Judicial Appointments Board

Un­der the Act on Ju­di­cial Ap­point­ments Finnish judges are ap­pointed by the Pres­i­dent of the Re­pub­lic on rec­om­men­da­tion from the Min­is­ter of Jus­tice, as ad­vised by a Ju­di­cial Ap­point­ments Board. An in­de­pen­dent Ju­di­cial Ap­point­ments Board shall make prepa­ra­tions for the fill­ing of po­si­tions in the ju­di­ciary and a rea­soned pro­posal on an ap­point­ment to a po­si­tion in the ju­di­ciary.

The Board has no jurisdiction regarding the appointment of Judges to the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court. These courts of final instance make their own appointment proposals to the President of the Republic, who is the final decision-maker also in these matters.

The Board is expected to promote the recruitment of judges from all walks of legal life, that is, from among court referendaries, the civil service, academia and the legal profession. The Judicial Appointments Board is composed mainly of members of the judiciary, but three members come from outside the judiciary. One is a practising lawyer appointed by the Bar Association, another is a prosecutor appointed by the Prosecutor General, and the third is an academic appointed by the Ministry of Justice.

Published 11.11.2020