The Constitution of Finland defines the government and its shape, the relationship between the different topmost branches of the commonwealth and the rights of the individual. The original constitution took force in 1919, soon after Finland's declaration of independence in 1917, but the version of the constitution currently in use took force on 1 March 2000.
The judicial and constitutional system in Finland has been thoroughly criticized for failing to correctly implement the separation of powers. Laws cannot be ruled unconstitutional in the supreme courts of the judicial branch, but they are previewed by the legislative branch itself and voted on whether they are constitutional or not.
This is unique, as the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are the only other countries which also lack a constitutional court - the UK doesn't have a constitution, and the Netherlands has in the views of many still implemented the separation of powers correctly.
However, the new constitution has given some power to supreme courts to dismiss a case if they find it unconstitutional, even though this power is explicitly denied to mean the supreme courts have interpretive rights on constitutional issues.
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Last updated: 10-16-2005 04:36:50
