In this article, I analyse the legal practice of Finnish legislative emergency preparation and its principles. In approaching the principles of legislative emergency preparation, a distinction is made between the role that law takes in promoting the resilience of society and the resilience of the legal system itself. By differentiating societal and legal resilience, the article approaches legislative emergency preparation as something that includes both forms of resilience and objectives specific to them. My research question concerns how recent Finnish legislation on responding and preventing hybrid threats affects the balance between these two types of objectives. To approach this phenomenon, I define two temporal principles of emergency governance: the temporal limits of the state of emergency and the temporal distinctiveness of the state of normalcy and emergency. I argue that recent legislation, in which concerns of societal resilience tend to enjoy preference, contradict these two temporal principles.
In this article, we analyze constitutional interpretations in the leading constitutional cases by the Finnish Supreme Court (Korkein oikeus) and the Finnish Supreme Administrative Court (Korkein hallinto-oikeus), paying particular attention to the use of preparatory works and precedents in constitutional interpretations. The article is based on an empirical comparative study in which we analyze the constitutional reasoning of the Nordic Supreme Courts, using quantitative methods. The article shows that the Finnish courts (and Nordic courts in general) use legislative intent as an independent argument, a practice that is uncommon outside the Nordics. In addition, the article demonstrates that Finnish courts tend to lack confidence in their own authority, placing greater trust in the Constitutional Law Committee and exercising self-restraint in constitutional adjudication. Finally, challenges relating to the courts’ deferential and cautious approach to constitutional interpretation are highlighted.
Keywords: constitutional interpretation; Finnish supreme courts; empirical research; comparative law
The framing of a legal issue is a decisive point in a legal case, but most poignantly in cases concerning the rights of children and other vulnerable subjects. Given the importance of the framing of the legal issue, it has received modest attention in research. This article contributes to the discussion on framing child rights with both social constructionist approach, asking how the legal problem and the child are constructed, and legal doctrinal analysis, looking at how children’s representation in the framing of the problem in courts has evolved in international law. The alternative ways of framing rights are illustrated by an analysis of the European Court of Human Rights case Soares de Melo (2016). The article argues that framing of the legal issue is paramount for children and those who are dependent on others in framing their interests and rights. The framing of their rights is linked to the right to be heard and the actual possibility to procedural participation.
Keywords: child rights; access to courts; framing a legal problem; child rights convention; child poverty
In this article, we analyse the epistemic structures relevant for law-as-knowledge in order to rethink the role of law amidst contemporary intertwined crises related to social sustainability of the welfare state. Our analysis is situated primarily in private law, particularly the fields of labour law and family law, which both occupy a complex legal space where public social (welfare) law intersects with private law. We draw on the work of Isabell Lorey who identifies a significant shift towards a novel form of governing insecurity in a post-welfare state, namely governmental precarization, which is connected to the changes in the economies of welfare states. The legal fields of family law and labour law are particular analytical focal points regarding the changes in the legal governance of insecurity, as they both aim to deliver justice through mechanisms of economic social justice, protection of the weaker party, and organisation of reproduction, care, and work in society. Furthermore, they both provide distinct perspectives on subjects, rights, responsibilities, and entitlements prevalent in the legal modes of governing in the biopolitical order. We argue that socially sustainable law and legal doctrine require reflexivity and recognition of situatedness of law-as-knowledge and call for making use of epistemic privilege provided by marginalised experiences relating to law.
Keywords: Anthropocene; sustainability; precarity; private law; labour law; family law; epistemic privilege; law-as-knowledge
”Research handbook on intellectual property rights and inclusivity” diskuterar immateriella rättigheter ur inkluderingssynvinkel. Boken handlar om hur immateriella rättigheter balanserar exklusivitet och inkludering, med fokus på dessa rättigheters anatomi samt de förändrade kulturella och sociala värderingarna. Författarna diskuterar såväl historiska som intersektionella perspektiv samt olika nationella lösningar. Boken belyser också behovet av inkluderande tolkningar inom immaterialrätten och är ett varmt välkommet inlägg i den immaterialrättsliga diskussionen.
Editorial
Daniela Alaattinoglu, Laura Tammenlehto
Legal resilience and legislative emergency preparation in Finland
Tuukka Brunila
In this article, I analyse the legal practice of Finnish legislative emergency preparation and its principles. In approaching the principles of legislative emergency preparation, a distinction is made between the role that law takes in promoting the resilience of society and the resilience of the legal system itself. By differentiating societal and legal resilience, the article approaches legislative emergency preparation as something that includes both forms of resilience and objectives specific to them. My research question concerns how recent Finnish legislation on responding and preventing hybrid threats affects the balance between these two types of objectives. To approach this phenomenon, I define two temporal principles of emergency governance: the temporal limits of the state of emergency and the temporal distinctiveness of the state of normalcy and emergency. I argue that recent legislation, in which concerns of societal resilience tend to enjoy preference, contradict these two temporal principles.
Keywords: emergency legislation; resilience; preparation; hybrid threats; temporality
Constitutional law in the Finnish Supreme Courts – the role of preparatory works and precedents in constitutional interpretation
Maija Dahlberg, Katalin Kelemen
In this article, we analyze constitutional interpretations in the leading constitutional cases by the Finnish Supreme Court (Korkein oikeus) and the Finnish Supreme Administrative Court (Korkein hallinto-oikeus), paying particular attention to the use of preparatory works and precedents in constitutional interpretations. The article is based on an empirical comparative study in which we analyze the constitutional reasoning of the Nordic Supreme Courts, using quantitative methods. The article shows that the Finnish courts (and Nordic courts in general) use legislative intent as an independent argument, a practice that is uncommon outside the Nordics. In addition, the article demonstrates that Finnish courts tend to lack confidence in their own authority, placing greater trust in the Constitutional Law Committee and exercising self-restraint in constitutional adjudication. Finally, challenges relating to the courts’ deferential and cautious approach to constitutional interpretation are highlighted.
Keywords: constitutional interpretation; Finnish supreme courts; empirical research; comparative law
Framing child rights in the European Court of Human Rights
Johanna Niemi, Hannele Tolonen
The framing of a legal issue is a decisive point in a legal case, but most poignantly in cases concerning the rights of children and other vulnerable subjects. Given the importance of the framing of the legal issue, it has received modest attention in research. This article contributes to the discussion on framing child rights with both social constructionist approach, asking how the legal problem and the child are constructed, and legal doctrinal analysis, looking at how children’s representation in the framing of the problem in courts has evolved in international law. The alternative ways of framing rights are illustrated by an analysis of the European Court of Human Rights case Soares de Melo (2016). The article argues that framing of the legal issue is paramount for children and those who are dependent on others in framing their interests and rights. The framing of their rights is linked to the right to be heard and the actual possibility to procedural participation.
Keywords: child rights; access to courts; framing a legal problem; child rights convention; child poverty
Governing insecurity in a Nordic welfare state during sustainability crisis: Rethinking epistemic standpoints of Finnish labour law and family law
Sanna Mustasaari, Marjo Ylhäinen
In this article, we analyse the epistemic structures relevant for law-as-knowledge in order to rethink the role of law amidst contemporary intertwined crises related to social sustainability of the welfare state. Our analysis is situated primarily in private law, particularly the fields of labour law and family law, which both occupy a complex legal space where public social (welfare) law intersects with private law. We draw on the work of Isabell Lorey who identifies a significant shift towards a novel form of governing insecurity in a post-welfare state, namely governmental precarization, which is connected to the changes in the economies of welfare states. The legal fields of family law and labour law are particular analytical focal points regarding the changes in the legal governance of insecurity, as they both aim to deliver justice through mechanisms of economic social justice, protection of the weaker party, and organisation of reproduction, care, and work in society. Furthermore, they both provide distinct perspectives on subjects, rights, responsibilities, and entitlements prevalent in the legal modes of governing in the biopolitical order. We argue that socially sustainable law and legal doctrine require reflexivity and recognition of situatedness of law-as-knowledge and call for making use of epistemic privilege provided by marginalised experiences relating to law.
Keywords: Anthropocene; sustainability; precarity; private law; labour law; family law; epistemic privilege; law-as-knowledge
Recension: Cristiana Sappa (red.): Research handbook on intellectual property rights and inclusivity. Research handbooks in intellectual property series, Edward Elgar Publishing 2024, s. 523.
Anette Alén
”Research handbook on intellectual property rights and inclusivity” diskuterar immateriella rättigheter ur inkluderingssynvinkel. Boken handlar om hur immateriella rättigheter balanserar exklusivitet och inkludering, med fokus på dessa rättigheters anatomi samt de förändrade kulturella och sociala värderingarna. Författarna diskuterar såväl historiska som intersektionella perspektiv samt olika nationella lösningar. Boken belyser också behovet av inkluderande tolkningar inom immaterialrätten och är ett varmt välkommet inlägg i den immaterialrättsliga diskussionen.
Nyckelord: immateriella rättigheter; IPR; inkludering; mångfald; välfärd