The document provides information on the public administration and legal system of Finland. It discusses Finland's history, governance structure, and administrative system. Key points include: - Finland has a parliamentary system with 200 members of parliament who are elected every four years. Power is separated among legislative, executive, and judicial branches. - The legal system is centralized and based on separation of powers. It has a supreme court, courts of appeal, and district courts. - Local governments are divided into 444 municipalities which have self-governance powers. Municipal councils are elected and appoint mayors.

1. Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Graduate Studies – College of Education
Sta. Mesa, Manila
REPUBLIC OF FINLAND
Public Administration
Country Profile
DPA 729 SEMINAR IN COMPARATIVE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
Kathleen C. Abaja
Doctor in Educational Management Student
Dr. Cecilia J. Sabio
Course Specialist

2. SCOPE OF DISCUSSION

3. REPUBLIC OF
FINLAND
General Information

5. Aurora Borealis
One of the most remarkable features of Finland is light. The
further north you go, the greater the chances of spotting the
Aurora Borealis – in Finnish Lapland they can appear on 200
nights a year. In Helsinki and the south.
Seeing the Northern Lights requires sufficient darkness and
clear skies, which makes late autumn, the winter and early
spring (September to March) the most favourable times.

7. FACTS ABOUT FINLAND
Source: Legal Framework for Doing Business in Finland (2012)

9. HISTORY AND GOVERNANCE
Some important events in the history of Finland:
Source: Virtual Finland (2006)

10. FINLAND’S SWOT ANALYSIS
POSITIVE NEGATIVE
EXTERNALINTERNAL
STRENGTHS
THREATS
WEAKNESSES
OPPORTUNITIES
Source: Finland, a land of solutions (2015)

11. REPUBLIC OF
FINLAND
Legal System

12. MAIN FEATURES OF THE FINNISH LEGAL
SYSTEM
• Separation of powers (legislative, executive, judicative)
• Parliamentary system
• Centralized administration
ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM: THE PARLIAMENT
• The supreme decision-making authority
• 200 Members of Parliament
• Elections every four year
• Enacts legislation, approves the state budget, ratifies
international treaties and oversees the Government
Source: Introduction to Finnish Legal System, 2012

13. Source: Introduction to Finnish Legal System, 2012

14. Source: Introduction to Finnish Legal System, 2012

15. Source: Introduction to Finnish Legal System, 2012

16. Source: Introduction to Finnish Legal System, 2012

17. Source: Introduction to Finnish Legal System, 2012

18. Source: Introduction to Finnish Legal System, 2012

19. Source: Introduction to Finnish Legal System, 2012

20. Source: Introduction to Finnish Legal System, 2012

21. LOCAL GOVERNMENT
• Finland is divided into municipalities, whose
administration shall be based on the self-government of
their residents.
• Only the primary municipalities are, beside the state,
reserved the right to levy taxes.
• The number of municipalities in Finland is 444, of which
428 are situated in the Finnish mainland, and 16 in the
self-governing Aland Islands.
• The members of the municipal council are elected in
municipal elections, but the manager of the municipality
(the Mayor) is not elected but nominated by the
municipal council.
Source: Republic of Finland Public Administration Profile, 2006

22. OMBUDSPERSON
• The Parliamentary Ombudsman and the Chancellor of Justice are the
most important Finnish ombudsmen.
• Their task is to see that law and order are upheld and that irregularities
are corrected and faulty officials punished.
• Examine complaints made by citizens and also take action when they
suspect shortcomings in the activities of government officials.
• Ensure that public authorities, civil servants and also others when they
perform public tasks obey the law, fulfill their obligations and respect
constitutional and human rights.
• Observe the administration of justice and public affairs, as well as watch
for shortcomings in legislation
• Monitor the lawfulness of the official actions of the Government, Ministers
and the President of the Republic.
• Finland has a wide range of private and public ombudsman in different
fields of activity such as the Ombudsman for Bankruptcy and the
Consumer Ombudsman.

23. REPUBLIC OF
FINLANDCivil Service

24. STRUCTURE OF PUBLIC SERVICE
There are three levels in the Finnish State Administration:
 Central Administration
 Regional Administration
 Local Administration
There are 431 municipalities. Finnish local authorities provide basic public services for their
residents:
Among the key state local authorities are the:
Source: Structure of the Civil and Public Services

25. NUMBER OF MINISTRIES
Finland has 14 Ministries
The area for which each ministry and minister is responsible is specified by law and is
generally indicated by the name of the ministry. Matters which do not fall within the scope of
any other ministry are handled by the Prime Ministers’ Office.

26. CIVIL SERVICE
• The Ministry of Finance Personnel Department deals with the
human resource or personnel issues of the Finnish state
administration.
• The personnel policy guidelines are decided at the central level.
These include:
(1) Government decisions-in-principle on the state personnel policy
(2) the states participation in national incomes policy agreements
• The state operating units are independent on their own personnel
policy strategies and their implementation. They decide upon their
own human resources issues including the number of staff,
recruitment, personnel development, salaries, etc.
Source: Information on the Structure of the Civil and Public Services of EU Member States and Applicant States (2005)

27. TYPICAL SERVICES OFFERED CURRENTLY BY
STATE AGENCIES
• Orders and inquiries (The Consumer Agency)
• Submitting legal matters (Ministry of Justice)
• Ordering maps (National Survey Board)
• Booking leisure services and paying for them (National Board of Forestry)
• User feedback of national participation projects (Ministry of Interior,
Department of Municipalities
• Electronic newspapers (Central Development Agency of the Social Welfare
and Health Sector)
• Television set notifications and ordering domain names
(Telecommunications Administration Centre)
• Marketplace of Statistical Information and StatFin (Statistics Finland)
• Notifications on job vacancies; information on vacant jobs and educational
opportunities (Ministry of Labour)
• Virtual Finland (Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Notification on change of address (Population Register Center).

28. LEGAL BASIS
• The Finnish civil service has open recruiting,
clear legal but open qualifications for entry to the
civil service and a promotion system which is
also open.
• The examinations which are claimed are the
normal university examinations.
• The rights and duties of state civil servants are
stipulated in the state Civil Servants Act. The act
(1986) change the legal status and general
terms of civil servants to be more equal to those
of other employees.
Source: Finland Public Administration Profile from UNPAN (2000)

29. RECRUITMENT
• Finland does not belong to those countries
that have built their civil service system on
the so-called career system.
• There is no official system of political
appointment of civil servants, but there
exist “hidden political appointments”,
especially at the highest level of the state
central administration and at the municipal
administration.
Source: Finland Public Administration Profile UNPAN (2000)

30. PROMOTION
• The in-service training of civil servants
supports the targets to develop the
qualifications of civil servants, but it is not
a key element of the recruitment or
promotion system.
Source: Finland Public Administration Profile from UNPAN (2000)

31. REMUNERATION
• The lowest civil service salaries in Finland are 1,200 euros a
month and the average 2600 euros a month for all wage
earners.
• The single most important Human Resource reform at the
time of writing in the Finnish state administration is the
transfer to the new pay systems, which are based on the job
evaluation and the individual performance.
• Other reforms under preparation include a programme to
enhance productivity and competitiveness in the public sector,
implementation of the new management development
strategy, and a new Human Resource information
management system.
Source: Information on the Structure of the Civil and Public Services of EU Member Sates and Applicant States (2005)

32. GENDER
• The qualification structure of the Finnish civil
service is clearly higher than in the private
sector. There are 2 to 3 times more university
graduates in the public sector than in the
private sector. The share of female
employees is also higher in the public sector
than in the private sector because of its
nature as a service branch.
Source: Finland Public Administration Profile from UNPAN (2000)

33. TRAINING
• Finland does not have any elite
educational establishment for the
production of future high ranking civil
servants.
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland (2006)

34. REPUBLIC OF FINLAND
E-Government

39. REPUBLIC OF
FINLANDEthics and Civil Service

40. CORRUPTION

41. ETHICS
• Their competences are prescribed by the
Constitution. Both the Chancellor of Justice and
the Parliamentary Ombudsman shall ensure that
the courts of law, other authorities, civil servants,
public employees, and other persons performing
public tasks observe the law and fulfil their
obligations. In performing their duties they shall
supervise the implementation of basic rights and
human rights.
Source: Speech Minister of Justice at the United Nations (2003)

42. REFERENCES
Republic of Finland Public Administration Country Profile (2006).
Division for Public Administration and
Development Management (DPADM), UN
Finland, a land of solutions, Strategic Programme of Prime Minister
Juha Sipila's Government (2015). Prime Minister's Office,
Finland
Raitio, J. (2012) Introduction to Finnish Legal System. University of
Helsinki [powerpoint slides].
Mundi, L., Roschier (2012). Guide to Doing Business Finland.
Retrieved from www.lexmundi.com.
E-Government in Finland(2015). European Union.
Ritter, S. (2006). Structure of the Civil and Public Services in the
Member and Accession States of the European
Union. Austrian Federal Chancellery.