Information about Judiciary

Or­ga­ni­za­tion of the ju­di­ciary

The ju­di­ciary com­prises the courts, the Na­tional Courts Ad­min­is­tra­tion and the Ju­di­cial Ap­point­ments Board and the Ju­di­cial Train­ing Board.

The Courts

The courts are di­vided into gen­eral courts, ad­min­is­tra­tive courts and spe­cial courts.

Gen­eral courts in­clude dis­trict courts and courts of ap­peal and the Supreme Court at the high­est level of ju­ris­dic­tion.

Ad­min­is­tra­tive courts in­clude re­gional ad­min­is­tra­tive courts, the Åland Ad­min­is­tra­tive Court and the Supreme Ad­min­is­tra­tive Court ex­er­cises the supreme ju­ris­dic­tion.

Spe­cial courts are the Mar­ket Court, the Labour Court and the In­sur­ance Court.

the National Court Administration

The main purpose of the National Court Administration is to be in charge of the central administration of the court system. The National Court Administration ensures that the courts are able to maintain a high level of quality in the exercise of their judicial powers and that the administration of the courts is organised in an efficient and appropriate manner.

Judicial Appointments Board

Un­der the Act on Ju­di­cial Ap­point­ments Finnish judges are ap­pointed by the Pres­i­dent of the Re­pub­lic on rec­om­men­da­tion from the Min­is­ter of Jus­tice, as ad­vised by a Ju­di­cial Ap­point­ments Board. An in­de­pen­dent Ju­di­cial Ap­point­ments Board shall make prepa­ra­tions for the fill­ing of po­si­tions in the ju­di­ciary and a rea­soned pro­posal on an ap­point­ment to a po­si­tion in the ju­di­ciary.

Judicial Training Board

The purpose of the independent Judicial Training Board is to plan and coordinate, jointly with the National Courts Administration and the courts, the training of the staff involved in applying the law at the courts of law, from court traineeships to supplementary training.