Conditions for granting the licence
1) University degree in law
The applicant must have completed a Finnish Master of Laws degree other than a master of international and comparative law degree, or a corresponding law degree abroad which has been recognised in Finland as separately provided.
With regard to law degrees completed abroad, the applicant should note that a foreign law degree does not fulfil the degree requirement before it has been appropriately recognised in Finland. The recognition of degrees is provided for in the Act on the Recognition of Professional Qualifications (1384/2015) and the Act on Eligibility for Public Posts Provided by Higher Education Studies Completed Abroad (1385/2015). The applicant is required to present a Finnish National Board of Education decision on their qualifications, in which the applicant’s foreign law degree is recognised as comparable to a Master of Laws degree completed in Finland.
A conditional decision by the Finnish National Board of Education, stating that the foreign law degree completed by the applicant will be recognised as comparable with a Finnish Master of Laws degree once the applicant has completed the supplementary studies required by the decision in a Finnish university, is not sufficient for granting a licence. Rather, the applicant must apply for a final decision recognising the comparability from the Finnish National Board of Education after completing the studies.
A decision of the Finnish National Board of Education recognising the comparability of the applicant’s foreign law degree with a higher education degree in general is not sufficient for granting a licence either.
2) Sufficiently acquainted
In addition to holding the above-mentioned degree, the applicant must also be sufficiently acquainted with the work of an attorney and trial counsel.
An applicant is considered sufficiently acquainted if they have
- passed the advocate’s examination referred to in section 3, subsection 1, paragraph 4 of the Advocates Act (496/1958);
- completed their court practice;
- served as a prosecutor for at least one year; or
- after having received the degree referred to in subsection 1, paragraph 1 of the licensed Trial Counsel Act, has served at least one year in another position that has acquainted them with the work of an attorney and trial counsel.
3) Other requirements
A licence to serve as an attorney and trial counsel can only be granted to someone who is honest and not manifestly unsuitable for the work of an attorney and trial counsel.
According to the licensed Trial Counsel Act, a person is not deemed honest if they have been sentenced to imprisonment by a legally final judgment in the previous five years or if, in the previous three years, they have been sentenced to a fine for an offence demonstrates that they are unsuitable for serving as an attorney or trial counsel.
A person who, as a disciplinary sanction, has been struck from the membership of the national general association of advocates (Bar Association) referred to in section, subsection 1 of the Advocates Act or struck from the EU register kept by the Bar Association and referred to in section 5b, subsection 1 of the Act, may not be granted the licence referred to in the licensed Trial Counsel Act until three years have elapsed from when they had been struck from the membership or the register.
A person whose licence to serve as an attorney and trial counsel has been revoked as a disciplinary sanction may not be granted a new licence until three years have elapsed from the revocation of the licence.
An individual’s unsuitability for the work of an attorney and trial counsel must be manifest for the licence to be rejected on that basis. Possible grounds for unsuitability include a substance abuse or mental health problem that prevents the individual from carrying out their duties in an appropriate manner (HE 318/2010 vp, p. 28). Other possible grounds include non-temporary insolvency and court-imposed prohibitions against appearing in court.
A licence cannot be granted to someone who is bankrupt or whose legal capacity has been restricted.