki (FFS 2003/359)). Under the new amendment (Laki kansalaisuuslain muuttamisesta (FFS 474/2024)), which enters into force on October 1, 2024, persons … Continue reading “Finland: Parliament Adopts New Residency Requirements…
    • Contributor: Hofverberg, Elin
    • Date: 2024-08-05
  • Article
    Finland: Parliament Addresses Russia's Instrumentalized Immigration On July 12, 2024, the Finnish Parliament, in order to address Russia’s strategic instrumentalization of immigration by directing third-party asylum seekers to Finland’s border with Russia, adopted a new law allowing border guards to reject asylum seekers through a “push-back” procedure. The Act on Temporary Measures to Combat Instrumentalized Migration was approved by a supermajority … Continue reading “Finland: Parliament Addresses Russia’s Instrumentalized Immigration”
    • Contributor: Hofverberg, Elin
    • Date: 2024-07-17
  • Article
    Finland: Government Proposes Legislation to Stem "Instrumentalized Migration" On May 21, 2024, the Finnish Government sent a proposal for new border legislation, the Act on Temporary Measures to Combat Instrumentalized Migration, to the Finnish parliament. The proposal includes provisions and measures meant to stem “instrumentalized migration”—specifically, Russia’s direction of large numbers of asylum-seekers to the border to influence Finland’s security and social stability―and … Continue reading “Finland: Government Proposes Legislation to Stem…
    • Contributor: Hofverberg, Elin
    • Date: 2024-06-05
  • Article
    Finland: Government Closes Entire Land Border with Russia On November 28, 2023, the Finnish government announced that it will close the entire Finnish-Russian land border, including to asylum applicants, until December 13, 2023, starting at midnight on November 30, 2023. As of November 30, 2023, asylum applicants will have to apply for asylum at Finnish airports or harbors. The government cited harsh winter … Continue reading “Finland: Government Closes Entire Land Border…
    • Contributor: Hofverberg, Elin
    • Date: 2023-11-28
  • Article
    Finland: Government Closes Most Border Crossings to Russia On November 22, 2023, the Finnish government announced the temporary closure of an additional three border crossing stations between Finland and Russia. The November 22 closure comes on the heels of the closure of four other border crossings effective November 18. The closures follow a recent rise in the number of Russian asylum seekers that … Continue reading “Finland: Government Closes Most Border Crossings…
    • Contributor: Hofverberg, Elin
    • Date: 2023-11-28
  • Article
    Finland: Parliament Approves Abortion Act Amendments On October 26, 2022, the Finnish Parliament approved a parliamentary committee proposal by the Social Affairs and Health Committee that will amend the Finnish Abortion Act to make it easier for women to procure abortions before week 12, eliminating a prior requirement that two physicians sign off on the procedure.Background to the AmendmentsIn its current … Continue reading “Finland: Parliament Approves Abortion Act Amendments”
    • Contributor: Hofverberg, Elin
    • Date: 2022-12-19
  • Article
    Finland: Government Sends Proposed NATO Act for Public Review On November 3, 2022, the Finnish government sent for public review a proposal on domestic legislation related to its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) accession. The final date to submit comments is November 23, 2022.Background to the Proposed NATO ActOn May 17, 2022, the Finnish Parliament approved the government’s proposal to join NATO. The Finnish … Continue reading “Finland: Government Sends Proposed NATO Act…
    • Contributor: Hofverberg, Elin
    • Date: 2022-11-20
  • Article
    Finland: Government Limits Russian Tourist Visa Holders' Entry into Finland, Citing Threat to International Relations On September 29, 2022, the Finnish Government announced that it had issued a resolution effectively cancelling Russian tourist visas for entry into Finland.Under the European Schengen rules, which apply to Finland, tourists can be accepted into Finland only if “they are not considered to be a threat to public policy, internal security, public health or … Continue reading “Finland: Government Limits Russian Tourist Visa…
    • Contributor: Hofverberg, Elin
    • Date: 2022-10-02
  • Article
    United States: Senate and White House Ratify Finland's and Sweden's Accession to NATO On August 8, 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden officially signed the instruments of ratification of the accession protocols to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden.Sweden and Finland had applied for NATO membership in mid-May 2022 in reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.The U.S. Senate … Continue reading “United States: Senate and White House…
    • Contributor: Myers, Louis
    • Date: 2022-08-21
  • Article
    Finland: Parliament Amends Border Guard Act to Protect Against Foreign Hybrid Attacks On July 7, 2022, the Finnish Parliament adopted legislation to amend the Border Guard Act (Rajavartiolaki 2005/578) to allow for protection against hybrid attacks, meaning nonmilitary attacks against the Finnish community from foreign governments.Following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia and actions by Belarus, the Finnish government published a report on changes to the … Continue reading “Finland: Parliament Amends Border Guard Act…
    • Contributor: Hofverberg, Elin
    • Date: 2022-07-14
  • Article
    Finland: Parliament Votes to Join NATO On May 17, 2022, the Finnish parliament voted to approve the government’s proposal to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).The parliament debated joining NATO following the Finnish government and president’s joint announcement of May 15, 2022, proposing that President Sauli Niinistö apply to join NATO using his powers under article 93 of the Finnish … Continue reading “Finland: Parliament Votes to Join NATO”
    • Contributor: Hofverberg, Elin
    • Date: 2022-05-17
  • Article
    Finland: Supreme Court Rules on Sámi Indigenous Rights to Fish On April 13, 2022, the Finnish Supreme Court ruled in two cases that members of the Sámi indigenous people were not legally responsible for having violated joint Finnish-Norwegian rules on fishing, dismissing the cases on the basis of provisions in the Finnish Constitution and the United Nations International Convention on Cultural and Political Rights (ICCPR). … Continue reading “Finland: Supreme Court Rules on Sámi…
    • Contributor: Hofverberg, Elin
    • Date: 2022-05-09
  • Article
    Finland: Parliament Introduces Citizen Initiative on Limiting Mining On February 17, 2022, the Finnish Parliament introduced a citizen’s initiative to limit mining in certain areas in Finland.The purpose of the initiative as stated is to “set boundaries for mining activity and change Finnish legislation to protect certain unique waterways or other valuable natural and cultural areas.”The initiative calls on the Finnish Parliament to … Continue reading “Finland: Parliament Introduces Citizen Initiative on…
    • Contributor: Hofverberg, Elin
    • Date: 2022-03-06
  • Article
    Finland: Supreme Court Declares Judges' Participation via Videolink a Procedural Error On December 22, 2021, the Supreme Court of Finland found in two criminal appeal court cases that the participation of the judges via videolink constituted a procedural error, and remanded one of the cases.Criminal Procedure in FinlandThe Act on Criminal Procedure provides that parties may participate in proceedings electronically if the defendant agrees and the … Continue reading “Finland: Supreme Court Declares Judges’ Participation…
    • Contributor: Hofverberg, Elin
    • Date: 2022-01-12
  • Article
    Finland: Sami Truth and Reconciliation Commission Established On October 28, 2021, the Finnish government established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address the historical treatment of the indigenous Sami population and promote the attainment of the Sami people’s rights.Finnish law recognizes the Sami people as indigenous to Finland, and the Finnish Constitution affords them protection as a native people. (17 § Finlands … Continue reading “Finland: Sami Truth and Reconciliation Commission…
    • Contributor: Hofverberg, Elin
    • Date: 2021-11-18
  • Article
    Finland: Parliament Votes to Adopt Corona Passport On October 15, 2021, the Finnish Parliament voted to adopt rules for using COVID-19 passports to access certain public spaces while COVID-19 restrictions are in force. The proposal easily passed with 105 votes in favor, 33 votes against, and 60 members of Parliament absent.In accordance with the new rules, which amend the Infectious Disease Act … Continue reading “Finland: Parliament Votes to Adopt Corona…
    • Contributor: Hofverberg, Elin
    • Date: 2021-10-19
  • Article
    Finland: Parliament Amends Law on Infectious Diseases, Removes Close-Contact Reference On September 22, 2021, the Finnish Parliament voted to adopt an amendment to the Infectious Disease Act (Lag om smittsamma sjukdomar (FFS 2016/1227)), removing the “close contact” definition in Section 58d (58d §), a temporary provision that applies to public spaces in restaurants, stores, and other venues.As temporarily adopted in May 2021 in response to … Continue reading “Finland: Parliament Amends Law on Infectious…
    • Contributor: Hofverberg, Elin
    • Date: 2021-09-27
  • Article
    Finland: Parliament Approves Early Voting in Municipal Elections at Military Garrisons Because of COVID-19 Pandemic (May 13, 2021) On May 7, 2021, the Finnish Parliament voted to amend the country’s Election Act to allow military recruits who are completing their mandatory or voluntary military service to vote early at their place of military service (garnisonerna). The amendment does not apply to persons completing civil service in lieu of military service. […]
    • Contributor: Hofverberg, Elin
    • Date: 2021-05-13
  • Article
    Finland: Municipality Elections Postponed Because of COVID-19 Pandemic (Apr. 5, 2021) On March 26, 2021, the Finnish Parliament voted to approve a two-month postponement of the country’s municipal elections because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The elections, originally scheduled for April 18, 2021, will now be held on June 13, 2021. In accordance with the decision, early voting was also rescheduled for May 26 […]
    • Contributor: Hofverberg, Elin
    • Date: 2021-04-05
  • Article
    Finland: Supreme Court Orders Dissolution of Neo-Nazi Association that Violates Human Rights (Oct. 16, 2020) On September 22, 2020, the Finnish Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of Nordiska Motståndsrörelsen (NMR) (Nordic Resistance Movement), an unregistered neo-Nazi association. The Supreme Court found that the association is unlawful because its activities and stated objectives violate law and good practice. It also found that the association’s activities are not protected […]
    • Contributor: Hofverberg, Elin
    • Date: 2020-10-16
  • Article
    Finland: Institute for Health and Welfare Launches COVID-19 Tracing App (Sept. 9, 2020) On August 31, 2020, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (Terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin laitos, THL) launched a contact tracing app called Koronavilkuksi (“Corona Indicator”). The official launch came several weeks after a 12-day pilot program involving a few dozen persons in the Helsinki area concluded on August 16, 2020. The goal […]
    • Contributor: Hofverberg, Elin
    • Date: 2020-09-09
  • Article
    Finland: Government Issues Recommendation on Wearing Face Masks in Public (Sept. 1, 2020) On August 13, 2020, the Finnish government issued a resolution on recommendations for wearing face masks in public, echoing recommendations made earlier the same day by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. In accordance with the new recommendations, people in the country should wear masks when they are in public transport […]
    • Contributor: Hofverberg, Elin
    • Date: 2020-09-01
  • Article
    Finland: Government Further Restricts Travel in Effort to Stem Spread of COVID-19 (Apr. 14, 2020) On April 7, 2020, the Finnish government announced new rules for border crossings, affecting particularly Åland (a semi-autonomous Swedish-speaking island in the Baltic Sea) and northern border regions in Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Under the new rules anyone arriving in Finland, including Åland, must spend two weeks in quarantine. The government recommends […]
    • Contributor: Hofverberg, Elin
    • Date: 2020-04-14
  • Article
    Finland: Parliament Approves Quarantine of Capital Region (Apr. 2, 2020) On March 26, 2020, the Finnish government announced a regulation requiring all residents living in Uusimaa/Nyland (the region in which the capital, Helsinki, is located) to remain quarantined within the region’s borders. The regulation was approved the following day by the Finnish Parliament, following the recommendation by the Constitutional Law Committee. (Grundlagsutskottets […]
    • Contributor: Hofverberg, Elin
    • Date: 2020-04-02
  • Article
    Finland: Parliamentary Ombudsman Tells Ministry of Justice to Clarify Regulations Limiting Inmates' Opportunities to Smoke (Feb. 4, 2020) On October 30, 2019, Finland’s Deputy Ombudsman issued Decision 5349/2019, in which it criticized the smoking prohibition provision of the Finnish Prison Act as ambiguous and called for its review. In 2015, the Finnish Parliament passed legislation allowing for (but not requiring) prohibitions on smoking (including e-cigarettes) in residential quarters at Finnish […]
    • Contributor: Hofverberg, Elin
    • Date: 2020-02-04