Judicial administration
The judicial administration consists of the independent courts of law, prosecution service, enforcement authorities, who see to the enforcement of judgments, The Criminal Sanctions Agency, who sees to the enforcement of custodial sentences, and Bar Association and the other avenues of legal aid.
The competent unit within the judicial system can be searched by the name of the municipality on the contact information page.
With the name of the municipality, you can identify the competent
district court
court of appeal
administrative court
prosecution unit
enforcement unit
public guardianship office
as well as nearest
state legal aid office
A customer may approach any of the legal aid offices; it is often convenient to use the services of the nearest one.
Some types of matter have been assigned to only a few district courts. Please see the separate lists of municipalities for land court matters, enforcement appeals and corporate restructurings. These lists are available only in Finnish.
The legal aid's national chat service provides general advice on legal matters. The chat service is available in English on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10:00 am to 12:00 am.
The chat service can be accessed via the legal aid website.
In Finland, the judicial powers are exercised by independent courts of law. The Ministry of Justice has no competence to take a position on individual cases. Any party dissatisfied with a ruling of a court of law may appeal against the ruling in accordance with appeal instructions provided by the court of law.
Anyone considering that a public authority or a public official has conducted unlawfully may refer the matter to the Chancellor of Justice of the Government or the Parliamentary Ombudsman by means of a written complaint.
