The Fundamental Constitutional Principle of Democracy and the Rule of Law and the Supervision of Legality on the Grounds of the Basic Law of Finland
Abstract
The political system of Finland and the consciousness of the Finnish society are strongly attached to the rule of law and solidified democratic principles. Strict observance of the principles of democracy and the rule of law, including individual rights and freedoms, especially in the context of their relations with the state authorities, ought to be perceived as a peculiar characteristic feature and singularity of Finland, similarly as of the other Nordic states. In fact, the substance of an individual’s status and the protection of his/her rights has always been and still remains a very significant area of these states’ functioning. Hence, the principle of democracy and the rule of law on the grounds of the Basic Law of Finland, having been in force since 1 March 2000, was included into the catalogue of the fundamental constitutional principles, forming the basics of the state’s political system. Among the Nordic traditions cultivated by Finland there can also be placed strongly preserved supervision of legality, performed not only by the judicial system, like for instance the control of the constitutionality of law and the liability of the supreme state officials, but also by the non-judicial authorities of legal protection, such as: the Chancellor of Justice of the Council of State (Government) and the Ombudsman of Eduskunta (Parliament), which are so characteristic and directly originate from the Nordic legal and constitutional culture. Therefore, a whole separate chapter of the Finnish Constitution has been devoted to the matters of the control over the legality. The hereby paper aims at conducting the analysis of the content and scope of the fundamental constitutional principle of democracy and the rule of law, as well as the questions of the supervision of legality, its comprehension and range on the grounds of the Basic Law of Finland.
Keywords
the principle of democracy and the rule of law; a fundamental constitutional principle; supervision over the legality; the Basic Law of Finland
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University of Rzeszów Poland
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